No advantage to leaping

[PEPPERS]

My unprofessional opinion and from someone who has a DD that is a pitcher who I want to enjoy a pain free existence after softball. The legal pitching motion should be decided by professionals in the sports medical field and doctors who are experts in the human motion field.

IMO although the majority of pitching injuries in fast-pitch are in the upper body they can be caused by poor mechanics and a lack of balance in the lower body placing stress on the upper body. A pitcher leaping closer to the batter may reduce the reaction time of the batter facing a 60-65 pitch it certainly reduces the reaction time of the pitcher from a 95 MPH ball hit from a souped up bat.

I'm just not sure which is the more natural motion leaping and dragging the back foot or leaping with both feet off the ground. I utilized a coach who taught DD the correct legal way to pitch while doing it as stress free to the body as possible, so far it has served her well.

 

[knightsb]

One advantage to the leap is the pitcher not having to pay so close attention to the detail of the drive foot after the push.

I am sure there are plenty of pitchers parents who spent many hours working on the details of driving off the pitchers plate and keeping contact with the ground the entire time. I remember placing the sheets of printer paper under her drag toe and her trying so hard, time after time to drag that paper as she would stride.

IMO, having to keep in contact with the ground after that initial drive up and out is not a natural move, and is 100% a teach versus no teach mechanic.

Often you see pitchers lay the entire side of their drive foot on the ground to stay in contact with the ground, my DD used to have this problem, some refer to it as dragging an anchor. I can't help but wonder, how many hours of practice we could have had back to focus on other things had we not had to spend so much time on the drag foot because I was concerned about being completely legal (playing by the rules) with her pitching.

So if I am a stickler on not being so forgiving about the daylight under the drag foot, now you see, for me it's not all about the speed or perceived speed gained, its also about not rewarding those who didn't pay close enough attention to the rules, didn't care enough, or didn't work as hard as those who play by the rules. Just my .02.

 

[JJsqueeze]

Great point. And one of the reasons I want the rule changed. I would have loved to have spent our "get legal" practice time on spins or speed.

 

[BobInMadison]

Great point. And one of the reasons I want the rule changed. I would have loved to have spent our "get legal" practice time on spins or speed.

i have to agree with this. DD #3 has never been called for IP, and her motion appears to be 100% legit. (In fact, the only time an IP was called was she was batting).

Having a different rule for US and international play doesn't help the US pitchers when the US team plays in foreign competitions. It would be great if softball went back to the Olympics. If so, why not allow the US players an even playing field?

 

[Phathead]

Im not an expert in any form. but unscientific observation I have only seen maybe two illegal pitchers that were not tough to hit. all other illegal pitchers whether leaping, replanting were good pitchers in reference to making it tough on the batter. So whether it's perceived or physical it seems they have some advantage. While I have seen plenty of really good legal pitchers that were tough to hit, we seem to always seem to hit legal better. Before someone says it the team sometimes knew pitcher was illegal because it so obvious most of the time girls just had hard time getting hits. As someone mentioned about time to learn spins, I think if leaping comes natural and uncorrected and they are able to locate then they spend more time developing speed and other pitching refinements. JMO

 

[4 girl's dad]

I

One advantage to the leap is the pitcher not having to pay so close attention to the detail of the drive foot after the push.

I am sure there are plenty of pitchers parents who spent many hours working on the details of driving off the pitchers plate and keeping contact with the ground the entire time. I remember placing the sheets of printer paper under her drag toe and her trying so hard, time after time to drag that paper as she would stride.

IMO, having to keep in contact with the ground after that initial drive up and out is not a natural move, and is 100% a teach versus no teach mechanic.

Often you see pitchers lay the entire side of their drive foot on the ground to stay in contact with the ground, my DD used to have this problem, some refer to it as dragging an anchor. I can't help but wonder, how many hours of practice we could have had back to focus on other things had we not had to spend so much time on the drag foot because I was concerned about being completely legal (playing by the rules) with her pitching.

So if I am a stickler on not being so forgiving about the daylight under the drag foot, now you see, for me it's not all about the speed or perceived speed gained, its also about not rewarding those who didn't pay close enough attention to the rules, didn't care enough, or didn't work as hard as those who play by the rules. Just my .02.

Exactly!!



Right or wrong, good mechanics vs bad, whatever, the rules state what is legal. The umps need to follow the rules as they are written for everyone.

Now I wouldn't mind it to not be quite so severe for an IP. A ball maybe? I don't know. But that's another topic all together.
As it stands, just follow the rules as they are written for everyone. If she can't throw a legal pitch then she isnt a pitcher.


I see plenty of pitchers throwing legally. It can be done.

 

[sluggers]

Right or wrong, good mechanics vs bad, whatever, the rules state what is legal. The umps need to follow the rules as they are written for everyone.

The point is that this rule makes no sense in 2015. The NCAA and the ASA should scrap it.

 

[4 girl's dad]

The point of the rule is, to follow it. It evens the playing field for everyone.

When I drag raced, there were rules for each class. If I wanted to change classes, I had to make changes to my program. That's what made it work. If you didn't follow the rules, you were DQ'd.


If you want the rules changed, start lobbying for them. Until then, the rules are the rules and they need to be enforced equally.

 

[Phathead]

The point is that this rule makes no sense in 2015. The NCAA and the ASA should scrap it.

If enough can't slap while keeping both feet in the box then allow one foot out for 2017 even though it made sense when they established it in yr ????. I don't mean it smart*** as that sounds I'm just not a fan of rule changes to accommodate some that can't play / learn / dislike a rule(s) that so many before them played by with great success.

 

[BobInMadison]

Rules shouldn't be kept around just because they have been around for a while.

My great-grandfather was an all-American baseball pitcher in the 1860s. Family lore says he was offered a contract by the Cincinnati Red Leggings (now called the Reds). He took the more lucrative path of marrying an heiress. Baseball didn't pay well back then.

The rules for pitching now are VERY different from what they were back in Great-Grandpa's day. In those days, the batter called the pitches for example.