Feedback on progress

Hey guys, we are still working towards getting this pitching thing down. I'm not sure if I am helping or hurting but we are having fun in the process. Anyways here is the video, any feedback would be appreciated. I will also post the first video we posted on this site so you can see any changes, good or bad, that we have made in the process. One concern I have is when her drag foot is pulling towards her stride foot it rolls over to where she is on the pinky toe instead of being on the big toe, if you pause the video at 51 seconds you should be able to see what I am talking about. I'm not even sure if its a big deal or if it needs to be corrected. Let me know what you guys think. Thank you.

New video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjfbkbK8yIE

Old Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fY6QzVfCPvY

Worrying about her "big toe, pinky toe" issue is a little strange. She has other issues that need to be addressed.

Here is what I see: A kid with decent form who is terribly inconsistent.

How many times a week is she throwing? She should be throwing five or six times a week.

What is the deal with the HE? She shouldn't be doing that by now.

Yes, she is very inconsistent and that is what we are working on. She just started pitching in Jan. so we have been focusing on form above everything else. She pitches 3-4 times a week, She does pitching on the side so we don't get to work on it as much as we would like to.
If I am understanding IR pitching correctly, it's not about how she finishes with her arm but rather where the ball is at @9 o'clock. palm up rather then on top of the ball pushing it through release, am I incorrect in saying that? I have been telling her to just finish with whatever comes natural to her, which as you can see in the video, seems to be different each pitch haha. Thanks for taking the time to reply.

I see...so, she has only been pitching about 6 months. OK...things make more sense. She seems like an athletic kid, so I was a little confused.

If I am understanding IR pitching correctly, it's not about how she finishes with her arm but rather where the ball is at @9 o'clock. palm up rather then on top of the ball pushing it through release, am I incorrect in saying that?

Click to expand...

No, that is not correct. The idea is for the palm to be up at 9. Then, during the release phase, the hand flips over so the finish is palm down with the hand pointing at the catcher.

Anatomically, the fastest body movement (after blinking) is the pronation (AKA internal rotation) of the forearm. There is a game you probably played where one person puts his hands on top of another person's hands, and then the person on the bottom tries to slap the top hand. The reason there is an advantage to the person on the bottom is because the pronation is so much faster than the pulling motion.

So, what a pitcher does is harness the forearm pronation for throwing the ball. There is a 180 degree rotation of the palm. Baseball pitchers do the same thing, but more...the baseball pitcher has the palm up and rotates the forearm After release, the palm faces 3b. So, the baseball pitcher does a 270 rotation of the forearm.

Your DD is confused about how to finish. She is real jerky after release. She varies the amount of arm pronation, and then pulls her arm into the HE (hello elbow) finish. This is causing her all kinds of control problems. Sometimes she completely pronates the arm. Sometimes she does 50% pronation and releases with the thumb up. Other times, she does almost no pronation. Every pitch is different.

It is kind of weird...in the earlier video, she was "getting" the IR. In the later video, she is really messed up. I'm sure she sees other kids do this at the ball field and that is where she picked up the HE. Kids do that all the time...they try to mimic the other pitchers.

This video shows the correct motion:

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/B6PW4DCqbW8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Here are some videos showing you the release:

https://youtu.be/kdgYS8wYtYU

https://youtu.be/kdgYS8wYtYU

She has other issues. My suggestion is to have DD mimic Whitney Canion. Whitney was the best pitcher in the NCAA in 2013. Whitney has one of the cleanest pitching motions I've ever seen. She pushed off and threw. Her feet were in alignment toward the plate after release. (Whitney's arm position varies depending upon type of pitch...so, her arm goes different places if she throws a rise versus a change versus a fastball.)

Whitney

On the new video... although she hits palm up at 9... she is pushing and on top of the ball shortly afterward.

Right now, she is pitching with conscious arm effort. Whipping the ball needs to become effortless. Think about that... and then watch the videos again... noting the excess amount of movements she is performing. She will improve quickly if she commits to removing all unnecessary movement.

She is a rather coordinated lady... so you don't want to make her stiff or coach the athlete out of her. That said, it would still be a good idea to isolate the whip and remove any other movement from practice sessions until she discovers how to use less body effort when throwing.

Speed and powerful movement increases with proximity to the body and stabilization of other body parts. Her throwing shoulder is preventing the whip from regularly occurring. Again... just one example of a parasitic movement that is preventing her development. Rather than list them all for you... it is important that you both understand that less body movement (still torso) is what allows us to whip better. Addition through subtraction.

IOW... she is too concerned right now with creating energy... she needs to turn her focus towards transferring it. This is what BM's phrase "loose as a goose and full of juice" has always meant to me.

Djubs said:

If I am understanding IR pitching correctly, it's not about how she finishes with her arm but rather where the ball is at @9 o'clock. palm up rather then on top of the ball pushing it through release, am I incorrect in saying that?

Click to expand...

No. IR is about utilizing the most efficient method of transferring energy through the arm to the ball. When you couple it with proximity to the body and stability of the body... you get "whip".

Makes perfect sense. I do notice she has a lot of body movement when she pitches. Do you think this would cause her to wear down quicker? She is very athletic and can run forever without gasping for air but when she pitches for about 20 minutes it looks like she just ran a marathon. I think the feedback here is spot on. I will let her read the comments posted here once I get home so she can understand. Thanks for all the feedback.

Happy 4th of July Everyone. Enjoy your day!

Djubs
The last thing in the world I like to do is focus on follow through motions like toe drag......but in your DD's case i am going to make an exception. I am betting that she/you have put a lot of emphasis on getting her to drag on the top of the toe early in her push off the rubber......'cause that is what I am seeing. I have to tell you that I am not a proponent of that. Dragging on the top of the toe is a forced unnatural motion. If you simply let the rotation of the hips dictate toe drag you will see her drag on the inside of the the toe in the beginning and then pull up to near the top of the toe just at time of release or shortly after release. Dragging on the top of the toe at the beginning of the push-off creates a very early and slow over rotation of the hips.....aka poor energy transfer. And as you can see it may cause the foot to roll over to the outside/pinky toe side.