drc9805:
All you need to do to appreciate that several pitchers in the CWS weren't opening or were closing hard was to watch their stride foot -- they were landing on the side of the power line opposite that of the pitching arm and/or the stride foot was pointing directly at the plate, instead of the preferable 45 degree angle. Hard to turn your stride foot that far to the left (for righthanders) and still stay open.
OldManRiver:
I think you missed Sluggers' point, which I agree with totally: Don't start teaching hip closure as an added technique until your student attains an advanced level of pitching ability. Don't get hung up on the 67 mph thing. I find that, given advice to turn the hip even slightly, younger less experienced pitchers, will start to depend on the body/hip turn for speed more and more -- bad bad bad. The hip turn, which I've seen referred to as the "hip snap" is an advance technique left to the highly accomplished.
jim
jim
All you need to do to appreciate that several pitchers in the CWS weren't opening or were closing hard was to watch their stride foot -- they were landing on the side of the power line opposite that of the pitching arm and/or the stride foot was pointing directly at the plate, instead of the preferable 45 degree angle. Hard to turn your stride foot that far to the left (for righthanders) and still stay open.
OldManRiver:
I think you missed Sluggers' point, which I agree with totally: Don't start teaching hip closure as an added technique until your student attains an advanced level of pitching ability. Don't get hung up on the 67 mph thing. I find that, given advice to turn the hip even slightly, younger less experienced pitchers, will start to depend on the body/hip turn for speed more and more -- bad bad bad. The hip turn, which I've seen referred to as the "hip snap" is an advance technique left to the highly accomplished.
jim
jim
