--- title: 5 Drills to Throw Harder and Hit Your Spots (No Gimmicks) siteUrl: https://logzly.com/diamonddugout author: diamonddugout (Diamond Dugout) date: 2026-06-25T14:22:37.245218 tags: [pitchingdrills, baseballtraining, velocitytips] url: https://logzly.com/diamonddugout/5-drills-to-throw-harder-and-hit-your-spots-no-gimmicks --- Look, I get it. You’re a high school pitcher trying to get that extra mile per hour or stop walking guys every other batter. I’ve been there. Back in my college days I thought I could just “try harder” and everything would click. Spoiler: it didn’t. I spent a whole summer overthrowing so bad my arm felt like it was held together with duct tape. The stuff I’m sharing today? I wish someone had sat me down and showed me these drills when I was still in high school. Over at Diamond Dugout we keep things simple. No fancy equipment, no magic pills. Just work that actually helps. Let’s get into it. ### Why This Matters Right Now Spring season is around the corner for most of us. You’ve got tryouts, showcases, or just a weekend league starting up. If you’re still thinking “I’ll just throw harder in warmups” you’re leaving easy gains on the table. Control and velocity aren’t separate things—they come from the same mechanics. Fix the movement, fix both. ## Drill #1: The Towel Snap (For Whip and Arm Speed) This one’s boring. I know. But it’s the drill I still do when I’m coaching 14U kids. Take a regular bath towel. Fold it lengthwise so it’s about two inches wide. Grip one end like you’re holding a baseball. Now go through your full pitching motion—windup, leg lift, stride, and snap the towel forward at release point. The towel should make a loud *crack* sound. If it’s a weak flop, you’re not getting your arm through fast enough. The sound tells you if you’re actually whipping your forearm. Most high school guys try to muscle the ball. This drill trains your arm to snap, not push. **My take:** Do 15–20 reps before you even pick up a real ball. It wakes up your arm without wearing it out. ## Drill #2: The Stride-Length Drill (Control Starts Below the Waist) You can’t throw strikes if your front foot lands in a different zip code every time. Here’s the simple fix: put a piece of tape or a small towel on the ground where your front foot should land. Then pitch from the stretch, focusing on landing on that exact spot every time. Start at 70% effort. Don’t even worry about where the ball goes. Just hit the spot with your foot. Once you can do that ten times in a row, add a little more leg drive. The key is consistency in your lower half. If your stride changes, your release point changes, and suddenly you’re missing low and away by a foot. I tell the kids I work with: “Your legs are the steering wheel, your arm is the gas pedal.” Diamond Dugout preaches that all the time. ## Drill #3: The One-Knee Fastball (Isolates the Upper Body) Get down on your back knee (the one on your glove side). Front knee bent at 90 degrees, foot flat. Throw from this position to a target about 30 feet away. No stride, no legs. Just arm, torso rotation, and glove tuck. This drill exposes bad habits. If your arm drags behind or you open up your front shoulder too early, the ball will sail high or tail into your arm side. It forces you to use your core and keep your shoulder closed. Do ten throws, then stand up and throw a few regular pitches. You’ll feel the difference immediately. **Warning:** Don’t do this drill if your mechanics are already a mess. It can reinforce a bad arm angle if you’re not careful. Record yourself or have a buddy watch. ## Drill #4: The Low-and-Away Target Drill (For Command) Most high school pitchers only aim at the catcher’s mitt. That’s not enough. Set up a second target—a bucket, a cone, a taped X on the net—at the knees, outside corner. Throw ten pitches aiming only at that low-outside spot. Then move the target inside. Then up. Then down. The trick? Don’t change your arm slot. Change where your front foot points or how much you rotate. Little adjustments. If you can hit a specific spot 7 out of 10 times from 45 feet, you’ll be way ahead when you move back to 60. I used to do this in my driveway with a bucket and a tennis ball. My neighbor thought I was crazy. But it’s why I could paint the corner in college. ## Drill #5: The Rocker Drill (For Rhythm and Timing) Stand on the rubber with your feet together. Rock back onto your back foot, then forward into your leg lift. Don’t stop. Keep rocking like a pendulum. As you rock forward, lift your front knee and drive toward home. This builds a smooth, repeatable rhythm. Too many high school pitchers rush. They jerk their leg up, pause, then explode. That pause kills momentum. The rocker drill forces you to stay in motion. Do it ten times without a ball, then ten with a ball at 50% effort. You’ll feel how much easier it is to throw strikes when your body isn’t fighting itself. ### One More Thing You don’t have to do all five drills every day. Pick two or three and rotate them. The goal is to build muscle memory, not to exhaust yourself before practice. If your arm feels dead, take a day off. Diamond Dugout isn’t about grinding until you break. Also—warm up your shoulder first. Jog a lap, do some arm circles, throw lightly for five minutes. These drills work best when your body is ready. That’s it. No secret sauce. Just five things that have helped me and a lot of the kids I coach. Go try them, see what clicks.