Intro to Pitching: A Coach's Guide to Building Stronger, Smarter Pitchers
In this twenty minute snippet from the NFCA's Intro to Pitching Virtual Coaches Clinic, instructor Kyla Holas delivers a complete framework for teaching the pitching motion. Coaches gain clear instruction across five key phases (Load, Lift, Peak, Landing, and Release) through softball pitching drills that are simple to apply, easy to scale, and built to create repeatable, efficient movement patterns.
Each phase reinforces the foundations of strong mechanics while giving coaches practical tools to help pitchers of all ages develop confidence, control, and consistency.
Five Phases. Endless Softball Pitching Drills.
1. Load
Pitching Drills:
- Jump-to-Drive Drill: Have athletes start in a relaxed stance, then jump down aggressively into their load position. Land with the drive leg bent and ready to push, holding the posture before throwing. This helps pitchers feel how to "sink" into their back leg and control their weight before moving forward.
- Box or Step Load Drill: Using a low box or step, athletes begin elevated and drop into their load. This adds rhythm and challenge, helping them feel weight transfer into the back leg. Once they control the movement, progress by adding a throw or increasing speed.
- Med Ball Drive: Start in the load position holding a medicine ball. Cue athletes to drive the ball down into the ground using their glove-side leg first. This reinforces pushing from behind the rubber, creating ground force and leg drive through the kinetic chain.
Coaching Insight:
"Our drills are the same no matter the age," emphasizes Kyla Holas. Repetition and progression are more important than creating new drills for different levels. Each rep builds consistent feel, control, and confidence.
2. Lift
Pitching Drills:
- Glute Bridge Lift: Athletes lie on their backs with one knee bent and the opposite leg lifted. Cue them to lift their hips while driving the bent leg into the ground. This teaches activation of the glutes and hamstrings that power the lift phase.
- Weighted Lift with Ball: From a standing position, athletes lift their front leg while holding a light ball or weight. Cue them to keep their front heel up and their posture tall. This strengthens hip flexion and helps them feel proper lift and load balance.
- Static Balance Drill: Have athletes hold the lift position with their glove leg raised and their drive foot grounded. Focus on controlling posture and preventing swaying. Ad
Coaching Insight:
Holas emphasizes starting simple. "You can teach lift mechanics without a ball." Building awareness of which muscles engage in this phase helps athletes connect lower-body strength to the motion before adding speed or spin.
3. Peak
Pitching Drills:
- Tubing Pulls or Band Rows: Use resistance bands to strengthen the scapular and lat muscles. Have athletes pull the bands down and back from an overhead position, mimicking the arm circle's top phase. This builds stability and prevents early elbow bend.
- Drop Catch Drill: Using a tennis, plyo, or regulation ball, athletes drop the ball from one hand and catch it mid-circle with the other. This improves timing and awareness of arm turnover and positioning.
- Down-to-Ground Drill: Athletes practice driving the arm circle down through the center of the body instead of forward. Cue them to feel the ball travel down between their feet, not out in front, reinforcing centrifugal force at the bottom of the circle.
"Avoid a bent elbow above your head at peak. It limits pull and power." Cue athletes to feel a full pull, not a reach, and reinforce that strength comes from alignment and sequencing, not force.
4. Landing
Pitching Drills:
- Heel-Down Landing Drill: Have athletes land with their front heel down and toe up, focusing on keeping their torso stacked and their arms matched in height and alignment. This teaches controlled deceleration and posture through impact.
- Football Stability Drill: Athletes hold a football while practicing their landing position, then complete overhand and underhand throws. The football adds feedback on rotation and strength while improving total-body control.
- Adductor Squeeze or Half-Ball Drill: Place a ball between the athlete's knees during landing and cue them to keep gentle pressure on it. This activates the adductors and teaches hip stability to prevent collapse or over-rotation.
"Your glove is not your enemy. It's your friend that overhelps." A glove that flies open or circles wide is compensating for a mechanical weakness elsewhere. Identify and correct the cause, not the symptom.
5. Release
Pitching Drills:
- Release Rolls: Athletes roll a plyo ball or weighted ball from palm-up to palm-down, focusing on smooth, connected wrist action. This trains feel for the natural release and snap without forcing movement.
- Separation Turn Drill: Have pitchers start facing forward, then rotate their hips while keeping the shoulders closed before pulling through. This teaches hip-shoulder separation for better whip and power.
- Sock & Mirror Drill: Athletes roll a sock into a ball and practice their release in front of a mirror. This allows them to check posture and arm alignment without throwing, reinforcing mechanics at home or in limited spaces.
"Both arms should connect into the body at the same time." This connection gives pitchers control of their forearms and spin, allowing them to command different pitches with accuracy and consistency.
Conclusion
The Intro to Pitching Virtual Coaches Clinic simplifies one of the game's most technical skills into a clear, teachable process. By breaking the motion into five phases, coaches can help athletes understand their bodies, build confidence in each movement, and develop mechanics that translate directly to game performance.
Watch the 20-minute session preview with Kyla Holas below. Can't get enough? Purchase the full Pitching Virtual Coaches Clinic here!
Watch by Phase
This 20-minute video covers each stage of the pitching motion, from setup to follow-through. Use the timestamps below to jump to key moments anytime.
Load (0:00 – 3:58) | Power and rhythm
Lift (3:59 – 6:07) | Core engagement and balance
Peak (6:53 – 9:13) | Alignment and timing
Landing (9:15 – 15:45) | Stability and posture
Release (16:24 – 20:21) | Smooth, connected finish
You can explore additional NFCA Virtual Coaches Clinics and other Digital Downloads at NFCA.org.
About the Instructor
Kyla Holas is the owner and lead instructor of More Than a Game in the Houston area, where she trains pitchers from youth through college. A three-time NCAA All-American and Hall of Fame inductee, Holas has served as head coach for multiple USA Softball Junior Women's National Teams, earning medals at the Pan American Games and World Cups. She currently serves on the OnBaseU advisory board, the WBSC Coaching Commission, and is an emeriti member of the NFCA.
About the NFCA
The NFCA (National Fastpitch Coaches Association) is the professional organization for fastpitch softball coaches. Known for its highly-regarded Leadoff Classic tournaments, the NFCA also educates and supports softball coaches on a variety of different levels: from webinars to awards, to in-person and virtual events, and a National Convention. Learn more about the NFCA and consider joining our lineup of 7,100 coaches today!