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Fastpitch Interview
Bill Hillhouse

Last month I had the pleasure of conducting an e-mail interview with Mr. Bill Hillhouse, one of the premier men's fastpitch pitchers around. Mr. Hillhouse also appears at pitching clinics throughout the country. If you have absolutely no idea who Bill Hillhouse is, you can read a little more about his credentials by clicking here. Here is his interview ~ enjoy!

I've heard people refer to a "men's method" of pitching fastpitch. I never really thought there was a "men's" style of pitching that is different from a "women's" style. Am I missing something?
There is an old saying: "If you tell people a lie long enough and often enough, they will eventually believe it as truth". Your question fits that perfectly. There are countless people who simply do not understand the difference between pitching "styles" and "absolutes" (credit Doug Gillis for those 2 phrases). The people that don't understand the difference between styles and absolutes often try teaching their own pitching style (assuming that pitching coach has pitched before) instead of concentrating on the absolutes of pitching. Every great pitcher, males and females, have the same mechanical absolutes, but with many different pitching styles. My pitching style may not work for someone else so; he/she must develop their own. But, the absolutes MUST be there. Having said all this, certain tournaments offer different sets of pitching rules for men than for women. However, to pitch internationally (Pan Am games, ISF, or in any other International event) the pitching rules for males and females are identical... so should their pitching mechanics!

In your opinion, what does it take to be a great fastpitch softball pitcher?
I wouldn't know, want me to go ask one? Ha ha. Just kidding. It takes a lot of hard work and smarts. You need to be able to learn from your mistakes and correct them. You need to have patience that it doesn't come overnight and the desire to learn. And so much can be learned by watching others. Ask a lot of questions to pitchers you look up to but don't just ask HOW they do certain things. Ask WHY they do them. When you know WHY, it's much easier to understand HOW.

What are some of the most common mistakes you see young pitchers make?
Many do counter productive drills that reinforce bad muscle memory and make the body work inefficiently. For the most part, I believe drills should be used as corrective behavior not as a method of teaching pitching. Doing a drill just for the sake of doing it is like taking an aspirin when you don't have a headache. It's simply not necessary. Drills are like steroids in many ways. When prescribed by a good doctor, they can really help people's health. When given by bad doctor (or someone who's not even a doctor!) they will just increase bad pitching mechanics quicker. The other big mistake is a by-product of what I just talked about. When learning pitches, because of many drills they do, they often over develop use of the wrist and neglect the need for the fingers. The fingers are what put rotation on the ball for ANY pitch, not the wrist. But, because many are taught at an early age that it's "all in the wrist" they have a hard time learning pitches. Especially the riseball.

Many people want to know how they can gain speed on their pitch. Are there a couple of simple steps/drills that can be taken to increase pitching speed?
There isn't a cookie cutter answer for this question. Every pitcher is different. The first thing a pitcher has to do is make sure their "absolutes" are in tact. Then, they need to incorporate those absolutes with their pitching style. No pitcher is going to achieve their maximum speed without the correct pitching mechanics so, that's the first thing I try to help them with. And, it would be a mistake if we didn't say: Speed is not the most important thing! The fastest pitchers in the world are not always the best pitchers; in fact it's very rare they are the best pitchers.

What are your thoughts on whether to work on speed then control or control then speed?
With correct pitching mechanics, these 2 things come together at the same time. To work on one without the other can lead to other problems. Quite frankly, we don't want to trade one problem for another so... it's best to work on both together.

Besides pitching, is there any other type of training you think is essential for pitchers (weight training, running, etc)?
Anything to stay in shape is great but there are certain muscles that help with pitching more so than others. ANYTHING to do with the legs is a big key. Train for pitching the same way a sprinter trains for a track meet. The pitcher needs to envision the pitching rubber as their starter block and explode off it the same way a sprinter does. Be sure to stretch after every work out to reduce stiffness.

What do you love most about the game or about being involved with the game?
Wow, hard question because there's so many things! I've been very blessed in my life and softball career. Without softball, I would've never met my wife and had my son, Alexander who will be 2 on April 20th. Because of softball, I've been around the entire world both coaching and playing: Philippines to New Zealand to Europe to South Africa to Aruba (to name a few) and everywhere in between. It's hard to put a price tag on that. Bottom line is, I softball has been the cornerstone of my life since I was old enough to remember. I thank the Lord daily for what He's given me and I really enjoy giving something back.

I hope you enjoyed this interview with Bill Hillhouse. Don't forget to stop by his website at www.houseofpitching.com for more information.