load

[corlay]

DD has been working over the past month to get more forward-loaded before push-off/stride.
PC had her use a powerdrive-like device for a few sessions, and also pitching starting from a "sprinter's stance".
DD was very neutral/upright at push-off prior to concentrating on this specifically.

Today, I compared a nice still shot taken by a parent at our first Fall TB play day this past weekend,
to a screen-capture of the oft-referenced hi-res vid of Scarbourough.
Looks like things are heading in the right direction?
She seems to have a good % of her weight on pivot leg, and body angle shows a pretty decent forward lean, without bending her torso downward or sticking her butt backward...





To me, Scarborough looks more "coiled" and powerful, and her trunk/left shoulder more turned toward getting "open", but for a less-mature and less-strong 10U body, DD looks pretty allright to me. Also, maybe hard to perceive in this pic angle, but DD tends to backswing a bit behind her back; you can see Scarborough back swing is more away from her body. That is something that we have identified and do work on occasionally - although, despite this, her control is pretty exceptional for her age.

Question for the meticulous folks: I see arm-rotation/ball position on DD and Scarborough back swing differ. DD=facing 1B, Scarbourough= facing down. Is this something to key on with regard to proper I/R through the pitching motion? Or is this difference in forearm/wrist rotation this early in the delivery not factor so much? I'm just curious... DD does have ball facing catcher at 12:00 and ball facing somewhere between 3B and "to the sky" at 9:00.

 

[starsnuffer]

She looks good. I don't actually like the torso twist Scarborough has to counter act, but that's a separate problem (and one fixed by keeping the ball in the glove. I'd like to see your daughters shoulders forward more and her hips forward more. It's hard to tell if her center of gravity is moving forward or not. She should be falling before she pitches and should not be able to hold a good load without falling forward.

It's hard to tell from a single pic though. The big key here is MAINTAINING the load to and through the push. Most kids loose their load before they actually pitch.

Good job for what I see.

-W

 

[abbygale]

The big key here is MAINTAINING the load to and through the push. Most kids loose their load before they actually pitch.
The big key here is MAINTAINING the load to and through the push. Most kids loose their load before they actually pitch.
The big key here is MAINTAINING the load to and through the push. Most kids loose their load before they actually pitch.


This. Rinse and repeat. Hard to fire a rubber-band if you gave up the stretch due to physical or mental distractions be it grip, location, the batter looks mean, etc...

 

[MandM]

I see arm-rotation/ball position on DD and Scarborough back swing differ. DD=facing 1B, Scarbourough= facing down. Is this something to key on with regard to proper I/R through the pitching motion? Or is this difference in forearm/wrist rotation this early in the delivery not factor so much? I'm just curious... DD does have ball facing catcher at 12:00 and ball facing somewhere between 3B and "to the sky" at 9:00.

AS is an elite level pitcher and her mechanics clearly work fine for her, but some of the things she demonstrates are not best for young pitcher IMO
I think the shoulder rotation AS has is not to be emulated by your DD (at her stage in development). Shoulders square to catcher is preferred as rotating shoulders can lead to bad habits. Similar the forward rotation of the ball on the backswing by AS so that the back of her hand is facing 2B) is not a good habit for your DD either . Your DD has ball in better position, she could imagine a bit more of showing ball (in palm) to 2B with back of hand facing catcher, so that her circle drops straight back- keeping ball in this position should help keep it from drifting behind her body which can be a hard habit to break.

I think for her apparent build and size, your DD seems to be getting good load, whether that translates to an effective and efficient drive off the pitching plate, you can monitor= it seems that you should be able to tell if this position is creating stronger/quicker drive. If not, then she is not maintaining the load.

 

[Ken B]

This video from Carly might be helpful:

[video]http://www.fastpitchpower.com/softball-pre-motion-part1/[/video]

I see arm-rotation/ball position on DD and Scarborough back swing differ. DD=facing 1B, Scarbourough= facing down. Is this something to key on with regard to proper I/R through the pitching motion? Or is this difference in forearm/wrist rotation this early in the delivery not factor so much? I'm just curious... DD does have ball facing catcher at 12:00 and ball facing somewhere between 3B and "to the sky" at 9:00.

For me it makes things much easier to say the back of the hand will lead the entire circle down to about 7-8 o'clock. If it happens to face 1B at the top, or slightly toward 3B, I'm not concerned. I do want to see palm up (or close to it) from 9 to about 8 o'clock to set the stage for maximum coil->whip.