The struggle

JJ - anyone measure her spin rate? If not, I would try to do that ASAP so you can have a benchmark for all the brush work you are doing.

Man10 said:

I wish I understood this more. I have no doubt it does but I'd love to understand how this plays in to transitioning to BI and IR mechanics.

Click to expand...

Man,

Sorry... I'm rather assumptive with my posts at times... tossing out references to previous conversations and such.

When I said static... I meant the drills we all use/discuss on DFP... taken from the lean, mean BoardMember. These drills isolate the whip... and we often perform them standing still... or with a small step. When I said, dynamic... I meant the full pitching motion... drive and all.

There is a large divide between what we can do standing still... versus what we can do during the full pitch. The post I made was to get you and others thinking about adding some dynamic movements that bridge that divide. I think what you'll come to realize - if you haven't already - that the whip takes on a different feel/form when you add more motion/energy to it. In a full pitch, we get things like overlapping motions (starting a second action before the first movement completes), the stretch shortening cycle, etc... point being... we get closer to a full-body kinetic transfer of energy... and it's a lot for a learning athlete to deal with. Some just do it... and these are the VERY few... and others (like the rest of us) will need to coordinate all that energy into movements that are optimal in pitching.

Over the years... I've noticed that many a kid pauses at the "top of the drill" before throwing (think top of backswing). Do we do that in a full pitch? In a full pitch... all of our limbs are performing athletic movements... with a lot of force. Kids... most of them, that is... have a tendency to create weird postural associations (at times compensatory movements) when they try out the full motion... that is, what they think or feel as correct.

So... it makes more sense (to me) to help them transition into some of the key movements correctly, via progression... rather than do this standing still... then "now, jump in the water". I've also come to notice that many of the postural issues/as well as core disconnection issues you see during the full pitch have a lot to do with getting our lower extremities positioned correctly.

There are plenty more ideas to integrate... but that list is a decent starting point... as the whole point of BM's drills was progression... and these help bridge the gap and keep things progressive.

As mentioned above... how do you eat an elephant? (Although... why are we eating elephants?)

Man10, I'll add two small-cents' worth of advice. You need to display confidence to your DD that this is just a matter of time, there are no worries, every thing is alright. If you're frustrated she'll pick up on it and become frustrated herself. Whatever she's doing now she'll overcome it and then you'll move on to the next thing that is wrong. Unfortunately this is the life of a pitcher and, subsequently, a pitching coach. When instructing a girl you can't critique every throw. Also, my number one tool is Coaches Eye on the iPad. First we discuss the objective, then I show them a model of drill, we try to emulate, I video, we review. This way the girl gets to see versus me continually telling them they're not doing it right. We're a team trying to move forward in our skill sets. Some things (overlap, IR, hips opening up, etc) literally take months to acquire. Work on one aspect for ten minutes or so and move on to the next. Layering skills in sequential order takes even longer. Always tell them they're looking good, we'll get there, it's a matter of time and practice. After you've trained five or six girls you'll understand this is true, it just takes time. Also, not everyone is destined to be the next Monica Abbott. I think that is often overlooked on this forum. Not everyone can throw underhand or overhand at 60/70 mph--no matter who is coaching them. That is just a fact.

Perfect Circle said:

That's the reason I'm not so convinced in segmenting. One of the greats on here teaches to always use full motions... I'm have mixed feelings

Click to expand...

Not a very well liked comment.

Drills vs. Full Motion.

*The Key to any approach is instant feedback...mirror
*Eyes Closed & in super slo-mo... Matrix

Really the issue is we have them over committed. The Deadline's are not her's. Practice must be way more exciting than games.

WillyT812 said:

Man10, I'll add two small-cents' worth of advice. You need to display confidence to your DD that this is just a matter of time, there are no worries, every thing is alright. If you're frustrated she'll pick up on it and become frustrated herself. Whatever she's doing now she'll overcome it and then you'll move on to the next thing that is wrong. Unfortunately this is the life of a pitcher and, subsequently, a pitching coach. When instructing a girl you can't critique every throw. Also, my number one tool is Coaches Eye on the iPad. First we discuss the objective, then I show them a model of drill, we try to emulate, I video, we review. This way the girl gets to see versus me continually telling them they're not doing it right. We're a team trying to move forward in our skill sets. Some things (overlap, IR, hips opening up, etc) literally take months to acquire. Work on one aspect for ten minutes or so and move on to the next. Layering skills in sequential order takes even longer. Always tell them they're looking good, we'll get there, it's a matter of time and practice. After you've trained five or six girls you'll understand this is true, it just takes time. Also, not everyone is destined to be the next Monica Abbott. I think that is often overlooked on this forum. Not everyone can throw underhand or overhand at 60/70 mph--no matter who is coaching them. That is just a fact.

Click to expand...

Love this post, thank u