Stride length

[Ken B]

I used to put more emphasis on stride length, but now focus more on driving strong, balanced and well sequenced. The result is a long stride, but the distance itself isn't a goal as much as it is a product of all else being in good shape.

 

[RubberBiscuit]

I have never been a fan of focusing on stride length.

I view stride length as a tuning fork for the days pitching.

Meaning:

DD will get out there and pitch that first game of the day. If she is consistently high in the zone I tell her to mentally shorten the stride. Then if she is low then lengthen.

That is the ONLY concern we ever gave "stride length" beyond the first teaching of the motion for DD when she was 7ish.

Then somebody brought up the dredded "swim". My opinion this is one of the biggest wastes of time to be concerned with. Sooo many great pitchers "swim" - flush the word from softball......

 

[JJsqueeze]

I can second the optical illusion of renfroe's stride. It is so fast that from behind it looks short but from side angles you can see that it is very long every time.

 

[gvm]

stickpile I feel the same about my eyes developing, only problem is I don't always trust my eyes. I noticed the AandM pitcher leaning to left at different degrees depending on the pitch she was throwning. Dont know the different pitches but the lean did vary.

gvm I think I am going to try to shorten her up a little and see what changes it produces.

if you try to jump out as far as you can,you leave some of your energy behind. someone mentioned it already. get a good push off the mound(that's what is important) and then land into a firm front side for resistance. to truly throw hard,you need ALL of your energy moving towards your target. not just the beginning of your pitch. ALL of your pitch !!! so try to put a little cone to the side of her landing foot,and experiment with it. always maintain a good push,and try to stick a good landing. she'll get it.

 

[4 girl's dad]

I went to a Michele Smith clinic today and she said 7-8 foot lengths of the pitchers foot is a good starting point. Some pitchers can get out passed that and some will be short based on their style but it's a starting point for them to aim at. We were talking mostly 8-12 yr olds. Fwiw.

 

[Phathead]

I went to a Michele Smith clinic today and she said 7-8 foot lengths of the pitchers foot is a good starting point. Some pitchers can get out passed that and some will be short based on their style but it's a starting point for them to aim at. We were talking mostly 8-12 yr olds. Fwiw.

Dang that seems like a long way for a 5'7" girl 14yr that inherited my long waist and nubbins for legs. Not saying it ain't correct but that seems like a long way. I am going to try a cone and make some small adjustments and see what if anything changes.

 

[Dial]

I dont think its stride length you need to worry about, but how quick the stride leg gets to its optimal stride. My DD is 5'4" and can stride out past the 6 steps I have her walk off. She can be slow doing it which causes her to slow down. We are working on that part

 

[Alsmygal]

I was watching the Tennessee vs. A&M game and I even watched the pitchers in slow motion because it didn't look like either one was getting any "glide" or "separation" (terms used by my DD's pitching coaches) when they went into motion. Doug Gillis refers to the distance your drag foot drags before the front foot lands as gliding, her local pc calls it separation. Did anyone else notice this? They looked more like they were stepping instead.

 

[4 girl's dad]

Dang that seems like a long way for a 5'7" girl 14yr that inherited my long waist and nubbins for legs. Not saying it ain't correct but that seems like a long way. I am going to try a cone and make some small adjustments and see what if anything changes.

Remember its pitchers foot length, not feet or steps. Unless she wears a 12, it's not that far IMO

 

[Phathead]

Remember its pitchers foot length, not feet or steps. Unless she wears a 12, it's not that far IMO

Makes more sense. Thanks