Hips...watch around 3:30 mark.

. Am I understanding this guy to mean hips slide and do not close back up. Yet when he makes his ridiculous attempt at a pitch he gets his hips closed up again. Hip opinions. Mine...of course your hips get turned around...or closed...which open/close is backwards the way it's commonly spoke of.

[video=youtube_share;jyXjkF9yqRo]http://youtu.be/jyXjkF9yqRo[/video]

"Hip closing" is a very delicate subject.

Newbie pitchers almost always have a problem with closing too much. The problem is always getting them to get open and then not "slam the door". So, for a lot of newbie pitchers, people advise (including me) "Get open, stay open." That isn't 100% correct, but trying to teach a 10YOA girl to close by about 25 degrees is futile.

So:

The hips do close slightly. The optimum hip closing is around 25 degree (with zero degrees being fully open, and 90 degrees being fully closed).

Rick Pauly understands the dynamics of hip closing better than anyone around. Using the hips appropriately is important for control and speed.

But...

*PLEASE* perfecting hip closure is something for accomplished pitchers. Don't take a 10YOA little girl and try to perfect it. Work on IR, posture, and push off.