DD's Arm Circle....Hopefully it is Better??
- Thread starter Boomers2012
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When she takes her step should she step to the powere line or stay off it like the starting position? I don't want to hijack but my dd has a pretty severe circle issue as well. So I'll be paying close attention.
What issues does going behind the back cause? Loss of velocity, control, movement? It's been rough recently with my dd.
What issues does going behind the back cause? Loss of velocity, control, movement? It's been rough recently with my dd.
I just went through this with my DD several months ago. She was probably going behind her back for a long time until her new PC picked up on it our first lesson. It took about 3 months of PC working with her and pointing out to me what to look for when we pitched at home to get this corrected. Having the arm circle go behind the back may cause some issues with velocity and movement, but I think the main issue is control. It is hard to keep good mechanics when you are bringing the ball from behind your back. Once we worked out the arm circle issues I immediately saw a dramatic improvement in control. Now I am seeing a great increase in velocity because her mechanics are so much improved. We stuck with just FB until the she had a correct arm circle the majority fo the time. My DD would get very frustrated working through this, but it is now paying off and is no longer an issue.
Let me start by saying I am no expert and I would defer to BM, Ken, and others on this board for specifics on how to correct issue like the arm circle. Here are a few things we my DDs PC did to correct this and in no specific order.
1) video tape her- PC would do this several times a session on her phone and show it to her in slow motion so she could see it from behind her.
2) noodle drill- PC would stand behind DD and hold one of those swimming noodles over DD head. If she hit it then she was going behind her back. It was more of a mental drill than anything.
3) she would use cue words with her, such as, "keep the ball on that side of the power line" (meaning the right side for a RHP)
4) when I would catcher her at lessons or at home I would only watch the ball....if it disappeared at any time, then I knew it went behind her back
5) I think this one helped a lot...my DD has a moderate backswing prior to the drive off the mound. PC shortened or basically eliminated the backswing. The ball went from glove to straight drop down with no backswing. Not sure how this helped, but it did. We are now back to a normal backswing and no arm circle issues.
6) When you look at the videos Boomers posted you will see his DD has her shoulders in a straight line to the catcher when her arm circle comes back. I think Ken or BM pointed out that her "box" (shoulders stacked on her knees) needs to be approximately 45 degrees. When my DD would drive off the mound she would pull her shoulder back to the position in the video and thus go behind her back.
7) If you have space for a mirror. Have DD face the mirror and throw (socks balled up or a soft ball) and watch herself and her arm circle (can she see the socks/ball all the time??).
Again, I am putting this mostly in my own words so my terminology may not be accurate. My DD went from getting pulled in the middle of an inning for walks and mostly pitching pool games to now being one of the two bracket pitchers on her team in about 6 months with her PC. I really think once the arm circle was corrected everything else is now falling into place. It also helps that my DD has a great PC to work with her!
Ok, we did the drills but I dont think it went too well. It seemed to me her arm was pretty much locked out and all the whip was gone. I think we are both confused as to the bend in the arm and where that bend is supposed to occur, how much bend and if the elbow is supposed to plant into the hip to achieve IR. She got very frustrated doing these because she tries so hard to do it perfect. We thought last night (the previous posted .gif files above) was as close to being "right" as it could get for this stage in her pitching development. Take a look and see what you think. I do appreciate the help and I know we will eventually "get it" because my DD wont stop until she does.....in the meantime it might give me an ulcer!! 
- Jul 14, 2008
- 1,796
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I'm going to film a short clip on the drill today at work in the back parking lot..........Might be more clear of the intent that way..........
In the mean time..........Here's an arm circle that stays outside of the shoulder.........Ellen Renfro.........IMO this is a little too abbreviated.........But talk about a "clear path".........
In the mean time..........Here's an arm circle that stays outside of the shoulder.........Ellen Renfro.........IMO this is a little too abbreviated.........But talk about a "clear path".........
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- Jul 14, 2008
- 1,796
- 63
This would be a RH'd pitcher looking down at his/her feet........It's your picture flipped..........
- Jul 14, 2008
- 1,796
- 63
This would be a RH'd pitcher looking down at his/her feet........It's your picture flipped..........
If the rubber is to the right of what???? Now your just confusing me Ken.........In this picture.......the red arrow is the target line...........Or.......Direction of the thrown ball.........Right foot is under the right shoulder.........Body at 45 degrees to the target line........
