Softball Throwing Mechanics

Here is a good example of what is being taught by colleges in softball, note the ball is facing away from the head....... YouTube - Softball Throwing Upper Body Mechanics and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWs-G0l43ow&feature=related The coaches said the reason for facing the ball away from the body was to get better wrist snap

We have been to two different clinics here in Ohio (including Ohio State) that have taught these type of fundamentals. My daughter plays on a '97 team and the coach is a former college baseball player. Well, he really focuses on throwing, initially, I thought we focused a little too much (up to a half hour in a 2 hour practice early in the year) on this. But the dividends were obvious later in the year. He did emphasize elbow above the shoulder (I believe this is how he was taught). We broke the throw down into 5 progressive stages every time we got together. It got to the point where I was getting worried about pitchers beng properly warmed up before games (I'm a pitchers dad) because we took so long going through our throwing progressions. We had never been on a team that put this much emphasis on throwing. But I have to say, the results were amazing. The progress these girls made during the course of the season was very good.

I focus my first hour on throwing drills and techniques. It does pay off later. I did change from showing the ball to 2nd to showing to 3rd after what Chris O'Leary said to me in a post awhile back. I grabbed a ball and threw it the way I would normally throw, and I showed to 3rd.

Two of the biggest problems I see are first what I call a dead front arm. By dead front arm, I mean it's not doing anything. No elbow pointing towards target and it's not being pulled in towards the chest during the throw. It's just sort of there, doing nothing. The 2nd is no follow through on their through. Many girls will stand straight up and not bend over and follow through opposite their body. We do drills to reinforce these habits and muscle memory them.

Tewks - you've obviously whetted our appetites so don't keep us hangin'. Looking forward to some video!

Thanks - GM

Hot Corner said:

Here is a good example of what is being taught by colleges in softball, note the ball is facing away from the head....... YouTube - Softball Throwing Upper Body Mechanics and YouTube - Softball Throwing Mechanics - Power Position Throwing The coaches said the reason for facing the ball away from the body was to get better wrist snap

Click to expand...

On the video he says it's for alignment.

While that might be a good reason, it can lead to elbow problems.

Hot Corner said:

Here is a good example of what is being taught by colleges in softball, note the ball is facing away from the head....... YouTube - Softball Throwing Upper Body Mechanics and YouTube - Softball Throwing Mechanics - Power Position Throwing The coaches said the reason for facing the ball away from the body was to get better wrist snap

Click to expand...

I don't get the focus on wrist snap. I do understand that females have a much different "awareness" (<---- not sure what the right word to use there is) of their body... have a different "intent" then boys in terms of aggressiveness. But I do know that if you start the throw properly, the wrist snap is a product of being accurate. A product of finding a release point.... and it isn't a snap. Its more direction of a whip.

When my players feel a good throw for the first time, they say it feels like they don't have an arm. One told me the other day that his arm felt like a string. No stress. I know when I throw, if I feel something in my arm, something is wrong. I'm at my facility right now with Jason Weaver of the New England Catching Camp... we're talking about this stuff. His theory is the wrist snap emphasis comes from the pitching side where the wrist snap is more important. (I literally know nothing about softball pitching, so I'm taking his word for it.) I think its a complete non-teach in the overhead throw...

Jason also said the seam issue is a non-issue in softball. I need to do more research. We sit around and battle about this stuff all the time, so I'll do my homework regarding distance, ball speed, ball size, etc and respond accordingly.

Greenmonsters said:

Tewks - you've obviously whetted our appetites so don't keep us hangin'. Looking forward to some video!

Thanks - GM

Click to expand...

I'm working on some stuff. I had a really good conversation with Howard last week that gave me much better insight into the female athlete. I am learning more and more about female anatomy difference from males and I'm working hard with my business partner (strength & conditioning specialist) to make the teaching points are accurate. He's my go-to for anatomical questions and there are a lot of factors with the hips, legs, arms, shoulders that vary from male-to-male, female-to-female, male-to-female. Lots of variables that I want/need to understand fully and I don't want anybody getting hurt.


I'm just curious. In the paid softball world, how many players are receiving evaluations of any sort beyond simple written stuff. Is video being used? Are there actually assessments being done for the girls? I know this is completely lacking in the baseball world.

Tewks I would love to have been a part of that conversation between you and Howard two people who have posted here that I have great respect for.

I took my daughter to Got Bustos camp and there was a team practicing outside the building she told us that they were not practicing the way she would run a practice. She felt the first and a large part of practice should be on throwing. The first part of her instructions was on throwing for the kids at the camp.

There was a college coach who advised that 80% of their errors was throwing errors, then we attended one of the practice the only throwing was warming up and infield and outfield drills, this was a division two school. She used this saying to teach throwing to the kids that were there:

Thumb to thigh, elbow up high, fingers to sky, wave good-by and grab your thigh.

The pitching coach my daughter goes to disagrees with the elbow up high analogy for the over hand throw, he believes it puts too much stress on the arm and shoulder. He advised hold your arm in that position and see how long you can hold it there, it is uncomfortable for me.

Peppers,

I don't like the elbow high if it puts stress on the shoulder and limits range of motion. Flexibility is a huge factor and I'm not 100% convinced the "Inverted W" is a real issue. I'm working with Austin to do more research. I know I can't get my elbow above my shoulder. He can.

I use "get the elbow up" if needed, but it is for keeping the elbow even or close to even when the arm translated for internal rotation to external rotation. The muscles being used to support this translation (I call it turnover) will help or hinder range of motion... and this plays a key role in how long the arm has to accelerate and decelerate. There are tons of factors in the shoulder of both male and female throwers that need to be assessed by a qualified professional. Like hitting, a lot of the look/style can be anatomical in nature.

Speaking with Howard was fantastic. I look forward to picking his brain on an as-regular basis as possible.

Anyone teaching females to throw should read this. This is posted by Howard.

Descriptive Epidemiology of Collegiate Women's Softball Injuries: National Collegiate Athletic Association Injury Surveillance System, 1988
Shoulder injuries are another primary area of preventive concern for collegiate softball players. Although the results do not specify the number of shoulder injuries that can be categorized as chronic or overuse, shoulder strains and shoulder tendinitis were common chronic/overuse injuries that accounted for almost 10% of practice injuries ( Table 5). Furthermore, 5.5% of practice injuries resulting in 10+ days of activity time loss were attributable to shoulder tendinitis ( Table 6). A common misconception is that the windmill motion of softball pitching creates less stress on the arm than the overhead motion of baseball pitching does. However, the degree of shoulder distraction stress on elite softball pitchers during the 1996 Olympic Games averaged 80% ? 22% of their body weight (range = 50% to 149%), which is comparable to that of professional baseball players (mean = 108% ? 16% body weight, range = 83% to 139% body weight) and may put softball pitchers at risk for overuse injury. 14, 15 When 181 NCAA female pitchers were surveyed, 25% of their injuries were categorized as chronic/overuse shoulder injuries. 6 Pitch counts need to be more of a priority for coaches, pitchers, and certified athletic trainers, with an emphasis on the quality versus the quantity of pitches during practice. 6 Furthermore, position-specific interval throwing programs have been designed based on NCAA softball game data, field dimensions, common softball injuries, and general tissue-healing concepts. 16 These programs are not only important for rehabilitation but also may be a beneficial component of the conditioning regimens for all position players. 16

Additionally..... "According to Meyers, 38% of all upper extremity injuries are specific to the shoulder in softball. When compared to the number of other injuries, shoulder injuries are currently the number one upper extremity injuries in softball. On that note, some sports media have claimed (anecdotal) that the fast pitch motion (underhand pitch) in softball is safer on the shoulder joint (than overhand). However, the research suggests that under- and over- hand throwing both add similar stress to the shoulder. (1,2,4) Nevertheless the majority of the stress for over hand throwing is in the deceleration movement (release portion of the throw) which puts the most stress on soft tissues and connective tissues involved in external rotation of the shoulder.(4)
In underhand throwing the majority of stress is in acceleration movement (windup of windmill pitching) and internal rotation.(4) Other interesting research involved the notion that softball players may be predisposed to injury due to the decreased joint position (flexibility) of the shoulder joint during external rotation. (1) Also mentions in the same article that a certain degree of looseness within the shoulder joint to compete at the higher levels. (1) Therefore if the joint is able to move in a more optimal degree of motion the athlete would have a decreased risk of injury."