- Jun 19, 2013
- 753
- 28
Question for some of you with older daughters who have been around for a while. Do you think it's possible to change a drag foot after 5 years of having it drag on the side of the big toe. I think it is her biggest issue in her mechanics. We have never SERIOUSLY worked on it. After 18 months of pitching H/E our #1 priority was to convert to I/R and that probably was the time to do but we didn't. She was trying to still pitch in games and be successful while tweaking arms position, grips, release, brush, etc. There has always been something else to deal with - peel didn't work once we switched to I/R, then CU didn't work once her speed improved - you all the know how it goes.
So here we are. 16 years old, just completed her sophomore year. Throws 51-54. Good tilted riseball, drop that is on about 70% of the time, screw that is helpful about 80%, FB to hit spots and a knuckle change that cooperates about 60% of the time.
Seriously I don't know how to tackle that foot. I mean she has mentally worked on it watching video of herself with Ken and me saying things like "think about toenails facing the catcher" "be light on the back foot" "barely touch the toe to the ground" "bring the back knee in behind the front knee" etc.
But I'm wondering is it really is an entire lower body overhaul? Are we looking at lower body drills on a regular basis for fall and winter not worrying about trying to throw strikes and then relearning upper body to match with arm location, release points, etc.? If the toe is different the back leg is different and the hips are different . . .
At one point we looked at, and decided against, the chute that you pitch through. As she turns her foot out on her drive and wasn't able to do that with that thing, but maybe just for drills??
Someone once told me to duct tape something to the side of her shoe where she drags to not allow the foot to lie down sideways in the dirt . . . never did it though . . . same pitching coach once put a sharp rock in her shoe on that side haha (don't report us to CPS - just crazy pitcher parents/coaches).
Feels like starting over . . . it's hard to know if it's worth it.
So here we are. 16 years old, just completed her sophomore year. Throws 51-54. Good tilted riseball, drop that is on about 70% of the time, screw that is helpful about 80%, FB to hit spots and a knuckle change that cooperates about 60% of the time.
Seriously I don't know how to tackle that foot. I mean she has mentally worked on it watching video of herself with Ken and me saying things like "think about toenails facing the catcher" "be light on the back foot" "barely touch the toe to the ground" "bring the back knee in behind the front knee" etc.
But I'm wondering is it really is an entire lower body overhaul? Are we looking at lower body drills on a regular basis for fall and winter not worrying about trying to throw strikes and then relearning upper body to match with arm location, release points, etc.? If the toe is different the back leg is different and the hips are different . . .
At one point we looked at, and decided against, the chute that you pitch through. As she turns her foot out on her drive and wasn't able to do that with that thing, but maybe just for drills??
Someone once told me to duct tape something to the side of her shoe where she drags to not allow the foot to lie down sideways in the dirt . . . never did it though . . . same pitching coach once put a sharp rock in her shoe on that side haha (don't report us to CPS - just crazy pitcher parents/coaches).
Feels like starting over . . . it's hard to know if it's worth it.