Postural stability is important for the maintenance of upright posture as well as maintaining equilibrium or balance while performing movements. Generally, a person is said to be stable or in a stable posture as long as the line of action of the person’s weight vector passes through (within) his or her base of support. Most young athletes lack postural stability and do not have the necessary strength and body control to consistently repeat their mechanics, improve velocity, and decrease injury risk.
The most important rule in a baseball conditioning program is to work and develop strength from the core region of the body outward. A strong trunk allows forces to be transferred effectively from the legs to the upper body during activities in which kinetic linking is required. It also enables the body to withstand those forces without breakdown.
Once you have achieved a reasonably high level of overall muscular strength, the next step is postural stability through sensible midsection training. A lower back strengthening program is also extremely important, because postural stability allows the pitcher to maintain the spine angle throughout the entire delivery. Without this stability, athletes will compensate with their upper body, by jerking or pulling off with their front side, adding stress to their elbow and shoulder, decreasing velocity, and decreasing command.
The main focus of postural stability is trunk stabilization, with additional focus on the lower body. The upper body is the third priority after the trunk and lower body. Once all of the strength issues have been addressed, then the athlete can perform the necessary mechanical improvements. Until then, without the postural stability, addresses pitching mechanics is not a viable form of coaching.
