This drill has many variations. It is outstanding to teach players to get their entire throwing arm into the throw. If a player is short arming their throws or only using their wrist to throw, the towel drill can correct it. No ball is used in the towel drill. You will need a smallish dish towel and two players.
The throwing player starts out in the initial throwing position rather than having a ball in his hand, he holds the towel in the corner with his fingers – the thumb and two fingers that usually hold a baseball are fine. It is necessary for the long end of the towel to extend from the player’s throwing hand. The “receiving” player or coach faces the thrower on one knee. The receiver holds out his glove at the thrower’s waist level (or slightly below). The receiver needs to be positioned far enough away from the thrower so that the thrower can just barely hit the receiver’s glove with the towel when the thrower is fully extended.
When the receiver is ready, the thrower goes through his entire throwing motion and extends to hit the target glove. The thrower quickly learns that he will not be able to hit the target without fully extending the throwing arm and bending his back.
An interesting variation on the towel drill is to do it with only one player. In this version, the emphasis is on having the proper throwing motion and follow-through. IF the thrower’s motion is correct, the towel should warp around his back and wind up hitting his back between his shoulders or (slightly extend over his throwing shoulder if the towel is long enough).
Intro Section
Pitching Drills
- Teaching Full-Torque Pitching Drill
- Teaching Half-Torque Pitching Drill
- Towel Drill – Pitching Drill
