Hip and core stabilization seems to be a hot topic here lately. My DD has always struggled with stabilizing the landing. I've attributed this to many different things over the few years she has been pitching. Wether it be over striding, landing at 90 degrees or lack of core strength. I personally think it is a combination of all three more or less. However, lack of core strength gets my vote as to why girls do not stabilize well. Before my DD went through a major growth spurt where she grew about 4 inches and gained about 25 pounds in an 8-9 month period, she stabilized pretty well for the most part. Then bam, she grew and put on weight in a relatively short amount of time. Her core strength could not keep up with it. Yes, we probably didn't do as much core work as we could have but still worked on it just the same.
This brings me to my point. When the core development could not keep up with the growth, DD mechanics changed a bit to include the lack of stabilization. Since she still had to perform and throw strikes, the altered mechanics became a part of her muscle memory. So the altered mechanics now became her mechanics. Now that her growth has slowed a bit, we are doing more core work and really focusing on the hips while we practice. It is still a slow go due to school ball (Oklahoma school ball is in the fall) but I have already seen an improvement in her stabilization. However, her "old" mechanics creep back in from time to time (see video below) and reminds her to focus on the hips. Is there a optimal angle for hips to be in at a certain time? Of course. Am I worried about telling her to achieve this optimal angle? Heck no, not a chance. I feel that if the core is strong enough to achieve the optimal hip angle then it will occur without having to conciously do it. If the core is not strong enough to achieve optimal hip angle/stabilization then the body will do what it needs to in order to displace energy to prevent injury.
With all that being said, we can tell a kid to do this or that with their hips and torso but until the core is fully developed and strong, it will always be a struggle and constant battle to find that perfect stabilization we are all wanting.
Below are a couple of game videos of DD. One pitch is where she is stabilizing pretty well and the other is where she does not stabilize. The mechanics look almost identical to me but if some one sees anything that would cause her to stabilize on one and not the other, please let me know!
The first vid is where she stabilizes pretty good. The second vid is where she does not.
[video]https://youtu.be/YDd1Y2NsIv8[/video]
[video]https://youtu.be/D4Q3snpuDVI[/video]
This brings me to my point. When the core development could not keep up with the growth, DD mechanics changed a bit to include the lack of stabilization. Since she still had to perform and throw strikes, the altered mechanics became a part of her muscle memory. So the altered mechanics now became her mechanics. Now that her growth has slowed a bit, we are doing more core work and really focusing on the hips while we practice. It is still a slow go due to school ball (Oklahoma school ball is in the fall) but I have already seen an improvement in her stabilization. However, her "old" mechanics creep back in from time to time (see video below) and reminds her to focus on the hips. Is there a optimal angle for hips to be in at a certain time? Of course. Am I worried about telling her to achieve this optimal angle? Heck no, not a chance. I feel that if the core is strong enough to achieve the optimal hip angle then it will occur without having to conciously do it. If the core is not strong enough to achieve optimal hip angle/stabilization then the body will do what it needs to in order to displace energy to prevent injury.
With all that being said, we can tell a kid to do this or that with their hips and torso but until the core is fully developed and strong, it will always be a struggle and constant battle to find that perfect stabilization we are all wanting.
Below are a couple of game videos of DD. One pitch is where she is stabilizing pretty well and the other is where she does not stabilize. The mechanics look almost identical to me but if some one sees anything that would cause her to stabilize on one and not the other, please let me know!
The first vid is where she stabilizes pretty good. The second vid is where she does not.
[video]https://youtu.be/YDd1Y2NsIv8[/video]
[video]https://youtu.be/D4Q3snpuDVI[/video]