How much backswing is too much?

[vdubya]

I am digging the fielders' ready positions with the pitcher in windup. Cute pic!

 

[BoardMember]

Didn't I see her on "America's Got Talent"?

Ok.....Shoulder height. Think shoulder height. Resting your arm at your side, face your palm inward toward your leg. Move your arm back behind you to 9:00. With your palm facin inward, 9:00 should be NORMAL max range of motion. That should be max backswing. Don't be fooled by pitchers who bend at the waist and appear to swing higher. Stand them up and shoulder height is where they will be.

 

[benjey]

Thanks for the reply Boardmember. Just to clarify because when I follow your instructions my max range of motion is 7:00 max but I am guessing hers is much greater. Should each individual pitcher go to their max range of motion or only go to 9:00 no matter what their individual max range is?

 

[riseball]

I am in the process of converting my DD from HE to IR. After reading Java's drive mechanics and Boardmembers stickies we are starting over completely. One question I have is about back swing. My DD has very long arms with very flexible shoulders. The picture below is from this spring when she was still 9. As you see her arm gets completely vertical in her backswing. Intuitively I think it is too much(besides looking painful) but I was wondering what is ideal and why?

Ya think? I have been around the game for a long time and seen some stuff, but I have to say this is a first.

 

[JJsqueeze]

We have a challenger to Ken Bs daughter (the one with no bones in her arm) skipping stones...


http://www.discussfastpitch.com/softball-pitching/16608-straight-arm-all-way-through-release-please-help-3.html#post200824

 

[cuzmail]

That picture looks painful - ouch!
If you put her in the waist bending stature and compared her to Amanda, your DD's arm would be pointing towards the catcher!

 

[marriard]

If it isn't messing with timing or wasting a lot of energy, there is a style element to backswing... but for most it messes with timing or unbalances them so less is better. It is all backwards motion so it doesn't directly add to speed, but it is important to have rhythm and consistency.

My DD is taught like a skiing motion with both arms, which means bent elbows back and the ball barely goes back to the hip. Helps her big time with her balance and motion. This may be on the extreme side the other way from your DD. I have no problem with the arm going back to just below waist height behind a pitcher - I'd prefer less. Also I like to see a bent, relaxed arm - not straight.

 

[daddiox2]

I think I may have a picture of my own daughter from that age where her arm went that far back or almost that far. She is 12 now and doesn't go that far back.

Part in due to concious changes from reading this forum, and the other part from the effort to try to get more out of the legs (which she wasn't really using much).

The thing we worked on was as the arm drops back, try to get into the drive position (drive mechanics thread). As she starts to push with the legs, the arm will have to come the other way and doesn't go that far back.

I also think that the itty bit of muscle that she might have added to her shoulder since then has removed the extreme flexibility that didn't need to be there, but I'm not sure.

I believe she had it in her head that she needed a fast arm, and that translated to a fast backswing, then it got to that location before she had any ability to stop it.

 

[Sweet Lou]

I'm of the feeling that less is more and none is best when it comes to backswing. That said it is a stylistic thing and as long as it isn't effecting control or rythym I don't think backswing is a big issue.

 

[BoardMember]

Thanks for the reply Boardmember. Just to clarify because when I follow your instructions my max range of motion is 7:00 max but I am guessing hers is much greater. Should each individual pitcher go to their max range of motion or only go to 9:00 no matter what their individual max range is?

Shoulder height, give or take......