Fantastic drill to develop a Pitcher's Toughness
By: Cindy Bristow
Being a dominating pitcher requires a lot of different skills. Things like control, speed and movement are all vital to a pitcher's success. But what about mental toughness? It plays a HUGE role in a pitcher either bearing down under pressure or breaking down as a result of it. Learn a great drill to help your pitchers practice their mental and physical toughness.

We all know that pitching isn't easy, but what things make it so hard? The motion itself isn't that complicated, although we sure teach it like it is. To me, what makes pitching so challenging are the conditions under which you pitch. It's the pressure of the moment, the need to be excellent on EVERY play and not just most plays, and the ability to be tough. Practicing toughness is something we often leave out of our pitcher's daily routines, so check out a drill that can change that.

If you're looking for a way to improve your pitcher's mental and physical toughness then this Pitch Back Drill should really do the trick:

The pitcher and the catcher each start with a softball
The pitcher does this drill from 35 feet no matter what distance she usually pitches from
The pitcher pitches her ball to the catcher, who immediately throws her ball back to the pitcher
The pitcher then catches the ball from the catcher and quickly pitches it back, while the catcher catches the ball from the pitcher and immediately throws it back
This rapid-fire type pitch and catch happens for 2 minutes
After 2 minutes, the pitcher gets a 40 second break while she either does push-ups or else holds the plank position for 40 seconds
Then repeat the Pitch Back Drill for another 2 minutes followed by another 40 seconds of either push-ups or the plank, and drill is complete
Eventually work up to 3 minutes of Pitch Back and 3 sets

NOTE: The Plank position is when you lie down flat on the ground, face first. Then prop yourself up on your forearms and your toes keeping your body flat like a plank of wood. Holding this position requires a lot of stomach and torso muscles.