balance equals power ?

[tobor]

my 11 yr old dd has been pitching for about 2 years. she started off as a step-style pitcher and had very good speed. last year we switched to leap drag and she seemed to have difficulty reaching the same velocity.

at the end of this past fall she was throwing about 45mph, which was ok. now, after a few months lay off, she's only throwing about 40mph.

i'm wondering what's happening to her speed. my best guess is that it's a balance issue... she's fairly big for her age and uses internal rotation mechanics.

sometimes i tell her to throw hard and the ball actually comes even slower. when i ask her what happened, she tells me she felt a little off balance.

i think the slow methodical pace of step style pitching allowed her to maintain a better sense of balance... and i think that although leaping requires more balance, all the leap style pitching last year allowed her to develop enough muscle to provide a solid sense of balance.

i'm also thinking that after a few months lay-off that her muscles are weaker and that her balance is not where she left off and MAYBE that's why her pitching speed has slowed...

So my question to all you pitching gurus out there is how big of a deal is balance in achieving pitching power?? or am i missing the boat in focusing on balance?

 

[halskinner]

my 11 yr old dd has been pitching for about 2 years. she started off as a step-style pitcher and had very good speed. last year we switched to leap drag and she seemed to have difficulty reaching the same velocity.

at the end of this past fall she was throwing about 45mph, which was ok. now, after a few months lay off, she's only throwing about 40mph.

i'm wondering what's happening to her speed. my best guess is that it's a balance issue... she's fairly big for her age and uses internal rotation mechanics.

sometimes i tell her to throw hard and the ball actually comes even slower. when i ask her what happened, she tells me she felt a little off balance.

i think the slow methodical pace of step style pitching allowed her to maintain a better sense of balance... and i think that although leaping requires more balance, all the leap style pitching last year allowed her to develop enough muscle to provide a solid sense of balance.

i'm also thinking that after a few months lay-off that her muscles are weaker and that her balance is not where she left off and MAYBE that's why her pitching speed has slowed...

So my question to all you pitching gurus out there is how big of a deal is balance in achieving pitching power?? or am i missing the boat in focusing on balance?

I think she might be confusing a 'balance' issue with a 'timing' issue. If she lost mph switching over to L and D, I am betting it's a timing issue.

Balance can make the motions flow more smoothly but, some part of the motions has slowed down. If she is taking a longer and stronger L and D stride, it must also be taken faster than the old step stride. Where is the ball in the circle at the exact instant of landing foot touchdown? Should be around 1:00 to 1:30. If she sped up one part of her motions, another might still be too slow.

I have seen many pitchers that were actually throwing with an elongated step and then dragging the foot a little forward, oncre the stride foot touched down, that thought they were throwing with the Leap and Drag style.

How tall is she and what is her stride length?

Hal

 

[lhowser]

Tobar,

Not one of the famed gurus but I have had my share of success with kids. In my opinion it is impossible to know whether balance is a factor in speed for your DD without video. 3 pitches from side, front and back would be optimal and may offer clues. Switching to what you may be thinking is leap and drag could be so many things. Balance, lack of opening, landing with weight wrong, timing of arm, pushing with front shoulder and on and on. Focusing on balance may not be the answer. Your pitching coach should be able to know what is going on so keep learning from this site and compare what is being taught by coach to what is being shared here. Ultimately, like Mark H often says, study the videos of the best on this site and make sure yours is doing that by video analysis. When she is the speed will return.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

There is a pitching coach in St. Louis, that calls his lessons Rhythm and Balance. His name is George Jones. I know he has a website and DVDs. See if you can find anything there.

 

[FJRGerry]

Where does your daughter feel she's losing her balance? As she starts her stride? At the release? After the release? If she throws slower when asked to throw harder she's probably unconsiously tensing up prior to the release.

Also a few months layoff is a LONG layoff, especially if she's learning a new style.

 

[tobor]

I think she might be confusing a 'balance' issue with a 'timing' issue. If she lost mph switching over to L and D, I am betting it's a timing issue.

How tall is she and what is her stride length?

Hal

hal, i think you may have hit the nail on the head. she did struggle a lot with timing when she first switched to the new style - which i think in turn leads to her being slightly off balance and not able to gain her full momentum. i'm not 100% positive, but i think she may be over-striding (jumping out too far) when she tries to throw hard. i think that causes her to be a little off balance.

i'll try to measure her stride once it stops raining here in ca. but, how far should she be striding anyway?

Where does your daughter feel she's losing her balance? As she starts her stride? At the release? After the release? If she throws slower when asked to throw harder she's probably unconsiously tensing up prior to the release.

Also a few months layoff is a LONG layoff, especially if she's learning a new style.

she feels off balance right as she's releasing. doesn't seem like she's tensing up, as she still has good arm whip.

we've had a few months lay-off, but she's still been seeing her pitching coach once a week. BUT, it's not the same level of activity she was getting during the season.

 

[halskinner]

hal, i think you may have hit the nail on the head. she did struggle a lot with timing when she first switched to the new style - which i think in turn leads to her being slightly off balance and not able to gain her full momentum. i'm not 100% positive, but i think she may be over-striding (jumping out too far) when she tries to throw hard. i think that causes her to be a little off balance.

i'll try to measure her stride once it stops raining here in ca. but, how far should she be striding anyway?



she feels off balance right as she's releasing. doesn't seem like she's tensing up, as she still has good arm whip.

we've had a few months lay-off, but she's still been seeing her pitching coach once a week. BUT, it's not the same level of activity she was getting during the season.

Is she walking through the pitch? I am guessing her stride is a little short to accomodate the L and D. This is very common.

I am betting her forward momentum is carrying her forwad after she plants the stride foot. That would give an off-balance feeling and cause her to slow down a little.

Hal

 

[drc9805]

I was going to say she is probably tensing up real bad when you tell her to throw hard because most people do especially when they see a radar gun and their speed usually decreases but I see where you say it doesnt look like she is.