Just a drill but the hip looks closed.Check out this Coach's Eye video: Oct 23 2014 - 4:38 PM - Coach's Eye
That clip is from 4 years ago. Does she still teach the same? I have no idea. We have some good pitching coaches around here, and some not so good ones too (Nor Cal Area) but sometimes have some warm-up drills they have for their pitchers I just shake my head. The drill often bears little resemblance to how their pitchers throw in the circle. This is just coming from a bucket AC who doesn't try to change any pitcher going to paid pitching coach.I didn't post the clip to suggest that anyone run away from her. She probably is a great instructor. I am, however, curious as to why she's teaching some of what you see in that clip.
Just a drill but the hip looks closed.Check out this Coach's Eye video: Oct 23 2014 - 4:38 PM - Coach's Eye
A discussion of "arm speed" without defining "arm speed" is pointless.
1) What is "arm speed"? For pitching, the arm has four parts: The upper arm, the forearm, the wrist and the fingers. So, when you say, "arm speed", what part of the arm are you talking about? Are you talking "arm speed" in RPS, or in FPS? If it is FPS, which part of the arm are you talking about? The fingers have higher linear speed than the wrist, which has a higher speed than the elbow, which has a higher linear speed that the shoulder.
2) If you are talking RPS, which axis are you talking about? There are three primary axes of rotation for the arm...one axis is the shoulder and one is at the elbow. The other axis is parallel to and between the radius and ulna of the forearm (the IR axis).
3) The speed of a thrown ball immediately after release is equal to the speed of the fingers. That is, the ball doesn't magically increase speed after release.
4) The lower body is important...but, about 80% of the speed comes from the arm. Have a girl get open and throw without using her lower body. My DD threw around 50 to 55 MPH without using her lower body.
5) There are three basic ways to describe motion: momentum and force/acceleration. Momentum works well when you have an object in motion interacting with another object. (e.g., pool balls) If an object is accelerated by a force internal to the object, then force/acceleration equations are better. When you look at pitching, it is best to use both.
For pitching, there is a momentum transfer from the lower body to the arm, so the best way to think of it is as a momentum transfer. But, once you get to the arm, the best way to think of it using linked levers because the arm muscles are accelerating the ball.
6) The whip isn't magic. It is simply the result of a linked lever. A linker lever is a series of rods connected at their ends. The best example of a linked lever is the drive for a steam locomotive. To work efficiently, a linked lever has to be well timed (hence the need for things such as timing belts). The arm muscles (the "arm" meaning the whole arm) have to contract in a particular sequence in order to achieve maximum linear velocity of the fingers at release.
Wow...who would have thought?
A few thoughts .....
You've spoken of resistance, and IMO resistance is a big key.
The notion that body parts reach a maximum velocity, and then decelerate in order to pass their momentum to the following segment, can be a difficult concept for many people to grasp. That said … that is the process that we are discussing ... ... ... i.e, accelerating and decelerating body parts.
As an example … you've spoken of how the front side is used to decelerate and transfer energy.
The greater the acceleration, or deceleration, the greater the force. Force = M x A. In other words, a rapid change in velocity results in significant force ... whip effect.
Think in terms of the “law of conservation of momentum”.
Momentum = M x V.
What the "law of conservation of momentum" states is that MV(before) = MV(after). If energy is transferred from a heavy segment to a lighter segment, then it stands to reason that velocity must be increased by a corresponding amount ... since MV(before) = MV(after).
Rapid deceleration of the upper arm is important because it results in maximum momentum transfer. Since energy is being transferred to a lighter segment, and since momentum in conserved … i.e., MV(before) = MV(after)… then it stands to reason that if the Mass of the segment is reduced, then the Velocity will increase correspondingly by the reduction of Mass. Doing this quickly, in terms of rapid deceleration, results in greater force production.