If you're serious about gaining more velocity in the circle, you've probably heard someone mention the queen of the hill pitching aid . It's one of those tools that seems to become popping up each and every high-level softball center and pitching lesson lately. If you've spent any time watching girls try out to move from a "step-style" delivery to a correct power drive, you know how hard this is to teach ground force. A person can discuss "pushing off the rubber" until you're azure in the encounter, but until the pitcher actually seems that resistance, it's all just concept.
That's exactly where this piece of equipment comes in. This isn't just another plastic gadget that'll finish up at the bottom of the gear bag. It's a heavy-duty, steel-constructed trainer designed to give immediate, audible feedback. If you do it right, you hear a loud click . In case you don't, you get nothing but silence. It's brutally honest, and honestly, that's exactly what most pitchers need.
Why is this particular thing actually function?
At the core, the queen of the hill pitching aid is about teaching the body to utilize the ground being a source of power. In softball, we regularly focus so significantly on the arm circle and the snap of the wrist that we all forget where the power actually starts. It starts within the legs. If you aren't generating off the plate with everything you've got, you're making five or probably even ten mls per hour on the table.
The device utilizes a spring-loaded plate. You place the tension based on the pitcher's current strength level. Whenever the pitcher initiates her drive, this wounderful woman has to push back against the plate with enough power to compress the spring and result in that "click" sound. It forces the pitcher to participate her glutes and quads right from the start. You can't cheat it. If you just step forward or have the "soft" push, the spring won't budge.
The magic of the "click"
There is something weirdly addicting about hearing that will sound. I've noticed girls who had been completely bored with regular drills suddenly turn into competitors the instant they stepped upon the trainer. They want to hear that click on every single period.
This particular creates a self-correction loop. Usually, the coach has to yell, "Push more difficult! " or "Use your legs! " Using the queen of the hill pitching aid , the athlete becomes the girl own coach. If she doesn't listen to the sound, the lady instinctively knows the lady didn't drive really hard enough. She doesn't need you to tell her; the girl just resets and tries to push a bit more explosively on the next representative. It turns the boring mechanical exercise into a bit of a video game, which is huge intended for younger players which might struggle to stay focused.
Why ground force is the magic formula sauce
We talk a lot about "linear" versus "rotational" power, but the bottom line is that will you can't possess a fast arm in case you don't have the fast body. Think of it such as a whip. When the handle of the whip (your legs and core) doesn't move quick and then prevent abruptly to exchange energy, the tip of the whip (the ball) isn't going to snap.
Most pitchers have trouble with "leaking" power. They may have a great arm, but they're "bleeding" power because their commute leg is lazy or they're hauling their foot as well early. This pitching aid fixes that by requiring a high-threshold force in order to even get began. It trains the nerves to sponsor more muscle materials instantly. Over time, that explosive shift becomes muscle memory space. When they move back to a regular dirt pile, that "drive-first" mentality sticks together.
Fixing the "lazy leg" and move issues
One particular of the biggest velocity killers in softball is the premature drag. In case a pitcher's back foot starts pulling across the grime before she's really finished her commute, she's losing everything that forward momentum. It's like trying to jump as high as you can while keeping your toes glued in order to the floor. It just doesn't work.
Using the queen of the hill pitching aid helps fix this because it emphasizes the initial push. It teaches the pitcher to stay "stacked" over her travel leg and blow up forward rather when compared to the way just falling towards the catcher. Due to the fact the plate really moves slightly when it clicks, this gives a small bit of the "launchpad" feel that helps the pitcher understand what it feels prefer to truly project her body into the lane.
Getting the configurations right
1 mistake I see people make will be cranking the tension up way too higher right away. Look, everyone wants to be the most powerful kid on the team, but if the tension is so high that the pitcher has to modify her mechanics just to get a click, you're doing more harm than good.
It's better to start with a lighter setting exactly where she can obtain the click with great form. As she gets more consistent plus her legs get stronger, you gradually turn the button to increase the resistance. It's exactly like weightlifting. You wouldn't walk into a gym and try to max from squats the first day. You build-up. The goal is a clean, explosive move that transitions easily into the relaxation of the pitching motion.
Is it worth the investment decision?
Let's be real for a second: these issues aren't exactly inexpensive. You're taking a look at the few hundred dollars, which might feel steep for the single piece of equipment. However, in case you compare this to the cost of private pitching lessons—which can operate $60 to $100 an hour—it starts to look like a bargain.
If a woman uses the queen of the hill pitching aid for fifteen a few minutes three times a week in your own home, she's getting thousands of reps of top quality, feedback-driven practice that she simply wouldn't get otherwise. It's built like a tank, too. You can possibly leave it within the bed of a truck (though I wouldn't suggest it) and it would still work fine. It's the "buy once, be sad once" kind of tool.
The few tips for your own first session
If you simply got one or even you're considering it, don't expect it in order to be perfect on minute one. It's a bit weighty, so make certain you've got a solid, level surface to put this on. If it's wobbling, the comments won't be precise.
Also, have her begin with "dry" reps—meaning no ball. Just focus on the drive and the click. Once she's clicking it consistently without a basketball, let her start throwing into the net. You'll possibly notice that her accuracy is a little wonky with first. That's regular! Her brain is trying to puzzle out how in order to handle all that will extra speed and momentum. Give it a few weeks of regular use, and you'll most likely see those hits start to find the zone again, just now, they'll have got a much more "zip" on them.
The bottom line
At the finish of the day, there are no shortcuts to getting a great glass pitcher. It takes hundreds of hours of work, a great deal of frustration, and a good deal of dust within your cleats. Yet the queen of the hill pitching aid will be one of the few tools that actually makes that work more efficient. This takes the guesswork out of the drive phase plus gives pitchers a tangible goal hitting.
It's never going to turn a 40-mph pitcher into a 70-mph ace over night, however it will link the gap among "trying" to make use of your legs and really with them. And in a game where a solitary mile each hour may be the distinction between a swing-and-miss and a home run, that's a pretty big deal. When you're tired of the "step-and-throw" plateau, this might end up being exactly what a person need to lastly get over the hump.