The Kelly Barnhill Thread

[corlay]

What is this if not HE?

She is getting IR with her humerus (upper arm).
I do not see her pushing the ball down the backside of the circle,
she is pulling.

What she is not doing is decelerating her humerus into release,
and whipping her hand past a stabilized elbow.
This has been called "long lever" pitching.
Everything is generated from the shoulder joint.

In a way it's surprising to me that she can generate so much velocity and spin pitching this way.
It does give credence to all the illegality of her lower half, and how much that really does contribute to her success.

 

[Rocketech1]

I would like to hear your theory about how her lower body is generating the arm whip mechanics to throw close to 70mph?

 

[knightsb]

I think corlay is onto something.

You can see a big difference at release.

I could see more of Barnhill's power coming from the shoulder versus a lower arm armwhip.

 

[corlay]

I would like to hear your theory about how her lower body is generating the arm whip mechanics to throw close to 70mph?

I'm saying she really doesn't have much "arm whip mechanics" at all.
So, to hit 70MPH, I'm speculating that the force to propel the ball with such velocity, is coming from a second push from her lower half,
(combined with a quick and powerful leap before that...).

What Barnhill *does* do incredibly well is she gets phenomenal overlap,
with regard to her backswing traveling rearward, while her body is traveling forward.
This "overlap" also greatly contributes to her velocity.
Compare frames #3 above.
See how much further back Barnhill's arm/ball position is, in relation to Asacio's?
And look how little Barnhill's hand travels in the 1st 3 frames...
Maybe it's not so much overlap with components traveling in opposite directions,
but that she's learned to hold the ball to her side, and *delay* when she begins her windmill motion?

Also, in frames #4, see how much higher Barnhill's stride leg is?
And the position of her pivot foot, compared to Asacio?
Frame #4 is where a leaper/replanter differs from a "legal" leap/drag with textbook form.

Barnhill uses her back foot to bear weight after push,
allowing her to get more height and distance with her stride leg,
and uses the falling motion from that height to accelerate her arm
after it passes directly overhead.

Interesting last frame on Barnhill.
That "K" position (hinged at waist, upper body leaning forward, rear leg lagging behind) and midline to almost forward release,
are traits I've worked very hard to eliminate from my DD's mechanics over the years.

 

[spleen1015]

Any idea what pitch she's throwing there? Can't imagine how she throws a riseball when she's bowling like that.

 

[riseball]

There are plenty of people who can throw high 60's or even low 70's with a running start. Early in her Freshman season we could not believe how she had toned down her mechanics. The result was she was throwing low to mid-60's. Everything aside, I cannot believe that any PC would look at her mechanics and want to put their name on it.

 

[Ken B]

I would like to hear your theory about how her lower body is generating the arm whip mechanics to throw close to 70mph?

Imagine swinging a bat without generating power from the drive leg.

 

[knightsb]

Interesting last frame on Barnhill.
That "K" position (hinged at waist, upper body leaning forward, rear leg lagging behind) and midline to almost forward release,
are traits I've worked very hard to eliminate from my DD's mechanics over the years.

LOL, same here.

Hal Skinner used to have a student with similar traits that was a hard thrower.

 

[knightsb]

There are plenty of people who can throw high 60's or even low 70's with a running start. Early in her Freshman season we could not believe how she had toned down her mechanics. The result was she was throwing low to mid-60's. Everything aside, I cannot believe that any PC would look at her mechanics and want to put their name on it.

I wonder if Eriksen had any advice for her. You know Eriksen had Sara Nevins at USF.

“Being on the national team has been amazing,” Barnhill said. “I’m having so much fun. My teammates are great. The coaches have been amazing. Coach (Ken) Eriksen has really helped me with my pitching. I’ve been able to improve on the mental and physical aspects of my game.”

 

[Ken B]

LOL, same here.

Hal Skinner used to have a student with similar traits that was a hard thrower.

There's a blast from the past!