bending at the waist at release
- Thread starter durwood
- Start date
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AMEN... mine does the same thing. If I'm not catching her I can usually see it and give her some words like chin up, or shoulders back. But when I'm catching her I miss it most of the time.
My tip is to tell them to stick their chest out. Can't lean forward doing that.
- May 29, 2009
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This thread reminds me of one of the moms on our team last year whose DD was a pitcher with the same problem. Her DD was 11 and just starting to develop. The mom would whisper to the kid between innings to show the umpire your new boobs. Only a mom can say that to a pitcher!!!! 
This is a very common problem in beginning pitchers. First, video tape them and go frame by frame, so they can see it.
Then, have them do the stork drill. (Start the pitch and as the front knee comes up, keep it up, until the catcher catches the ball. If they are leaning forward, the front foot will drop to the ground.
They can practice this in the house infront of a mirror, too.
Then, have them do the stork drill. (Start the pitch and as the front knee comes up, keep it up, until the catcher catches the ball. If they are leaning forward, the front foot will drop to the ground.
They can practice this in the house infront of a mirror, too.
FJRGerry
Abby's Dad
I suggest doing lots of arm circle drills with a stride and kick - rather than doing full motion pitches. Ask your daughter to stand straight on the release and step back after release with the drag & kick (back) leg. Rita Lynn Gilman has an exercise using this motion where she holds a swimming noodle chest/face high which helps prevent the pitcher from leaning at the waist. The pitcher instintively stands taller to avoid running into the noodle.
- Aug 21, 2008
- 2,388
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For what it's worth, you need to find the CAUSE of the problem first. Bending at the waist is often caused by the front knee bending as it lands. This allows the weight to fall forward. Straighten the leg and watch her posture improve. If it's not the leg, then she is trying to steer the ball in. I'm sorry to say, I'm not sure I believe in all these drills and such to "cure" this problem. This is a mental problem that they don't have confidence in their body positioning being right to throw strikes. To fix this, they need to understand what goes wrong in their mechanics which makes the ball go different directions. Once they know WHY it happens, fixing it becomes a whole lot easier.
Bill
Bill
FJRGerry, I like to use the noodle in front of the nose that Gilman uses, too. I built a little stand out of 3/4" pvc pipe, put a 5' section with a elbow and a stub that I could attach a piece of the noodle and then point it right at their nose about even with where their foot lands. It looks like a microphone stand, so they can still pitch with their regular motion but the barrier keeps them from leaning. Even though some know what they are supposed to do and they see what it is supposed to look like, they have to feel it in order to repeat what we want them to do. Everyone learns in different ways.
