I/R Flick

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Apr 23, 2014
389
43
East Jabib
I’ve been watching a lot of slow motion videos of some of the top collegiate pitchers like Rachel Garcia and notice that most of them utilize a sharp “flick” of the wrist after release, like trying to get something sticky off of your hand. Hard to explain so I’m including a video of what I mean.

My question is if this is pitch specific or is it another component of I/R that I should be looking for with my DD?

https://youtu.be/OuxqbWY2xno
 
Mar 8, 2017
78
8
I’ve noticed just practicing myself (in order to teach DD IR)that the spin and velocity is greatly improved by getting that flick off the fingertips (in the direction towards the target).
 
Mar 23, 2014
621
18
SoCal
The experts will chime in but....from what I’ve learned from Rick - that’s the natural result of energy transfer from snapping off the pitch.
 
Feb 3, 2010
5,752
113
Pac NW
A bullwhip tip snaps at the speed of sound. A ball releases from the end of the fingertips MUCH faster than the overall speed of the arm circle. No matter how many thousands of wrist snaps you perform; you will never be able to accelerate a ball to 70+ MPH if that is a focus. Let whip happen--don't make it happen. Get whippy from the hippy. Rock it from the pocket. If in doubt, I've got more...
 
Apr 23, 2014
389
43
East Jabib
A bullwhip tip snaps at the speed of sound. A ball releases from the end of the fingertips MUCH faster than the overall speed of the arm circle. No matter how many thousands of wrist snaps you perform; you will never be able to accelerate a ball to 70+ MPH if that is a focus. Let whip happen--don't make it happen. Get whippy from the hippy. Rock it from the pocket. If in doubt, I've got more...

Thanks so much Ken for your response. I don’t mean to confuse with a traditional HE wrist snap. I’m speaking moreso of I/R where the wrist rotates almost to the point of the pinky facing the body, fingers spread wide.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Last edited:
Nov 25, 2012
1,437
83
USA
SBmom, you raise a very good question and observation. It tells me you are really looking deeper into the mechanics of pitching and I commend you on that. I have said for years (many posts on this I have made.....geez, that sounds like Yoda) LOL.

Anyway, I think the #1 thing that I have learned and it took me way too long to figure it out is that when you see one thing it is actually being caused by another. So, instead of trying to make that one thing happen, look at it like what is happening earlier to make that one thing happen. Ok, maybe a bit confusing but I will add on to Ken's post above and maybe this will help.

Years ago I would watch my favorite pitching coaches daughter Sarah Pauly pitch in all the videos I could find and I swore her wrist would snap. As Ken mentioned above, the wrist snap by itself and doing silly wrist flip/snap drills do nada! They don't, they do nada!!!! However the wrist will actually whip but it is not a conscious effort that is taught by every pitching coach on every corner in Softball USA.

Look a step further and focus on the brush (see Rick Pauly's many videos on this). If you stand in front of a mirror and brush the inside of your forearm, bicep, against your hip/rib cage your wrist will snap unconsciously. It is a byproduct of brush, IMO, and open to argument on this. But if you have good IR, brush, then the wrist will take care of itself and NOT a conscious effort so don't work on it.

Try it in a mirror and let the wrist go, let it be a loose noodle and it will snap on its own if you brush well. Once you get that feeling you will see that wrist snap drills do nothing and brush means everything....well at least alot IMO.

I hope this helps and not too confusing. Again, it took me several years to see things differently, to see what is happening only to now think something else before what I am seeing is actually making that happen.

Best of luck!

S3
 
Dec 5, 2012
4,143
63
Mid West
Very normal, and a natural deceleration of the energy exiting. This is a good sign that she's really brushing with a strong IR.

There is no denying Rachel's success, however I'd recommend to not mimic her rise ball mechanics. She bullet spins tighter and harder than anyone I've ever seen.
She's really successful with bullet, the million dollar question is, how much better would she be with true backspin?
 
Jun 18, 2012
3,183
48
Utah
Man10, I think your DD is a great example of the flicky wrist just after release as a result of great IR, including loose and whippy! Good brush assist as well.

 
Last edited:
SBmom, you raise a very good question and observation. It tells me you are really looking deeper into the mechanics of pitching and I commend you on that. I have said for years (many posts on this I have made.....geez, that sounds like Yoda) LOL.

Anyway, I think the #1 thing that I have learned and it took me way too long to figure it out is that when you see one thing it is actually being caused by another. So, instead of trying to make that one thing happen, look at it like what is happening earlier to make that one thing happen. Ok, maybe a bit confusing but I will add on to Ken's post above and maybe this will help.

Years ago I would watch my favorite pitching coaches daughter Sarah Pauly pitch in all the videos I could find and I swore her wrist would snap. As Ken mentioned above, the wrist snap by itself and doing silly wrist flip/snap drills do nada! They don't, they do nada!!!! However the wrist will actually whip but it is not a conscious effort that is taught by every pitching coach on every corner in Softball USA.

Look a step further and focus on the brush (see Rick Pauly's many videos on this). If you stand in front of a mirror and brush the inside of your forearm, bicep, against your hip/rib cage your wrist will snap unconsciously. It is a byproduct of brush, IMO, and open to argument on this. But if you have good IR, brush, then the wrist will take care of itself and NOT a conscious effort so don't work on it.

Try it in a mirror and let the wrist go, let it be a loose noodle and it will snap on its own if you brush well. Once you get that feeling you will see that wrist snap drills do nothing and brush means everything....well at least alot IMO.

I hope this helps and not too confusing. Again, it took me several years to see things differently, to see what is happening only to now think something else before what I am seeing is actually making that happen.

Best of luck!

S3

Strike 3 and SBMom.....both well said. A term I stole from my buddy Rich Balswick is "Brush Trigger".....combine that with I/R and the hand just explodes inward without any forced action. And the subsequent unloading of that violent action is what you see later in the follow through. Lots of people view that crazy looking unloading and think there is something wrong......me, I'm cheering cause I know the release action was violent.
 

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