Follow through

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Jun 19, 2014
846
43
Raleigh,NC
Don't be shy about getting video and posting it here. We are all about constructive focused comments while showing you exactly what we are talking about and explaining it until you understand it. Some closer up video could help but here are few thing.

First...I don't think we are looking at a major project with huge overhauls needed. Overall she looks pretty sound mechanically but just needs some work around the edges...the off season is here and this is the perfect time to make small improvements now that will pay dividends next season. Follow through is not one of them.

given the angle and distance this is the biggest thing I noticed.

She has to fix the issue with her rear foot. It looks like it is turning and digging into the ground like an anchor. Watch minutes 4-5 for a good explanation but keep watching whole thing for drills at the end (if you have questions about anything else Bill says feel free to ask). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2E4rlUNiBI This is hurting her on several levels, not getting as good a drive a she could and probably keeping her hip from fully releasing. Have her try this get fully extended like she would be at foot plant feet far apart with her foot sideways and heel on the ground just like in the picture. Now have her pick up her heel so only her toe is on the ground and laces to the catcher...like Bill explains in the video and let her feel her hip release it should be pretty noticeable. She should look like Amanda in the still below(disregard the blue line it was for something else focus on back foot). Now have her do the first two drills Bill talks about making sure her heel is off the ground.

View attachment 11000 View attachment 11001

Exactly on of the two problems I have seen…She starts her pitch by turning that drive foot…something that was taught a long time ago that has been an issue to correct. My husband seems to think it isn't a problem to address, just her preference. The thing I see it starts a whole chain reaction….it causes her to open too early….takes away some power by recruiting her inner leg muscles when she would get more power from her quads…also causes a lag in her drive which means she waste energy of having to drag that leg…it also decreases her drive speed. Correct me if I am wrong.

There is also another problem I see as well….I will see if I am right.
 
Jun 19, 2014
846
43
Raleigh,NC
We had several people who so graciously offered their services…they think if my daughter works with them, it will push her over the edge into greatness. We tried out for a showcase team who wanted her to convert to hello elbow, they said what she is doing is keeping her from reaching her full potential. He said just allow him to teach her how to follow through and she will be a lights out pitcher. She didn't make the team…but she did find a team that allows her to pitch the way Rick Pauly taught her. Now with so many people saying she needs to follow through, my husband thinks that they have a valid point.
 
Apr 12, 2015
792
93
I have been very fortunate to have been able to work with Rick Pauly.

The only reason she brings that foot forward after the pitch is because she was told by someone that she won't be able to field without squaring up afterwards.

In the words of the great John Gay.....sideways is skinnier. In other words anything hit hard enough that she would have to worry about squaring up to after the pitch is probably something she should be getting out of the way of.
 
Last edited:
Jun 19, 2013
753
28
Exactly on of the two problems I have seen…She starts her pitch by turning that drive foot…something that was taught a long time ago that has been an issue to correct. My husband seems to think it isn't a problem to address, just her preference. The thing I see it starts a whole chain reaction….it causes her to open too early….takes away some power by recruiting her inner leg muscles when she would get more power from her quads…also causes a lag in her drive which means she waste energy of having to drag that leg…it also decreases her drive speed. Correct me if I am wrong.

There is also another problem I see as well….I will see if I am right.

If this is something you decide to focus on the way I ended it was without even trying, it stopped immediately as a by product of another fix - we decided to get her a bit more centered as she started her drive based on viewing videos and I'm pretty sure it was in old threads by BM - so she added a small slide of her right foot toward the center of the pitching rubber at the beginning of the drive and voila no time for turning the foot out AND her drive seems stronger and in a better position in the pitching lane. For us it was something she was able to add by just practicing in her room last winter for a few weeks and it stuck - possibly because it's premotion and not buried in the middle of the motion where it might be a harder fix.
 

SB45

Dad, Coach, Chauffeur
Sep 2, 2016
150
28
Western NY
I was recently told that if this great coach allowed my daughter to work with him, he will add another 5 mph on her pitch. He said she needed to follow through…ever since then, I keep hearing, "she needs to follow through". My husband even said that the coaches are coaches because they know what they are doing and I need to stop making it about, "what I want, it isn't about me but her. Everyone pitches differently and mechanics is not absolute…people make mechanics and each persons mechanics is different." With saying that, here is video of my daughter…I do have an idea of what she needs to work on but I am keeping it to myself to get an unbiased opinion.[video]https://youtu.be/5hTUMT-epoA[/video]
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5hTUMT-epoA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

My 1.5 cents worth...
> follow through is a result of everything that came before it...the only way it can really have an effect is if it changes something she is doing before the follow through
> I'm thinking of two things...prior to pushing off, does he look like a sprinter getting ready to push forward with maximum effort?...also, I'd like to see the rear foot pushing more forward, rather than turning sideways so quickly, that rooster tail of dirt looks like she is dragging an anchor.
> So, I think she could create more potential energy at push off and I think she is losing potential energy by braking so hard with that drag foot
 

sluggers

Super Moderator
Staff member
May 26, 2008
7,132
113
Dallas, Texas
The only reason she brings that foot forward after the pitch is because she was told by someone that she won't be able to field without squaring up afterwards.

Poor Whitney Canion...the All-American pitcher from Baylor. If only someone had told her, maybe she would have been better. Go to the 15 second mark in this video and watch Whitney expertly play a bunt...

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-czxt7uUvXw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Pitchers are the worst fielders on the team... The ball gets hit, and they watch someone else make the play. Hopefully, they remember to duck on
throws. Their mitts are primarily is to knock the ball down before it hits them.

Now with so many people saying she needs to follow through, my husband thinks that they have a valid point.

When she learns other pitches, she will have different follow throughs.
 
Last edited:

Ken Krause

Administrator
Admin
May 7, 2008
3,911
113
Mundelein, IL
I think what those folks are seeing as a lack of follow-through is more a matter of her pulling her up right shoulder as she goes into release. That tightens things up instead of letting her flow all the way through the pitch. If the shoulder stayed relaxed the arm would finish unloading instead of stopping suddenly.

As has been said, the follow-through should be relaxed and natural, not forced just for the sake of follow-through.
 
Feb 3, 2010
5,752
113
Pac NW
If this is something you decide to focus on the way I ended it was without even trying, it stopped immediately as a by product of another fix - we decided to get her a bit more centered as she started her drive based on viewing videos and I'm pretty sure it was in old threads by BM - so she added a small slide of her right foot toward the center of the pitching rubber at the beginning of the drive and voila no time for turning the foot out AND her drive seems stronger and in a better position in the pitching lane. For us it was something she was able to add by just practicing in her room last winter for a few weeks and it stuck - possibly because it's premotion and not buried in the middle of the motion where it might be a harder fix.

http://www.discussfastpitch.com/softball-pitching/16318-rhp-foot-work-pitchers-plate.html
 
Jun 19, 2014
846
43
Raleigh,NC
Poor Whitney Canion...the All-American pitcher from Baylor. If only someone had told her, maybe she would have been better. Go to the 15 second mark in this video and watch Whitney expertly play a bunt...

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-czxt7uUvXw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Pitchers are the worst fielders on the team... The ball gets hit, and they watch someone else make the play. Hopefully, they remember to duck on
throws. Their mitts are primarily is to knock the ball down before it hits them.



When she learns other pitches, she will have different follow throughs.

More coaches need to watch this is all I am going to say.
 

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