Follow through on a fastball

[Mr T]

I am worried my league is teaching kids the wrong thing after getting Hillhouse video. Our league teaches the young ones to follow through with their wrist straight up.

Hillhouse said that basically none of the best pitchers do that. Those are pretty strong words so that's the source of my concern.

I'm trying to get people to at least question their view. Maybe video would help but it almost seems hard to find top pitchers just throwing a fastball.

Ueno clearly finishes across her body. I did notice one straight up follow through in the model pitchers vids.

Are there some vids of pitchers just throwing or teaching fastballs I could use as evidence?

 

[ElmoBlatch]

Here's an entire thread on the subject, very good information here:

http://www.discussfastpitch.com/softball-pitching/1348-internal-rotation.html

 

[Mr T]

OK mind blown. I'm going to have to read that about 100 times before I start to understand it.

But thanks much

 

[blizzardman]

You can always point them towards the college games that are numerous this time of the yr. Also try to get them to explain to you how can they throw a breaking pitch using this style of finish

 

[abbygale]

That IR thread is a great reference thread. This board has a really good search also.

 

[sluggers]

Here is Sarah Pauly throwing a fastball. You can see the IR follow through.

 

[tojo]

Seldom do you see a fastball except during warm-ups in college games on TV. My opinion is that one size does not fit all. I believe after release there should be a relaxed follow through and not forced.

 

[taysdad]

Makes you wonder if they are teaching, show the ball to second base, wave down mech. That would be more of a concern if it were me.

 

[ArmWhip]

The palm up follow through typically goes hand in hand with the push down, snap your wrist style of teaching. I have seen plenty of good pitchers who IR the arm and have a nice natural follow through but at the very end turn the palm up because that is how they were taught to finish. The real concern is not so much the follow through but how the motion itself is being taught.

 

[Jojo]

What I am saying is that the hand position on the ball through the circle happens naturally. The follow through (ie a natural one) does help dictate the efficiency and looseness (ie elbow) of the circle.

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The problem I have is 95% of my young pitchers come to me already emulating other pitchers they have seen. Some have already pitched for a season.
The pitchers they have seen pitching and seen warming up, all do the push down pull the elbow up at release. I am the only instructor in the area that does not teach this.

So pushing down pulling the elbow up at release does seem natural to them.

Try this---stand in an open position holding a ball and do a slow arm circle, if you lean slightly forward as the ball goes over your head it's easy to drive the thumb down with your hand on top of the ball.

If your weight stays back and arm circle is faster it's much harder to turn the thumb down and get the hand on top. The hand wants to stay inside the ball.

So my main focus is to get the weight back and the arm circle faster. Then to stress a relaxed follow through.