DD Pitching

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Oct 2, 2017
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Might have found a pitching coach who teaches ball up and and whip. He plays men's fastpitch and supposedly teaches a lot of girl players. I guess you won't know until you see what he actually teaches. What are your guys thoughts on what exactly to look for?
 
Nov 18, 2015
1,585
113
Ball up at 9, point the ball to the batter at 12, pull with your elbow / lead with the pinky down the backside, throwing across your body, relaxed, slightly bent throwing arm.

If you found somebody that explicitly taught all those things, you're probably talking to a DFP member. :)

But like you've probably already read / discovered, most instructors won't use or be familiar with terms like IR or brush. So consider using the above list more like an "opposite" checklist for warning signs - do they want the arm straight (or elbow locked) during the arm circle? Do they want the hand behind / on top of the ball (palm down) at 9:00? etc.
 
Oct 2, 2017
2,283
113
Ball up at 9, point the ball to the batter at 12, pull with your elbow / lead with the pinky down the backside, throwing across your body, relaxed, slightly bent throwing arm.

If you found somebody that explicitly taught all those things, you're probably talking to a DFP member. :)

But like you've probably already read / discovered, most instructors won't use or be familiar with terms like IR or brush. So consider using the above list more like an "opposite" checklist for warning signs - do they want the arm straight (or elbow locked) during the arm circle? Do they want the hand behind / on top of the ball (palm down) at 9:00? etc.


I told him that I'm looking for a pitching coach who teaches ball up/palm up, into whip or internal rotation instead of ball down/palm down push the ball to point the elbow (Hello Elbow). He said he teaches Lower half drive mechanics, and Palm up and use of the elbow. Not sure exactly what he means by use of the elbow quite yet. Hopefully not a locked out elbow,
 

fanboi22

on the journey
Nov 9, 2015
1,138
83
SE Wisconsin
My feeling with working with DD is if you don’t have brush you don’t have the correct posture and you don’t have all the whip. It is something we didn’t focus on early enough I don’t think. BI is the most important initial thing to have. If you don’t have/feel it try again. If you don’t you are just throwing past the body with no whip. Jmo.
 

sluggers

Super Moderator
Staff member
May 26, 2008
7,132
113
Dallas, Texas
Also, how important is Brush Mechanics in the beginning. From my understanding is that brush mechanics is required to promote whip, because it slows the upper arm down to allow the forearm and hand to accelerate through. Is my thinking correct?

Not quite.

Brush mechanics (AKA brush interference) is composed of two parts: Brush fire and brush block.

You describe brush block in your post. Let me explain brush fire.

Brush fire is a critical timing mechanism for pitching.

When pitching, there is a "release phase". During the release phase, several critical things happen. (1) The internal rotation of the forearm starts; (2) the hand "catches" up to the elbow; and (3) the fingers release the ball.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that the precise timing of these three things is critical to control. The hand at release is moving at more than 1000 inches per second. For accuracy, the release has to be consistent to the *MILLISECOND*.

With brush fire, the timing of these things is tied to the pitcher feeling the arm contact the body. Through repetition, the pitcher creates a learned reflex to begin the release phase when the arm contacts the body. The whole release phase becomes automatic.

Because the release phase is started at contact with the body, the pitcher is able to maintain excellent accuracy even when extremely tried. Why? Because the release phase is not tied to how fast her arm or body is moving.

Take a pitcher with no brush interference. In order to throw the ball, the pitcher has no feedback to tell her where her arm is in relation to her body. So, she uses an internal timer. As the game goes on and her arm and body slow down, the pitcher loses her accuracy because her internal timer is slightly off.

A great, well-respected and well-known collegiate pitching coach told me that the first thing he checks is whether the pitcher has BI. If the pitcher doesn't have BI, he passes on her. Why? She won't have control, and it can't be learned when she gets to college.

Talented kids with no BI crash and burn as they became bigger, stronger and faster.
 
Last edited:
Mar 20, 2015
174
28
In addressing the OP question of whats important in the beginning I believe IR has to be in place first before brush can occur. Brush just happens automatically when there is IR and a stacked vertical posture. IMO you should never have a pitcher actively try to brush but rather just coach a stacked posture and reinforce that if the the arm touches the side then that is a good thing not a bad thing. We have visited more than one HE pitching coach that advocated "making room" for the arm to pass by the hip. Even if misguided this is for good reason because if an HE pitcher tries to brush they will hurt themselves.
 

fanboi22

on the journey
Nov 9, 2015
1,138
83
SE Wisconsin
In addressing the OP question of whats important in the beginning I believe IR has to be in place first before brush can occur. Brush just happens automatically when there is IR and a stacked vertical posture. IMO you should never have a pitcher actively try to brush but rather just coach a stacked posture and reinforce that if the the arm touches the side then that is a good thing not a bad thing. We have visited more than one HE pitching coach that advocated "making room" for the arm to pass by the hip. Even if misguided this is for good reason because if an HE pitcher tries to brush they will hurt themselves.

I do not disagree that IR and a stacked posture will definitely help. However, I do not think that BI automatically happens because of these. IMO it is BI needs to happen first, and along with thinking of the IR and posture, the results will be better. I had DD working on both IR and stacked posture, and the arm would still pass by the side without brush, and that was not ideal. If you start focusing on BI and make sure that happens without fail, you will be better off. JMO
 
Oct 2, 2017
2,283
113
This her the other day. Just focusing on trying to keep a bent or flexed arm and whip instead of bowl. I've been telling her not to stick her butt out but stay tall.

 

fanboi22

on the journey
Nov 9, 2015
1,138
83
SE Wisconsin
This her the other day. Just focusing on trying to keep a bent or flexed arm and whip instead of bowl. I've been telling her not to stick her butt out but stay tall.



I am trying to find some Rick Pauly videos that shows it better I think there is an accuspeed video that shows the deceleration needed for BI to happen. Your DD is still not brushing. Her upper arm never really slows down. And if you don’t have brush you cannot have good posture or whip. Telling her to stay tall and butt in is good however without brush her release point will still be less consistent. Again this is all JMO based on my DD’s progress but brush significantly changed and accelerated her progress. My opinion is doing these drills without brush happening is less than ideal. ‘Throw from pocket’ was a good cue for us and literally feeling the upper and lower arm touch the body is critical. Pull down ball up contact throw from packet.
 

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