- Feb 26, 2011
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Looks like she is trying to do the Hillhouse lean back
Neighbor looking for feedback
- Thread starter AndyS
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- Jan 18, 2011
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What do you mean by this? Shouldn't the weight be transferred completely back to the stride foot? I would find it hard not to place the heel with that.
Yes weight back... just not anchored by the heel, stay up on toe.
I don't think I agree with this but I'm not an instructor. It's like Java's 2-step...the heel goes down but it doesn't go down on the push-backs. I think some others have this wrong also.
Why would you allow the tendons and muscles in the back of the stride leg to completely relax, which is exactly what will happen if the pitcher gets all weight on back heel.
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Not wrong, that's how my DD does it.... and track stars.... think about the use of starting blocks... I'm even starting to see some D1 pitchers reach clear down to the ground... CH LSU... You claw w/ your front cleats on back foot, and hook the rubber w/ the front.
- Jan 18, 2011
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I'm starting to think that this weighting of the back foot falls into the "style" of certain pitchers.
I just stood in my office trying it both ways. Got funny looks for that,
My heel drops every time. So I figured what if I added a slight bend in the waist, then I was able to stay on toe. Most of my pitcher will stay more upright when shifting weight this will inevitably lead to the dropped heel, as with the OP. I'm not saying one way is better than the other it's just different from what I expected.
When I stayed on toe. I found that I don't always un-weight the front foot. When I do force the un-weight on drive foot I have a tendency to fall forward due to the bend in the waist. I can see where this could be beneficial.
However, when I try it with the heel down (more upright stance). I find I can un-weight the drive foot very easily and now I can use the fully weighted stride foot to push more into the drive foot, which by the way was easier to center and angle the heel slightly, for what I feel is a stronger drive. Almost like a shortened walk through. I also feel more relaxed in this position thus saving energy to apply to pitching.
Not not saying one is better than the other. I'll leave that up to the Gurus. Just different than what I'm used too. I'll just say it's "style" for now.
I just stood in my office trying it both ways. Got funny looks for that,
My heel drops every time. So I figured what if I added a slight bend in the waist, then I was able to stay on toe. Most of my pitcher will stay more upright when shifting weight this will inevitably lead to the dropped heel, as with the OP. I'm not saying one way is better than the other it's just different from what I expected.
When I stayed on toe. I found that I don't always un-weight the front foot. When I do force the un-weight on drive foot I have a tendency to fall forward due to the bend in the waist. I can see where this could be beneficial.
However, when I try it with the heel down (more upright stance). I find I can un-weight the drive foot very easily and now I can use the fully weighted stride foot to push more into the drive foot, which by the way was easier to center and angle the heel slightly, for what I feel is a stronger drive. Almost like a shortened walk through. I also feel more relaxed in this position thus saving energy to apply to pitching.
Not not saying one is better than the other. I'll leave that up to the Gurus. Just different than what I'm used too. I'll just say it's "style" for now.
Java...please answer. In his drills he doesn't want the heel to drop while performing push-backs but he does want it down on the 2-step and that's basically what a pitcher could use as her pitching motion. You don't want all the body weight over the back heel but I believe it should totally touch the ground.
I would say, whether the heel touches the ground or not, I don't like the heel going down heavy such that there is no longer any elastic tension in the back of that leg. Why? Because once the weight is taken back, the pitcher should start falling forward into the "h," attempting to create a sense of urgency (falling forward) in the legs, hips, and torso. It's hard to do that in most of the weight is on that back heel. Further, I think in this stage, the arm should actually start feeling like it is behind and must catch up. But if the sequencing is correct, the arm won't fully catch up until after the stride foot lands. I believe in all to many pitchers the arm goes into release too early, resulting in less than maximum arm whip.
I'm sure Java will eventually respond to this and knock it out of the park as he usually does.
I'm sure Java will eventually respond to this and knock it out of the park as he usually does.
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