If you have 2 minutes to watch DD

[dmaeganx2]

She has been working pretty hard, for sure. I don't fully get the I/R drills (I've read the threads, checked the gifs), so I'm hesitant to try those just yet through concern for making things worse.

Well there is no one on the face of the planet that does drills worse then my DD she just makes them so much more complicated then they need to be ... I had to modify the drills to get her to not actually realize what she was doing believe it or not ... But they do work

 

[Doug Romrell]

I think you misunderstood. I'm concerned that my lack of comprehension of the drills, how they need to work and what I need to be seeing will cause me to make things worse. I know the drills work, I just don't feel competent to be the one teaching them!

I did somewhat misunderstand, and sorry if I seemed blunt. However, that makes me want to suggest you find someone who teaches those things taught in those drills referred to. You have time here. She's still quite young. Don't try to do too much at once, but start with foundational things (many have been mentioned above).

 

[SBmom8992]

I think you misunderstood. I'm concerned that my lack of comprehension of the drills, how they need to work and what I need to be seeing will cause me to make things worse. I know the drills work, I just don't feel competent to be the one teaching them!

Have you tried doing the I/R progressions yourself? I found that by me doing it, I can better understand how to explain how the mechanics are supposed to feel as an accompaniment to how they should look.

 

[BuckeyeGuy]

Have you tried doing the I/R progressions yourself? I found that by me doing it, I can better understand how to explain how the mechanics are supposed to feel as an accompaniment to how they should look.

I really need to spend some time doing that. I've played with them, but haven't spent enough effort there.

 

[dmaeganx2]

I really need to spend some time doing that. I've played with them, but haven't spent enough effort there.

I did them But my DD quickly pointed out that My upper arm never fully comes in contact with my side. I have tried to figure out why but just have come to the conclusion that because of the size of my lats it forces an earlier IR. But she was very quick to point it out it is amazing what children will see in others that is wrong

 

[Me_and_my_big_mouth]

I did them But my DD quickly pointed out that My upper arm never fully comes in contact with my side. I have tried to figure out why but just have come to the conclusion that because of the size of my lats it forces an earlier IR. But she was very quick to point it out it is amazing what children will see in others that is wrong

My DD loves it when I try to do what I'm "teaching" her to do. I even let her video me (with the sworn promise that it's deleted after we get our breath back from laughing). It really does help when they become the "teachers" - and it reminds them that this pitching thing sure ain't easy.

I'm including this fun video compilation that I put together - just for reference. It's my DD, from her first game 18 months ago to now, using many of the DFP stickies & videos (and lessons, and lots of help from awesome dads and coaches). It can get better, even if they don't start out looking really "athletic." LOL

[video=youtube_share;1B5TuT6uiCg]http://youtu.be/1B5TuT6uiCg[/video]

 

[BuckeyeGuy]

DD from the K.

 

[JJsqueeze]

Thanks Buckeye that helps isolate things a little more...

There are a couple of things that she can clean up in this drill very quickly to make the motion more compact and start cleaning up unnecessary motion. I am a fan of compact, clean motion with nothing wasted and the body being kept in favorable positions. As part of this, you will have to go along for the ride to feel some of the things she is feeling.

Starting with her weight distribution and how her weight is being transferred from back to front, look at two things, look at her head position relative to the line where the French doors meet. Do you see how her head never stops moving forward? DO you also see how her weight keeps transferring onto her front foot through release and after. At no point does it get firm so that the arm has something to whip against. This is a huge power drainer and accuracy killer.

Picture playing tetherball with a pole that is set in wet mud. When you hit the ball, some of that energy is going to pull on the pole and shift it one way, then as the ball moves around it will pull the pole around with it, the pole acts like an energy anchor on the ball and will be really slow. Now picture the same set up in hardened concrete. The ball will whip around the pole because all of the energy can only go into rotational momentum of the ball and none can be used to move the pole since it is now rigidly held. This is is how I explain the importance of front side resistance.

The second weight shift issue is that she is not getting her weight into a compact position, see that rear leg being left behind? That rear leg is about 1/5th her total body weight and by leaving it behind you have another momentum killer. Just think of it acting as an anchor. This type of drill should almost have a jumping jack feel to it. All limbs out and then all of them get sucked into the body, start in a K, end in an I.

So by having her bring that rear leg along for the ride, and getting her to feel a stopping point where she firms up and stops moving forward it will help a lot.

The next thing is that she is doing some bending at the waist to clear her hip, you want to get that arm circle as close to the body as possible. Lastly, the arm continuing on it's path and going above her head on the follow through encourages her body to also keep moving after release. I would try to get her to follow through with more of a feel of "to the catcher" and not "towards the sky". The follow through itself is really a symptom but by tweaking how she feels the follow through, some upstream things will come into focus.

my computer is insisting on shutting down to do upgrades I don't want now. More to come

 

[JJsqueeze]

Here is a clip of one of BoardMember's students doing a similar drill. To illustrate what I was talking about.

 

[BuckeyeGuy]

Thanks JJ!

What should I tell DD's PC to focus on first? Weight xfer and front side resistance? I really feel like the instruction so far has been very scattered, and I'd like to focus it.