Feedback on pitching mechanics 14 yr old

[sluggers]

First, in my original post, I meant to say that your DD's arm should be straight at 3. At 12, the arm should have "the bend". From 12 down, the elbow leads the hand until release, when the hand passes the elbow. I apologize for my part of the confusion. But, you did say that you instructed her to always have a bend in the arm.

Additionally, here is another shot of Bill at 3, with the time clearly showing as 4 seconds.

Good luck with your DD.

 

[coachdan]

First, in my original post, I meant to say that your DD's arm should be straight at 3. At 12, the arm should have "the bend". From 12 down, the elbow leads the hand until release, when the hand passes the elbow. I apologize for my part of the confusion. But, you did say that you instructed her to always have a bend in the arm.

Additionally, here is another shot of Bill at 3, with the time clearly showing as 4 seconds.

Good luck with your DD.

No problem slugger.....and I apologize also for my reply did mean to sound harsh

Now were on the same page can you explain what you gain by having the arm straight at 3 o'clock. I do want the arm bent or at least not locked out at 3 o'clock. Why straighten it then have to get it bent at 12 o'clock . I believe anytime you lockout the arm you are hurting the whip.

 

[sluggers]

Please don't take this the wrong way, but it is relatively easy to get a good athlete to throw 55 MPH. Every MPH after 55 is earned by work and refinement of technique. At 57MPH, your DD might be able to pitch for a low level D1 school. At 61 MPH, your DD can pitch for a mid level D1 team. At 65 MPH, your DD can pitch for a pretty good D1 team. So, every MPH is critical.

Since she is now 14YOA, she'll pick up another 5 MPH by getting stronger over the next two or three years. So, your DD is going to be throwing 61 or 62 MPH. Great--but, so what? Pitchers are throwing 65 to 70 MPH now. She has to pick up at least another 2 or 3 MPH somewhere else. She can get that extra speed by refining her technique.

She keeps her upper body back, and she'll pick up 1 or 2 mph. Get the straight arm-bent arm fixed and she might pick up another 1 MPH. Considering where she is, she will continue to refine her technique more and more for the rest of her pitching career.

So... back to your question. Pitching is primarily about the transfer of momentum. In the case of the straight arm-bent arm, we are talking about angular momentum.

I'm sure you've seen the spinning skater. If her arms are out, she spins slowly. When she pulls her arms in, she spins quickly. That is an example of the conservation of angular momentum.

If an object is spinning around a point, its angular momentum is its angular velocity (RPMs) multiplied by its distance from the point. So, as the object is brought closer to the points, its angular velocity of the object has to increase. This is called the conservation of angular momentum.

If you look at Hillhouse's pitch, you can see how the "whip" works. At 3, he maximizes the distance of the ball from the pivot point (his shoulder). He then bends his arm, bringing the ball closer to his shoulder, which increase the angular velocity of the ball. The amount of bend he gets is incredible. It looks to me like the ball is about 50% as far from his shoulder as it is when his arm is straight. So, just by bending his arm, he doubles the angular velocity of the ball. That is quite a trick...doubling the angular velocity of the ball simply by bending the arm.

Then he straightens the arm and releases the ball. The angular velocity of the ball is not reduced immediately when his arm straightens because the arm is deformable. (If the arm was made of steel, the angular velocity of the ball would slow down immediately and the arm would go back to traveling as fast as it did before he bent the arm.) So, it takes perhaps a 1/10 of a second for the angular velocity of the ball to slow. If the timing is just right, the ball is released at a high angular velocity and at a maximum distance from the shoulder.

The important thing is the ratio of the arm at its maximum extension during the circle to the arm at the maximum bend. For Bill, the ratio looks to be about 2. For your DD , the ratio looks to be about 1.