Basic arm-body synchronization

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sluggers

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May 26, 2008
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This thread is *NOT* for the advanced pitching coaches. One of the goals of this forum is for parents to learn enough to teach their DD the basics. If the DD likes pitching and has some talent for it, then the parents should find a good pitching coach.

This thread is for new parents trying to teach their DD how to pitch. This thread is about basic, elementary body position and arm position.

In pitching, there has to be a close synchronization of the body and arm. If the arm and body are not in synch, power will be lost, reducing the speed of the thrown ball.

This is just the basics. There is more to arm-body synchronization, but for a newbie, this is what you need to know. As a former Crazy Daddy, if I had known some basic information when my DD started pitching, it would have saved me money, time and grief.

Rick Pauly has studied this extensively. He is the true expert on this.

First, you need to understand "the clock" of pitching The attached photo shows the great Sarah Pauly with a clock around the photo. The picture shows Sarah's right arm at 12 o'clock (simply referred to as "12") and her left arm at 3 o'clock.

For a right handed pitcher, the progression is viewed at 3 (right arm pointing at catcher), 12 (ball at highest position), 9 (right arm pointing at 2B) and 6 (at ball release).

The elite and most "good" pitchers are very consistent as to arm position with respect to the body position.
 

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sluggers

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May 26, 2008
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The first pitcher is Sarah Pauly. The key points to observe are (1) the torso, (2) the arm, and (3) feet position. the position of the torso, arms and feet are remarkable similar for all "good" pitchers.

Although the sequence is four pictures, the two key pictures are at 12 (ball at highest point) and 6 (ball at release).

At 12, you see that Sarah's torso is positioned between her legs, Her front toe has just touched the ground, and her left arm is extended toward the target. Her right arm has a bend. This is the beginning of "the whip". It is imperative that the elbow lead the hand around the circle at least from 12 to 9.

At 9, her arm is almost straight. Notice that she is completely open at 9. For reference, the position at 9 is zero degrees (i.e, completely open). Completely closed (hips and shoulders facing home) is 90 degrees.

At 6, Sarha's torso is still centered between her legs. (It might be slightly forward). Sarah's hips have closed to about 20 degrees.
 

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sluggers

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The next sequence is Cat Osterman. Cat's sequence is almost identical to Sarah Pauly.

At 12, Cat's right foot has not touched the ground.

Note that Cat closes to about 30 degrees at 6, which is more than Sarah Pauly or Jenny Finch.

The hips close somewhat at release. I've never seen a kid who had problems closing too little. Every young pitcher I've ever seen has trouble with closing too much.
 

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sluggers

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Next is Amanda Scarborough. The picture is a little misleading in that at 12 it Amy's foot appears to be down. If you look at the slow motion video, you'll see that the foot has almost, but not quite landed.

Looking at 12, even though her front foot is landing, her torso is still over her right foot--meaning that weight transfer from her right foot to her left foot has not occurred. At 9, her torso is centered between her right foot and her left foot.

Amy has more bend in her arm than either Sarah Pauly or Cat Osterman. Even at 6, Amy's torso is still centered.
 

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sluggers

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Jenny Finch is a tremendous athlete and a tremendous pitcher. Not many people can do what she does.

At 12, you can see her left foot is very far off the ground. Her right ankle is, somehow, touching the ground.

At 9, the ball is clearly facing 3B, indicating that she uses IR (internal rotation) when pitching.

At 6, Jenny appears to be about 10 to 15 degrees closed.
 

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sluggers

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The most common mistake by a young pitcher is prematurely shifting their weight forward. That is, her torso moves forward and over her front foot. For a rightie, the front foot would be the left foot.

There are several problems with the pitcher shown, but the most obvious is that at release her entire front torso is over her left foot, rather than centered between her left and right feet.

The way you do the analysis is to identify the problem at release, and then work backwars to see where the problem started. So, at 6, she her torso so that it is over her left foot. At 9, the torso has shifted forward. At 12, the torso is centered. So, somewhere between 12 and 9, she is leaning her torso forward rather than keeping it back.

Also, note that the ball is down at 9, indicating that she will get little IR on the ball when she throws.
 

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sluggers

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The basic drill that newbies need to do is the "walk through".

This drill is "the drill of drills". Kids do it at 8YOA, and accomplished pitchers still do the drill. (I do not know how many times my DD has done this drill. She did it every time she warmed up, and every time she practiced. I suspect she has done this drill literally thousands of times. So, you might as well get your child started now...)

The drill is simple...the pitcher stands one or two steps behind the pitching rubber. She then walks forwards. As she crosses the pitching rubber, she throws. *BUT* she keeps her push off foot (the right foot for a right handed pitcher) up for some time after she throws. For newbie pitchers, she should keep her push off foot (her right foot for a rightie) up until the catcher throws the ball back to her.



[video=youtube_share;kK2opycNSOI]http://youtu.be/kK2opycNSOI[/video]
 
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Dec 25, 2010
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*BUT* she keeps her push off foot (the right foot for a right handed pitcher) up for some time after she throws. For newbie pitchers, she should keep her push off foot (her right foot for a rightie) up until the catcher throws the ball back to her.


I haven't heard this part before, could you explain what the reason for this is?
 

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