Finish mechanics

[Sponge]

Still working on getting software t upload a video but in the meantime.
My DD form is looking better but it seems like on her finish she is lifting
her right shoulder almost pulling up as she tries to add speed. Then
her right arm/hand comes across her body. This may be due to shoulders
closing prematurely.

Any idesa and especially drills I can utilize to fix this?
Should the hips / shoulders be wide open when arm comes through and the hips close before the shoulders or do the hips begin to close torking the upper body on release?

Thanks...

Mike

 

[sluggers]

She has a pretty common problem. I think of it as "dragging the arm", because the upper body is pulling the right arm.

First, have her watch this video of Finch, and have her pay close attention to the angle of her shoulders during the pitch. At the beginning, you can see that her shoulder's are parallel with the ground. But, at release, you can see that Finch's shoulders are at about a 70 degree angle with the ground at release.

<embed src="http://share.ovi.com/flash/player.aspx?media=sluggers.10002&channelname=sluggers.softball" width="512" height="420" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed>

To explain it to her, give her a ball and have her throw the ball as far as she can overhand. Ask her to concentrate on her right shoulder when she throws. She should say that she dropped her right down prior to the throw and then when the ball came over her shoulder her right shoulder came up, and then she released the ball.

So, throwing underhand, it is the same, only opposite. That is, at the beginning of the throw, the shoulder goes up as far as possible and then it goes down just prior to release. Again, show her the Finch video.

Have her get open (both feet pointed toward 3rd Base) and have her raise right hand to the 9 o'clock position and really reach with the right hand, arm and shoulder. You stand behind her, put your hand on her right shoulder, and have her throw. Push her right shoulder down.

Another drill is the "hip bop" drill. She gets open. You put your hand on the side of her left hip. Then you have her "bop" your hand with her hip. She does this by sliding her hip to the right, which will cause her right shoulder to go up. When she "bops" your hand, her shoulder will go down.

Another drills is throwing from the open position, with a little modification. Have her get open, but have her take the ball to 9 o'clock by swinging the ball backwards rather than raising it. When she does this, have her bring her legs together. Tell her to emphasize really getting the ball up on the back swing. Then she throws. Tell her not to close when she throws. Also, have her emphasize dropping the right shoulder during the throw.