Thread: Throwing mechanics

Saw this article from I think Spy and looked it over. I don't know really how anyone else's teams are but I had 4-5 incoming high school freshmen last year with the poorest throwing mechanics I have ever seen. We worked more on throwing mechanics/fundamentals at the beginning of the year than we did hitting. (not a big problem since there was still snow on the ground).

Marc I also checked out the safe throw website and looked at there stretches. We do a dynamic warm up. Is there a dynamic way to work that same muscle group or should I include these static stretches into our mix?

ARTICLE: Prevention key to limiting youth throwing injuries | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

SAFETHROW SITE: SafeThrow

I would take any suggestions about what other coaches, high school level or not do to prevent throwing from taking up too much practice time in season. We really only have two weeks of practice to get ready for the season and taking a lot of time, even necessary time, puts us in a time crunch to be ready to play.

I would also like a good source for throwing.

My 12 DD almost bends a little back, shoulder down, kind of side arm.
Can really throw the ball from outfield....3rd to first no problem.

Seems to take her an extra second or two to throw which can make the difference between safe and out....especially from 3rd....

Distance & speed not a problem...
but time to let go and will she hurt something are my concerns.

Love to fix that soon.......doubt a Travel coach will touch her with that motion.
She pitches around 48-52...good change up ...

Never complains of being sore.....

I think you are right on with the release time. Looking at the 3 stages for throwing someone out; 1-ball to glove 2-ball from glove to release and 3-throw to first. The second one of catching and throwing can really be difficult to master with the younger girls. I always try and get the girls to get this under a second, many start with 1.5 to 2.5 seconds, way to much time. Many want to stand tall, take the time and aim, then throw. Need to get them bringing the ball in and back while coming up and taking the right foot to plant and throw.

So many aspects to throwing. Mechanics, speed, accuracy and quickness. It's no wonder we spend our first 60 minutes just on throwing.

We had several that throw side arm and that is really tough to break. Once you break it I think accuracy gets better as does the risk of injury go down. It is a constant battle for those girls to keep from slowly going back to side arm. Once the girls understood the reason for changing their form it became much easier to teach them, as they did not think we were constantly nagging them.

The weird thing is that she is really accurate right now ... as her body changes, that may change (just turned 12).
Because she seems to be starting in an odd place, takes her longer to get the ball in the air...

Doesn't look long term healthy...

Need to wok on elbow up, not at her waist!

Two weeks is will not even put a dent to bad throwing mechanics. All my practices have the first 1-1/2 hrs of throwing and catching. It takes about 18 months of the proper drills to completely correct the side-arm mechanics. Don't expect it go get better in 2 weeks. At a coaching clinic I went to, Larry Ray had a nice little saying for throwing that he uses at UA. "Thumb to the thigh, reach for the sky with the elbow high, then say bye, bye." You start with your thumb to the thigh and make a circular motion up high with the ball facing away from the target.

As a TB coach, I still take these girls at younger ages and don't mind working with them as long as they have speed. One can't coach speed.

Originally Posted by shockcoach

Two weeks is will not even put a dent to bad throwing mechanics. All my practices have the first 1-1/2 hrs of throwing and catching. It takes about 18 months of the proper drills to completely correct the side-arm mechanics. Don't expect it go get better in 2 weeks. At a coaching clinic I went to, Larry Ray had a nice little saying for throwing that he uses at UA. "Thumb to the thigh, reach for the sky with the elbow high, then say bye, bye." You start with your thumb to the thigh and make a circular motion up high with the ball facing away from the target.

As a TB coach, I still take these girls at younger ages and don't mind working with them as long as they have speed. One can't coach speed.

I know this will take all winter. Right now her arm is strong and accurate...just looks funny.
As far as teaching speed...agreed .. but sometimes playing smart can make up for speed and you can't teach smart either.
My DD will never be the Roadrunner .... she is probably one of the smartest players in our league (including many of the older girls.)

Our league is plagued with situational deficits. Fast girls making great plays and not having a clue what to do with the ball...these are 13, 14, 15 year olds.
I'd take a 12 who knew what to do over those players most any time.

Example......runner on first...one out....quick grounder to pitcher....every coach in the place yelling FIRST....she quickly turns and shoots to 2nd getting lead runner out. She just knows what to do, fields fine (LOVES LOVES LOVES line drives)...but she isn't very fast.

As far as baserunning ...she isn't going to be stealing a ton of bases ..
But I had the most stolen bases on my team (100's years ago) which surprised the heck out of my coach. I was just smart and was good at watching whether or not anyone was watching me. I'd be half way down the line and they would throw it behind me or away, or to the pitcher....

Maybe if a kid has the intelligence to make good decisions, you might be better off than having a fast kid who doesn't get it.

I'd like a few of each on me team....but just another way to look at it.

So it's not just me that has to break DD of the poor throwing habit again ?? Last year, she had the classic girl throw - elbow on the ribs - after practicing all Winter, the footwork and throw mechanics were terrific....ready to fire the ball in from the outfield or deep in the hole at SS.

Halfway theru the season, we had a few players in positions who were not great at catching, forcing DD to lob the ball to them for a catch....the lob forced the throwing mechanics to break down....the current motion is more like a catapult and will cause injurty long-term if not corrected.....we'll work on relearning to throw again in Fall Ball and over the Winter.

Last year we saw signs...but seemed OK and then this spring got worse.
Elbow in the ribs! Yup!

Right now she will try out for some Travel teams...hoping her pitching grabs a coach and he/she is willing to work on the rest...if not....we figure something else out.

Considering a Fall Ball legue run by Travel coaches instead of our town.

Lots to work on over the winter...
throwing
hitting
more pitching
conditioning (big one)

I am one of those parents who sees some definite promise...but am very well aware of what needs some serious work.