10 YO, 8 Months into the Journey

[FrozenRope]

Just looking for some feedback. It's been a few months since my last request for critique. She's put in a TON of time in the basement over the winter, and she's improved 10 fold in end result since my last post. As many of you know, I recently posted the "Faults" thread. One that came up as a fatal flaw has me a bit concerned. I think her arm is a tad too straight at the back of her circle. Maybe not locked out, but awefully close. I'd like some specific feedback on that, but any "other" observations are welcome as well. I know the toe drag starts out very nice, but then takes on the principle of an anchor later in the motion, but I don't know that that's worth getting too excited over.

 

[Alan Snedeker]

FR,

She looks pretty good at 8 months out. The IR looks pretty good to me. I don't know if I would worry to much about the arm being too straight right now.

As you can see she has a little leap without the drag in there. I'm not sure how others would say to fix that but I would say to have her think about driving her hips under and past her torso as she pushes off. Hope that makes sense. That should get her the slight lean back as she plants (nose behind belly button). I believe this would help keep her drag foot on the ground.

She is like this
/|||

Should be more like this
/||\

 

[Amy in AZ.]

I feel that she is about ready to hit herself in the hip. Have her get open and stay open towards 3rd, a bit longer. I would take her shoulders and glove arm and physically "line her up."
I would eliminate all that is happening with the back swing and pre-motion. Have her try bringing the hands together, load and bring the ball up an into the arm circle.

She is a nice looking athlete. I bet that she will advance quickly. Are you showing her how to lead with the elbow, going down the back of the circle?

 

[Ken B]

What pitch is she throwing? (Her index finger appears to be off the ball)

I agree with you (and Amy) about the elbow not leading down the back side of the circle. I would emphasize that "leading" is different from "bending" the elbow, which would be forced. The forearm should be almost hanging like a whip. When the upper arm pauses at the side, the more-or-less limp forearm can whip through the release. She has no elbow lead or pause--it's all arm speed.

#27 has a relatively straight arm coming down the back side. Her palm is more to the sky throughout the downswing. Her elbow leads and pauses at the side:


I like Alan's suggestion of essentially preparing to get into the slight rearward landing position after push off. I also think she could be a little more explosive/aggressive in her drive, but maybe that's another goal.

She has a great start. Work on the whip and the rearward lean (which might help the slight leap) and she should be set for this season.


Ken

 

[FrozenRope]

What pitch is she throwing? (Her index finger appears to be off the ball)

Not sure if that's her Rise, or her Curve...maybe it's her screwball...no, no it's her drop. Just Kidding!! It's the only one she knows how to throw!! Numero Uno, FB. For simplistic reference, we just call it her "pitch". She played on a tournament team last month, and the coach taught her a circle change, but she can only throw it with an 11" ball. I see what you are talking about with the index finger coming off the ball for a split second there in the downswing. I checked the other video from that session and it appears to be an isolated incident.

The backward lean is the main focal point at her lessons these days. She's gotten a little bit better as she's gone from a forward lean to just about vertical. Her first goal was to stay behind the plant foot, which she now does consistently. The next step in the progression is to stay behind the front hip. Her PC wants her front hip to elevate slightly above the rear hip, which would essentially get her in the negative lean position. She recommended some leg and core exercises to help her develop the strength required to do so. She does a series of lightly weighted squats and lunges for her legs, and a bunch of yoga type plank exercises to strengthen her core.

I am not going to mess with her stride right now. It's just my opinion, but I think for 10, and her experience level, she's about where she needs to be. As she gets stronger, and get's that proper throwing position down, we'll experiment with the length of the stride.

 

[Ken B]

Not sure if that's her Rise, or her Curve...maybe it's her screwball...no, no it's her drop.

Had a 10U throw a high pitch that went into the backstop. I poked my head out of the dug out and said, "Hey, you've shown her the rise, now let's see the curve!" She gave me a "huh" look, but the other coaches and spectators got a good chuckle.

 

[Ken B]

And apologies for my short memory. I'd completely forgotten that you'd already covered the stride in the Absolutes vs Nice Thread.

 

[Jillsdad]

Not sure why everyone posts that picture^ of Finch with her right ankle dragging on the ground and her foot nearly snapping off

 

[FrozenRope]

I feel that she is about ready to hit herself in the hip. Have her get open and stay open towards 3rd, a bit longer. I would take her shoulders and glove arm and physically "line her up."
I would eliminate all that is happening with the back swing and pre-motion. Have her try bringing the hands together, load and bring the ball up an into the arm circle.
View attachment 3854
She is a nice looking athlete. I bet that she will advance quickly. Are you showing her how to lead with the elbow, going down the back of the circle?

Yes Amy, we have always stressed "Elbow Leads" and she never had any issues. That actually came pretty naturally to her. It's fallen out of the main conversations lately, and the main focal point has been the body position. She still isn't consistently open as much as I'd like her to be, but I think the big push on getting the shoulders behind the hips is causing some issues with everything. She's getting better, but that's a point she's been working on and it isn't coming easy for her. Most of the young pitchers I see on here lack that desired position. Is it safe to say that it is a major developmental stage to get a pitcher to maintain that negative lean through release?

 

[FrozenRope]

And apologies for my short memory. I'd completely forgotten that you'd already covered the stride in the Absolutes vs Nice Thread.

No worries...I forget what I had for breakfast this morning. Trust me, I'm not discounting your emphasis on the stride length, or the explosion off the plate. I just don't think she has the strength or body control yet to do it. I think this is why her PC recommended some leg workouts. She's not a petite kid. She's got some thickness to her and that may be one of the issues with the body lean. She needs to get stronger to be able to hold her own weight back at plant. I see some of the toothpicks (no negative tone intended) that can jump a mile off the plate like it's nothing and not fall completely forward. I think the bulkier girls (once again, no negativity intended) struggle with it a bit more.