Kinematic Sequence of Softball Pitching

[LeftiesDad]

Like you also said, it's the braking that's important. The guy talking in the video got me thinking about the twisting that happens and the hip getting in the way. I've seen a few videos, the one of Ueno in slo-mo that makes my want to try more focus on bringing the back hip through, transferring the energy just at the snap of the whip, but not in it's way. But, it's not rotation of both hips in a plane or the rear hip away from the center, it's the rear hip rotating inwardly in it's joint that I'm thinking about.

Big time important IMHO, would love to see discussion on this. I believe this is related to the core torque talked about by Rick Pauly and is part of a common athletic move seen in hitting, throwing, pitching etc

 

[starsnuffer]

I always encourage "active resistance", which is basically pushing back with the stride leg once it lands. I was led onto this concept by Kirk Walker, who works with UCLA's pitchers. I never put too much thought into this beyond encouraging the strong frame and timing the pendulum needs to function, but how does the front leg resist back through the body if not through the hips? When this is done, the hips have to turn, the front hip moving back and the rear hip rotating forward. I'm guessing here, but maybe your key isn't about thinking what the back leg does, but what the front leg does that allows this to happen. Anything one side of the hip does has to involve the opposite side as well.

-W

 

[LeftiesDad]

Thanks for the response. I think I hear you saying that foot plant is causing the rotation of the rear leg (or at least leading to it).
I see it happening before that point in many top level pitchers. Just trying to understand the mechanism.

In her K drill Sarah Pauly's first move is to turn her rear foot in slightly is this to build tension or to load something in her upper thigh? and her leg gets fully turned in early in her push back with her lead leg

 

[JJsqueeze]

I think this is a subtle but important distinction. If the foot landing, and that force moving up to the hip, initiated the closing then you would lose a lot of power because the force would then have no moment arm to act upon to produce torque. The hips have to have started, even ever so slightly to get the plant to be a force adder by converting the ground force to hip rotation and moving the force up the chain to the torso and arm.

 

[Ken B]

In the video of Ueno, watch the orientation of both feet/knees as well as the timing of the pull down of the glove and ball arms.

 

[JJsqueeze]

What am I looking for Ken? are you saying that the hip starting to close is happening before LFT or as a result of LFT?

 

[Ken B]

Both legs drive straight forward until full leg extension where there is a sharp change to cocking/loading. At this time, both legs turn towards 3B briefly. At pull down, the knees and toes turn back to forward. In Ueno's case, the stride foot goes from straight, to 45 then back to straight. Cat does something similar, but the stride foot turns all the way to 90 before planting at 45.

Nothing earth shattering--just an observation. Finch and Scarborough's stride feet do not change angles as much.

 

[JJsqueeze]

just keeping my GIF skills up to date...it's been a while.

 

[JJsqueeze]

i'd hate to see this fall away...bump

 

[Ken B]

I've been looking for a decent video of Abbott for a long time and stumbled on this today while looking for something else:



Much less involvement from the front leg in assisting the body to get open/closed.