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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There are several elements of speed that a pitcher can choose to focus on to improve their speed. First, the push off, or the speed off the mound. The faster the pitcher drives off the mound, generally the longer the stride. They go hand and hand. I tell my beginners to try to stride out at least their height. Another goal can be to step out heel to toe 6 times and make a mark in the dirt and make sure they are going beyond that mark. We know that studies show that stride length and speed go hand and hand. The average pitcher that throws 68 mph, strides out 7 feet 4 inches. That knowledge can be a motivator for the pitcher to push off faster. There are many different drills the pitcher can perform to help develop speed of the mound such as the flamingo (one legged push off) drill, resistance bands, 2 step drill, sprinters stance drill, etc.  
However, ultimately the push off the mound comes from the powerhouse muscle groups of the quads and anterior tibialis. The anterior tibialis acts in the dorsiflexion and inversion of the foot, so it is important for the pitcher to rock back lifting the toe (negative increases the positive) then quickly roll over the toe with the heel dragging toward the ceiling (less stress on knees and ankles). The Quads are very active in the push off during the "sprinters stance" phase of the push off. A true "sprinters stance" push off would mean the knee goes past the toe, at this point the pitcher's weight is fully loaded in the muscles on the front of the leg. When the stride leg touches down, the back of the leg muscles become most active (driving knee to knee). It is best to work these muscles for fast twitch by working them with a high load in a short amount of time. Having a good balance of slow twitch (endurance) muscle can also prove helpful for long tournaments. Besides, the championship game is never the first game of the day, it could be the 3rd or possibly 5th. Amy Johnston