My DD Meagan

[mrslug01]

This is my DD Meagan in December. We were testing our new Casio camera. First pitch starts around 2:50. She throws low to mid 50's. Two things I see are the step off at the start which she doesn't do that on a mound and and she also lands a little too closed with landing foot. Trying to get her to 45 degrees and welcome and advice to get that fixed. Last year she was too far forward at releease. We fixed that. Lot's of calolina walk throughs. Welcome your thoughts.


YouTube - Meagan .avi

 

[sluggers]

This kid is all about throwing the ball, isn't she? She is really aggressive--she is trying to get every .1 MPH out of her body that she can. Good for her!

(A) The ball position at 12 is wrong. Note that the hand is behind the ball so that the ball is facing the catcher--which means
(B) The elbow is pointing at 3B--which means
(C) her arm never fully extends.

The idea is that the body is like a bow (as in bow and arrow). So, you get the body stretched as far as possible at 12, and then everything is sequentially released..

She never gets her arm fully extended during her motion. This ultimately slows down her arm.

I would suggest teaching her the "slingshot" or "submarie" piitching delivery. The slingshot motion forces the pitcher to get the body stretched out and to get good extension of the pitching arm.

Here is a video of a young lady doing it:

YouTube - 10 YO Submarine.mpg

Hal had a good video of himself throwing with this style, but I can't seem to find it. Hal believes that it should be used during a game. I wouldn't go that far, but every pitcher should know how to pitch using this method.

 

[mrslug01]

Thanks sluggers. Yes one of the things we work on is trying to throw hard. We have enough room in the basement to do walk throughs just focusing on throwing as hard as she can.

OK, so if I get it right, as she comes up from 9'oclock to 12 o'clock her hand should start turing toward third? That will also get her more extension right? I've seen that her arm was too bent but couldn't figure out how to fix it.

Would you expect a speed gain after fixing? She tops out 54-55 now at 13 almost 14.

 

[BoardMember]

Thanks sluggers. Yes one of the things we work on is trying to throw hard. We have enough room in the basement to do walk throughs just focusing on throwing as hard as she can.

OK, so if I get it right, as she comes up from 9'oclock to 12 o'clock her hand should start turing toward third? That will also get her more extension right? I've seen that her arm was too bent but couldn't figure out how to fix it.

Would you expect a speed gain after fixing? She tops out 54-55 now at 13 almost 14.

That clip was agnonizing........Cut it down to ONE pitch.......And move the camera so we can see the full release......

So is that 300fps? Nice detail.......but common guy......2 minutes in before we see a pitch?......

Help us to help you!.....

 

[mrslug01]

Sorry about the length. That's why I mentioned in the post it was 2:50 before the first pitch. It was December in upstate NY and we didn't stay out too long lol. Usually pitch in the basement but these cameras need alot of light so tried it outside.

Anyways, it's 210fps and I'm happy with the video outside inside is harder because of lighting.

 

[sluggers]

The computer animation of Jenny Finch in this clip shows the position of the ball during the pitching motion.
<embed src="http://share.ovi.com/flash/player.aspx?media=sluggers.10001&channelname=sluggers.softball" width="512" height="420" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed>

Her problem with arm extension begins (funny enough) at the very beginning. She never fully extends her arms. The attached picture is of her after she starts moving her arm forward. It isn't close to being straight. So, she is pitching with an arm that is 6 inches shorter than it should be.

There are a number of things you might tell her:

(1) When she does the "roll out" (at the very beginning of the pitch when the ball is in the glove and she moves the hands forward and then down), encourage her to fully extend both arms.
(2) When she gets to 12, tell her to "reach for the sky" and get that arm as straight as she can.

I'm a big believer in tactile feedback. Since you in the basement, you might want to hang something from the ceiling at an appropriate height over her pitching area and tell her to touch it with her right hand as she makes a circle. Put it high enough so she really has to stretch out her hand to touch it.

I don't know how much speed she can gain. She has a chance to hit the 60 MPH mark.