Creating Correct Core Torque

Fastpitch Softball Pitching Slingshot TTL Drill - YouTube

I've created a separate post for this because it seems to be one of the most needed drills for the many posters on this site. Use of the core to create torque is one of the very first things a young pitcher should master. Every key movement in pitching begins in the midsection/core and either works its way down or up.
It seems that many pitchers are trying to learn how to pitch by going back to the mound and throwing full distance/full energy......most will fail at this. As several on this site have suggested it is best to backward chain.
This drill throws from the "K"/Slingshot position and allows the pitcher to have a chance at controlling her mechanics. In this drill note Sarah's back foot/leg action: "Turn the shoelaces/lift the heel/knee to knee". Make sure you understand that this movement is created with the core......it is not a pushing action by the leg!!!!! Also, note how this movement puts her hips at 45 degrees to the powerline at time of release.
Here is an interesting tidbit for everyone......a pitcher that has reasonably mastered this drill can throw 90% of her top mound speed from this "K/Slingshot" position. I have my students perform from this position more than any other.....why not, it is 90% of what counts in pitching mechanics.

Rick - great to see you posting regularly again. This site really benefits from your expertise and experience.

I like the drill and why I have always believed that what happens from 12:00 to 6:00 release is 90% or more of generating velocity on the pitch. My question to you is when doing this drill, when Sarah does the backward chaining (i.e. rocking the ball up the arm circle to 12:00) her hand and arm position are not in the same position going up as coming down. Wouldn't you want to go up the same way you are coming down for consistency purposes and muscle memory for the drill to be the most effective?

I had the same question; what's with the arm positioning on the way up?

I have my students do this exact same drill but have their arm go up the same way it comes down.

I'm not a fan of using hip torque. I prefer the pitcher to understand the pendulum and use physics instead of brute strength. The mechanics are different, but the result is the same. To train for this in a "drill", do this:

Start with the pitcher in the same position Sarah is in, only lift the front leg stride height. The pitcher will have to balance, and for the first few days, this will be difficult for some and they will loose their balance. The process of balancing will strengthen their core and they will soon be fine. Now begin the drill by pushing off with the pivot toes and transfering to the stride leg, landing with the foot 45 degrees and actively RESISTING. The rear leg either drags toe down or calf-to-calf (figure 4) depending on how the pitcher was taught and pitches the ball with good arm whip. The trick to pitching is learning how to transfer forward momentum into ball speed. Timing and sequence is everything here. If the pitcher can throw 90% speed from a stationary position like Sarah, she isn't utilizing physics to her advantage (you can see this clearly as she does not transfer weight to the front foot and resist forward momentum to create a pendulum, instead her stride foot comes back down towards her back foot wasting energy and motion). Like we've all mentioned before though, perfection is not a necessary ingredient in success.

-W

Good point. I guess that going up the same way as you go down would be a good idea.

We probably have a different definition of backward chaining. The swing up to the top is not IMHO the backward chaining.....it is starting the real move from the top and progressing down to release that is the backward chaining. Rather than focusing on the entire pitching motion we have backward chained to a segment closer to release (12 o'clock) to break down the mechanics into bit sized chunks.
The focus of this drill is the method/drill for creating hip and shoulder rotation. Of course it does show great arm whip/brush interference/and internal rotation. So you can use it for several key mechanical checkpoints.

Rocketech1 said:

Rick - great to see you posting regularly again. This site really benefits from your expertise and experience.

I like the drill and why I have always believed that what happens from 12:00 to 6:00 release is 90% or more of generating velocity on the pitch. My question to you is when doing this drill, when Sarah does the backward chaining (i.e. rocking the ball up the arm circle to 12:00) her hand and arm position are not in the same position going up as coming down. Wouldn't you want to go up the same way you are coming down for consistency purposes and muscle memory for the drill to be the most effective?

Click to expand...

Love "the Pride" !!!

Shouldnt the ball be facing the catcher and or third base or somewhere in between at the top..?? Whats up with all the elbow bend? am i missing something?

As in most athletic endeavors there are varying opinions and there could be more than one right answer. I am going to convey some rational as to why use of the core to create torque is my preferred method. This may turn into the old hitting discussion of linear vs rotational but there are a lot of similarities in the discussion.
So that I don't use just my daughter as a sample size of one, I am posting a pic of one of the very best pitchers in the world.....she definitely has created some torque not to mention brush interference:


Consider that she is one of the tallest most levered pitchers in the world so you would think she might just rely on leverage and yet she uses core torquing.....might be why she is also one of the fastest pitchers in the world also.

To expand on why torquing; for all those reading this in front of their computer right now I suggest you stand up and watch what your hips/shoulders do when you simulate hitting a ball out of Yankee Stadium, or rocketing a tennis ball across court past Jimmy Connors, or launching a 300 yard drive off the tee, or throwing a 95 MPH fastball past Hank Aaron, or tossing a 50 yard TD bomb to Jerry Rice. Most of you will use your core torquing to achieve these feats. Very few elite athletes are able to excel without performing these type of core rotational movements.
The core torquing creates a muscle stretch/shortening action/reaction that moves not only the hips but also the shoulders.Marc Dagenais says it better in an excerpt from his dissertation on the role of the core in athletics:

"Low tension is require to develop core stability but core strength need greater tension. Strength is developed when the muscle is placed under great tension".

The shoulders must rotate to allow the upper arm ball and shoulder socket to function efficiently. Additionally, the shoulder rotation is one of the prime movers/accelerators of the throwing arm on its downward path to release.

One of the very top hitting instructors in baseball is adamant that you should focus your training on proximal functions (spine/core) of the body in training not distal functions (toe drag/arm follow through)

Just about any young person with a minimum of natural athleticism uses core torquing if we don't get in the way and alter it.

starsnuffer said:

I'm not a fan of using hip torque. I prefer the pitcher to understand the pendulum and use physics instead of brute strength. The mechanics are different, but the result is the same. To train for this in a "drill", do this:

Start with the pitcher in the same position Sarah is in, only lift the front leg stride height. The pitcher will have to balance, and for the first few days, this will be difficult for some and they will loose their balance. The process of balancing will strengthen their core and they will soon be fine. Now begin the drill by pushing off with the pivot toes and transfering to the stride leg, landing with the foot 45 degrees and actively RESISTING. The rear leg either drags toe down or calf-to-calf (figure 4) depending on how the pitcher was taught and pitches the ball with good arm whip. The trick to pitching is learning how to transfer forward momentum into ball speed. Timing and sequence is everything here. If the pitcher can throw 90% speed from a stationary position like Sarah, she isn't utilizing physics to her advantage (you can see this clearly as she does not transfer weight to the front foot and resist forward momentum to create a pendulum, instead her stride foot comes back down towards her back foot wasting energy and motion). Like we've all mentioned before though, perfection is not a necessary ingredient in success.

-W

Click to expand...

Hoping PC, BoardMember, rdbass or some other technically skilled computer whiz can break down this one into a spiffy, stop-motion gif:

In this clip of Ueno I see the pivot foot knee, stride toe, hips and shoulders all turn from the mid-stride/open phase to about 45 degrees as the arm moves from 12-9 o'clock. From 9-release, I see her hips/shoulders holding at about 45 degrees.