A snap is the movement of the wrist from a cocked back position to a forward position. The snap starts at 2 inches behind the hip and finishes at 2 inches in front of the hip. The release of the ball is at the end of the snap, approximately 2 inches in front of the hip.
A great way for a beginning pitcher to practice this is simply to take a ball, hold it tightly, stand about 5 ft away from a person or a target and place your wrist back at 2 inches behind the hip. Then in a quick movement snap the wrist forward and stop with your hand at about 2 inches in front of the hip. The ball should fly forward and end up at a height some where between the knees and the waist. The key is to make sure that when you are done the fingers are curled in and the wrist is pointed directly forward and in front of you, don't snap it to one side or the other. Snap it completely straight. Doing about 25 of these every time you are going to pitch is the best way to warm up the wrist and also a great way to develop muscle memory for accuracy.
Experienced Pitchers can do these snaps with a weighted ball (no more then a 1 pound ball) to help strengthen their wrist and develop a firm release.
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