Mental Game Reminders for Pitchers
I recently revised a mental checklist for one of my pitchers and thought it might be helpful to share. These reminders are meant to sharpen focus, fuel confidence, and elevate game-day performance. Feel free to pass along more—I’m always adding!

Know Your Opponent
Scout hitters in advance—check GameChanger, Instagram, Facebook, or stat sheets. Know who the real threats are: base stealers, top batting averages, home run leaders.

Have a Pitch-By-Pitch Routine
Consistency builds confidence. Between each pitch:

• Touch the dirt to reset and ground yourself
  
• Use aggressive self-talk (“She’s lucky to be in the box with me” / “This girl’s going down” / “I’m the baddest pitcher on this field”)
  
• Take a deep breath—long exhale
  
• Visualize the pitch path before you deliver
  

Prepare to Win, Pitch by Pitch

• Do whatever it takes to get in rhythm—even if it means fixing the mound before every pitch.
  
• Go into each at-bat with 3–4 possible pitch sequences in mind.
  
• Set a goal: Get off the field in 15 pitches or fewer. Less time out there = fewer chances for mistakes (and your defense stays sharp).
  

Strategic Insights

• On contact, spin usually reverses—this is why riseballs and backhand changes generate pop-ups.
  
• Throw low to bunters who drop the barrel—creates foul balls.
  
• Throw high to slappers—but read their hands. High hands = potential chop. In that case, a drop ball may intersect the bat plane better.
  
• Be mindful of using drops and changeups with runners on—especially with two strikes.
  

Smart Pitching Tactics

• Mix it up: high/low, in/out, fast/slow. When in doubt, avoid the middle.
  
• When uncertain, throw your strength—not theirs.
  
• “Fat part of the ball meets fat part of the bat” = danger. Stay away from the heart of the plate.
  
• Trust your catcher. Don’t pitch to her abilities—pitch to your plan.
  
• A tight setup behind the plate helps frame borderline pitches into strikes.
  
• Hitting your spots often beats speed or movement.
  
• Perception matters. Always look in control, even if you’re not.
  

Be the Total Threat

• Know what each hitter did last time up.
  
• Watch hitters during warm-ups—see what they’re prepping for.
  
• Aim to strike out at least 1.5 batters per inning.
  
• Be a two-way player. Pitchers who can swing are a game-changer.
  

Mental Toughness Wins Games

• Bad things happen. Let the hit batter, walk, or home run go—it’s dead to you. Reset, refocus, and attack the next batter harder.
  
• Be the one who stops the rally cold.
  
• Pitch for the shutout. If the other team doesn’t score, they can’t win.
  
• Throw every pitch fearlessly. If you hesitate, you’ve already lost control.
  

Monster Mindset
Be the big, bad nightmare no one wants to face. You’re Freddy Krueger on the mound—they might stab you with a homer or shoot you with a line drive, but you never stay down. You come back. Stronger. Scarier. Still standing. Every pitch. Every inning. Every game.

It is more than a reaction time issue. It is the ultimate attention getter to college coaches. I will never forget listening to the college coaches at the NFCA 408 Masters Class at the WCWS say that they believe that they have some of the best if not the best college coaches in the world at their schools. So if they can get a flame thrower throwing 65+, they do not care if she does not even have a change up. Their pitching coach at their school can take care of that. One coach pointed out that Hannah Rogers came to his school with only a 68 mph fastball. Nothing else! He said that by the time she left his school she was throwing everything with no problems. He recruited her because she was extra-ordinary in the speed department. It is so rare to see that kind of speed D-1 coaches jump on recruiting these unicorns immediately. Always, always, ALWAYS work on speed!
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In my beginner pitchers (and some advanced) a common problem is posture. We have to have a strong tight core to get the fastest potential God given arm speed. When we cannot find neutral spine alignment and hold it, we slow up. My favorite drill for teaching a pitcher to hold her posture (her stack, shoulders over hips) is to let them pitch downhill. They feel like they will fall over if they lean forward over their stride leg. So naturally they fix their posture and tighten up through the core. Another good magic wand to fix their posture is to have them finish on their tippy-toes when they release. The problem is, we can't finish like this every time because they need to get into a good athletic fielding position after they release. It is still a good drill so they can get the "feel" of the correct posture and hopefully carry it over into the real thing but ending in a good defensive stance on the balls of the toes.    

I find that the use of bands very important for improving the speed and power of leg drive. The key is to find different movements and not do the same repetitive movement. When I met Danielle Lawrie at the WCWS this year in Oklahoma, I got to ask her what is her favorite drill. She actually answered that she does the "Flamigo drill or One-legged drill, 100 times with bands on her push off leg." Pitchers should work up to this number gradually. For example, do 20 reps every other day for the first week, then to 40, then 60, 80, and finally 100 reps. It is no wonder she is a Hall of Famer and Olympian!

The drop ball is considered by many pitchers an easier pitch to learn. Especially for internal rotation pitchers (IR means that the thumb is on top of the ball during the release so the snap moves inward and/or down) due to the likeness in the snap. A key for success no matter which drop you choose to throw is a high start, low finish. The high start refers to standing tall with the right hip higher than the left (for a right-handed pitcher). The low finish refers to the dropping to the bottom of the zone (or just below the zone) for the finish. A good drill to help this would be to have the pitcher exaggerate the feel of the high start, by stepping up on a step while pitching. Then have her recreate that feel in the pitch by throwing full speed and pushing up onto her toe while snapping. Moving the ball through the zone from high to low helps the pitch to be more effective because no one swings at pitch that starts low and ends lower. See video.

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Developing Pitching Speed: A Deeper Look
By Amy Johnston
There are several key elements a pitcher can focus on to increase speed, and it all starts with the push-off—your drive off the mound. The faster and more powerful the push-off, the longer the stride. These two elements go hand in hand.
For beginners, I often set a visual goal: strive to step out at least the distance of your height. Another simple method is to step heel-to-toe six times and mark that distance in the dirt—then work to consistently stride beyond it. Research shows a clear correlation between stride length and velocity. For example, pitchers averaging 68 mph typically stride around 7 feet 4 inches. Understanding that connection can be a powerful motivator for pitchers to accelerate their drive off the mound.
There are a number of drills designed to help pitchers improve their explosiveness, including:

• The Flamingo Drill (single-leg push-off)
  
• Resistance Band Training
  
• The Two-Step Drill
  
• The Sprinter’s Stance Drill
  

Ultimately, the push-off is powered by major muscle groups—especially the quadriceps and the anterior tibialis. The anterior tibialis, responsible for dorsiflexion and inversion of the foot, plays a key role when the pitcher rocks back and lifts the toe (remember: a strong negative movement sets up a more explosive positive one). Rolling over the toe with the heel driving upward also helps reduce stress on the knees and ankles.
The quadriceps are heavily engaged during the “sprinter’s stance” phase—when the pitcher’s knee moves past the toe, and weight is fully loaded into the front leg. Once the stride foot lands, the focus shifts to the back-leg muscles, especially during the knee-to-knee drive.
To maximize speed, pitchers should train these muscle groups with fast-twitch development in mind—high intensity, low duration. However, endurance (slow-twitch muscle balance) is equally important. After all, the championship game isn’t the first game of the day—it’s usually the third, fourth, or even fifth.