That's a good question but difficult to answer since I don't really have a control side of the experiment to compare with. She's low 50s as a small 15 year old, so definitely not throwing smoke. I'll say that the few pitches she threw with backswing (after not having used it in ages) seemed a couple mph faster. I'm no pitcher, myself, but watching myself after observing it in her, I noticed I come through with my arms early also. When I tried to correct it to create some lag, it felt more whippy. That, and the disparity between her arm position and what I see from that of others got me going down this rabbit hole.
Arm out early
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Chris Delorit
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Video = the eye that never lies.
Attached are links for you both to compare. Pay close attention to the sequencing in both the lower & upper halves, front & backsides. One is your daughter, the other would be a world class pitcher.
What's obvious is that your daughter is athletic, detail-oriented & has worked very hard to improve to her skill level.
There's alot of video information for her to both disect & try to mimic, less the replant.
Thank you. I'll take a long look.
Edit: Holy cow! Does this guy have an exceptionally big crow hop or is it just the slo mo? Now I see what @ArmWhip was referring to. There's no hurry to speed the arm to 12, but once he plants it slingshots through. He also gets his arms out pretty early. It also looks like he kind of gathers just as he begins to push off. Anything else apart from the fluid explosiveness that a smarter man than me would notice?
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I have always wondered about the cause/effect side of the 'ball position in the arm circle' discussion. A pitcher with high velocity will be moving the ball through the circle faster, meaning the ball will travel more of the circle. So she will be starting the ball 'later'. But I'm not sure if starting the ball 'later' will make a pitcher faster. There are other factors involved which complicate the whole thing, such as where in the circle does a pitcher accelerate the ball the most? If you look at the men you can see a lag over the top so they gain very little in velocity in that part of the circle, if you can even call what a lot of them do a circle. The men, for all practical purposes, are sling shot pitchers.
Definitely something I'm wondering about more. I remember someone (Java Source?) commenting on the speed of Sarah Pauly's arm whip from about 11 to 8. This would jibe with your observation about male pitchers...kind of like a "top of the roller coaster" then crashing down in terms of velocity at those points. If so, then is it just about arriving at a good position at that point?
DD's arm circle has always appeared kind of slow and deliberate to me, and my thought was whether her early start relative to her bottom half made her prolong her arm circle to slot appropriately at plant. But I lack the physics or kinesiology degree to approach a study of this sort of thing.
Chris Delorit
Member
You've got in covered already.
Right, obviously just delete the hop & move in the direction of more fluid & explosive short, coiled movements.
Note Juan's footwork sequence including his pivot side hip. On the top, compact small C's including his core.
Like your daughter, Juan was not big in stature. However, he threw tremendously hard & had great spin because he understood how to use the law of physics to his advantage.
STFG is a great drill for pitchers with a backswing. For my pitchers out of glove I find this drill to be more connected to their motion:I would try the STFG drill from Javasource's Drive Mechanics.
Drive Mechanics
Stagger of the feet helps, no doubt. Try sprinting with feet beside each other, vs staggered. The latter is infinitely more efficient. Rocketech1... Stagger creates more space to develop momentum. The giant bend at the knees is not efficient. The stretch shortening cycle says otherwise. A...www.discussfastpitch.com
Set up with a ball in each hand (no glove) 15 feet from the tarp.
Act like you’re going to pitch, but instead shove both balls straight at the wall.
Finish the pitch with empty hands.
Add QOTH for more benefit. (Or other leg drive drill)
It helps separate drive from arm circle. I find it helps a little with the backswing kids, but not as much.
This seems like a good starting point. Thanks.
So to be clear, you mean drive out, then the movement resolves in something like a basketball chest pass with two balls?
