Kickball Pitch Styles

There are lots of ways to throw a kickball as the pitcher. If you're the pitcher on your kickball team you are tasked with preventing kickers from reaching base and scoring runs. In this tutorial, we will cover a few ways you can confuse the kicker with your delivery and how you throw the kickball.

Pitching Motion

The first step in the pitching motion is to hold the kickball at the mound. Most pitchers will start with the kickball in both hands at their chest. The second step is the take back where the pitcher turns his body and winds up his throw. During the takeback, the pitcher generates momentum and torque giving the pitcher the best ability to apply a combination of speed and spin. Finally, the the pitcher delivers the pitch by throwing it with one or two hands towards home plate. To direct the kickball, the pitcher will follow throw by pushing his arm in the direction of where he wants the ball to be released.

Overhand Pitching

Very few pitchers throw overhand pitches since it is harder to control. With an overhand pitch, you are throwing the kickball towards the ground, which can increase the number of the bounces that happen on its trajectory towards home plate. Most kickball leagues, allow overhand pitching, but be aware that if you choose this pitching style you will have a hard time controlling the bounces. It is also important that the pitch bounces at least twice before reaching the kicker. For example, you are not allowed to throw a pitch directly to the catcher without having it bounce off the ground. That would be an illegal pitch.

Underhand Pitching

The most common way to pitch is with an underhand motion since it allows for more control. Pitching underhand will allow you to apply as much speed and spin while maintaining control and precision on your pitch. It is easier to control the flight trajectory of the kickball with underhand pitches. You'll have a much easier time controlling the number of bounces on each pitch. When throwing an underhand pitch, start with the ball in both hands on the mound. Next, perform the takeback and turn your body to generate momentum and torque. Finally, release the ball in the direction of where you want the ball to go. Underhand pitching is great for disguising all types of pitches from fastballs to changeups and curveballs.

Sideways Pitching

Another way to pitch is to throw the kickball with a sideways motion. This is a combination of throwing overhand and underhand. Sideways pitching is great for applying spin, either backspin or top spin. Throwing sideways will also allow your to generate a solid takeback and follow through on the pitch.

Conclusion

Overall, there are very few restrictions on how you can pitch in kickball. As long as you control the number of bounces and stay on the mound behind the pitching strip, you should be good to go. We recommend starting with an underhand style for beginner pitchers and then graduating to a sideways pitching style since you will be able to generate more speed and spin for more complex types of pitches.