Dip-n-Drive

[javasource]

The concept in sitting is to load the legs. Stretch... then fire. It's a proven scientific concept regarding the stretch shortening cycle.

Having said that... what most fail to see is the detail regarding stretch... and the 20% factor. Take a muscle beyond 20% stretch and you lose the reflex potential.

The other aspect... is the super-athlete factor. Ask Michael Jordan to touch his rear to the ground before shooting a free throw... and he's still going to make a high percentage. Ask him to do the same with a jumper... and he's sitting the bench.

Pistol squats were mentioned... great example. Take the quad beyond 90 and you'll feel a give... then you'll drop down... which defeats the purpose (IMO) of the exercise. Try long jumping that way... or sprinting... and although you'll feel like you still perform... you lose the feeling of explosiveness... and that in and of itself defeats the purpose for me.

Purely style... and style is not necessary. In fact, it's often detrimental to development. The Scarborough bend, the Traina Twist, etc... all style.

 

[Ken B]

Glad to see you're not so buried in editing clips that you can't stop by now and then!

 

[Perfect Circle]

Cool, glad to see the chair is OK... didn't have long range plans for it, or anyother motion not in the Game Pitch sequence. Found it very effective in finding the feel of the back foot. Any wasted motion always comes back to haunt you... upstream.... For exsample, I'm struggling with the toe tap in hitting tonight... wish I wouldn't have showed her that... got rid of the open stance though...

Defiantly not wanting DD dipping...Glad to hear it's just style... kinda thought that when I noticed it, and recognized it as being new... anyhow... not counting MA Noticed that it's flamethrowers into it.......Still can't forget seeing 5+ 70mph pitchers setting the bench during the NPF Championship this year...

 

[Tatonka]

Going through a few old video clips from a couple years ago with my DD where she had picked up the dipping style from somewhere....she was like "what am I doing?". Lot of wasted motion.

 

[JAD]

Is there a benefit gained from a dip-n-drive motion? To me it looks like the pitcher is just going to be doing a deep knee bend in addition to her regular pitching motion...100+ times a game

 

[Ken B]

I don't believe there is an advantage, but can feel how a dip or bow makes one feel like they are getting a strong drive. I do believe a good sequence, as JS has detailed in the DM thread, will create an efficient drive without the wear and tear of dipping or bending. The sad thing is that dipping and bending look cool and many over look efficiency in the search for a quick fix or something flashy.

My hope is that in months following December, the Fab Three will take the SB community by storm and help rid the world of HE, dipping, bending, etc. Still hoping that the Flamingo Drill makes it through...

 

[Classof2020]

We had a #3 pitcher that joined us at the end of the season last year and I'm guessing she went to the WA coach the Ken mentioned. She was trying to do the squat before each pitch and she was a bigger girl and not in good shape to pull it off. By the 3rd inning the motion got slower and slower until she'd start to rest at the bottom and you'd wonder if she was coming back up this time. It was painful to watch and the sweat was just rolling off of her. Then she'd be shot for the next game too. All I could think was that without all that extra movement she might have had the gas to go another inning

 

[pumpkinbear]

With Monica Abbott now being softball's most prominent figure and a dipper, it seems like a good topic for discussion.



What are the advantages of dipping?

Promotes hip extension https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWOZf6IzE70

Activates the glutes - I remember reading in my old Nautilus book (that I lost and can't link to) that you can't get full use of your biggest muscles unless you bend over and bend your knees. I don't know how far you have to bend to fully engage your glutes. I'll defer to javasource or any number of my betters if they refute this.

It might help a pitcher overcome her fear of falling when letting her hips move in front of her drive foot - http://www.discussfastpitch.com/softball-pitching/28809-drive-phase-sprinting-coach.html#post399548

There are enough examples of really good pitchers who do it that it passes the Hanson Principle screen.