Step 1

Weight Transfer

Line up toes on the power line, feet at a 45 degree angle to the line. Stand with the feet just more than shoulder width apart. Both knees should be slightly flexed and the angle of the right thigh should be straight up and down. Most of the weight is on the right foot. Stand on the toe ( note “toe" actually means “ball of the foot” in this entire manual) of the left foot. Extend the ankle of the right foot to slide the weight to the left foot. The heel of the left foot comes down as the right ankle extends and you wind up on the right toe. As the heel of the left foot comes down, straighten the left knee



There are several very important things than need to happen. First of all, the angle of the shoulders and the hips must be the same as each other (45 degrees from the power line), so that there is no twisting of the upper body. This is an absolute for every step, when the hips turn the shoulders turn. Turning the shoulders before the hips (as many pitchers do just before release) will lead to potential back injuries as well as creating muscle fatigue that could make the 4th game of the day difficult to pitch. It also adds a motion that is much harder to exactly replicate on every pitch, that is how much twisting is there? The answer is simple and efficient - none ever.

Another very important part of this step is that as the head moves forward, it must remain level of go slightly up from the beginning to the end of the forward motion. The level of the head must not go down during this step.

Another key concept is that the weight must be centered above the right knee. As the right knee moves forward a bit due to the ankle extension and knee flex, the head moves that same distance forward. Something to watch to make sure this is happening correctly is that the angle of the upper leg does not change at all., it is always straight up and down.

The final key concept is that the shoulders must remain level with each other.

It’s a very simple movement but must be done precisely to set up the next step effectively.

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