Well said, and an excellent tip. I find my self repeating things to my dd I really don't know what they mean but hears them at lessons and think I know. Which is why I am here to get educated.
Softball Throwing Mechanics
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Because she doesn't know what she does when she throws overhand. It's a natural motion that she has probably always done. What she is demonstrating in the first photo is what she has been told to do by well meaning coaches who also don't know how they throw overhand. These misguided ideas and drills get passed along from one coach to the next, who in turn pass it on to their players. Some of the players become coaches themselves, and they then pass it on to a new generation of players. Over time it becomes accepted as being correct.
She throws correctly in spite of what she has likely been taught. Probably because she is a catcher and the coaches left her alone for the most part.
If she becomes a coach someday, how do you think she will teach kids to throw overhand? My bet is she will teach how she was told to throw by her coaches and not how she actually throws.
One of the best things you can do as a coach is to duplicate the movements of kids. It's a great way to differentiate between what they do and what you do, assuming you do the correct action to begin with.
OK, so for a catcher what is the correct mechanics? DD has struggled with this for a year because every coach tells her something different. Don't point to 2nd or 3rd? I have a picture of a catcher on our team--not my DD. Aside from her grip, does this look about right when preparing to throw?
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- Oct 12, 2009
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Because everyone teaches it that way of late and she has never studied what she actually does.
CPSB, I don't think that her feet are on line to the target and I can't see her back elbow. Her grip is OK. We normally can't get a 4 seam grip, during a real play. But, she has reached for at least one seam.
- Oct 12, 2009
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Here is Michelle Smith's book. Amazon.com: Coach's Guide to Game-Winning Softball Drills: Developing the Essential Skills in Every Player (9780071485876): Michele Smith, Lawrence Hsieh: Books
Go to "Look in this book" and scroll down to the description of throwing. The pics are exactly like what I do, except I would have one more pic with my hip pulled completely through and my feet even. I didn't read all of her description of it.
It is all copyrighted, so I didn't try to copy it, here.
Go to "Look in this book" and scroll down to the description of throwing. The pics are exactly like what I do, except I would have one more pic with my hip pulled completely through and my feet even. I didn't read all of her description of it.
It is all copyrighted, so I didn't try to copy it, here.
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floyd84s
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I like softball
- Oct 19, 2009
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I know 2 girls that came up playing baseball, both have superior throwing abilities/mechanics to the other girls, one other girls can throw as good as the other 2 girls but has arm problems because of poor mechanics. I noticed that while watching Georgia play they were taking infield with baseballs and then switched to softball for the last few turns.
The question is working with the boys on throwing is this the reason these girls are better? Throwing the lighter smaller ball at a younger age is this why they have better mechanics? Maybe there is something we are missing?
Swing a heaver bat at a young age causes poor swing mechanics, is the same maybe true for the larger softball?
Thinking out loud here.
Peppers you may be on to something. Just had a first pitching lesson for my DD and the coach recommended learning to throw with a baseball first.
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