Missing high

My DD first yr 12 and since moving back 35-40' and using bigger ball, consistently missing high. More walks than at 10u and always pitching with full count. Trying to diagnose: upper body faster than lower body and/or too short of finish?? Can this cause high miss?? Seeing PC soon but curious. Tnx in advance

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Video would help, could be mechanics related could also just be finding the correct release point...which is probably mechanics related.

It's just really hard without video could be a dozen different things

the video would be nice but in it's absence, let me predict that she does not effectively brush her hip/thigh.

djcarter1966 said:

correct release point...s

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Correct release point is one of those terms I dislike. It implies that the release point changes pitch to pitch or is something that needs to be calibrated, I don't believe it is, on all pitches, except maybe the CU, the release point is caused by the contact of the brush and is the same. High/low is achieved by slight weight adjustments (feel a little more on the front to throw downhill a little back to throw higher). Every time I see a girls struggling with high/low, I hear a coach yell out to find the release point and invariably they are leaning over and missing brush completely.

JJsqueeze said:

Correct release point is one of those terms I dislike. It implies that the release point changes pitch to pitch or is something that needs to be calibrated, I don't believe it is, on all pitches, except maybe the CU, the release point is caused by the contact of the brush and is the same. High/low is achieved by slight weight adjustments (feel a little more on the front to throw downhill a little back to throw higher). Every time I see a girls struggling with high/low, I hear a coach yell out to find the release point and invariably they are leaning over and missing brush completely.

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this assumes the P is achieving contact/brush and that a lot of other things are going right. If she is not using proper mechanics maybe she is trying to manipulate the release point using various cues from coaches or compensation mechanisms on her part.

My guess...

Posture will be a forward lean late in her circle...so you could say there is no brush but getting brush has a dependency on posture...

My guess is she looks something like this at around 9 o'clock:

CP

I wanna bet too. I bet she's releasing out at her front thigh.... and likely has a forward lean. Kinda like CPs post.

chrispots said:

My guess...

Posture will be a forward lean late in her circle...so you could say there is no brush but getting brush has a dependency on posture...

My guess is she looks something like this at around 9 o'clock: View attachment 10474

CP

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How does one go about fixing this posture? This is exactly what my daughter is doing and like FR mentions below, releasing near her front thigh. We do Boardmembers drills already. Anything else? Or just keep doing those until it corrects itself?

Edit to add: Her posture is generally much better during practice (with constant reminding)...but quickly reverts to this in game situations.

strawman said:

How does one go about fixing this posture? This is exactly what my daughter is doing and like FR mentions below, releasing near her front thigh. We do Boardmembers drills already. Anything else? Or just keep doing those until it corrects itself?

Edit to add: Her posture is generally much better during practice (with constant reminding)...but quickly reverts to this in game situations.

Click to expand...

I just got home from clinic...let me craft a good response to this because I feel this is a super common problem...CP

strawman said:

How does one go about fixing this posture? This is exactly what my daughter is doing and like FR mentions below, releasing near her front thigh. We do Boardmembers drills already. Anything else? Or just keep doing those until it corrects itself?

Edit to add: Her posture is generally much better during practice (with constant reminding)...but quickly reverts to this in game situations.

Click to expand...

Regarding fixing this posture...

What usually accompanies this move, is a little booty pop because they feel they need to create clearance. Their butt pops out backwards causing them to slightly hing at the waist and that relaxes some or all of the 4 points off resistance in the torso...for a RHP they hinge towards 3rd, butt to 1st and then they tip forward like a teapot. In the pic I posted you can see her pelvis moving away from the power line. I wish I knew you were going to ask this question because I just had a lesson with this young lady earlier tonight and I could show you before and after...

Anyway...

Take some time and talk about this to your DD. I use my laptop in lessons all the time because a gif can demonstrate what you cannot explain.

The easy cue is keep your nose up in the air...

Rick Pauly's natural open drill is great:


If she gets good with this (note how upright Rick stays) with her feet planted, let her take a step with it starting from this same position...make sure she is staying tall. Make sure that as she comes into the throw she does not tip forward. Make sure as she comes into the throw her lead shoulder (left shoulder for RHP) does not over-rotate through the pitch. If she does this she will send it high\left. She needs to feel her torso stretch and resist against her hips. This will force her to use rotational energy and whip to send the pitch.

She may revert when she takes the step...If she reverts, go back to "flex it." Have her take a step but NOT throw a ball. Just have her "air" through the motion. Her head will probably move forward when she steps...pay attention to what the rear leg is doing...she needs to learn how to transfer linear energy into rotational energy...this is what will stop the "tipping tea pot" posture when she gets into full pitches.

Here's Sarah Pauly:



Here's what I'm talking about in regards to the rear leg:



My student (3rd lesson when this was taken) has almost no movement "into" her front hip. All linear...no rotation. Her rear leg is facing 3rd base with no signs of it internally rotating anytime soon...no lower body support...booty pops out, torso relaxes and posture goes to hell in a hand basket...compare her to Sarah at a similar point...Sarah is "into" her front hip and her torso is stable while she is coming into the throw...rear leg has internally rotated

What I did with this particular girl was to get her doing 9 o'clock drills while her torso was already square with the target. When she struggled with this, I moved her back to 7 o'clock and had her throw standing on her left leg only...only a few of these but I told her to focus on keeping her core firm and arm loose. The hip action took care of itself and she stopped tipping...

The next progression is to start to incorporate drive mechanics into this...you will probably go backwards here because you are adding forward lean into her motion when you just told her to stop leaning forward...

...keep the faith...you're on the right path...

...let's stop here for now...can you post some video?

CP