So this was interesting this morning. I was on Facebook and saw a link to a video on FastpitchTV that had Dr. Sherry Warner - who did one of the most well-known studies on pitching back in the day - talking about how to prevent shoulder injuries in pitchers through proper mechanics. Who can resist that?
The first one was pretty standard - make sure your pitcher's hips are at a 45 degree angle at release. She's been advocating that for years.
But the second one threw me. She said pitchers should have a short follow-through, the proceeded to demonstrate a follow-through that looked like an arm curl. She basically just curled her hand up to touch her shoulder, and said a long follow-through would hurt the pitcher's shoulder. No real explanation behind it, just said that's what would happen.
This is the opposite of everything I've ever heard from everyone else. In fact, the technique she demonstrated is usually said to cause elbow problems by over-stretching the tendons.
So what do you think? I'll tell you in my opinion that short release is a bad idea for a lot of reasons, including stress, loss of speed and loss of control. It doesn't make a lot of logical sense either. It would be like a hitter pulling off the ball at contact rather than getting to extension - something many of us battle regularly. It certainly doesn't pass the Hanson Principle test either.
The first one was pretty standard - make sure your pitcher's hips are at a 45 degree angle at release. She's been advocating that for years.
But the second one threw me. She said pitchers should have a short follow-through, the proceeded to demonstrate a follow-through that looked like an arm curl. She basically just curled her hand up to touch her shoulder, and said a long follow-through would hurt the pitcher's shoulder. No real explanation behind it, just said that's what would happen.
This is the opposite of everything I've ever heard from everyone else. In fact, the technique she demonstrated is usually said to cause elbow problems by over-stretching the tendons.
So what do you think? I'll tell you in my opinion that short release is a bad idea for a lot of reasons, including stress, loss of speed and loss of control. It doesn't make a lot of logical sense either. It would be like a hitter pulling off the ball at contact rather than getting to extension - something many of us battle regularly. It certainly doesn't pass the Hanson Principle test either.