Pitcher backswing question.

[uncdrew]

Tried it. It does not feel any more natural either way.

Really? If you backswing with the hand to the catcher, you don't have to rotate the forearm at all. You just raise your arm.

If you have the ball to the catcher in your backswing, as you come up your forearm has to rotate 180 degrees to get to 12:00 with the ball facing the catcher.

However, if they both feel fine then perhaps it doesn't matter which you do. But of course what matters is what works for your daughter. And I like to stick to more natural movements when possible.

 

[Hillhouse]

Not rude at all and a good question. She is currently loosing about 3-4mph without any backswing. I am not a person that thinks the backswing actually adds speed but she does get some kind of timing mechanism from the backswing that allows her to throw harder.

I do not think the backswing is an absolute. Too many great pitchers do different pre-motions differently for the backswing to be an absolute.

Does she get sore in the front of her shoulder?

 

[Gambler Bob]

Does she get sore in the front of her shoulder?

No, not in the front of the shoulder. The only time she has any tightness it is in the back of her trapezius muscles, that would be pretty rear though. I don't think that has anything to do with pitching since both her left and right trap will have tightness when that does occur.

 

[fistafury17]

If you're of the mind that at 12:00 the ball should face the catcher, it feels much more natural to do the backswing with the hand facing the catcher. Try it.

We still use a backswing. No 10 year old we play is going to read the pitch/grip. I've tried doing it and it's not easy. I believe those who say better/older hitters can read a grip on a backswing, but I'm not concerned about that much (at 10U), to be honest. Much, much more concerned with mechanics and for now the backswing is part of her pitch and it works.

... and of course we know of dozens of top pitchers who use a backswing. I'm in the "whichever works best for you" camp on this one.

My daughter, 12 yrs old now, was taught a "quick pitch" by her first PC when she was 9. This was just using no backswing, but at the time the pitch was interesting that it caught a lot o batters off guard. The "quick pitch" was actually faster than her conventional fastball lol. She worked with that PC for a couple months before I learned enough about pitching to know she was being taught HE. When I figured this out, I immediately cancelled all the lessons I'd scheduled.
The transition to losing backswing for good took about 30 min this time.

 

[djcarter1966]

Obviously if you are going to follow the do as the best do it does not matter since they do it differently thats why my first check isn't until 3 o'clock and 12 o'clock; at 3 you should see both the ball hand and glove hand out in front and the ball should be either facing the glove hand or starting its rotation to palm down as you go through to 12 the orientation of the ball shouldn't change what was palm down at 11 becomes palm up on the way down and shouild stay that way and you should be good to go.

 

[rslaubaugh]

We have gone the no backswing/cover the ball route with my 9yo. Hillhouse videos here also. We have observed way less glove side swimming with this approach.

 

[ArmWhip]

With younger pitchers I think a backswing helps with rhythm and timing. But coming out of the glove does help control glove swim so I offer it once they get a consistent motion grooved.

 

[Hillhouse]

With younger pitchers I think a backswing helps with rhythm and timing. But coming out of the glove does help control glove swim so I offer it once they get a consistent motion grooved.

I disagree. I don't think it helps with rhythm and timing at all. Rhythm and timing can be found just as easy without it. But for young pitchers so much is "monkey see, monkey do" and since 90% do this backswing without a conscience thought, and solely because the girl next to them did it, they feel like they have to do it. And by the time they figure out how much more of an advantage you can get by NOT doing this, the muscle memory is so ingrained that NOT doing it feels like they're pitching with the opposite hand.
@rslaubaugh is 100% right. The longer the hands are together the less the glove can swim. Once they separate the hands to do the backswing, the glove hand becomes free to go wherever it wants. In MANY of these cases, that means it goes swimming.

Bill

 

[Mike-Coach-Q]

My granddaughter asked if she could shorten her backswing. I said absolutely. Here is her experimenting with lees of a backswing.

 

[Mike-Coach-Q]

another one with no backswing