Increase Spin Speed

[WillyT812]

IR2 and I have been working on increasing spin speed for a couple of weeks now. She's not a blazer, her drop ball comes in at a steady 50mph (I have a radar gun to go with my RevFire) and her spin rate is pretty consistent at 16rps with a nice 12-6 axis. It's a nice drop and she can throw it for location but I'd like to see the spin rate closer to 20rps for a more dramatic drop. Obviously wrist flips are out She can throw a bullet spin around 22rps.

The only way I can think of to have her increase spin speed is to hold the ball more towards the sky/2nd when coming through 8-6. My thought process is to load the forearm more for greater spin. When we do that the axis goes wonky. We've tried focusing on snapping the index finger but that hasn't worked either. Has anyone found the magic trick to increase spin on a drop ball? From 12 to 9 she's palm up but as she moves through 9 the slicing pinky starts. Almost every elite pitcher I study shows the ball up at eight through seven o'clock, not facing third (RH).

This is her senior year and then it's over for FPS. Don't want to screw her up, she's pretty good as it is for our HS league over here. If I/we can figure out a quick fix we'll take it. Suggestions?

Thanks
WillyT

 

[Ken B]

One of my favorite drop spin threads: http://www.discussfastpitch.com/softball-pitching/1894-drop-ball-internal-rotation.html

 

[WillyT812]

Thanks Ken, I read through the thread and have come to believe I'm in the same camp as Pauly and Hillhouse when it comes to how to throw a good drop; that a good drop is dependent on release point and angle. After reading through that thread I'm also going to go with RPS and MPH linear to each other. If she was throwing 55mph then her RPS would be closer to 20. The higher the speed the higher the spin. Better whip generates better speed and conversely...better RPS. She really has a nice drop, sometimes I laugh and think who in this league over here is going to hit that? It comes in waist high and drops around the knees not to mention she puts it on the outside corner consistently. She can throw an off axis fastball close to 55 (if not 55) but it does nothing but come in flat. We stay away from that pitch. I guess I shouldn't complain. I was thinking we could do something to make a faster spin for a more dramatic drop or dive--but after reading the thread I guess I should just keep focusing on getting a better whip. This is the start of her third and final year of pitching. She's doing pretty good considering the late start.

 

[Ken B]

Like many things, I'll probably see things differently in time, but for now: I don't buy into release angle as much as the action of the release itself for a good drop. Here's where I'm coming from: A drop ball thrown with the torso at one angle will have a significantly different flight path than a rise ball thrown at the same initial trajectory--due to spin alone.

Also, a rise ball (as I understand it,) is thrown with the cue of the fingers whipping under and up the front of the ball. Without changing anything else, this action changes the initial trajectory at release. This isn’t to say that I don’t believe that we don’t use slight changes in torso angle to change the location of each pitch, but I believe those changes are slight and not as exaggerated as some tend to teach.

That said, I find that with some kids struggling to keep the ball down, I suggest a more forward feel for both the rise and the drop.

I really like what was being discussed in the above Dropball thread in terms of striving for more and more break. A really good drop looks like its heading to the letters then ends up just below the knees. That requires more an elevated initial trajectory than a poorly thrown drop with an emphasis on release angle to keep in low.

 

[mann]

Anyway i can see the Grips on these two types of Drops.

 

[WillyT812]

For myself I tried "hinging" my torso as Pauly suggested, it worked as far as getting a true 12 -6, but at a lost of speed. With IR2 the "fix" for her was to release at a more open position and a bit earlier. Once we focused on this, her stripe became much more consistent and defined. Every drop ball isn't a perfect 12-6 but, like a rise ball, close enough for the desired effect. If she threw faster she'd spin faster and the net gain on the amount of drop would probably be about the same, but, and this is a big but, everything would happen quicker...less time for a batter to make a decision.

I guess I should also add, and it's been said here many times....her fastball, when thrown properly, is her drop ball.

 

[Ken B]

Anyway i can see the Grips on these two types of Drops.

Grips vary from kid to kid and might be a little like the Ford vs Chevy debate. Hand size can be a factor in choosing a two seam or four seam. I know that when I'm teaching the rise to 8-10U, the two seam is a must!

 

[Ken B]

Started a little research to look for differences in posture for various spins:





Look at the letters on the jersey--In the drop, they are angled down. In the rise, they are angled up... Also looks like the body is tilting differently right/left between the two.