IR..Bout to pull my hair out

What I mean by that is after she releases the ball, her arm was finishing anywhere from her belly button to her chest. A lot of times and at times in the slow motion pitches in the video, her finish was high at shoulder height or higher. Am I wrong in wanting her to finish at chest level?

Ken B said:

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She does look good.

When I watched, and reinforced by the still shots Ken posted, she looks really closed at release. Our professional coaches want the shoulders more at 45.

Also, can you get a rubber and attach it to your mat? Looks like she's almost falling off the back on her pre/load. It's almost the reverse of what that drive foot should be feeling.

I was confused at the belly button to chest comment too, but I think what you meant was for the hand to finish lower. I think the key point would be to hold the glove shoulder in and keep it still through the release. If she is forcing a high finish it's allowing/making her to rotate her shoulders too much/ too early which in turn loses the whip. If she holds her shoulder more still (in the release phase 45ish) it shouldn't allow for that higher finish until way after the ball is out.

Seminole said:

What I mean by that is after she releases the ball, her arm was finishing anywhere from her belly button to her chest. A lot of times and at times in the slow motion pitches in the video, her finish was high at shoulder height or higher. Am I wrong in wanting her to finish at chest level?

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I'm no pitching coach, but I listen to them as often as I possibly can, and sit through lessons with my daughter and the other girls on our travel team. And like many here, I watch tons of videos and instructional from the best coaches and ones that are IR proponents.

I haven't heard any of them worry much about the hand after they release the ball. I have, however, listened to a lot of good instruction about the glove hand. Your daughter is swimming a bit. I am not truly convinced that the glove hand is majorly important, but it does make sense to me to have it not swim towards first base, as that contributes to closing the shoulders early and can be distracting to finding your location -- for example, when we throw the ball from SS to 1B we don't point our glove at center field.

It's tough, I know. There are so many things for these little girls to think about. IR, brush, drive, etc. etc. etc. I'm constantly amazed they do as well as they do.

Uncdrew, I’ve been meaning to get a spiked rubber and attatch it to the end of the mat. I agree, she is swimming, and she was really doing good with throwing the glove hand toward the catcher a few weeks ago, but now is swimming. It’s so much to work on. What we’ve done in the past is have someone hold pool noodles on the back side of her on the powerline to give her feedback if she’s swimming. She knows she is, and that’s good that she realizes it. She’s not trying to finish high, It’s just happening. The day before, she was finishing lower. I agree with you Rosey that she’s closed to much at the release, and you said it could cause her to lose the whip because of lack of brush interference?

It all tends to go together but yes, brush, but also a still front side to resist against (a.k.a. front side resistance). If you stop her front side from moving (IMO her glove shoulder in this case) her hand can throw against it.

Rosey said:

It all tends to go together but yes, brush, but also a still front side to resist against (a.k.a. front side resistance). If you stop her front side from moving (IMO her glove shoulder in this case) her hand can throw against it.

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same general thought as you. stop the swim and adduct glove arm instead. that should stop the over rotation of the shoulders and quiet the 4 points (shoulders/hips). this should firm up posture and stop the leaking occuring with the top half lean and back drive leg drag. there is good stuff here - https://www.discussfastpitch.com/softball-pitching/22025-basic-pitching-checkpoints.html 2 cents and a smile

Remember that there are 4 points of resistance.
1. Front leg, 2. hips, 3. torso, and 4. upper arm compressed against the ribs.
Your dd is like Ken said "really close"... she is however a little inefficient in her points of resistance. Do you notice how her hip and torso rotation never stops? This is hurting her ability to transfer energy kinetically. Also, her upper/inner arm is not compressed into her ribs.
*** Fixes:
1. Really try to stop any excess rotation of the torso past an approx 45 degree angle.
2. Study the lock it in drill to fully understand a loose, bent, and whippy lower arm while the upper arm is stabilized.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PebimH2AW48&feature=youtu.be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvkdI8-dAvM

As far as the arm being between the belly and chest... I have no opinion here, because the ball is long gone by this point

Coach James...really good YouTube videos you linked. Gonna show my daughter today before we go out. What I’ve been telling her with brush is to feel her elbow brush or make contact with her hip...should I word it differently?

Seminole said:

Uncdrew, I’ve been meaning to get a spiked rubber and attatch it to the end of the mat. I agree, she is swimming, and she was really doing good with throwing the glove hand toward the catcher a few weeks ago, but now is swimming. It’s so much to work on. What we’ve done in the past is have someone hold pool noodles on the back side of her on the powerline to give her feedback if she’s swimming. She knows she is, and that’s good that she realizes it. She’s not trying to finish high, It’s just happening. The day before, she was finishing lower. I agree with you Rosey that she’s closed to much at the release, and you said it could cause her to lose the whip because of lack of brush interference?

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I feel so mean when my daughter does 7 things right and then I say "stop swimming".

At some point I should celebrate the 7 things she does right and stop being such a meanie.