Pitching drills that don't involve the legs

[chinamigarden]

My DD pulled a groin muscle last week. So for the past week she has been pretty much not allowed to run. Hard to do when in the midst of basketball practice, but its what we have going on.

She is 13 and this winter she started to work on spin pitches. Mainly a peel drop. Are there any drills she can do for the peel drop that does not involve leaping or pushing off?

 

[NVfishing]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2P5-FtmSKrk

 

[CoachFP]

Throwing from a knee is stupid. Just because Ernie learned it 30 years ago does not make it useful. The pitching motion is a complex set of motions up the kinetic chain. Throwing from one knee will not affect the coordination needed to increase speed. Show me a case where a girl threw let's say 58 mph consistently, then did these drills and got to the low 60's and I might believe in it.

 

[redhawkridge]

If throwing from the knee is stupid, then so are a couple dozen other drills commonly used by us stupid pitching coaches.
What we stupidly call them are isolation drills, where we are working to develop and perfect certain components of the pitching delivery, such as the windmill, opening up the hips, the IR arm motion. Ernie's video is exactly right in saying the kneeing position provides isolation of the arm action, and is effective in arm strength development.
If that kneeing drill is stupid, then probably the K-drill is insane, since it requires the pitcher to only engage the arms and the stride leg, without any stride. And we all know you can't pitch without actually striding.
Jim

 

[shockcoach]

Throwing from a knee is stupid. Just because Ernie learned it 30 years ago does not make it useful..

So what are your accolades as a pitching coach that put you in a position to say Ernie Parker doesn't know what he's doing? If I was given a choice to have you or Ernie be the pitching coach for my team...well I guess my answer would be, "Who the hell are you?"

Please, before you go saying what Ernie does is stupid, list all your top pitchers and what they have gone on to do.

 

[CoachFP]

First of all I did not say Ernie Parker is stupid or that he didn't know what he is doing. I said that a particular drill that he uses is stupid. That is my opinion. You all took that to mean what you wanted. If you look at how Ernie mimics the pitching motion you may very well see that he "pops" the hip in his demonstrations. We can all agree that that is not optimal for pitching a softball. As far as all of the greats Ernie has coached, I would say that it is up for debate whether he truly "coached" them to greatness or just happened to be involved with them in some peripheral fashion, be it through clinics or otherwise. If you have a pitching coach opening and have to choose between Ernie and me, by all means choose Ernie. By the way, my pitchers are doing fine, and I do have a success story or two. But I certainly am not going to put it out there for comparisons to Lisa Fernandez, who Ernie had next to nothing to do with her success.

 

[starsnuffer]

She could simply practice her spins. Give her a ball with a stripe on it, and practice her finger motions to spin the ball. For the peel drop she should be able to peel/flick the ball straight up, imparting a perfect spin (as described by the line on the ball) and then learn to catch it so that she doesn't have to re-adjust her grip. She should be doing this anyway, even if she isn't hurt.

There is a video of Monica Abbott pitching from a palates ball from her knees, it's a good example of IR movement. The difference here is that she already knew how to pitch properly before doing this drill. That's the point of the isolation movements. They're very bad for actually teaching the pitch, but they can be useful to refine and strengthen once mechanics of the entire pitch are correct and repeatable.

-W

 

[CoachFP]

Starsnuffer, do you really think the Monica Abbott throwing on a Pilates ball is worthwhile? Just because Monica Abbott does it does not make it ideal. She looked very uncomfortable and her body was square to the catcher. Seems to me to be another invention by someone who does not understand pitching. I am sure Monica was paid for her cooperation.

 

[starsnuffer]

No, I don't think it's worthwhile for 90% of pitchers. In the drill she was doing, it was part of a routine to work on her core strength and balance. Pitching was used in her personalized routine for core strength because that's what she does and is what she likes to do. Again, it was to build her core, not to build her pitching.

-W

 

[Ken Krause]

Another way to approach the "no legs" thing is to have her stand sideways to the catcher and spread her feet out far -- more than shoulder width apart so she can't move her feet. She can then work on her arm circle from there. One of my favorites is "three arounds" -- make three circles, and release on the third. The idea is to promote a long, loose arm and a powerful whip at the end. Doing three circles helps many pitchers feel how their arms should go.

I had one pitcher last year who broke her leg at an indoor game (tripped on the turf and snapped her thighbone. She would come in on crutches, and we would prop her up on an old stool. She was able to work on her arm circle, change and drop from there. It wasn't ideal, but at least it was something she could, and it kept her from going stir crazy.

It's not the same as full-on pitching. But it's better than nothing.