Throwmax?

[Chris O'Leary]

Her biggest problem is that she's starting with her elbow too high; well above her shoulders when it should be just below her shoulders. This causes her to have to drop her elbow down into the plane of her shoulders and leads to the funky action.

Many players end up with their elbows high like this because they are trying to throw more over the top but do it by getting their elbow up (which is wrong) instead of tilting their shoulders (which is right).

P.S. The Throwmax is a waste of money (if not dangerous).

 

[CobraAssist]

Mr. O'Leary,

I couldn't agree with you more. There are several things that I have noticed with girls with this type of throwing motion. Not sure if you've ever heard it taught like this, but I've heard a few instructors (these are guys that get paid) teach "grip, hip, fangs." What happens when girls are taught this, IMO, is they move their arm in a circular motion very rapidly, and they end up with that elbow way to high. I watched a video when I was younger called Nolan Ryan's Fastball that had Nolan (duh) and a VERY YOUNG Randy Johnson. In the video, I distinctly remember watching Ryan pull the ball from the glove at and go more straight back with it than in a big circular motion. This was also key in hiding the ball from the hitter during the windup, but also kept the elbow to where it was not way up over the shoulder.

On the shoulder tilt, are you referring to the lead shoulder being slightly angled downwards? Also, how do you feel about the left side delivering the throw. I was a pitcher, and I had a coach teach me to tuck and pull with the left arm to help deliver the torso. Thoughts?

 

[Chris O'Leary]

Mr. O'Leary,

I couldn't agree with you more. There are several things that I have noticed with girls with this type of throwing motion. Not sure if you've ever heard it taught like this, but I've heard a few instructors (these are guys that get paid) teach "grip, hip, fangs." What happens when girls are taught this, IMO, is they move their arm in a circular motion very rapidly, and they end up with that elbow way to high. I watched a video when I was younger called Nolan Ryan's Fastball that had Nolan (duh) and a VERY YOUNG Randy Johnson. In the video, I distinctly remember watching Ryan pull the ball from the glove at and go more straight back with it than in a big circular motion. This was also key in hiding the ball from the hitter during the windup, but also kept the elbow to where it was not way up over the shoulder.

On the shoulder tilt, are you referring to the lead shoulder being slightly angled downwards? Also, how do you feel about the left side delivering the throw. I was a pitcher, and I had a coach teach me to tuck and pull with the left arm to help deliver the torso. Thoughts?

Unfortunately, the baseless, dangerous garbage that boys are being taught (the "fangs" part of the mantra) is now bleeding over into the world of fast pitch.

This is what I teach...

It is basically perfect and is obviously not what the girl in question is doing.

Her throwing side elbow is MUCH higher than this.

In my experience that is often due to being told to get your back elbow up. I have seen some really bizarre throwing motions in kids (more girls than boys for some reason, but probably because girls tend to be more likely to face the target rather than get sideways) who are blindly taught to get their elbows up.

In terms of shoulder tilt, and more generally arm slot, what good athletes (male or female) do is they tilt their shoulders like this at the release point. Notice how the elbows and shoulders are all basically in line, but with the elbows just below the tops of the shoulders.

This gets the elbow up, but in a very different (and better) manner.