Riseball resources

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Nov 15, 2014
41
8
It is way beyond time my daughter learns the riseball. Honestly, I’m just intimidated by it and haven’t brought it up to her much. Many of the links I’ve found on here either don’t work or are clips of it being thrown not showing mechanics, grip, snapping the fingers vs driving index down?? Feel lost. Would love any resources to teach/learn from. Daughter is near 6 ft and hands are plenty big if that helps with any grip recommendations. Thanks!
 
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Nov 15, 2014
41
8
Really like this video but what’s the best way to teach it?? I should have specified this is not my daughter. Video I came across while searching for information

 
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Sep 29, 2014
2,421
113
This is a decent intro...Amanda does mention finishing high at one point and it seems HEish but look at every pitch she actually throws great IR and it's from 2011 and she has since studied mechanics more and actually doesn't emphasize the high finish anymore.

Does she have a pitching coach? This is probably the one thing I would feel least comfortable about learning off the internet but if you get a teacher that doesn't know what they are talking about you aren't getting any better instruction.



I posted this link so that you could see the similarities and difference about what they are teaching, personally I would focus on all the stuff that is the same and then experiment with the rest, Bill talks about focusing on your fingers but seems pretty hard to manipulate your fingers correctly without using your wrist atall, maybe it's just emphasizing the wrist action leads to other problems so he wants to use a different cue? Bill might even chime in....


 
Sep 29, 2014
2,421
113
1:45 is the only really good shot, looks like she is getting under the ball to me whether or not it's spinning right is hard to tell.

If you use Bill's tool...it won't lie and is even more obvious than using a striped ball It's either spinning backwards or it's not.
 
Nov 15, 2014
41
8
This is a decent intro...Amanda does mention finishing high at one point and it seems HEish but look at every pitch she actually throws great IR and it's from 2011 and she has since studied mechanics more and actually doesn't emphasize the high finish anymore.

Does she have a pitching coach? This is probably the one thing I would feel least comfortable about learning off the internet but if you get a teacher that doesn't know what they are talking about you aren't getting any better instruction.



I posted this link so that you could see the similarities and difference about what they are teaching, personally I would focus on all the stuff that is the same and then experiment with the rest, Bill talks about focusing on your fingers but seems pretty hard to manipulate your fingers correctly without using your wrist atall, maybe it's just emphasizing the wrist action leads to other problems so he wants to use a different cue? Bill might even chime in....




Thanks for the reply! No PC as we have just not found one that doesn’t emphasize the HE finish over 4 years of pitching for us off of the great info on this forum. “Why is she throwing that way?” is what we get. She has gotten better with her drive and learning a good change, I just tell her to finish the way they want. Drove three hours to a “Tincher” coach last year but cant do that routinely.
 
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Nov 15, 2014
41
8
video isn't high resolution, but I am not convinced the example you posted is actually a rise ball.
Doesn't look like back-spin to me.
This was a video from java source’s Facebook page demonstrating one pitcher he’s working with.
 
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May 15, 2008
1,913
113
Cape Cod Mass.
When I teach the riseball now I start from scratch. I have the pitcher stand sideways and throw backspin from about 10 ft. We don't move from that unless she can get the ball to spin backwards. This is where she needs to find a grip that works. Once she can get backspin we move on to slingshotting the ball faster then go full circle. I don't think it's possible to teach the rise in the same way that you might teach a drop or a curve (use a normal motion, change grip and wrist/finger action). Learning the rise requires radical changes to the normal pitching motion. Once a pitcher can reliably produce backspin then she can start adding speed and go to the full circle. You have to be prepared for a significant drop in velocity at the start. When the fingers slide under the ball to give it the proper spin they are not adding energy-velocity. There seems to be a compromise in terms of spin vs velocity: pure backspin will be slower, some bulletspin will allow more velocity. This is why it's very rare to see a pitcher throw pure backspin with high velocity, typically the rise will be several mph slower. What usually passes for a riseball is bulletspin up in the zone.
 
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May 30, 2013
1,442
83
Binghamton, NY
You have to be prepared for a significant drop in velocity at the start.
...
typically the rise will be several mph slower.

it is important to note:
1. Yes, true riseballs tend to be a bit slower than other pitches - for most.
2. A true riseball gives the appearance of being slower for a few reasons, both related to true backspin:
a) the ball actually decelerates more as it approaches the batter than other pitches. This deceleration aspect really messes with a hitter's timing.
b) the ball drops less than other pitches (despite being slower!) This "drops less" aspect really messes with the batter's ability to predict where the ball will be (barrel path into contact).

Both of these characteristics lend a "float" quality to the pitch.
And you know it, when you see it.
And both of these characteristics are what make a "riseball" effective to all regions of the strike zone, not just the high-region.

Reason to develop a "real" riseball?
It completes the "holy trinity" of fastpitching: drop, change, rise. If you actually "have" these pitches (for reals. proper spin axis with decent spin rate) you WILL be successful. And at many levels, NONE of these pitches even needs to break 60mph to do it.
 
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