Hi All,
I know glove slapping has been covered A LOT. I don't want to re-ignite the debate of is it bad/good/neutral. My daughter is learning to pitch (9 yo), and doing pretty well for her age. Anyway, she does slap the thigh with her glove, not because she thinks it's "cool", but because it feels most natural to bring her glove arm straight down at her body.
It hasn't been an issue before, but lately she must be hitting it harder because it's been causing some bruising & pain in her thigh. Because of this I would like to explore what can be done to stop it. What I want to know is where should the glove be brought down to as an alternative?? She doesn't "swim"...the glove stays pretty well in line with her front shoulder. She pitches from a mostly open release and thrusts the glove up and at the catcher during her arm circle (not straight up & not parallel to the ground...almost right between horizontal & vertical). Now, from a physics standpoint, it seems like pulling the glove back and down to counter-balance the whip of the arm circle of the pitching arm is necessary. And if the glove arm goes behind (near her butt) it will pull her shoulder off line and cause the pitch to go outside to a righty. If the glove goes in front of her thigh it seems like it will interfere with the release of the ball. (I love Hillhouse, but I am confused when he says for girls to practice by throwing into their own glove because it would seem that this will cause girls to form the habit of having their glove "in the way" of their release point)
So my question is...where can the glove be brought down to? It would seem right down at their body line would make the most sense, but this causes an inevitable collision between the glove and the body. I'm looking for suggestions & any video of alternatives would be greatly appreciated. Also, if I am incorrect about any of my statements, please correct me...I am definitely just a bucket dad when it comes to windmill pitching.
Thanks !!
I know glove slapping has been covered A LOT. I don't want to re-ignite the debate of is it bad/good/neutral. My daughter is learning to pitch (9 yo), and doing pretty well for her age. Anyway, she does slap the thigh with her glove, not because she thinks it's "cool", but because it feels most natural to bring her glove arm straight down at her body.
It hasn't been an issue before, but lately she must be hitting it harder because it's been causing some bruising & pain in her thigh. Because of this I would like to explore what can be done to stop it. What I want to know is where should the glove be brought down to as an alternative?? She doesn't "swim"...the glove stays pretty well in line with her front shoulder. She pitches from a mostly open release and thrusts the glove up and at the catcher during her arm circle (not straight up & not parallel to the ground...almost right between horizontal & vertical). Now, from a physics standpoint, it seems like pulling the glove back and down to counter-balance the whip of the arm circle of the pitching arm is necessary. And if the glove arm goes behind (near her butt) it will pull her shoulder off line and cause the pitch to go outside to a righty. If the glove goes in front of her thigh it seems like it will interfere with the release of the ball. (I love Hillhouse, but I am confused when he says for girls to practice by throwing into their own glove because it would seem that this will cause girls to form the habit of having their glove "in the way" of their release point)
So my question is...where can the glove be brought down to? It would seem right down at their body line would make the most sense, but this causes an inevitable collision between the glove and the body. I'm looking for suggestions & any video of alternatives would be greatly appreciated. Also, if I am incorrect about any of my statements, please correct me...I am definitely just a bucket dad when it comes to windmill pitching.
Thanks !!