Good or bad?

[Mama B]

Someone recently said to me - your daughter is so strong, she should be out for track and throwing the shot put. It will even make her a stronger pitcher. And it made me wonder, is throwing the shot good or bad for a pitcher? I'm curious now.

 

[splinterpicker]

I would not let my dd throw the shot or the discus. The main reason is I was not convinced they could teach her to do it correctly. Around here those events during practices are the least supervised.

 

[starsnuffer]

Sprinting will make her a stronger pitcher. Distance running will make her a better pitcher. Track and field general practice will make her a stronger pitcher. I honestly don't know if those particular events would make her a stronger pitcher or not, but general athleticism is always a good thing.

-W

 

[Jojo]

Shot putters throw great change-ups and discus throwers have great curve balls

 

[quincy]

I think a shot putter works on different type of Arm/ Body strength then a softball pitcher. I think if she want to be good at both there would conflicting priorities. Discus, I am not sure about.

I love track and field but I think one of the other events would be better suited for a softball pitcher. Like starsnuffer mention, an event the involved some running. Pole Vault, Long jump, 400, etc.


I think swimming would be a great 2nd sport for a pitcher.

 

[c3scott]

In my area track season is the same as softball season. Our school dictates track or softball, not both.

 

[sluggers]

I wouldn't think shot or discus would interfere with pitching...I also don't think they would help much.

 

[chinamigarden]

Our HS's starting pitcher also holds the State HS record for Pole Vault.

My wife did both discus and shot put in HS. Both require explosive drive with the legs and core while using the upper levers to propel an object. Sounds similar to pitching.

As long as the coaching is solid, I'm not sure it would hurt. The leg strength exercises would help pitching. My daughter didn't want to do shot put but the middle school track coach wanted her to try. She wasn't sure if it would mess up her delivery so she did it right handed, so it wouldn't interfere with her pitching side. After the tryout she went back to hurdling and the coach never asked her to do shot put again.

 

[liviking]

I threw shot ,discus, Javelin ,35 lb weight and hammer in college and high school . Now I take pitching lessons with my 10 y/o daughter . She throws and I listen . The motions are very different . The only similar movement would be the explosive drive off of the legs which chinamiggarden stated . One of the main exercises for that was clean and jerk with a barbell. It worked the white fiber of the muscle more that the red fiber . Shot put and Discus uses the Deltoids and the pectorals muscles as well as the legs. What I am seeing with fastpitch is the arm swing and leg muscles at work . I could be wrong , I have only been doing this for about a year . I can tell you the motions are no way the same . Javelin comes close to a over hand throw but there are big differences in that also . I want to thank the contributors on this board . This is the first time I have added my comments . Mostly because I do not not have enough knowledge . I have pick up some great things from the members here . Thanks Dan