Perpelexed on how to increase arm speed (Video)

My daughter is 5'4 130lbs 12yo. This is beginning her third year pitching. Last year she had a shoulder impingement that through PT and proper technique we thought we were back on track. She has hit a wall and I am clueless. Her pitching coach is saying she should be throwing so much harder. We do some weighted ball drill put she does not have fast arm speed. I am open to suggestions.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WV4JLKewc0

if your DD has had shoulder problems and her PC is suggesting a weighted ball, I would run as fast as you can from that PC.

Focus on the drive phase of the sequence and I bet that the arm speed will take care of itself.

She's a classic example of hello elbow. Wayyyy too much emphasis on the shoulder. I'm certain she has pain in the top back portion of her shoulder.
Her speed and spin is most likley peaked due to her mechanics.
Read and reread the stickys on IR, Drive mechanics, Brush contact, and resistance. In there you'll find plenty of video clips, compare those clips to your dd....
Go to: Paulygirlfastpitch.com print off all of the free info and start to implement these techniques asap
Also, look at the possibility of coming to Indiana for the clinic held in march. PM me if you'd like additional info on this clinic.

Carla_IL said:

My daughter is 5'4 130lbs 12yo. This is beginning her third year pitching. Last year she had a shoulder impingement that through PT and proper technique we thought we were back on track. She has hit a wall and I am clueless. Her pitching coach is saying she should be throwing so much harder. We do some weighted ball drill put she does not have fast arm speed. I am open to suggestions.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WV4JLKewc0

Click to expand...

There's clearly a lot of potential here.

I do like that she gets into the slanted h in the beginning of her drive. With some work on her landing and release posture, and on her brush-assisted arm-whip, she'll do much better.

Hi Carla,
Do you happen to have a clip from the side?

As others have mentioned, your daughter has a ton of untapped potential. Good arm speed is a result of good mechanics. Your daughter is attempting to create, or being taught to create ball speed by muscling the motion. Think in terms of a bullwhip. A bullwhip has no powered or mechanical devices in any part of it's 8 foot length. However, with good technique, the operator can send a wave of energy down it's length and propel the tip to past the speed of sound! The same concept is true with the pitching motion: There is no way for our body to muscle a ball to 70 MPH, no matter how many wrist flips, arm circle speed drills or weighted ball drills are used. However, we can use technique to take advantage of the wonderfully complex articulations that our arms are capable of to simulate a bullwhip!

Check out these links as a start, to better learn how to facilitate this action. Unfortunately, I believe your current PC might be limiting your daughter's progress...

http://www.discussfastpitch.com/softball-pitching/10321-i-r-classroom.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqNnDS2YYzc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5T4Jd7GKg5Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTFRgE6wwVM
Videos | Balswick Fastpitch

I'd suggest taking a break from pitching for control using full motion. Instead, I'd suggested playing underhand catch with a focus on learning to feel and trust whip; as taught in the above resources. Separately, take a look at developing a more efficient drive sequence using these links:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufRaP2LkbGs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBvFc-8wWLU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gUkiavW-o4
http://www.discussfastpitch.com/softball-pitching/18135-drive-mechanics.html

Hope that was helpful,
Ken

knightsb said:

Click to expand...

Thanks knight for this. Much easier to see. She's not as bad of a HE as I thought. I'd say her two biggest obstacles right now are no brush causing a late release and her posture is too forward...

She looks a lot like what my daughter does too often in that last picture. If she does it, her next pitch she jumps instead of dragging, lands on one foot, and stays that way for a second. Can't lean forward that way or you fall.

Her PC told her to bring the back foot up to the front foot fast, rather than leaving it behind, so she's standing tall. Sometimes if she's having a day with a lot of these pitches, we focus only on that for awhile.