Has she had a recent growth spurt? If yes, some of it may just be getting used to her her new body.
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Has she had a recent growth spurt? If yes, some of it may just be getting used to her her new body.
I think everyone is seeing pretty much the same thing. I'm looking at her from a kinesiologic standpoint. This is just my two cents, for whatever it's worth.
1. Starts motion off kind of herky - jerky. Break her motion down slowly and rebuild to a smooth windup. Too much movement / motion prior to pitch will throw the rest of her body motion off. (There are very few that can control a herky-jerky motion)
2. Windmill (arm circle) is being cut short and she's very stiff in the motion. The tenseness in her arm is created from the tenseness in her body. This will limit her velocity potential. As an earlier post eluded to, loose arm = increase speed / velocity. Look up the term "live arm". A live arm, that most precious commodity in baseball, allows men to dream. It causes coaches and front-office members to cram behind a backstop on a sticky Florida afternoon to watch a leisurely session of live batting practice. A live arm creates excitement.[/COLOR] This is regarding baseball, but the term is still useful for softball.
Here is a link for Jennie Finch. Each pitch mechanics looks the same. Jennie Finch Pitching Demo
Here's a quick look at different D-I pitchers. Top Softball Pitchers in the Country - YouTube
What you may notice is that they're all standing up tall and look smooth. In looking back over the last 15 years, Monica Abbott had the most unusual motion, but it worked for HER. I've seen several young girls try to imitate her, and unfortunately some have ended up with lower back problems.
3. The flying glove. Slow the video down to see that it's all over the place. Now go back and look at the college pitchers & Jennie Finch. Their glove points towards home plate. Goal is for the ball to go to home plate. So point and give it a direction / location. I've heard the phrase 12 & 3. When the ball hand is at 12 o'clock, glove hand should be at 3 o'clock (pointing at home plate) All this sounds quite remedial. But there is a point to all of this. As the glove hand is flying, so are the shoulders and throw arm. If the glove hand is flying, causing the glove shoulder to open up too soon, which starts a chain reaction with throwing shoulder and leaving the throwing arm to wrap around the back of the pitcher. This motion travels downwards towards the pitchers hips which will typically swing around, closing off too soon as well.
4. The excessive lean. Ellen Renfroe leans, which is most typical in a screwball pitch to allow the arm to pass by the hips without contact. However, it is still possible to accomplish this without the lean. But in this young pitcher, I see the lean affecting her balance. Loss of balance = loss of control. There's no consistency.
For age 11, I think she has a lot of potential. I think the above are all minor fixes, but they won't happen overnight. As she starts to make the changes, other issues will resolve themselves. One rule we've always told our patients is that, "where the head goes, the body will follow". Every part of our body is connected. So what affects one, will affect another. Good Luck!
1. Starts motion off kind of herky - jerky. Break her motion down slowly and rebuild to a smooth windup. Too much movement / motion prior to pitch will throw the rest of her body motion off. (There are very few that can control a herky-jerky motion)
2. Windmill (arm circle) is being cut short and she's very stiff in the motion. The tenseness in her arm is created from the tenseness in her body. This will limit her velocity potential. As an earlier post eluded to, loose arm = increase speed / velocity. Look up the term "live arm". A live arm, that most precious commodity in baseball, allows men to dream. It causes coaches and front-office members to cram behind a backstop on a sticky Florida afternoon to watch a leisurely session of live batting practice. A live arm creates excitement.[/COLOR] This is regarding baseball, but the term is still useful for softball.
Here is a link for Jennie Finch. Each pitch mechanics looks the same. Jennie Finch Pitching Demo
Here's a quick look at different D-I pitchers. Top Softball Pitchers in the Country - YouTube
What you may notice is that they're all standing up tall and look smooth. In looking back over the last 15 years, Monica Abbott had the most unusual motion, but it worked for HER. I've seen several young girls try to imitate her, and unfortunately some have ended up with lower back problems.
3. The flying glove. Slow the video down to see that it's all over the place. Now go back and look at the college pitchers & Jennie Finch. Their glove points towards home plate. Goal is for the ball to go to home plate. So point and give it a direction / location. I've heard the phrase 12 & 3. When the ball hand is at 12 o'clock, glove hand should be at 3 o'clock (pointing at home plate) All this sounds quite remedial. But there is a point to all of this. As the glove hand is flying, so are the shoulders and throw arm. If the glove hand is flying, causing the glove shoulder to open up too soon, which starts a chain reaction with throwing shoulder and leaving the throwing arm to wrap around the back of the pitcher. This motion travels downwards towards the pitchers hips which will typically swing around, closing off too soon as well.
4. The excessive lean. Ellen Renfroe leans, which is most typical in a screwball pitch to allow the arm to pass by the hips without contact. However, it is still possible to accomplish this without the lean. But in this young pitcher, I see the lean affecting her balance. Loss of balance = loss of control. There's no consistency.
For age 11, I think she has a lot of potential. I think the above are all minor fixes, but they won't happen overnight. As she starts to make the changes, other issues will resolve themselves. One rule we've always told our patients is that, "where the head goes, the body will follow". Every part of our body is connected. So what affects one, will affect another. Good Luck!
Looks like a big powerful girl. I would get her back on her power line and work on her posture. Back to basics maybe some mirror drills so she can see and feel it. I would imagine she's got the speed, but at 11, make sure her mechanics are solid. My daughter is 12 and thanks to this board, I have found a new coach who has taken my daughter 3 steps backwards to fix some issues. It's going to take time, but think long term. She is only 11!!
CobraAssist,
I am just a bucket dad but if you look at my post on Yukiko Ueno I discuss using some of the drills mention in her video. My KK also has posture and force I/R issues.
I am just a bucket dad but if you look at my post on Yukiko Ueno I discuss using some of the drills mention in her video. My KK also has posture and force I/R issues.
- Aug 20, 2013
- 558
- 0
Since she is in the midst of a lot of "changes", she is going to change a lot so hopefully she won't get too frustrated. This was a great article talking about why girls can change so much.
What Happened to My Softball Player | Softball is for Girls
What Happened to My Softball Player | Softball is for Girls
- Oct 22, 2009
- 1,779
- 0
I'm going to have to agree with that one.
I can't tell you how many times I've seen a great kid at 11yrs old and said that kid won't be able to keep up at 14, and it has nothing to do with puberty.
I can't tell you how many times I've seen a great kid at 11yrs old and said that kid won't be able to keep up at 14, and it has nothing to do with puberty.
