TAP® Incline Board Training Guide: Developing the Push, the Drop, and the Brace

1. What the Board Does

The board is a folding ramp with a sloped surface 30 inches long, 10 inches at its highest point, at a slope of approximately 15.7 degrees, covered by a bonded rubber sheet. In the standard setup, the pitcher stands sideways on the board, drives off the back foot, and lands on flat turf.

The drop can match a mound. A regulation mound is 10 inches high, and the slope starts 6 inches in front of the rubber and falls about 1 inch per foot. For 4- to 6-foot strides, the landing spot sits about 3.5 to 5.5 inches below the mound’s top. Because the mound is level for its first 6 inches, its average fall across a 4- to 6-foot stride is about 4.2 to 4.4 degrees. At mound-matched marks, the board gives the same average fall; the athlete is not throwing down a 15.7-degree hill. The board climbs about 1 inch for every 3¾ inches along its surface, so placing the drive foot at the right spot gives the same height change.

Mound-matched drive-foot positions. Stride is measured from the ball of the drive foot to the ball of the landing foot. Board position is measured along the board’s surface, from the low edge to the ball of the drive foot. The marks are starting points; the exact match depends on the athlete’s measured stride, foot placement, and the shape of the mound he pitches on. These are the board’s measured marks: 6.75 inches along the surface stands 3.5 inches off the ground, 10.5 inches stands 4.5 inches, and 14.25 inches stands 5.5 inches. The surface climbs about 1 inch for every 3¾ inches along it, because the low edge sits above the ground. The board is about 20 inches wide, so in the sideways stance the shoe runs across the board with room on both sides.

This is a geometric match of height, not a copy of the mound: the surfaces under each foot still differ, as described below. All three positions sit in the lower half of the board. Marking these spots on the board lets a coach set the drop in seconds.

Two things differ from a mound, by design

• The push: the drive foot sits on a 15.7-degree surface tilted across the foot, inside edge lower, instead of the mound’s flat top.
• The landing: the stride foot lands on flat turf instead of the mound’s gentle downslope.

Drive-foot angle. Set the drive foot at the same angle the athlete uses on the mound. Most pitchers turn the foot slightly from the board’s edge rather than placing it perfectly parallel, which keeps the setup familiar. Drive-leg hip rotation range is associated with trunk position at foot contact (Plummer and colleagues, 2021; Tier 1), but that does not set an ideal angle, so use the athlete’s own. A natural turn also eases the sideways tilt. At a 20- to 30-degree turn, the side-to-side tilt under the foot is about 14 to 15 degrees, with the rest becoming a gentle toe-to-heel tilt. Avoid turning the foot much beyond the athlete’s mound angle, because larger turns shift the slope toward the toes or heels and change the drill.

The board works as a constraint: a deliberate change to the surface that shapes how a movement is solved without scripting it. The athlete keeps the ball, the target, and the full delivery. The surface asks a new question, the athlete finds an answer, and the mound shows whether that answer carries over (Gray and Sullivan, 2023; Tier 3).

2. Why It Can Help: Research and Practice

2.1 Mound and flat ground differ most at landing

• In 21 youth pitchers, 8 of the 10 movement measures that changed between flat ground and a mound changed at front-foot landing: stride length, lead-foot position and angle, lead-knee bend, pelvis rotation, trunk side tilt, shoulder external rotation, and elbow bend. On flat ground, pitchers took shorter strides and landed with more lead-knee bend. The 6-inch and 10-inch mounds did not differ from each other (Fleisig and colleagues, 2018; Tier 1).
• In 12 high school and college pitchers, the mound produced higher maximum and average velocity than flat ground, greater stride-leg ground force, greater hip and knee motion on both legs, and faster pelvis and trunk rotation (Kageyama and colleagues, 2016; Tier 1).
• What this means for the board: on a mound, the drop and the downhill landing come together, so these studies cannot say which one caused the landing differences. The board supplies the drop, which flat ground lacks, but not the downhill landing. Mound throws after a board block show how closely each athlete’s landing pattern follows.
• In 8 adolescent pitchers, the mound raised back-leg push by about 20% compared with flat ground, with no change in ball velocity (Chen and colleagues, 2014; Tier 2) †. Velocity findings are mixed across studies: some show the mound faster, others show no difference.
• In 7 university and high school pitchers, release angle was higher on sloped surfaces than on flat ground, peaking at 5 degrees, and velocity was best at 5 degrees (Ryu, 2017; Tier 2; findings from the author’s abstract). Ryu changed the slope of the whole mound, not just the surface under the drive foot, but the finding is one reason the board matches a mound’s drop rather than chasing a steeper fall.
• Arm stress changes little with surface. Mound height from 6 to 12 inches barely changed elbow torque or velocity in college pitchers (Diffendaffer and colleagues, 2019; Tier 1). Mound pitches were faster than flat-ground pitches in high school pitchers, without a significant rise in elbow stress (Dowling and colleagues, 2020; Tier 1).

2.2 Angled surfaces shape push-off and posture

• Golfers on 10-degree uphill and downhill slopes changed their posture and leg angles while keeping clubhead speed (Poolsawat and Lawsirirat, 2026; Tier 1). On 5-degree slopes, better golfers were less disrupted than mid-handicap golfers (Nolan and colleagues, 2024; Tier 2) †. These are related examples, not tests of the board.
• Tilting the surface under the foot shifts load through the leg. On a 6-degree cross-slope, raising the outside of the foot increased the ankle’s rolling (eversion) load in runners (Willwacher and colleagues, 2013; Tier 1), and side-to-side ground forces rose on 10-degree cross-slopes (Damavandi and colleagues, 2012; Tier 1). On a 10-degree tilted landing, some ankle, knee, and hip loads rose and others fell, depending on the joint and the moment of landing (Dami and colleagues, 2025; Tier 1). The board’s standard setup raises the outside of the drive foot. In five people doing single-leg decline squats from 0 to 30 degrees, patellar-tendon force was greater above 15 degrees (Zwerver and colleagues, 2007; Tier 1). That is a reason to respect knee demands on a decline, not a prediction of pitching loads or a safe board angle. None of these studies tested pitching on the board.
• What this means for the board: these studies are related examples, not tests of the board. A similar angle does not mean similar loading, learning, or safety. How the board’s angle shapes a pitching drive is what board-to-mound blocks are set up to show.

2.3 Training on an angle can carry over

• Six weeks of sprint training on 3-degree up and down slopes raised flat-ground top speed by 3.7%, and the gain held after 3 weeks off (Bissas and colleagues, 2022; Tier 1). This is the clearest example of training on an angled surface carrying over to a flat performance surface.
• In a one-day test, 13 college athletes ran 40-yard sprints down five slopes; about 5.8 degrees gave the fastest times (Ebben, 2008; Tier 1). That was a single-session running comparison, not a training dose or a pitching angle.

2.4 Inclined surfaces in baseball training

• A published single-case study tested an inclined platform of about 10 degrees under the drive leg of an 11-year-old pitcher. Verbal coaching alone did not change velocity. After platform practice, the pelvis was more closed at front-foot contact, drive-leg force toward the target rose about 7%, and velocity rose slightly (Kageyama and colleagues, 2015; Tier 1, single case). These were measured on test throws after practice, not while the athlete was on the platform, and the platform practice included the instruction not to lunge forward. The platform always came after the coaching, so the study cannot fully separate the platform’s effect from extra practice.
• The same research group used an inclined step in batting with a university hitter over four weeks. Forward body drift fell by roughly 40 to 60% and his game batting average rose over a small number of at-bats, with no change in swing speed (Kageyama and colleagues, 2017; Tier 1, single case).

2.5 How practice transfers: the design rules this guide follows

• Keep practice representative. Practice that keeps the information and movement of competition is argued to carry over best (Pinder and colleagues, 2011; Tier 1). Board throws keep the ball, the target, and the full delivery.
• Mix board and mound throws. In 30 junior college hitters, practice with pitch types mixed at random transferred better than practice in blocks (Hall and colleagues, 1994; Tier 1).
• Judge on the mound, not on the board. In a dissertation on softball pitchers, the group that looked better in practice was not better once practice conditions were removed (Fava, 2025; Tier 2). In a throwing study, practice on an unstable surface did not improve accuracy more than practice on a stable one; both groups improved (Moreno and colleagues, 2023; Tier 1). A changed surface does not add learning on its own, which is why the mound throws carry the comparison.
• Use error amplification thoughtfully. Having learners deliberately exaggerate their own main error beat direct verbal instruction in a standing long jump study of 13-year-olds (Milanese and colleagues, 2008; Tier 1) and improved weightlifters’ bar path more than instruction, with the gain still present a week later (Corte and colleagues, 2013; Tier 2) †. In a lab task, the authors suggested that making errors bigger helped skilled learners more than less-skilled learners, while random variation helped broadly, though the overall difference between training methods was not statistically significant (Marchal-Crespo and colleagues, 2017; Tier 1). Because these findings are mixed, this guide takes the conservative choice of using the fault-exaggerating orientation (sideways, toes down) with consistent athletes who already show the fault.
• Focus outward. Target and result cues beat body-part cues for throwing accuracy and for changing a throwing pattern (Southard, 2011; Tier 1).
• Constraints-led training shows promise in sport skill research, with most studies reporting gains, though most were short and rated low in quality (Clark and colleagues, 2019; Tier 1), and the field continues to debate how best to test it (Newcombe and colleagues, 2019; Tier 1).

2.6 The flat landing

• Flat landings after a raised drive are common in biomechanics labs (Alley, 2017 †; Chen S-W and colleagues, 2021; Tier 2 and Tier 1), and flat-ground pitching shows similar or slightly lower arm stress than mound pitching (Dowling and colleagues, 2020; Nissen and colleagues, 2013; Cage and colleagues, 2019 †; Tier 1).
• Landing-surface angle influences landing mechanics. In a jumping study, landing on a downward-tilted surface raised braking force compared with flat ground (Hagins and colleagues, 2007), and front-leg braking was higher from a mound than from flat ground in adolescent pitchers (Chen and colleagues, 2014). Neither study tested a drop from a raised start onto flat ground, so how the board’s flat landing changes braking is unknown; mound throws and video show how each athlete responds. The board’s main training stimulus is the push and the drop, with the landing on a firm, flat surface.

2.7 Mechanics change over weeks

• In 17 college and professional pitchers, a 6-week program of weighted balls, strength and mobility work, and manual therapy was followed by changes in some movement measures, but not in the foot-contact measures or peak pelvis and trunk rotation speeds (Marsh and colleagues, 2018; Tier 1). There was no control group, so it cannot show which part of the program mattered. An 8-week core program in adolescent pitchers raised trunk strength and power, ball speed, and elbow stress, though changes in pitching movement did not differ between groups (Oyama, Palmer, and Laudner, 2026; Tier 1). Slope sprint training ran 6 weeks (Bissas and colleagues, 2022). None of these programs set a schedule for the board.
• What this means for the board: check the immediate response and next-session retention every time. A 6- to 8-week review period, drawn from these other training programs, is a sensible horizon for deciding whether a change has become part of the delivery.

2.8 Athletes manage footing on slopes

• People judge accurately whether they can stand on an inclined surface, by sight or by touch, and adjust that judgment when their body changes, such as when carrying a load (Regia-Corte and Wagman, 2008; Tier 1).
• When people expect a slippery surface, they change how the foot meets the ground, which lowers the shear on the foot and reduces slipping (Cham and colleagues, 2003; Tier 2).
• Training on challenging footing protects ankles. In 765 high school athletes, a balance-training program cut ankle sprain risk nearly in half (McGuine and Keene, 2006; Tier 1), and a review of 7 randomized trials found about a 35% reduction in sprains with balance and proprioceptive training (Schiftan and colleagues, 2015; Tier 1). These programs show the value of balance training in general; they do not test the board’s readiness check or pitching on an incline.
• Pitchers already manage imperfect footing. The rubber area and landing spot wear into holes during a game, and pitchers work around them (Tier 3).
• What this means for the board: confirming secure footing is a normal part of every athlete’s job, on any mound and on the board. The board is rigid and predictable, and the readiness and footing checks in Sections 6 and 11 match the tool to the athlete.

3. The Physics of the Board

• Grip: standing still on 15.7 degrees requires a friction coefficient of at least 0.28 (the tangent of 15.7 degrees). This is an idealized standing calculation, not a measurement of shoe grip or pitching forces. Studies of level walking report values of about 0.22 to 0.25 (Chang and colleagues; Tier 2); walking is a different task, and these are not safety limits for the board. Grip on the board comes from three things: the rubber sheet, the athlete’s shoes, and the surface condition that day. That is why Section 11 includes a footing check before every session.
• Downhill pull: the force along the surface is about 0.27 of body weight (roughly one-quarter), about 54 pounds for a 200-pound pitcher. The athlete resists it at set and leg lift, which is part of the back-hip loading the board is designed to create.
• Tilt: the slope runs across the drive foot, inside edge lower, so the foot, knee, and hip work to hold position. A natural foot turn of 20 to 30 degrees eases the side-to-side tilt to about 14 to 15 degrees.
• Drop: about 3.5 to 5.5 inches at mound-matched positions, the same range as a regulation mound. Moving the foot up or down the board changes the drop, not the slope under the foot.
• Energy from the drop: as an illustration, a 200-pound mass falling 5 inches changes its energy by about 113 joules (mass times gravity times height). How far a pitcher’s body actually falls on the board has not been measured, so this is not an estimate of added pitching energy or ball speed.

4. How Coaches Use the Board in the Field

The Texas Baseball Ranch uses the board with its pitchers in four orientations, demonstrated by Garrett Wolforth (Tier 3):

1. Downhill, like a mound: for the feel of throwing off a slope instead of flat ground.
2. Uphill (Torque 2.0): the front foot pushes into the slope from a wide stance. Used to influence arm timing and keep the athlete rotating through release.
3. Sideways, toes down: for an athlete who loads quad-dominant and drifts forward. The slope pulls him forward and he has to resist it.
4. Sideways, heels down: for an athlete whose posture changes during the delivery, to help him feel his hips sit back. This works as a counter-constraint: it pushes against the fault rather than exaggerating it.

In the demonstration, the drive foot is set at a natural angle to the board’s edge rather than strictly parallel. The Ranch has athletes try all four orientations and keeps the ones that click for each pitcher, and reports using the board “all the time with all of our guys.” College softball coaches use a similar incline beam to keep pitchers on their power line (Jaquish; Tier 3).

The Ranch’s purposes are field experience, not controlled research findings. This guide’s step-by-step framework covers the downhill setup; the other three are background until Oates supplies instructions for those setups (Section 8).

A game-mound connection: the clay in front of the rubber wears into a hole during a game, so by the middle innings many pitchers drive off footing that is uneven and often lower at the front (Tier 3 field observation). Board work gives pitchers regular practice driving off a surface that is not flat.

5. What Athletes Can Develop

Each target below lists the orientation to start with and what to measure on the mound. Targets that mention uphill or sideways setups use them only when Oates supplies instructions for those setups (Section 8); until then, use the downhill setup.

5.1 Drive timing and back-hip loading

• Orientation: downhill, mound-matched position.
• What the athlete works on: holding the back hip loaded against the slope at set and leg lift, then pushing at the right moment.
• Measure: stride length as a percentage of height; pelvis position at front-foot landing.

5.2 Stride timing and synchronization

• Orientation: downhill, with board position as the dial.
• On flat ground, the front foot has been reported to land earlier in the delivery than on a mound (news report of a 2008 mound-height study by Raasch and colleagues; Tier 3).
• Moving higher on the board adds drop; moving lower reduces it. The effect on landing timing is unknown, because athletes adjust speed, stride, and knee bend in different ways, so measure the response on the mound rather than predicting it. Coaches can explore this with a pitcher whose arm arrives early or late relative to the landing, much as the Ranch changes the slope setup for arm timing.
• In games, college pitchers whose body’s center moved more up or down from a straight path during the stride tended to throw harder, with no link to elbow stress (Giordano and colleagues, 2024; Tier 1). That is an association; it does not show that coaching an athlete to rise or drop will add velocity.
• Measure: time from peak leg lift to front-foot landing; lead-knee angle at landing.

5.3 Holding the hips closed

• Orientation: downhill, or uphill landing for a stronger effect.
• Some hip turn before the front foot lands is normal. The target is hips that open sooner than is useful for that pitcher.
• After practice on an inclined platform under the drive leg, a young pitcher’s pelvis was more closed at front-foot contact on test throws (Kageyama and colleagues, 2015). In 8 athletes striding up onto a mound, the pelvis also stayed more closed at foot plant and rotated later (Baseball Development Group, 2021; Tier 3). Use the uphill option at lower effort, since uphill throws were slower and the lead knee softer.
• Measure: pelvis position at front-foot landing.

5.4 Posture and resisting drift

• Orientations: sideways, toes down (exaggerates forward drift so the athlete learns to resist it) and sideways, heels down (counters forward trunk dump; hips back, posture held).
• Measure: trunk tilt at release; lead-knee angle at release.

5.5 Landing control and the brace

• Orientation: downhill, then step-and-stick landings from mid-board.
• The athlete learns to absorb a mound-like drop on a firm, flat landing.
• Measure: lead-knee angle from landing to release; knee position over the foot at landing.

5.6 Drop familiarity for pitchers without a mound

• Orientation: downhill, mound-matched position.
• Gives regular practice with the drop associated with mound landing mechanics, between flat-ground sessions and mound bullpens (Section 10).

6. Who Is Ready for Board Work

Not every tool fits every athlete. As with weighted balls or other training implements, the board is for athletes who pass the readiness check. An athlete who cannot hold stable footing on the board does not use it that day. The goal is to match the tool to the athlete, not to hand it to everyone or keep it from everyone.

An adult coach supervises setup, the readiness check, and every throwing block.

Program requirements before any board throw

• Age 13 or older. This is a conservative program policy, not a research-set threshold.
• Has an established pitching delivery. The board is not for building a delivery from scratch.
• No current arm, back, hip, knee, or ankle pain.
• Has a named problem the coach can describe in one sentence.
• Passes the readiness check that day.

Readiness check

1. Drive-leg hold: stand sideways at the athlete’s mound-matched mark in the set position, drive foot at its natural angle, for 10 seconds.
2. Lead-leg hold: 10 seconds on the stride leg on flat ground.
3. Step-and-stick: three step-downs from the middle of the board’s side edge (about 5½ to 6 inches) onto turf, landing on the stride leg and holding 3 seconds.

Rate each fault separately as pass or fail: foot shift, pelvis drop, trunk lean, knee caving in. In a study of 58 injured adults, two experienced physical therapists rated parts of a single-leg squat more consistently than combined scores (Zhang and colleagues, 2025; Tier 1). That study used different raters, people, and movements, so it does not validate these checks or show that coaches with brief practice rate as consistently. Rating one fault at a time is used here as a practical coaching check; these are coaching observations, not medical screens. An athlete who fails any item does not use the board that day. A failed item does not show the cause, so check shoes, setup, and footing, and recheck on another day. If the trouble persists, involve an athletic trainer or another qualified professional.

Ankle screen for uphill and heels-down work: the weight-bearing lunge test, recording toe-to-wall distance for each ankle. It is highly reliable between and within raters (Bennell and colleagues, 1998; Tier 1). No board-specific passing score exists, so use the result to spot a stiff or uneven ankle, not to declare an athlete safe.

7. The Board Block: Step by Step

1. After normal warm-up, film a few baseline mound throws. Name one problem and one mound outcome. Example: hips open early (outcome: pelvis position at foot plant).
2. Run the setup, footing, and readiness checks (Sections 6 and 11).
3. Use the downhill setup and set the drive-foot position for the athlete’s stride (Section 8).
4. Use the same delivery, windup or stretch, on the board and the mound within the block.
5. Interleave throws: one board throw, then two to four mound throws, for three to four rounds. That is 3 to 4 board throws and 6 to 16 mound throws per block.
6. Fastballs at bullpen effort.
7. Run the block early in practice. Across 25 studies, fatigue was linked to velocity drops ranging from 0.6% to 5.6% and to varied changes in knee bend and arm position (Birfer and colleagues, 2019; Tier 1), so early blocks are a conservative scheduling choice that keeps fatigue from clouding the measurements. Skip board work the day before or after a start.
8. Coach outward: a target and a result goal, then ask the athlete what felt different.
9. Film mound throws before and after the block, and again at the next session. Watch board throws for safe, controlled footing; judge carryover on the mound throws.
10. Fade the board:
    • Sessions 1 and 2: 1 board throw, 2 mound throws per round.
    • Sessions 3 and 4: 1 board throw, 3 mound throws per round.
    • Sessions 5 and 6: 1 board throw, 4 mound throws per round.
    • Session 7 on: mound only, with the board brought back for short refreshers as needed.
    • At two sessions a week, the fade ends in about three weeks. The rest of the 6- to 8-week review period checks whether the change holds without the board. These ratios and session counts are cautious starting points, not a schedule tested on this board.
11. Stop rules: pain ends board work immediately for the day. A slip, or a new compensation on the mound (early trunk dump, arm drag, front-knee collapse), ends the block immediately. No change in the named outcome after two sessions means reassessing the setup and purpose; another task or ordinary mound practice may be the better choice.
12. Explore, then commit: try small position changes in sessions 1 and 2, then keep the one that moved the mound outcome.

Count every board throw in the athlete’s daily throwing total. Pitch Smart’s daily limits (MLB and USA Baseball) apply to game pitches, so also follow its game limits and rest days.

We recommend using the board in short, monitored blocks like these.

8. Choosing an Orientation and a Position

Orientation guide. Setups are described for a right-handed pitcher; mirror them for a left-hander. In every orientation, set the drive foot at the athlete’s natural mound angle. The downhill orientation is the board’s standard setup. The other three are practitioner variations from field use (Tier 3). They are described here as the Ranch uses them, as background. Choose them only when Oates supplies instructions for those setups and the coach has checked the athlete’s readiness for them.

Downhill (Standard Setup)

• Setup: the slope falls toward the target. The pitcher stands sideways at the marked position and strides off the low edge onto turf.
• Best for: drive timing, back-hip loading, stride timing, holding the hips closed, landing control, drop familiarity.
• Watch: foot slipping at set, pelvis drop, front knee collapse.

Uphill Landing

• Setup: turn the board so the slope rises toward the target. For Torque 2.0, the athlete starts in a wide stance with the back foot on turf behind the low edge and the front foot on the slope, pushing into it, so both feet are supported. Short-stride drills fit because the board’s horizontal run, about 29 inches, is shorter than a full stride.
• Best for: hips opening early.
• Lower effort; ankle screen first.
• Watch: soft lead knee, lost velocity carrying over to the mound.

Sideways, Toes Down (Error Amplification)

• Setup: turn the board 90 degrees so the slope runs across the throwing line, falling toward the pitcher’s toes (third-base side for a right-hander). Drive foot at mid-height (about 5½ to 6 inches); stride off the side edge onto turf toward the target.
• Best for: forward drift, with consistent athletes who already show the fault.
• Note: a decline position shifts load toward the knee, so watch that the athlete resists with the hips rather than the quads.
• Watch: slipping during leg lift. Lower effort.

Sideways, Heels Down (Counter-Constraint)

• Setup: same as toes down, with the slope falling toward the pitcher’s heels (first-base side for a right-hander).
• Best for: trunk dumping forward, losing posture down the slope.
• Ankle screen first.
• Watch: backward balance during leg lift.

For every orientation, keep a clear landing area for a full stride plus follow-through, and keep the drive foot fully on the rubber sheet, away from the edges.

Non-Throwing

• Step-and-stick landings for landing control.
• Decline single-leg squats facing downhill for knee-dominant strength, kept separate from throwing sessions and under a clinician’s direction where pain is involved.

Position guide (downhill)

• Mound-matched: the stride table in Section 1.
• Moving the foot changes the drop, not the slope under the foot.
• Higher on the board: more drop; may shift landing later, so check it on the mound. Explore timing in steps of 2 to 3 inches along the surface. As a conservative program limit, keep the setup between about 9 and 24 inches along the surface from the low edge (about 4 to 8 inches of drop), with the whole foot on the rubber and clear of the edges.
• Lower on the board: less drop; may shift landing earlier, so check it on the mound.

9. Measuring Progress

Phone video from a fixed side position is a practical field tool. Visual analysis agreed with laboratory motion capture on 11 of 17 pitching measures in youth pitchers (Nicholls and colleagues, 1999; Tier 2) †. Focus on clear side-view measures such as:

Stride length as a percentage of height.

Lead-knee angle at front-foot landing and at release.

Time from peak leg lift to front-foot landing.

Trunk tilt at release.

Strike rate to a defined target zone.

Pelvis position at landing needs a second camera view, from in front of or behind the pitcher. Film from the same spots every time, and keep cameras and people clear of the throwing and landing paths. Phone video cannot measure joint stress or exact hip angles. Record velocity alongside command and movement; a steady radar reading can come with a changed delivery.

How to judge progress

• Each session: did the named outcome move on the mound throws after the block?
• Next session: did it hold?
• Over 6 to 8 weeks: has it become part of the delivery without the board?

10. Programs With Limited or No Mound Access

Limited mound access (one or two mounds, many pitchers)

• Run the board as a station while others use the mound, then rotate athletes onto the mound for their check throws.
• Set each athlete’s drive-foot position to match the mound drop.
• Result: more pitchers get mound-matched drop practice in the same session time, with the mound as the check.

No mound

• Flat ground builds most of the skill, and flat-ground training carries over: in 36 youth pitchers on a 15-week program, velocity gains were the same whether tested on flat ground or the mound (Erickson and colleagues, 2021; Tier 2) †. That does not show the two surfaces train equally.
• The board adds the one thing flat ground cannot: a mound-like drop.
• Track the athlete’s response on flat-ground throws filmed before and after each block, and confirm carryover on a game mound whenever one is available.
• Mound bullpens before competition remain the top priority, because only a mound gives the downhill landing and the game surface. Rehabilitation and return-to-throwing programs also add mound work as a later, distinct stage (Dias and colleagues, 2023; Tier 1).

11. Footing, Setup, and Safety

Secure footing is the athlete’s first job. Before every throw, the athlete sets the drive foot at its natural angle, confirms solid grip, and starts only when stable, just as pitchers manage footing on any mound, including a worn one.

Footing check before every session

• Shoes: clean turf shoes with intact tread for the downhill setup. For athletic shoes or other footwear, confirm that the current Oates product label lists that category for the setup. No metal spikes, which can tear the rubber sheet.
• Surface: rubber sheet clean, dry, fully bonded, and still textured, not smooth or glazed.
• Footing: at the athlete’s mark, in the set position, shift weight and make one half-speed push. Any slide stops board work until the cause is fixed. A good half-speed push is a check, not a guarantee of grip at full effort.

Setup

• An adult unfolds the board and engages every locking support.
• Set up on level, firm turf. Push down on the high end to check for flex or rocking, and make sure the board does not slide.
• Check the rubber, hinge, supports, and edges for damage before each session. If anything is damaged, set the board aside and contact Oates.
• Clear the landing area for a full stride plus follow-through, with other people outside it.
• One athlete on the board at a time. Keep fingers clear of the hinge and supports, and never fold or move the board while anyone is on it.
• Toes-down, heels-down, and uphill work: only when Oates supplies instructions for those setups, and at lower effort.

Care and replacement

• Replace the rubber sheet when it is worn smooth, glazed, torn, or lifting, or when it fails the footing check.
• An adult handles folding and carrying. Store the board folded, dry, and out of weather and direct sun.

Stop and refer

• Any ankle roll, fall with symptoms, swelling, altered gait, or persistent pain ends participation until a qualified healthcare professional clears the athlete.
• For rehabilitation and return-to-throwing, follow the athlete’s healthcare professional and established throwing plan.

Board label

Clean, dry surface. Turf or athletic shoes with good tread. No metal spikes. Test your footing before you throw.

12. The Lag and Open Questions

Fresh coaching ideas often begin with observation, experimentation, and a different way to present a movement problem. The Lag describes the interval between field experimentation and formal study. During that interval, Oates explains the rationale and its limits, and coaches judge each athlete’s response. Some ideas prove useful, some need adjustment, and some fit only certain athletes. The board is offered on that basis: built from research on mounds, slopes, and practice design, and used by practitioners in the field.

Our working hypothesis

Short, mixed blocks of throws from the board, set to a mound-matched drop and chosen for a named problem, will produce changes in drive-leg push, pelvis timing, or landing mechanics that carry over to subsequent mound throws in some athletes, and those changes can be retained when the board is faded.

That is a hypothesis: a testable idea. Related research gives a reason to explore it, not an assurance of the result.

What would show the hypothesis is wrong for a given athlete or use

• Board-then-mound throws change the named mound outcome no more than the same number of extra mound throws.
• Changes appear on the board but not on the mound.
• Changes disappear by the next session or a week later.

What research has not settled

• Whether board-and-mound blocks help more than the same number of extra mound throws.
• How long a change lasts once the board is put away.
• How the tilted drive-foot surface loads the ankle and hip during a hard push.
• How the flat landing changes the way the front leg stops the body.

Coaches can track visible responses, comfort, footing, and later mound performance with each athlete. Joint loading and the separate effects of the board’s features need instruments and controlled study.

13. Manufacturer and Evidence Statement

Oates Specialties LLC manufactures and sells the TAP® Incline Board. The rationale in this guide and its companion papers draws on related research and reported practitioner experience, including the Texas Baseball Ranch’s field experience. No controlled research study has established the training effects of this exact product.

This guide provides information and an illustrative practice framework for coaches selecting tools for appropriately prepared athletes under adult supervision. The coach determines the athlete’s suitability, coaching goal, and practice exposure within the product’s stated operating conditions. Athlete feedback and subsequent mound performance guide continued use.

Published research describes the studies cited; references to researchers do not imply product endorsement. Oates makes no claim of increased velocity or reduced injury risk, and the board does not replace mound training. Clinical assessment, rehabilitation, and return-to-throwing decisions remain with qualified healthcare professionals. Readiness and footing checks are practical observations rather than validated clinical clearance tests. Grip depends on footwear, sole wear, surface condition, and movement.