Frontside resistance drill help

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Mar 29, 2015
61
18
I have a player (12U) who is a great natural athlete. She's the fastest pitcher I have, but she uses a self-taught motion where she bends over and forward as she finishes (sort of a bowling motion). She struggles with consistency, which I hypothesize is related to the extra movement she has in her motion.

I've been trying to work with her to keep her weight back and incorporate frontside resistance, but it feels different and uncomfortable, so she reverts to her natural form.

Any ideas on drills to help her adapt to, and find success with, a more typical pitching style?


IMG_8118.jpg
 
Apr 12, 2015
792
93
Just looking at that picture and going by your description, I'd bet she is throwing with HE mechanics rather than IR. If that is the case, all the front side resistance in the world won'the help her gain consistency. If she is throwing with HE mechanics, she should start throwing extremely high when she throws without that forward lean. The forward lean is a mechanism I've seen many HE pitchers develop in an attempt to keep the ball down.

Take a look at the IR in the classroom thread. This will give you all the drills you need to get her on the right track. Best of luck.
 
Jun 17, 2009
15,105
0
Portland, OR
Between around 12-O'clock and 9-O'clock the front foot will touch the ground and the front leg should be firm but flexed. This is when you begin to create front-side resistance. The center-of-gravity is still back so that the back side is 'loaded'. At approximately 9-O'clock the front heel will be be planted to create a solid base of resistance. Try to have a goal of maintaining the angle of the shoulders and hips from here to release. The mentality is that the arm leads the way and not the shoulders and hips.
 
Jan 29, 2016
151
28
If you have access to a boys portable pitching mound have her pitch on that. I saw a segment on the LSU pitchers using it to help with front side resistance. When you are pitching down hill (on a mound) they can really feel the front side resistance needed or they will fall off the mound completely.

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Sep 29, 2014
2,421
113
as [MENTION=12663]DNeeld[/MENTION] said front side resistance is not going to fix all that is going on mechanically wrong.

look at her finish vs model pitcher...go to the I/R thread and start over...anything else will be a band aid

lean.JPGAmandaRelease.JPG
 
Mar 29, 2015
61
18
Thanks. I agree. My own DD's take lessons, so their coach does the heavy lifting. I've been able to adapt some of her techniques with other girls on my team, but we've never faced anything quite like this. I've been looking at the I/R classroom and learning a lot. Hopefully in a few months I can report back that she's an entirely different (and lights-out) pitcher.
 
Sep 29, 2014
2,421
113
Just remember to focus on throwing first not pitching, you can tell she has probably gotten a lot of advice fun the bleachers saying "throw strikes" and she is probably trying to aim the ball a lot
 
Apr 28, 2014
2,316
113
Just remember to focus on throwing first not pitching, you can tell she has probably gotten a lot of advice fun the bleachers saying "throw strikes" and she is probably trying to aim the ball a lot

100% this!!!

I agree.... DD used to bend at the waist when she was aiming. Took a few years to get her out of that habit. Then she would pitch hard at practice and slower in games.
It's a journey and will take time.
She needs what we call 55's (tincher) or K's... to get her to stop bending.. Even walk ups can help...
 
Apr 22, 2016
64
6
Texas
Aiming is an issue with most young pitchers. I finally took the advice from several on this site to do all the drills and pitching into a net, backstop, or wall with out any target. I keep telling dd to throw properly and the strikes will come. It is a constant battle though. When they pitch in a game, they will hear others saying "just throw strikes" which in their minds means do everything possible to get the ball into the catchers glove. This usually results in some form of breakdown in mechanics for my dd. I just keep emphasizing to trust the mechanics and don't worry about the strikes.
 
Jun 29, 2013
18
0
My DD did this when she first started pitching especially when she needed to throw a strike.Her pitching coach at the time had her do a drill we call bounce bounce,in which directly after the pitch is released she will bounce twice on her land foot and another we never gave a name was also directly after release she will replace her land foot with her drag foot. These two drills have definitely help my DD stand tall and firm up her front side.
 

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