Pitching mechanic Jr college pitchers

[coachdan]

I have attached a couple pitchers that play on my daughter Jr college team. I would like to here some feedback on there mechanics.

First pitcher is a soph and lead the nation (Jr college) last year with K's. She throws mid 60's with very good control. She has a good Rise, screw, and change. She has also recieved nations (Jr college) player of the week twice this year.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bQs95MRx0A


2nd pitcher is a freshman and throws upper 50's to low 60's, she works the plate well with a good drop, screw, and change. IMO pitcher #2 has better IR mechanics and just needs to get a more explosive push.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gp37BTPMuhY

 

[starsnuffer]

First pitcher is a mess. She's illegal 3 different ways and is not nearly flexible enough for her body to handle the stride she's taking. Heavyset girls like this are usually better off with cross between a step and a leap, or at least a shorter leap (think Danielle Lawrie). The resulting overreach of her stride twists her body in very non-athletic ways and causes her to first bend far forward and then lean far towards the catcher. I've no doubt of her accomplishments but this is one of those pitchers who does well in spite of bad mechanics.

Second pitcher has better mechanics but is not opening up completly, which is what is forcing her glove to swim and robs her of speed and power. Her front leg is also too soft, which, again, is robbing her of speed and power.

The first pitcher I wouldn't mess with, she needs a complete reboot, and since she's in college already, it's not worth it. The second pitcher could make good improvements with very small changes.

-W

 

[Amy in AZ.]

I am not going to comment on the 1st one, other than to say that looks like a leap.

The 2nd one is OK. She maybe closing the hips too soon, but I don't know what the pitch was.

(I hadn't read Starsnuffer's post before I posted. He is more direct than I am.)

 

[sluggers]

Neither have great form.

PITCHER#1: Although the rest of her body is a mess, her arm motion is very good. The arm is straight as an arrow at 3, and it develops a bend at the elbow almost exactly at 12. Good IR at the end. She also really pushes off. You put all of that together, along with 100% effort, and you end up with some decent speed. If she were to get with a good coach, she could probably pick up 3 or 4 MPH without much problem.

PITCHER#2: She never gets her arm straight, and her circle is messed up. It looks to me like she is coming out of plane with the arm, but it is difficult to tell from the side. Her upper body


Note--I'm not disagreeing with Starsnuffer, just pointing out that PITCHER#1 does a great job with her arm. If you look at her entire motion, you can see how she generates speed. I hate to see a kid with that kind of ability is being hamstrung by poor mechanics. If that kid had gone to Amy, she'd be D1.

 

[Jojo]

#1 Illegal--needs to fix her push leg step and crow hop. Stride too long, bends over at release, if she shortens her stride she should be able to get more push at release with the back leg/hip and not over use her shoulder. She could throw A LOT harder!

#2 I don't think she opens up enough either, she needs to work on landing on the toe and firming up the front leg, this would also give her more speed as well.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

Thanks Sluggers. The first thing I would do, is look at the overhand throw.

But, I can't imagine that no one has attempted to change her.

 

[Ken Krause]

Not so sure that pitcher #1 really pushes off. If she did, her back leg would close into her front leg. Instead, I think she really reaches with her front leg, which allows it to get to the front off the circle. I agree with Sluggers that her arm circle looks good, with good IR. One other thing I see is it doesn't seem like her whole body is coordinated on her initial move forward. It's like different pieces are starting forward at different times. A more "coordinated" leg/arm drive might serve her better.

Pitcher #2 looks like she could be more aggressive. Hard to tell in slow motion but there doesn't seem to be a lot of whip there. I'm no advocate of a conscious wrist snap, but I don't see a lot of movement out of her wrist at release. Since to me wrist snap is a result of whip, it would indicated a lack of whip. Perhaps if she thought of throwing harder, and pulled her elbow down a little harder, she might get more whip and speed. Unless she's throwing a pitch that doesn't use wrist snap.

 

[Lozza]

Pitcher 1 has a horrible bend that would hurt her back something shocker. I'm much bigger than that girl and I have nothing of that bend.

 

[coachdan]

Thanks Sluggers. The first thing I would do, is look at the overhand throw.

But, I can't imagine that no one has attempted to change her.

No one has attempted to change her because very few at the level ball she has played been able to hit her. She has been dominant....averages about 12 to 15 K's game. During the fall we played several D1 schools and they did a little better job. She beat a couple of D1 during the fall but I know they may have not played there starters. she does have some D1 loking at her for next year.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

But, she is illegal.

What part of the country is she in?