pitching control

Question
hey i was wondering if you could help me with this problem i have. i am 13 and am a little league pitcher. i have just about always had the best velocity of anyone on my team since i was 9 or 10 but im having alot of trouble keeping consistent control. it seems like one game i will have great control and strike out 9 or 10 in five innings wth 1 or 2 walks at the most and the next game i cant find the strike zone and get pulled after giving up five or six walks after a couple innings giving up a few runs in the proccess. also i seemed to fade away late in the season the last couple years and want to know if you could tell me any ways to fix that. thanks you

Answer
Alex,

I am currently working as a pitching instructor and this is probably the most common thing parents tell me about their little league pitchers before the lesson.

Mechanics, mechanics, mechanics. Most of our pitching problems stem from poor or even down right terrible mechanics. With good mechanics we can get the best out of our body every pitch, which will help with out control and endurance.

1. Make sure your body stays in line with the catcher. Try not to rotate the upper body, and make sure your landing foot stays in the same line as your catcher, and not off to the side. For righties, if we land towards third, our hips lock and can not rotate. If we fall towards first, our hips fly open too soon and both of these limit the supply of power from the legs.

2. Stay tall, and balanced. Do not fall towards home plate. Make sure you drive off your back leg. The falling towards the plate again takes away our legs.

3. Take car of your arm after each outing. This will help prevent it from breaking down near the end of the season. Icing, stretching and days off are a huge help. Also, as stated above, using your legs will prevent your from throwing with just your arm.

4. Dry runs are the best ways for us to learn proper mechanics. Go through your motion in a mirror, and check for things which change. Make sure our shoulders stay in line with our target, and check your landing.

If your control is different inning by inning and game by game, it is most likely something inconsistent in your mechanics. Search "Pitching Mechanics" online, as there are MANY websites which break down all the specifics. Make sure to check many, as not every person online knows the answer.

If you want more help, or direction, feel free to ask again.

Good luck,
Sean