Bottom Half

Welcome to Discuss Fastpitch

Your FREE Account is waiting to the Best Softball Community on the Web.

Jul 15, 2016
115
18
Im not sure if anyone has studied this or has a way to quantify it but how much of the pitchers speed, power, etc. come from using the bottom half of their body?

Reasoning behind the question...DD (10y.o. first yr 12u) was struggling the last couple weeks and when I had a chance not to be on the bucket catching I noticed her drive had become shorter and not as powerful. We worked on it this weekend and with a more forceful and intentional drive she threw like her old self again.
 
Feb 3, 2010
5,752
113
Pac NW
As you add more lower half/make it quicker, your arm circle has to speed up to stay in sync. I've heard someone say you can hit about 90% of you max speed without a drive, but I think the drive makes the arm circle much more efficient. Not only because it speeds up the circle, but plant resistance adds umph as well. Additionally, a strong drive gets you a touch closer to the batter, which decreases reaction time. I've heard that every foot closer equates to a perceived 1.5 MPH in reaction time.
 
Last edited:
Jun 19, 2014
846
43
Raleigh,NC
As you add more lower half/make it quicker, your arm circle has to speed up to stay in sync. I've heard someone say you can hit about 90% of you max speed without a drive, but I think the drive makes the arm circle much more efficient. Not only because it speeds up the circle, but plant resistance adds umph as well. Additionally, a strong drive gets you a touch closer to the batter, which decreases reaction time. I've heard that every foot closer equates to a perceived 1.5 MPH in reaction time.

A funny but true story:
My dd was told she needs to slow her body down in order for her arm to catch up.
 
Nov 3, 2012
480
16
I've worked with my DD on getting a better explosion of the mound. She does pretty well, but I think we can add speed. We worked with rubber bands and drills and emphasized getting off like a sprinter (See Rick Pauley's Drive mechanics sticky). I think she was firing off better with more power like we want, but the problem was getting the timing down of the release and everything else. My interpretation of the results that she was firing faster and lower, but the arm was moving at the same speed, so the arm was a little late and she was closing her hips earlier. This resulted in the pitches being low and inside. I tried to get her to speed the timing of everything else up to the faster and powerful explosion leg drive, but she went back to where she was more comfortable and had more control.


This is a work in progress. My plan is to attack this in the offseason where she doesn't have to worry about messing her up for the next weekend. DD is 17 and is doing well and continuously improving. But she's been pitching for years now, and it does get harder to make changes. Ill add that most pitchers at 16u and 18U don't have the best leg drive based on my observations.
 
Nov 18, 2015
1,585
113
... I've heard someone say you can hit about 90% of you max speed without a drive...

I've read/heard this as well - (maybe in one of the Balswick video's? just guessing on that part). Am I misunderstanding this statement, or does this imply that if Paige Parker (OU) or Barnhill were to just step and throw without any sort of leap or push-off (or push-off x2:) ), they'd still be hitting the mid-60's? (Assuming top speed of ~70 with full motion). Would this be comparable to pitching from the stretch vs windup in baseball?

A lot of posts on this site are dedicated to drive mechanics, which seems odd if they only add a few mph to the pitch? Then again, even more posts have been written on the nuances of the swing (pivot points, loading into the hip, loading around the hip, etc.), so maybe this is just par for the course?
 
Jul 15, 2016
115
18
We started marking a couple lines where she is "stepping" and where she should be "driving". That alone helped by giving her something to shoot for. She is certainly fixing the misses high and speed has increased over the last couple days by doing this. The misses now are just a tick outside (shes a lefty). I think she is closing a bit early.
 
Feb 3, 2010
5,752
113
Pac NW
I've read/heard this as well - (maybe in one of the Balswick video's? just guessing on that part). Am I misunderstanding this statement, or does this imply that if Paige Parker (OU) or Barnhill were to just step and throw without any sort of leap or push-off (or push-off x2:) ), they'd still be hitting the mid-60's? (Assuming top speed of ~70 with full motion). Would this be comparable to pitching from the stretch vs windup in baseball?

A lot of posts on this site are dedicated to drive mechanics, which seems odd if they only add a few mph to the pitch? Then again, even more posts have been written on the nuances of the swing (pivot points, loading into the hip, loading around the hip, etc.), so maybe this is just par for the course?

90% is from memory, but I think it's close. The drive makes throwing more efficient--not only can you throw a few MPH more, but for longer periods. Not to mention being a few feet closer which, in addition to the speed boost, cuts reaction time. So, if you can throw 5 MPH faster with a drive and you're 3 feet closer to the batter, you're effectively throwing 9 MPH faster--that's a huge jump.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
42,830
Messages
679,478
Members
21,445
Latest member
Bmac81802
Top