- Sep 3, 2009
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But that doesn't change the fact that her thumb points towards first and not third at the 12:00 position. Same goes for all of the elite pitchers.
Windmill - Arm position at 3/4 down position
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But that doesn't change the fact that her thumb points towards first and not third at the 12:00 position. Same goes for all of the elite pitchers.
- Sep 3, 2009
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My 10 yo DD started pitching a year ago so I have spent hours and hours on boards like this one trying to grasp the basic mechanics of fastpitch. My best advice would be to read through this thread (http://www.discussfastpitch.com/softball-pitching/1348-internal-rotation.html), paying particularly close attention to the posts by "Boardmember". Shortly after putting his drills into practice with my daughter she began to throw harder and with better control.
Tomzoc,
Use the Finch frame you have posted as your model. She is pretty good! It really isn't as important at the phase pictured whether the thumb is facing first like hers is or somewhere between first and center field. the big question is where is the palm facing when she starts down. Then that palm needs to get facing third.
Use the Finch frame you have posted as your model. She is pretty good! It really isn't as important at the phase pictured whether the thumb is facing first like hers is or somewhere between first and center field. the big question is where is the palm facing when she starts down. Then that palm needs to get facing third.
Finch is not at 12 o'clock. You cannot pitch without rotating the thumb. That is pitching 101.
I do not flex my arm, there. But, at no point do I lock the elbow.
Purchase the Finch Windmill, which Jennie's father developed and you will understand the circle.
I do not flex my arm, there. But, at no point do I lock the elbow.
Purchase the Finch Windmill, which Jennie's father developed and you will understand the circle.
Here is one of my young students, in a photo from Thursday.
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Amy
I might suggest that you have her bring her arm down so that it is even with the shoulder and there is a 90 degree bend at the elbow. This will ensure that she doesn't lock out the elbow on the down swing. Locking out puts a lot of intense strain on the bicep muscles which in young pitchers can lead to issues with the shoulder. The cue being lead with the elbow and snap the ball across the body. The hand should finish at the left arm for a right handed pitcher.
I might suggest that you have her bring her arm down so that it is even with the shoulder and there is a 90 degree bend at the elbow. This will ensure that she doesn't lock out the elbow on the down swing. Locking out puts a lot of intense strain on the bicep muscles which in young pitchers can lead to issues with the shoulder. The cue being lead with the elbow and snap the ball across the body. The hand should finish at the left arm for a right handed pitcher.
Am I missing something here? Isn't Jennie Finch's thumb pointing towards the first base side in this picture?
Tom,
Even what you consider to be the best in the world isnt always the template for correct mechanics. She is pointing the ball towards the catcher. So that would mean her thumb would be pointing at the catcher. Not first base. I have no clue as to what pitch she is about to throw in this picture and you dont either. General principle is that the ball should be pointing at us if the hand was in the correct position in the windmill. Take a look at the clip that Boardmember put up of Hillhouse in the thread next to this one and pay attention to his hand position at 12:00. That is what I am trying to point out with my post. That is a pretty good example in of itself.
- Sep 3, 2009
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Please disregard my comments about the direction that the thumb is pointing since I misunderstood what people were saying. I was referring to which way the 'thumb side of the hand' was facing and not where the tip of the thumb was pointing if that makes sense (the 'thumb side' of JF's hand in the pic is towards first). I looked at the "show it and throw it" thread you mentioned and to me Hillhouse has the exact same hand and ball position as Finch does at the exact same time. To me this is 12:00, when the ball is over the head and spine of the pitcher and not when the ball is over the throwing shoulder. I've only been into this for a year so I guess that I get confused with the terminology and clock and things of that nature. But what I do believe is true is what BM says in that thread and in the old IR thread because I've watched loads of video and looked at lots of pix of elite pitchers that confirm it. I took my daughter to two different pitching coaches that charge almost $75 an hour and both teach "getting behind the ball" like so many other PC's when in fact we don't want them to get behind the ball. We want the ball to be pulled and not pushed through the arm circle. The hand and ball should turn naturally through the motion and don't have to be forced.
So anyway, what I guess I should have said is that "IMHO" the thumb (along with the palm of the hand, and the ball) should be pointing towards the target at 12:00 and not towards first. That is my belief and again that is assuming that 12:00 is when the ball is over the center of the pitcher's body.
Sorry for the confusion =)
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- Aug 16, 2010
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Agree to not knowing what pitch Finch is throwing. For example at the 12:00 when pitching a curve ball (according to my daughter's instructor) the ball would be held similar to this picture of Finch. (thumb to body_However, when pitching the fastball, the thumb would be pointed away from the body. Differnt pitch=different hand/thumb position at 12:00 (or any other position in the rotation). Please anyone correct me if I am wrong!!!
For the original poster....my daugher learned on the quadrant system. Her instructor broke the windmill into 4 basic components. Flip, 3:00, 12:00, and then full circle. She goes through each position in her warm up before pitching from the mound. In each position, he stresses where the thumb/hand position should be. He has a great instructional cd explaining this also. Hope that helps.
Here is a picture of Kenzie Fowler, demonstrating the 12 o'clock position.
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