Throwing Drill Needed – Elbow parallel to ground

[quincy]

Our indoor practice for spring started a few weeks ago and we have quite a few players that have their elbow more or less pointing at the ground when they throw. The players range for 6 to 17 years old.

Will someone please suggest some drills to work on this Issue?

 

[Momo's Dad]

We have the girls stand with elbows up, facing their partner, and have the non-throwing hand supporting the elbow to keep the upper arm parallel to the ground while doing a partial throw.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

I measure the distance that they can throw. Then, I tell them about the elbow being level or a little higher than the shoulder. And, I have them throw again. Their throws are sometimes 30 feet more.

 

[Ken Krause]

I like to take a soft obstacle, such as a my glove or a garden kneeler, and hold it armpit-high under the throwing arm. Then I have the player throw, telling her that he elbow shouldn't hit the obstacle. It's both visual and tactile, and provides instant feedback if the arm drops. It definitely helps them get the feel of the elbow being up.

 

[quincy]

Thanks

I am thinking of having them on 1 knee for all 3 of these drills, then move to their feet.

 

[starsnuffer]

Tell them if their arms look like "W"'s, it stands for weak. No girl wants to be called weak by their coach. If you want to be more PC tell them it stands for "weak throws".

-W

 

[quincy]

I know this is an old post but I have given up.

I am frustrating players and myself trying to fix their throwing motion. I have tried what was suggested above with no results. I have also showed them videos of themselves and they can see what they are doing wrong. If they have my full attention they will throw the ball more or less correctly, if my full attention is not on them, or we introduce any stress, they drop their elbow.

I have talked to a few of the parents and they are on my side and agree with what we are trying to accomplish but that has not seemed to have helped either.

 

[obbay]

Are they turning sideways, starting with glove shoulder to the target and finishing sideways with the throwing shoulder to the target? Girls have a deep-rooted instinct to face the target when throwing and not follow thru. I think this dropped elbow is a throwback to this.

I always say this but have you tried having them throw a football? Can be a fun diversion while stressing the correct arm motion.
I have had players like that in the past and it takes a long time to correct some of them. Some may never correct, especially if they are strong enough to shot-put the ball hard and accurate. It is frustrating to start early with them and 2 months later have the problem persist.

I suggest tailoring back your expectations, don't expect to cure the problem pre-season, but look for improvement and continue to reinforce throughout the season without driving them crazy.

One of DDs friends is small for her age but also very strong for her age. She was on my team for a few years (from 7 to 9) and I tried to get her throwing correctly but as soon as I walked away it was the shot put again. (Turns out she shoots a basketball the same way) 3 years later she's not on my team anymore, her form is bad but her throwing is steadily improving. I'm thinking she may be old enough to implement instruction now, but if she's getting the ball to where they need it, I doubt her coaches are going to "waste" their time trying to fix it..

 

[PEPPERS]

Are they turning sideways, starting with glove shoulder to the target and finishing sideways with the throwing shoulder to the target? Girls have a deep-rooted instinct to face the target when throwing and not follow thru. I think this dropped elbow is a throwback to this.

I always say this but have you tried having them throw a football? Can be a fun diversion while stressing the correct arm motion.
I have had players like that in the past and it takes a long time to correct some of them. Some may never correct, especially if they are strong enough to shot-put the ball hard and accurate. It is frustrating to start early with them and 2 months later have the problem persist.

I suggest tailoring back your expectations, don't expect to cure the problem pre-season, but look for improvement and continue to reinforce throughout the season without driving them crazy.

One of DDs friends is small for her age but also very strong for her age. She was on my team for a few years (from 7 to 9) and I tried to get her throwing correctly but as soon as I walked away it was the shot put again. (Turns out she shoots a basketball the same way) 3 years later she's not on my team anymore, her form is bad but her throwing is steadily improving. I'm thinking she may be old enough to implement instruction now, but if she's getting the ball to where they need it, I doubt her coaches are going to "waste" their time trying to fix it..

I agree, many girls seem to not want to get sideways to the target, my daughter sometimes will go back to not getting sideways if I do not stay on her. I also experenced the samething as you worked with a kid and see her getting better and then see her playing for someone else a year latter and back to the same poor mechanics.

Another thing is the drills the knee drill and others where you work through the throwing mechanics backwards they develope a hesitation in the throw at times so we don't work on them very much.

 

[starsnuffer]

Many girls don't get sideways to their target because so many bad coaches have them pair off, line up, square up to eachother and throw. . . hundreds of throws a week.

It's very rare in an actual softball game that a player will stand square to their target and attempt to throw the ball. . . so, why do we do this in practice? Sure, you can make them rotate their trunk and aim their shoulder and do odd spine twisting motions to try to compensate, but the truth is, there is never a point at which they should need to square up to eachother and practice throwing. This is just a time waster for an uncreative coaching staff.

-W