Peel Drop where to start

[BBRB]

Wow. I'll try to do better if I make a new video.

With all of this talk of 11/5 spin, etc. one thing needs to be kept in mind: in an extreme number of cases, if 6/12 spin is not being achieved it's likely because of something else going wrong in the motion. Someone suggested it had to do with the hand position at release. That's possible. Or it could be the hand position at the 12:00 position too. To get more spin, make sure the elbow, wrist, AND fingers all working in sequence. I cannot tell you how many times I've seen pitchers who are not using all 3 in the pitch and it will make a difference! It's not magic and it's not something that only "exceptional" pitchers can do. It's just about getting her body to work correctly, the way it's designed to achieve the most from it. That includes the whip needed from the elbow, wrist and fingers.

Bill

SO WHAT MAKES yOU AN EXPERT ON THE "HOUSE OF PITCHING" VIDEO SERIES??? LOL

 

[Old Man River]

I have studied a significant amount of Hillhouse material and I'm very much in general agreement; but when talking about the "drop", I would like to attempt to define something a little differently than I've ever heard expressed and it has to do with posture at release point. Besides the optimal spin axis, 12-6, the speed of the spin and the launch angle or trajectory of the pitch must be or can be optimized ( the speed of the ball, the distance of the pitch, atmospheric conditions- direction of the wind, altitude, how much humidity, etc.- are all intertwined ) by causing the back hip at release point to be purposely positioned slightly higher than the front hip- this angle or tilt of the hips is what significantly effects the trajectory of the ball when the hip is being properly brushed by the pitching arm and the speed of the spin is also maximized by the brushing of the hip ( I have measured this- approximately a 20% increase in spin speed ). REMEMBER what the point of all this is- to maximize the effectiveness of the "drop". I might add that I realize there is much more that needs to be explained here such as: how to create this posture; but I will stop for now! By the way the "rise" posture is just the opposite from the "drop" and neither position is attained by necessarily lengthening or shortening the stride!

 

[Soonerinfrisco]

Boy,

I almost hesitate to interject (nonpro and not even very smart at that) but here is what I did with my 8yr old to help the 12-6 spin: She was about 10-4 probably and I really beleive that her problem was at the 12 position (as BH suggests). I put a red dot the size of a dime on some balls in the gap between the fingers and thumb and told her to concentrate on reaching up and back and showing the dot to 2nd base. Almost like there is a string pulling the dot to 2nd at 12 oclock. It got quick results with my daughter and has led to her having a pretty good drop on her regular pitches. She occasionally throws a peel drop accidently and we are working on that as a separate pitch. We have one field we play on that the pitcher is frequently pitching into the wind and on a windy day her fastball falls off the table and she is near unhittable. She probably only hits 40 on her best pitches.

It seems to me, just a dad who loves to work with my kid, that if a young pitcher can get open and get the ball in the proper position at 12, it really simplifies what she needs to do to have a successful pitch and allows the introduction of other pitches. My other .02 for dads is that you and your daughter have to find a common language for every detail you tell her. Actually you have to learn her language. My wife is a child therapist so I have a great advantage in that regard!

Again, just on .02 from a dad.

 

[Ken B]

I have studied a significant amount of Hillhouse material and I'm very much in general agreement; but when talking about the "drop", I would like to attempt to define something a little differently than I've ever heard expressed and it has to do with posture at release point. Besides the optimal spin axis, 12-6, the speed of the spin and the launch angle or trajectory of the pitch must be or can be optimized ( the speed of the ball, the distance of the pitch, atmospheric conditions- direction of the wind, altitude, how much humidity, etc.- are all intertwined ) by causing the back hip at release point to be purposely positioned slightly higher than the front hip- this angle or tilt of the hips is what significantly effects the trajectory of the ball when the hip is being properly brushed by the pitching arm and the speed of the spin is also maximized by the brushing of the hip ( I have measured this- approximately a 20% increase in spin speed ). REMEMBER what the point of all this is- to maximize the effectiveness of the "drop". I might add that I realize there is much more that needs to be explained here such as: how to create this posture; but I will stop for now! By the way the "rise" posture is just the opposite from the "drop" and neither position is attained by necessarily lengthening or shortening the stride!

Who is this masked man?

 

[RetiredCoach]

Who is this masked man?

I suspect that Hal saw the light and is now posting under a new username!

 

[dadofadirtlover]

I suspect that Hal saw the light and is now posting under a new username!

Quick....someone track the IP addresses of both screen names!

 

[Ken B]

Hal and OMR are definitely different people. OMR's stay was short, but sweet. He left some amazing gems in the few posts he made. Wish he would have stuck around and revealed himself. Here's a classic exchange with Hal: http://www.discussfastpitch.com/softball-pitching/3672-they-ought-tar-feather-him.html

 

[riseball]

I find it odd that people often struggle with getting the ball to move in the direction of gravity.

 

[Classof2020]

Hal and OMR are definitely different people. OMR's stay was short, but sweet. He left some amazing gems in the few posts he made. Wish he would have stuck around and revealed himself. Here's a classic exchange with Hal: http://www.discussfastpitch.com/softball-pitching/3672-they-ought-tar-feather-him.html

Was OMR our friend from Battle Ground?

 

[Ken B]

John Gay posted under his own name and I think only posted a few times. They are probably about the same age. There were a few really solid contributors on this board who no longer post.