Pitching mechanics

[normandale14]

Hi,

I have a young daughter who is starting to pitch. Watching fastpitch for a few years I notice most pitchers rock back to get momentum before their stride towards the plate. This past summer I have noticed some pitchers are not rocking back as much and more using the ground force when they stride.

Are there advantages to not rocking back and just using the ground force to push off in your stride?

Hope this wasn't to confusing
Thank you.

 

[sluggers]

I'm not real clear on what you mean by "ground force" or "rock back".

The pitcher pushes off from the ground with her non-stride leg. For a rightie, she pushes off with her right foot.

At the beginning of the motion, almost all pitchers do a weight transfer to the stride foot (the left foot, for a rightie). The amount of weight transfer varies from pitcher to pitcher.

The new rule allowing pitchers to have the non-stride foot behind the pitching rubber has some pitchers doing a more aggressive weight transfer.

I doubt there is much extra speed generated by an aggressive weight transfer.

 

[Wildfire]

This is a preference for your daughter to decide. She'll have to try both and see which makes her more comfortable. If your DD is just starting to pitch there will be a lot more important things to be concerned of. Remember, its a long journey so enjoy it.

My DD didn't step back at first, but then did so later.

 

[Cornbread]

Completely unweight the drive foot during the rock back and send all the weight into the drive foot when you begin to move forward. Check out the two step drill by Java on YouTube. Creates a ballistic movement

 

[Shiloh]

Softball pitching in a nutshell:

Stand on the rubber with the ball of your dominant foot and toes hanging off the front; non-dominant foot is on the dirt behind the rubber. Shift your weight forward as you use your legs to push away from the rubber like a sprinter off the block. Hands come apart as you start to drive forward; the ball should be at around 9 o'clock when your stride foot makes contact with the ground in front. Stick the landing with your drive foot as firmly and quickly as you can, and lean back as you land. Transfer the energy generated by the sudden start and stop of your lower body through your throwing arm and wrist to the ball. Be sure to keep your arm lose at all times. When you feel your forearm brush your hip, it's time to release the ball.

Took me 10 years to figure this out.
Hope it helps.

******

PS - Rocking back at the beginning of the pitch, not rocking back, sliding your foot along the rubber and bowing down like Monica Abbot, throwing both your arms back, throwing one arm back, throwing no arms back....those are all personal preference. Much like the various batting stances you see in the MLB....whatever stance a batter starts in, they all get to the same position right before they hit the ball.

 

[CoachJD]

PS - Rocking back at the beginning of the pitch, not rocking back, sliding your foot along the rubber and bowing down like Monica Abbot, throwing both your arms back, throwing one arm back, throwing no arms back....those are all personal preference. Much like the various batting stances you see in the MLB....whatever stance a batter starts in, they all get to the same position right before they hit the ball.

Agree with this, but I wouldn't discount the possibility that some of those things are more than merely preference. Different body styles, strength, agility, flexibility, etc. could mean that certain pitchers can more easily get into that "same position" by doing certain other things first. I believe this is the case with batting stances (if you don't believe me, try a bunch of different stances... it's likely you'll find some allow you to more easily get into the proper hitting position than others).

They're not absolutes, but I think they can be important (even if just mentally).

 

[Hillhouse]

There used to be a pitching coach/instructor in Wisconsin by the name of Bill Redmer. He actually claimed he sort of invented a new technique called "ground power" or Ground force. I can't remember exactly. But he did a patent on it and everything. He was quite a character, his way was the only way to pitch and every other coach in the country was wrong, only he was right (especially if you asked him). I wasn't even coaching at this point, I was still pretty active in my playing career, this is going back to the 90's. I've never actually seen any of his stuff, or know what "ground power" is but he was quite adamant that his way worked and everyone else was flat out wrong and an idiot for not subscribing to his method. In fairness, the internet was still pretty new at the time I heard of him and his stuff so there wasn't any videos to be seen online. I think my first correspondence with him was in 1996 or 97. He wrote an article in a softball magazine or publication talking about how crappy male pitchers were. They all pitch/pitched wrong/incorrectly. Of course, he never threw a ball himself or was a fastpitch pitcher. But he also knew that everyone else that could and was pitching was just doing it all wrong. What a guy.

 

[Rolling Hard]

There used to be a pitching coach/instructor in Wisconsin by the name of Bill Redmer. He actually claimed he sort of invented a new technique called "ground power" or Ground force. I can't remember exactly. But he did a patent on it and everything. He was quite a character, his way was the only way to pitch and every other coach in the country was wrong, only he was right (especially if you asked him). I wasn't even coaching at this point, I was still pretty active in my playing career, this is going back to the 90's. I've never actually seen any of his stuff, or know what "ground power" is but he was quite adamant that his way worked and everyone else was flat out wrong and an idiot for not subscribing to his method. In fairness, the internet was still pretty new at the time I heard of him and his stuff so there wasn't any videos to be seen online. I think my first correspondence with him was in 1996 or 97. He wrote an article in a softball magazine or publication talking about how crappy male pitchers were. They all pitch/pitched wrong/incorrectly. Of course, he never threw a ball himself or was a fastpitch pitcher. But he also knew that everyone else that could and was pitching was just doing it all wrong. What a guy.

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[Rolling Hard]

Any thoughts about Bill Redmer as a pitching coach?

Redmer is the one that teaches a very weak style of pitching. He is also the one that claimed that the /leap amd drag' style was illegal because it is illegal to leap in the ASA rulebook. If you signed up for his news letter, or whatever it is, he used to tell you to use your PIN as your...

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[sluggers]

There used to be a pitching coach/instructor in Wisconsin by the name of Bill Redmer. He actually claimed he sort of invented a new technique called "ground power" or Ground force. I can't remember exactly.

My DD went to Redmer for a few months. What I learned from Redmer: A lot of people are selling snake oil pitching lessons to stupid parents.

After Redmer, I started looking for someone who really understood pitching, and found Ed Serdar. Ed pitched Class A ball in Aurora, Illinois. He was invited to play at the next level with the Sealmasters, but he said he didn't want to sit the bench behind Harvey Sterkel.