Ok I'm going to try and put a video up of my 16 dd pitchin a drop. I think her hips r closeing too soon but want a 2nd opinion.
tell me if im wrong or just help
- Thread starter hillbily75
- Start date
Welcome to Discuss Fastpitch
Your FREE Account is waiting to the Best Softball Community on the Web.
finally YouTube - courtney.wmv
First, nice job on the video. You did the right thing by moving around as she was pitching so we could see from the back and front.
To answer your specific question--No, her hips are not closing too soon. You can see from the picture that her hips are still open and the ball has left her hand.
The problem is that the rest of body is messed up. Note that her head is leaning to the left. It should be straight up and down. If she were throwing a fastball, the head should be leaning to the right. On some pitches she is also getting too far on her front foot at release.
I suspect she isn't get the big break on the ball. Her right hand should be down between her legs after release. Her right shoulder almost pointing at the catcher.
Her lack of control on the pitch is due to her inconsistency of her arm.
To answer your specific question--No, her hips are not closing too soon. You can see from the picture that her hips are still open and the ball has left her hand.
The problem is that the rest of body is messed up. Note that her head is leaning to the left. It should be straight up and down. If she were throwing a fastball, the head should be leaning to the right. On some pitches she is also getting too far on her front foot at release.
I suspect she isn't get the big break on the ball. Her right hand should be down between her legs after release. Her right shoulder almost pointing at the catcher.
Her lack of control on the pitch is due to her inconsistency of her arm.
- Jul 14, 2008
- 1,796
- 63
No......her hips aren't closing too soon........You've got a whole bunch of other issues to deal with........Like Setup Posture.........Drive..........Effort..........Fast Muscle Twitch.........Sync.........Finish.........And the like..........
But her hips have nothing to do with all of them..........And since your original question was about her hips..........I'll leave it at that...........
But her hips have nothing to do with all of them..........And since your original question was about her hips..........I'll leave it at that...........
Ok so what are somethings we could do to fix some of those prob..... and accually she is pretty accurate with her other pitches. but i know there is some stuff she does wrong.. she is 16 and throws around 53 FB, 55 on her screw ball and has a CU that is in the 40s. and can locate those but she has had a hard time with her drop ball.. i know she needs to be faster and the problems that u mentioned would definatly improve that... She has been to a couple pitching coaches and has improved alot. She is going to be the starting pitcher for the high school varsity team. i know we r way behind some of u all that play year around but we r getting there.lol softball in this area is just starting to get really popular.. she has played travel ball since she was 10 and has been pitching since she was 9. just trying to give you some background hope u dont mind my rambling.... i will try and get a better vid of some of her other pitches and let u see them.. hopefully you can give us some good ideas.... thank
thanks... she didnt have any choice i tape here with my phone for her to see what i was trying to tell her and then put it on here.... lol
She needs to fix her fundamental fastball motion first.
If she were my DD, my goals would be:
(1) Get her fastball up to 57 MPH.
(2) Develop exceptional control on her screw, FB and CU.
(3) Perhaps developing a peel (not rollover) drop.
The time and effort she is going to put into learning a rollover would be better spent fixing her basic motion and developing her control.
If you really want to push for another breaking pitch, then go for the peel drop ball. A peel doesn't require as much body control as a rollover.
If she were my DD, my goals would be:
(1) Get her fastball up to 57 MPH.
(2) Develop exceptional control on her screw, FB and CU.
(3) Perhaps developing a peel (not rollover) drop.
The time and effort she is going to put into learning a rollover would be better spent fixing her basic motion and developing her control.
If you really want to push for another breaking pitch, then go for the peel drop ball. A peel doesn't require as much body control as a rollover.
Last edited:
There are a lot of different things going on, but one thing I see is a stiff arm. She needs to keep the elbow loose rather than locked so she can get up and over the rollover. Difficult to describe, but if you think relaxed versus stiff it's a start.
By the way, I thought Boardmember's list was a little harsh at first. But then I watched the video and changed my mind. I would say get her to a good pitching coach. If she has one now, find a different one.
By the way, I thought Boardmember's list was a little harsh at first. But then I watched the video and changed my mind. I would say get her to a good pitching coach. If she has one now, find a different one.
- Nov 29, 2009
- 2,973
- 83
One of the biggest things that I see in her motion is the huge hesitation at the top of the circle. She doesn't hesitate the same on every pitch along with the other things Board Member pointed out. The other thing I see is that she looks like a stick figure throwing the ball. Her joints are locked and everything in her motion is herky jerky and tight. That is what is keeping her from driving like she should.
I think Ken, Sarkey, and Screwball have all made really good points. The thing I would add is that her stiff arm is rolling over and coming out towards the batter too much. She should have bend in her arm on the way down, which will allow her to start the roll. over sooner and throw it more down than out towards the plate. You also have to be careful when you have a stiff arm and rollover so far out front. It can cause elbow pain in many.
