Is this "bowling?"
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- Jul 26, 2010
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Every pitch I saw she was bowling, but she's also 8 and may have difficulty holding onto the ball if she used proper form. Clearly her parents are proud of her which is probably her only motivation at this age, so. . . mission accomplished?
-W
-W
Bowling has nothing to do with the position of the hand. A pitcher that "bowls" has a distinct bend at the waist, on release.
Don't have a video (they are all over this forum if you go to some old posts/archives) but some instructors teach a "push down and pull up" arm circle from 12' o'clock (ball is pointing towards 2B and than towards the ground at 3 o'clock, and at release the arm finishes with the elbow pointed to the catcher (creates an "L" or as some called "strong man" arm position) where essentially no arm whip happens during the last half of the arm circle because the natural rotation of the forearm (internal rotation) is killed by forcing the arm NOT to rotate.
Some instructors teach this method because they think its a) safe and B) beginning pitchers MIGHT be a little more accurate at first. However, no high-level pitchers that I know of actually utilize the "bowling" technique. You just can't generate enough power on the pitch. Try throwing overhand WITH & WITHOUT using any arm whip. Which technique produces a more powerful throw? It's not even close that arm whip generates a tremendous amount of speed to a pitched ball. That is why "slingshot" pitchers can arguably generate as much speed as a "windmiller".
In the drills where she starts off she's being taught the bowling motion. When she starts going to full rotation drills her arm takes over and she starts using IR with ball towards 1st base at 3 Oclock position. Watched some more videos of her in games. She's aiming the ball and taking a lot of speed off the pitch. She's only 8 and I'd say doing very well. Hard for the little ones to be perfect when they put pressure on them in a game to pitch accurately.
I say it's 50-50. They are trying to teach push down and snap but the girls arm is also rotating at the top and around in the correct locations during full motion for IR. When she's doing T drills if the ball was facing the camera it would be full on IR.
They are also trying to teach her to stop arm movement at 6 with the wrist being loose so it snaps at the bottom of the rotation.
They are also trying to teach her to stop arm movement at 6 with the wrist being loose so it snaps at the bottom of the rotation.
- Oct 22, 2009
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There is a 9yr old at one the parks I give lessons, whose dad calls out each one of her pitches.
Fastball, change up, drop, screwball and slider.-----) yes, 5!
When you bowl your hand is on top of the ball midway through the downswing, this leads to the bending at the waist which is an instinctive move to counteract high pitches which are a result of trying to snap the wrist for speed. I would never use the first two drills, they create mechanics which must later be overcome or dropped completely. This girl's full motion does not use the mechanics that she was practicing in those first two drills. If she had her hand on top of ball coming down the backside and tried to snap her wrist she would end up as another failed pitcher who ended up playing in the field. This girl is a testament to the natural ability of the body (or the mind) to instinctively overcome bad instruction and find a way to get it done correctly. I'll bet that if this girl goes on to become a successful pitcher and later becomes a pitching instructor she will use those first two drills with her students simply because that was the way she was taught.
Thank you ArmW - This is what I am trying to understand. I do not have the ability to analyze her full motion - I am just looking at the second drill and seeing her palm facing down through her downswing - and I am assuming that this is the exact opposite of what IR is all about. I am trying to get my DD to have her palm facing up midway through her downswing and then rotate her hand at 6:00, finishing with her hand over her left shoulder (she is a righty). In other words, I am trying to have her undo what she has been taught is the correct way to throw a ball underhand.
