Arm management

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Jan 22, 2011
1,610
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I've mostly convinced myself that having 8U and under throw anything bigger than a baseball is a major cause of crappy throwing mechanics. It's really becoming the elephant in the room. BB vs. SB swing mechanics are slowly starting to be accepted as being nearly (if not completely) identical. I think the push to use the same throwing mechanics is sadly still lagging several years behind.

I've known about 5 girls that spent significant time playing baseball before switching to softball. ALL of the them had superior throwing mechanics to the SB-only girls. I admit it's a very limited sample size. But I also come across enough DFP and other social media posts to believe there's merit to looking into this further.
Southern California has used a 10 inch ball for 8u for a very long time. Northern California switched to the 10 inch ball for 8u 7 or 8 years ago.

What size ball do other areas use for 8u?

Using the 11 inch ball too early definitely contributes to learning poor throwing mechanics.
 
Jul 31, 2019
495
43
Three recommendations to prevent throwing related arm injuries:

  1. Study and teach proper throwing mechanics. Wasserman, Blewett and others have great programs.
  2. Develop and take seriously throwing every day's (ED's). I've watched too many teams that don't use a structured program, and when they do, the coaches are not working to correct flaws; they are off setting up practice or socializing.
  3. Implement a J-band armcare program. There is a reason that most colleges across the country are religious with them. Start them at age 10 and build from it. Better yet, add an under/overloading program (age 12) as a compliment to the J-bands.
 
Oct 10, 2018
305
63
My DD was prone to tenonitis in her right elbow. She was a tennis player before softball and would get some bad flare ups. She quit tennis to focus on softball and when she started having elbow problems we thought she just had a weak elbow. This went on for 2 years until she changed teams and at the second practice the guy who runs the organization asked her, no one ever taught you the right way to throw? No, she'd been playing since 8U and no one taught her the right way to throw. He did and she hasn't had even a twitch of pain in her 2 years with this organization.
 
Nov 18, 2015
1,585
113
The player also takes some responsibility as they have to want to change. To me, this is the biggest roadblock as they get older.
This is becoming my biggest frustration with coaching. All last year, maybe even the last 18-months, we've started throwing warmups on the alternate knee, with a focus on keeping the arms flat (not bringing the ball up to the ear until the torso turns forward), and shorter arm circles.

It's the same players every week I'm correcting. And it's the same players who just miss getting runners at 1B b/c they're too slow in their throwing motion. As we start 14U, many seem to either have a "well I'll just throw harder" mentality, or still lack the proprioception to realize they're not moving correctly.

Perhaps "wanting to change" needs to be "inspired" by an honest conversation along the lines of "I love your glove at 1B / 2B / SS / 3B, but we're losing too many outs on close plays, so you're going to see limited time at those positions". Again, we're just starting 14B as 13YO's, so we're not there yet.

But yeah - this post was a lot a of venting by me just to say I agree - wanting to change = taking responsibility for their all too-brief SB careers.
 
Jun 8, 2016
16,118
113
This is becoming my biggest frustration with coaching. All last year, maybe even the last 18-months, we've started throwing warmups on the alternate knee, with a focus on keeping the arms flat (not bringing the ball up to the ear until the torso turns forward), and shorter arm circles.

It's the same players every week I'm correcting. And it's the same players who just miss getting runners at 1B b/c they're too slow in their throwing motion. As we start 14U, many seem to either have a "well I'll just throw harder" mentality, or still lack the proprioception to realize they're not moving correctly.

Perhaps "wanting to change" needs to be "inspired" by an honest conversation along the lines of "I love your glove at 1B / 2B / SS / 3B, but we're losing too many outs on close plays, so you're going to see limited time at those positions". Again, we're just starting 14B as 13YO's, so we're not there yet.

But yeah - this post was a lot a of venting by me just to say I agree - wanting to change = taking responsibility for their all too-brief SB careers.
In baseball it is much easier for a kid to realize they cannot throw well enough (either because of their mechanics or they don’t have a strong enough arm for a certain position..SS for example). Once they get to the 60/90 field you get exposed quickly. In softball they play on the same size field their whole career so some “tough love” is often necessary..the sooner the better.
 
Apr 20, 2018
4,581
113
SoCal
This is becoming my biggest frustration with coaching. All last year, maybe even the last 18-months, we've started throwing warmups on the alternate knee, with a focus on keeping the arms flat (not bringing the ball up to the ear until the torso turns forward), and shorter arm circles.

It's the same players every week I'm correcting. And it's the same players who just miss getting runners at 1B b/c they're too slow in their throwing motion. As we start 14U, many seem to either have a "well I'll just throw harder" mentality, or still lack the proprioception to realize they're not moving correctly.

Perhaps "wanting to change" needs to be "inspired" by an honest conversation along the lines of "I love your glove at 1B / 2B / SS / 3B, but we're losing too many outs on close plays, so you're going to see limited time at those positions". Again, we're just starting 14B as 13YO's, so we're not there yet.

But yeah - this post was a lot a of venting by me just to say I agree - wanting to change = taking responsibility for their all too-brief SB careers.
video
 
Apr 20, 2018
4,581
113
SoCal
This is becoming my biggest frustration with coaching. All last year, maybe even the last 18-months, we've started throwing warmups on the alternate knee, with a focus on keeping the arms flat (not bringing the ball up to the ear until the torso turns forward), and shorter arm circles.

It's the same players every week I'm correcting. And it's the same players who just miss getting runners at 1B b/c they're too slow in their throwing motion. As we start 14U, many seem to either have a "well I'll just throw harder" mentality, or still lack the proprioception to realize they're not moving correctly.

Perhaps "wanting to change" needs to be "inspired" by an honest conversation along the lines of "I love your glove at 1B / 2B / SS / 3B, but we're losing too many outs on close plays, so you're going to see limited time at those positions". Again, we're just starting 14B as 13YO's, so we're not there yet.

But yeah - this post was a lot a of venting by me just to say I agree - wanting to change = taking responsibility for their all too-brief SB careers.
Proprioception, or kinesthesia, is the sense that lets us perceive the location, movement, and action of parts of the body. It encompasses a complex of sensations, including perception of joint position and movement, muscle force, and effort.
How would a coach go about correcting poor throwing mechanics? I mean the palming the ball, reaching back, 3/4 arm slot, hand grenade throw. If she is in 14U and she has been playing for 5 or 6 years, it is going to be very difficult.
 
Jun 8, 2016
16,118
113
Proprioception, or kinesthesia, is the sense that lets us perceive the location, movement, and action of parts of the body. It encompasses a complex of sensations, including perception of joint position and movement, muscle force, and effort.
How would a coach go about correcting poor throwing mechanics? I mean the palming the ball, reaching back, 3/4 arm slot, hand grenade throw. If she is in 14U and she has been playing for 5 or 6 years, it is going to be very difficult.
Arm slot and how short an action you use could be changed (long arm action eg pitching/OF vs shorter IF/catcher)..people move from IF to OF all the time and that requires a change (some IF naturally throw 3/4 slot) in those. Pushing, etc. , e.g. bad overall throwing mechanics, would be a lot more difficult to change.
 

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