critique daughter's pitching 12U

[Playaction]

I notice some IR in the video. I don't teach hello elbow. You can see her hand roll over after release. I tell her to just let it fly although it ends up(hello elbow) there occasionally. Is her left arm swimming? Where should it be? Any input is greatly appreciated.

 

[undergroundga]

Not that I'm the formost leading expert, but I think she looked really good. While she does finish with a semi- hello elbow(is that even a word?), which I think is unnecessary, I don't think it will affect anything. She doesn't appear to snap her elbow tight and her follow through looks good. Prolly just the remnant of earlier teaching or something that she has seen. I've seen some girls that throw with IR and still end up like this. I would keep an eye on it though.

 

[curiousgeorge]

no expert here either but, it looks like she does the same thing Hillhouse describes Jennie Finch doing, snapping her elbow, then bringing it back to "hello elbow" position. Its' a waste of time to bring it back to that position but I don't think it's hurting anything since she's already whipped the elbow in the pitch.

CG

 

[Playaction]

I like the athleticism, but I would reduce the lower body movement onto the rear foot. Weight should go into the push off foot. The stride foot should just go out sooner.

I also don't like the back swaying and would remove any overhead wind up for longevity. (I do know the girls like an up push if they have a back swing. I don't like it but I see why they do it. It can much smaller though.)

The follow through is worrisome and should not come up that high on the arm side, which you can see is the result of closing those hips. They need to stay open more; just drop that right foot down at an angle back from the front foot, don't try and align them.

I see what you mean by rocking back on left foot. It may be preventing her from maximizing push off of right foot.
She is comfortable going above her head although I think she is too jerky on the way down and if she is going to continue to do this she should be smooth to the top and let them drop.
We are working on the follow through.
So she is closing too soon?

I don't understand the right foot at an angle deal.

 

[Adman]

Playaction,

Thanks for posting. What I like about this forum is that I get a chance to see these young players in different stages of development. Forgive my attempt at a critique as it helps me think out loud for my own daughter's pitching.

To my untrained eyes she looks good. To Screwball's point, it does look like she's closing her hips early. She appears to have a "natural" arm swing up to the point where she looks like she's pulling her shoulder up and back to stop the natural follow through. It looks like she's doing this to make the "hello elbow" happen. Even though this happens long after release, I think her shoulder and posture is not as relaxed as it could be because of her anticipation of it. My guess is, she'd probably pick up a few mph in her throw (or at least accuracy), if she got rid of moving to "hello elbow", and just let her hand/wrist continue towards the catcher.

I'm still on the fence about the "swimming" issue I see/hear people bring up. Hillhouse talks about it, but I still see his, and others, glove arm (however controlled) swing out a bit. How's her accuracy?

I'm happy to be corrected on my observations.

 

[Playaction]

Playaction,

Thanks for posting. What I like about this forum is that I get a chance to see these young players in different stages of development. Forgive my attempt at a critique as it helps me think out loud for my own daughter's pitching.

To my untrained eyes she looks good. To Screwball's point, it does look like she's closing her hips early. She appears to have a "natural" arm swing up to the point where she looks like she's pulling her shoulder up and back to stop the natural follow through. It looks like she's doing this to make the "hello elbow" happen. Even though this happens long after release, I think her shoulder and posture is not as relaxed as it could be because of her anticipation of it. My guess is, she'd probably pick up a few mph in her throw (or at least accuracy), if she got rid of moving to "hello elbow", and just let her hand/wrist continue towards the catcher.

I'm still on the fence about the "swimming" issue I see/hear people bring up. Hillhouse talks about it, but I still see his, and others, glove arm (however controlled) swing out a bit. How's her accuracy?

I'm happy to be corrected on my observations.

That's why we are here. I need to know what we need to work on.
I am just grateful to have a place to get this kind of feedback. I have been a long time reader and haven't posted much until now. I think we can learn a lot more on here than we can from any of the local pitching coaches.

She has been pitching 3 full seasons. She has been very consistent control wise. Of course we would like more speed and I know if she is going to continue to pitch she is going to have hit her spots and keep the batter off balance. Her change right now is a roll over but she throws the flip also.

We will start with the rocking motion and the follow through and move on from there. Thanks for everyones help.

 

[Brandi Brown]

I read much and listen more and have many questions. If you could answer or point me in the right direction I would greatly appreciate. What is hello elbow? I have 8U so I really don't expect much more than hard work and dedication to learning the steps, but then that means I must learn them first. o_0

 

[JAD]

I am not a pitching expert, but IMHO it looks like she does not get maximum 'push' from her right leg. She seems to rotate her foot @ 45degrees during her motion and I would think that keeping her toe pointed forward and 'hooking' the ball of her foot on the pitching rubber would give her more push. As she develops more 'push' make sure she does not develop a leap or crow hop!

 

[undergroundga]

It amazes how much more some of you see than what I can. Let's me know I have a long way to go.
I agree she is closing way to much at the end. I think staying open really helps with accuracy. I tell girls to noot close more than 45 degrees. I think it helps keep their arm circle in line longer not haveing to fight the hip for room.
Still don't think she snaps her arm though, looks more like she rotates it upwards. I could be wrong but I think of hello elbow more as showing the catcher your elbow.
Like the post follow through motion I think her preload motion is a waste also. But both of these things are style choices, I believe. Just my 2 cents. As long as her elbow doesn't lock.
I see so many girls, including my dd, that twist their plant foot before exploding off the mound. Been really working on this with dd. I would like to see dd explode off the mound with her laces toward the catcher then open her hips. (Ihope that is right, if not please tell me.)

 

[tojo]

I believe she is turning the pivot foot prior to push off a bit too much and is not utlizing her quad muscles. If the pivot foot turns too much, you will use more calf and ankle to push off. Your DD has a slight up and down on her stride and needs to be more up and out. Dropping down as Screwball eluded to will contribute to the up and down motion in her stride. If you have heard the phrase" a strong right side into a firm left side" is what I believe Screwball is referring to in one of her post. When the hip closes too soon and you leave the powerline prior to release, you are losing speed. If you don't take advantage of the stride to transfer the momentum to the throwing side, you lose speed. Also, as others have stated, tell your DD not to force the high follow through and let the arm relax after she releases the pitch.