Spin It to Win It: Developing Late Break on the Rise, Curve and Drop Ball

Myndie Berka has trained hundreds of successful pitchers. Her pitchers have:

• earned scholarships at over 60 different colleges and universities
• competed at the Women's College World Series at the NCAA DI, DII, NAIA and JUCO levels
• been named collegiate All-Americans
• been collegiate national strikeout leaders at both the NCAA DI and DII levels

Superior spin is the secret weapon of dominant pitchers. Blazing speed is an effective weapon for an inning or two, but late-breaking movement pitches can keep batters guessing for a full seven innings.

Too often, developing pitchers believe that once they have the grip, movement is automatic. Myndie Berka covers the rise, curve and the peel and turnover drop balls to give your pitchers what they need to get maximum spin on every throw.

She begins with variations of grips for each spin and ends with drills to help pitchers learn where pitches should be breaking. Coach Berka uses her own students to demonstrate each drill and includes feedback as they move through the progressions. This feedback will help you learn what to look for in your pitchers as you introduce them to the different pitches.

You will also learn when a pitcher is ready to progress from one stage to the next, appropriate cues to use so pitchers will know what the pitch should feel like and look like, different ways to challenge a pitcher to master a pitch. You will learn what are some fixes for some common problems that pitchers have when learning a pitch and what drills work when a pitcher is struggling with a particular spin.

Rise Ball

The rise ball is the ultimate strikeout pitch. Coach Berka explains the grip and snap necessary to develop late-breaking movement on the rise ball, and offers two drills for rise ball spins. She also explains eight spin stations with spin trainers to help the pitcher feel coming underneath the ball, which will create the backwards spin that makes the rise ball jump.

Curve Ball

Throwing the curve is similar to the grip and snap of the rise ball, except the pitcher snaps around the ball to give it the sideways spin that makes the pitch dance away from the hitter's bat. Coach Berka explains how to put proper spin on the curve ball and uses a spin progression with Frisbees to demonstrate. This is a fun drill that teaches pitchers the snap move of the wrist, while providing them with immediate feedback as to how successful they are. Coach Berka also offers five spin stations to help pitchers get the feel of proper spin.

Drop Ball

The drop ball is a great pitch to have in a pitcher's arsenal as it produces a lot of ground ball outs and is not frequently hit for home runs. The drop can be thrown two different ways, and Coach Berka explains each while having her pitchers demonstrates a four-step drill progression for learning and perfecting the wrist snap.

Body Position and the Full Pitch

Once the grip and snap is mastered, the goal is to put the body in the correct position to help the pitch spin. Coach Berka has her pitchers demonstrate three body position drills, which are different for each of the three movement pitches. She also offers a drill for each of the three pitches to help your pitchers execute late-breaking movement, and one light flight drill that can be used with any pitch.

Coach Berka breaks down the grips, wrist snaps, and body positions required to throw the rise ball, curve ball, and drop ball. You'll get 24 total drills which will help your pitchers feel the correct movement and execution of each pitch.

73 minutes. 2016.