The lost art of throwing

[oldcop]

I have never posted a thread here usually just read what you guys have to say but I have a question for you. It could be just me but has the proper throwing mechanics become a lost art? I was at a tournament over the weekend and I couldnt believe what I was seeing and several players were high school players.
Has winning become more important than teaching the game??

 

[softballphreak]

I have never posted a thread here usually just read what you guys have to say but I have a question for you. It could be just me but has the proper throwing mechanics become a lost art? I was at a tournament over the weekend and I couldnt believe what I was seeing and several players were high school players.
Has winning become more important than teaching the game??

Winning is the object of teaching the game.

You're right, though, and a lot of other fundamentals seem to have slipped through the crack. I think you will probably find that the team with the better fundamentals will be the winner usually.

 

[quincy]

Getting throwing mechanics corrected is a long process and slips thru the cracks because of the time and effort it takes. It takes a commitment from the player, coach and parent. It is hard to do.

 

[Chris O'Leary]

It takes practice and effort and reps.

My concern with the "professionalization" of the game is that important things, like getting out and throwing for 15 or 30 minutes with a parent or friend each day, are getting overlooked.

This is also a bigger issue for girls because they are less likely to play other games, like football in the fall and gutterball in the summer, that let them work on their throwing.

I also think that if you're expecting your daughter to learn how to throw, and really work on her throwing, during practice, then you're going to be disappointed.

 

[CycloneSoftball22]

OK. If I were going to completely overhaul my 13 yo DD throwing mechanics this Winter (She throws pretty accurately , but with ugly form and mediocre arm strength) , what would be the process that I should take?

 

[quincy]

Patience is the key, for me anyways it is the most frustrating thing in softball. The players throw things around every day outside of playing ball and you are trying to break a lifelong habit. This video is as good as any:

Sportskool

For my DD and a few other players they need to start their throw by crow hopping, their right foot starts their throwing motion. Not sure if that is “correct” but she has been successful with it.

 

[starsnuffer]

IMHO, if the team isn't out there doing long toss as part of their throwing warmup, they're doing it wrong. It's really hard to throw for distance with poor mechanics.

-W

 

[smallball]

OK. If I were going to completely overhaul my 13 yo DD throwing mechanics this Winter (She throws pretty accurately , but with ugly form and mediocre arm strength) , what would be the process that I should take?

The off season is definitely the best time to fix mechanics because in season, no matter how hard they work at fixing them, in games they generally revert to old form, especially the older they are.

I can't offer suggestions to fix ugly form without know which part of the form is ugly. Chris' site has some good info on throwing mechanics. Once you figure out what needs fixed, the only thing you can do it get out and throw, throw, throw. And then throw some more. You have to insist that every throw be mechanically correct or you're wasting your time. Videoing her is a good idea so she can see what she is doing correctly and see what she needs to work on. Also, warn her that as her mechanics change, her accuracy will suffer at first. She has to know that it's part of the process. You both have to be patient and trust the process.

After your DD is consistently playing catch without having to think about how to throw correctly, start rolling grounders and throwing flies and have her throw, then progress to hitting them. And again, always insist it be done correctly.

Long toss will help arm strength, but before using it make sure the mechanics are there or you risk injury.

Good luck. The older they are, the more patience and persistence you will need.

 

[softballphreak]

I've used a Junior size good quality football. It helps and it can also be used in cold weather when catching softballs is rather painful.

There have been other posts where they described throwing the Nerf footballs.

 

[RichK]

IMHO, if the team isn't out there doing long toss as part of their throwing warmup, they're doing it wrong. It's really hard to throw for distance with poor mechanics.

-W

After watching Jaeger videos, I introduced (very) long toss into our fall practice (and I did it with the girls too) and ended up with a LOT of sore girls....I think this means a few things:

- if their shoulder is sore (as mine was) form was probably decent but overall body/shoulder needs to be strengthened. Problem was in the fall I have them once per week so it's not really "a program" that will see progress but a once-a-week thing. I also imagine not doing the other parts of the Jaeger program, like bands etc. not a good idea

- if elbow is sore, they are probably mechanical problems

- I definitely enjoyed the Jaeger concept of loose and long, followed by pull-down for speed. Again, I just don't have enough access to put such a program in place with our team, but I can really see the value

I'd be really interested in others' thoughts on long-toss, and am reading this thread with great interest.

Just in general, I don't think you can catch and throw enough in practice : >

Jaeger Sports