Last Update on August 18, 2015 // Written by Hank No Comments

Baseball is America's favourite pastime, and every day millions of people go out into the back yard and try to become a better player. Hopefully, through practise, they will be able to live the American Dream and play baseball for a living. Just imagine your life as one of the most recognisable sports stars in the United States of America. Still, going out into the backyard to practise your pitching is never going to be enough. To reach the upper echelons of any sport, you need to exploit the industry's best accessories and coaching aids. For baseball and pitching, that is things like this men's baseball swing trainer and, of course, a pitching mound. Here are the reasons why pitching mounds are an integral weapon in the pitcher's armoury.

Learning The Mechanics

Pitching isn't just about throwing the ball as hard as possible at a target. In its most basic form, that is what pitching is, but pitching is not basic. There are certain things you need to be aware of before you can consider yourself a decent pitcher. How straight is your arm? Are you getting the most out of your action? Can you throw a curveball or a slower ball? A pitching mound will help you learn and understand the mechanics of all these questions and pitching as an art form. 640px-Western_Illinois_vs_Arkansas_baseball,_2013_004

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Practise

Practise makes perfect, and if you don't believe that check out Malcolm Gladwell's book ‘Outliers'. In Outliers, there is a rule that states that any person who wants to perfect their craft must put in 10,000 hours of practise. It is otherwise known as the 10,000-hour rule. If that does not prove that ‘practise makes perfect', nothing ever will. With a portable mound, you can practise any time, any place, anywhere. You can practise without a mound, but you cannot practise with the same level of expertise. 2236020_bead63cd

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Simulating The Game

Look at any top sports star and how they train and they are always trying to simulate real life conditions. It is not just in baseball; it is in every professional sport on the planet. Cricket players practise in the nets; soccer players practise on artificial turf, and basketball players train on the court. Simulating real life game-time conditions is something that the professionals aspire to, so you have to aspire to the same thing, too. With a mound, you can feel the turf under your feet and the elevated platform of the pitching mound. In the park, it is hard to find a mound that can replicate the professional game.

Train As If You Are Playing

And what effect does that have on your game? You train as if you are playing, as if you are a professional training for the big game. A pitching mound will replicate the conditions that you find at the top level of baseball and your pitching will only get better as a result. The dimensions of the mound and the materials used on the mound are little details that make a huge difference. For example, clay dirt is an essential part of a baseball mound because it encourages the proper leg and motor neuron development. The park is a great place to play catch and fall in love with the game. But, when it comes to the reaching the next level, you need the best equipment to mimic the environment.  

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