Drive leg

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May 18, 2009
1,314
38
Hi cv,

Sure, your spot on. The furthur past 45 the plant is, the more the knees, hips, torso and shoulders have to adjust to the plant foot in the very same direction. The mechanics become both less efficient and less productive and usually introduce posture issues which can have a negative effect on speed, accuracy, movement. The greater the plant beyond 45, the higher the chance of counterproductive inefficiencies. You mentioned ruddering, and there's also the gluteous kickout, introduction of pushing the ball rather than pulling and whipping the ball down through release just to mention a couple.

So in pitching, it's natural to start open, plant to a degree closed and then finish open again. The furthur the plant deviates past 45 toward 90 degrees, the greater the fight to find balance (and sometimes struggle or won't) and get back to open again.

Remember, order comes from geometry...curves, angles and patterns. :cool:

I definitely think the rudder is her big issue. Need to work on the posture to rid herself of the very slight lean to the right. That slight lean allows the arm to pass without the proper brush interference. I can see a couple mph with these basic corrections.
 
Dec 10, 2015
845
63
Chautauqua County
Hi cv,

Sure, your spot on. The furthur past 45 the plant is, the more the knees, hips, torso and shoulders have to adjust to the plant foot in the very same direction. The mechanics become both less efficient and less productive and usually introduce posture issues which can have a negative effect on speed, accuracy, movement. The greater the plant beyond 45, the higher the chance of counterproductive inefficiencies. You mentioned ruddering, and there's also the gluteous kickout, introduction of pushing the ball rather than pulling and whipping the ball down through release just to mention a couple.

So in pitching, it's natural to start open, plant to a degree closed and then finish open again. The furthur the plant deviates past 45 toward 90 degrees, the greater the fight to find balance (and sometimes struggle or won't) and get back to open again.

Remember, order comes from geometry...curves, angles and patterns. :cool:

Exactly what we found, Chris. unlearning, relearning, the beat goes on.
 
Mar 23, 2011
492
18
Noblseville, IN
Right now DD has plateaued in speed. Watching video all her speed comes from the upper body. She's leaving her drive leg behind. Are there any drills that can get the drive leg to finish strong and in sync with the arm whip? I always hear knee to knee finish. The ball is long gone with her drive leg well behind her at release. Yuki Ueno has the drive leg and her release in sync.

I would recommend taking a look at one of my prior posts about the Late Push Pattern. It is important to know if your daughter's primary drive is coming from thrust from her midsection (via glutes) or if her forward movement is primarily from the drive leg pushing back into the rubber (long and slow).
 

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