14u video analysis

[Shawn]

I like the Balswick video 3, good stuff.

 

[Quasimodo]

So many kids and PC’s attempt to increase the stride length of their pitchers. From what I can see stride length is a by product of good drive and when you try to achieve more stride length just for the sake of increasing stride length (and not increased drive) it ends up throwing quite a few things out of whack.

I wouldn't want dad to get submerged, but I just watched Balswick's 3rd video. The DD didn't push the ball much. I consider his arm motion advice as a separate issue. Maybe she can absorb enough to use it in pre-pitching drills. But Softball fan dad might get drowned in all our advice. Anyway I like the 3rd video too.

 

[Softball fan dad]

All great advice, thank you. So just to be clear of the primary things to be bring to her.
1. She is too far back with her start back foot. How far back do you think is optimal?
2. She is over extending with her stride leg. Should she not straighten her stride leg out in the air?
3. Her upper body is coming over the top at resistance. Do you think this is a result of her over stride?

 

[Softball fan dad]

Does she go to a Tincher instructor? Just curious.

No, not tincher

 

[BigSkyHi]

All great advice, thank you. So just to be clear of the primary things to be bring to her.

3. Her upper body is coming over the top at resistance. Do you think this is a result of her over stride?

In the 3rd Balswick video he speaks of the elbow drops into the slot (tick tock ). At this point the shoulder becomes disengaged. Your daughter appears to be rolling the shoulder at this point.

 

[MattM]

When you watch at regular speed it looks like she is throwing much faster than 53. If you step through the video frame by frame using the "." key, to me it looks like her shoulders are leading her hips just prior to release and she is leaking power at the end. Also in the video from behind you can see that she has not closed her hips to 45 prior to her arm moving to 600. The hips leading or at a minimum staying even with the shoulders was discussed on another recent thread and is something that R. Pauly advocates. The other comments about stabilizing with good posture and the shoulder back will help this. Watch the Scarborough slow motion and you can really see how her hip leads prior to release and the power it generates. Good luck, working with my DD over this break as well.

 

[Traps71]

All great advice, thank you. So just to be clear of the primary things to be bring to her.
1. She is too far back with her start back foot. How far back do you think is optimal?
2. She is over extending with her stride leg. Should she not straighten her stride leg out in the air?
3. Her upper body is coming over the top at resistance. Do you think this is a result of her over stride?

Your DD looks like she is making great progress. Congrats.

Not sure what is optimal, probably depends on the girl. My DD (likewise 14U) also likes to start with her stride foot back off the rubber and she is maybe 6" or so. It does not affect her posture. She is able to stand upright comfortably while doing it. Maybe cut what your DD is currently doing in half and see how that feels/goes? I think the point about it not affecting her posture is key.

The guideline that Rick Pauly uses is that beginners should aim to stride out no further than they are tall. For an intermediate pitcher, it is about 6" farther than she is tall. For an advanced/elite level pitcher, it is 8-12" farther than they are tall. The other important thing is that it is not how far you are striding, but how fast you are getting there. It is the drive/acceleration off the rubber that is creating energy. You should think more about driving with your right foot than reaching with your stride foot, if that makes sense. It may actually help to think about taking the stride leg knee toward the catcher rather than reaching or kicking out with the stride leg. If she thinks about driving with her stride knee, her leg will naturally uncoil how it needs to land. One last related point: Your DD's stride foot doesn't need to be much higher than 12" off the ground to have an effective drive (this would put her stride knee close to hip height as she detaches from the rubber). Think more out, than up.

Your DD doesn't really use much of a backswing, which is fine, but you may want to consider transitioning her fully to the "out of the glove" style. The advantage of that style, which is still not that prevalent in women's fastpitch, is that it completely hides the ball/grip from the batter (and third base coach) making it much harder to pick. Hillhouse, who has already forgot more about pitching than I'll ever know, is a big advocate of it.

 

[Quasimodo]

All great advice, thank you. So just to be clear of the primary things to be bring to her.
1. She is too far back with her start back foot. How far back do you think is optimal?
2. She is over extending with her stride leg. Should she not straighten her stride leg out in the air?
3. Her upper body is coming over the top at resistance. Do you think this is a result of her over stride?

Height is a factor. If she stands over her front foot, flat on the rubber, then her toe will touch behind her. Do not put weight on the back foot. As I said before, the hips would be directly over the back foot when she rocks back. That will reduce energy to get back to the loaded position on her front foot, knee bent.

Yes, the stride leg does not straighten until she pushes her stride foot down. Keep the knee bent. But literally what this means is, do not let the hips rise up during the push-off or drop. The hips should stay on a parallel plane with the ground.

Her over-stride causes her back leg to drag behind instead of closing with force. If you do the other fixes above then she will stand up straight, and she will close her legs with some force. The more you "reach" with the stride leg, the more the hips open, often too soon, and then the stride leg lags and becomes an anchor. To compensate they lean the upper body for balance. Notice at the end after the push leg closes up, she is standing straight!

There is more to be honest, but this is a good start. And to tell the truth, it is a matter of a healthy knee to get it right. See Dagmar's photos below. After you get her lower half established then work on her arm action.

 

[wheresmycar]

DD is working hard. The experts on this site have always been so helpful to her progress, so I figured it was time for another round of advice. She is inconsistent with her speed. She has hit 56 a handful of times, but usually hovers around 53. All of the clips below are fastballs at 53. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

All of that "Pre-motion" is not doing her any favors. Stride foot way too far behind plate, so when she brings ball over her head, she is actually leaning away from home plate. Her throwing arm is bent until around 10 o'clock. A big arm circle is your friend...

How can you expect her to be consistent, with all of that pre-motion going on? Too many variables. Simplify the pre-motion, and consistency will result.

My $ .02

 

[Laphoneman]

Im just a bucket dad but when DD trys to throw it hard I see her shoulder get involved and that forward lean at the end of her pitch. The more she relaxes her shoulders lets them drop while staying tall and back relying on solid FSR the better more consistent speed. Remember your top speed isn’t how fast you can throw its how fast you can pitch it to the spot you intended. My DD is about the same speed at 14 as long as she is gaining a cpl mph/year Im not stressing about speed I’m stressing about intentional movement. Good luck I hope you’re getting to play.