Internal Rotation, Frame by Frame

[Merrill Danner]

Good luck with finding one, I am on the Eastern side ok OK and everyone here teaches HE and try anything different. Between the great people on this board, Bill Hillhouse videos and Coaches Eye app on my phone my DD(11 yo) are starting to make really good progress. Only thing she is lacking is the whip at the end, but she is trying and working hard. I only wish i had learned of IR and known what I was seeing when I looked at videos of Jenny Finch and Amanda Scarborough. Good luck and have fun.

 

[okie]

Thanks for the help, some of those are exactly what i was looking for.

 

[Ken B]

I like these sequences as they demonstrate the complete range of IR of the arm as well as the rotation of the forearm after release:

 

[Ken B]

The key points above are:
-135+/- degrees elbow angle maintained throughout the 180 degrees of upper arm rotation
-Upper arm pauses during most of the rotation
-Perfect forearm brush/interference
-Lower arm is relaxed; which is seen in forearm rotation at follow through

Classic example of whip!

I was able to watch one of my kids pitch a couple days ago as a field ump. She trusted her whip and let it fly. She had 17 strikeouts, one put out at first and 2 walks. She can pitch slightly better with her eyes closed in practice. The key is trust. She goes out and lets her form do the work.

I watched another new kid pitch tonight and you could see her thinking about the count, the target and clearly tried to throw strikes. Her form changed in almost every pitch. Her best pitches were inside and low, which resulted in 2 hit batters. My chat with her after the game was to compliment her on her desire, but to trust her form and let it do the work for her. I think its going to take some time, but she's competitive and has her coach's (dad's) support.

 

[Ken B]

I have to say, my favorite part of umping at the first girl's game was watching my partner/PU duck during high pitches! Wimp!

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

The key points above are:
-135+/- degrees elbow angle maintained throughout the 180 degrees of upper arm rotation
-Upper arm pauses during most of the rotation
-Perfect forearm brush/interference
-Lower arm is relaxed; which is seen in forearm rotation at follow through

Classic example of whip!

Bold ... I believe I know what you are talking about .... still, afterwards I'll feel a bit of a forearm burn. Notice the wrinkles in the forearm in the frame(s) after release.

 

[coachbob]

Bold ... I believe I know what you are talking about .... still, afterwards I'll feel a bit of a forearm burn. Notice the wrinkles in the forearm in the frame(s) after release.

That's pretty cool. It looks like a rag wring effect from the opposing forces of release and arm I/R. What do you think?

 

[Ken B]

Bold ... I believe I know what you are talking about .... still, afterwards I'll feel a bit of a forearm burn. Notice the wrinkles in the forearm in the frame(s) after release.

As if the forearm muscles are contributing to the release? I can't help wonder if there isn't some muscle assist (wrist snap.) I can say that on the rare occasions where I've been gunned, I was faster when I was thinking "loose and relaxed" vs "throw hard." The kids seem to improve faster when they think loose forearm. Control also seems better. I think it's similar to hip/shoulder action. It seems if you try to emphasize it rather than allow the body to just do it, the result tends to be negative.

I'd love to see a slow mo/EMG study of pitchers like Ueno, Abbott and Traina to find out which muscle groups contribute.