Baseball drill
Towel drill for pitchers
A pitcher goes through the full delivery holding a small towel instead of a ball and snaps it forward at the release point. With no ball and no target to throw to, the drill is about feeling balance, sequence and extension, and it works in any room.
At a glance
- Sport
- Baseball
- Skill
- Pitching
- Ages
- 12U to High school
- Players
- 1 (a partner or coach can watch)
- Time
- About 10 minutes
- Level
- Intermediate
- Equipment
- A small hand towel
- Indoors
- Yes
The towel drill lets a pitcher throw their delivery without throwing a ball. Holding a towel in place of the ball, they go through the leg lift, the stride and the arm action and snap the towel forward where the ball would come out. Without a ball to aim, the pitcher's attention goes to how the delivery feels.
That makes it a winter drill: it fits in a basement or a gym, it puts far less stress on the arm than throwing, and a pitcher can do a set every day. It does not replace throwing, and it does not tell a pitcher where the ball would have gone, so use it to work on the body, not on command.
Setup
- Fold a small hand towel and hold it in the throwing hand with the fingers on it the way they would grip a ball, leaving a few inches hanging past the fingers.
- Find a flat space with room to stride and follow through, or a mound if you have one indoors.
- A partner or coach can stand to the side to watch the delivery, or crouch where a catcher would be as a target to face.
How to run it
- Start from the set or the windup as in a game, with the towel in the glove.
- Go through the leg lift and stride at a smooth, game-like tempo.
- Bring the arm through and snap the towel forward at the release point, out in front of the head.
- Finish the follow-through all the way, then hold the finish for a count to check balance.
- Stop after each rep and think about what felt right and what didn't before the next one. Sets of 10 to 15.
Coaching points
- Hold the towel like a ball. A different grip teaches a different arm action.
- Smooth, not violent. Forcing the snap pulls the upper body ahead of the legs.
- Reach out in front at release; the towel should snap well out past the front foot.
- Lower half first, then the hips, then the shoulders, then the arm. Feel the order.
- Finish balanced and facing home plate. Falling off to the side means something went wrong earlier in the delivery.
Common mistakes
- The upper body racing ahead of the legs, so the arm is late.
- Changing the arm slot from rep to rep instead of releasing from the same place.
- Losing balance in the leg lift or falling off the mound after the release.
- Rushing through reps without stopping to feel them, which turns the drill into arm waving.
By age
12U
Use it to learn the order of the delivery: leg, stride, hips, arm. A coach watching from the side helps more than the towel does.
14U
Run it as written before throwing sessions in the winter, and film a few reps from the side so the pitcher can see their finish.
High school
Use it daily between throwing days to work on one part of the delivery at a time. Some coaches have a partner hold a glove out at the release point as a target for the towel's snap.
Next: Pitching chart.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the towel drill for pitchers?
A pitcher goes through the full delivery holding a towel in place of a ball and snaps it forward at release. It lets them practice balance, sequence and extension without the strain of throwing.
Does the towel drill work for softball pitchers?
This version is for an overhand delivery. Windmill pitchers use their own dry drills, and their release is different, so this page is for baseball.
More drills
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