Pitching - Where to start?

[JJsqueeze]

this is anecdotal, but from what I have seen, even mentioning wrist snaps indicates a PC teaches a form of mechanics that is not used by the highest level pitchers. All of the gurus I have come to respect never mention it as any sort of fundamental. I try every instruction to see how hard it is for me prior to passing it along to my DD and when I tried to coordinate the timing of a whip motion and an intentional wrist flip I find it almost impossible. If I stiff arm with a wrist flip I can control it much better. I really think a wrist flip as a foundation mechanic pushes you towards hello elbow and a lifetime of slow pitching. As they get more advanced I can see it as an add on for spins and a few extra mph but I think it would be a killer for a beginning pitcher.

 

[Ken B]

Keep in mind that the release phase is the one of the most widely misunderstood aspects of form in fastpitch softball. The wive's tales seem perpetual. You will see it at the highest levels of pitchers and instructors. I've even shown PC's video and pictures to no avail. The crazy thing is that I'd really like to send my own DD's to work with some of these instructors. Not for form, but to learn how to pitch. They've been there. I can give them my best, but someone who has pitched in college championships has something most folks can't offer. If wrist snaps are the only glaring issue and they are otherwise pretty solid, you may have to consider the "smile and nod" option.

My oldest attended sessions with a PC who did great job of connecting, motivating and talking about the game. While warming up her peel drop (which in my opinion was perfect 12/6 spin and had great movement) the PC stepped up and complimented her on the great spin and movement, but needed to work on getting her hand/fingers behind the ball! She said she was rotating her hand through release and spent a few minutes trying to correct her. DD smiled and nodded, then they got onto other stuff. We really like her and I take my kids to her whenever we get a chance.

Out of all the PC's within 45+/- miles of us, there are 3 that I'm confident understand whip.

I hope that wrist snaps and bowling mechanics go the way of "squish the bug." It's still out there, but it seems to be losing some steam...

 

[Ken B]

Bump…

 

[Dabears17]

Nice blast from the past. Didn’t know Maddie was interested in being a pitcher before she came to her senses and became a catcher.

Did @Eric F borrow the Bobcat to make a pitching lane?

 

[Eric F]

It never happened in any kind of serious way. In her last season of rec ball (second year 10U), when she had already made the decision to move to TB, her rec coach encouraged her to pitch in a few games. At that point, she had already made the commitment to catcher as her primary position. I thought it was a great idea to give her a view from the other side, knowing that she would never have that opportunity in TB. She practiced pitching for about a week, but only with the intent of having enough control to throw the ball in/near the strike zone with reasonable consistency. Fine tuning mechanics was not part of the equation.

Maddie's career pitching stats: 3.0 IP, 1 H, 6 R, 4 K, 7 BB, 2 HBP.

Her most memorable moment was striking out one of her best friends. 7 years later, they were teammates in their Senior season of HS ball, and Maddie still said, "Remember when...?"



I never got a Bobcat in my yard, but not long after, I hand-leveled a big enough area for a 30' x 10' batting cage that got a LOT of use over the following years.

 

[ArmWhip]

I hope that wrist snaps and bowling mechanics go the way of "squish the bug." It's still out there, but it seems to be losing some steam...

Well, it's been almost 10 years since you posted this and in my area snaps and bowling are still going strong.

 

[Ken B]

Well, it's been almost 10 years since you posted this and in my area snaps and bowling are still going strong.

In my area it seems to be improving, but not like I’d hoped. I’ve had several families ask to get on our schedule and specifically said they were coming to us to learn IR. The crazy thing is that I rarely reference “IR.”

I think a lot of it has to do with a clinic I hosted in ‘18 featuring @javasource (Mike Muhleisen) along with @Doug Romrell and Anna Miller ( Nickel.) It seemed to spark interest. It blows me away that people are seeking out IR instruction and gives me hope that it’s getting closer to changing the balance.

 

[ArmWhip]

In my area it seems to be improving, but not like I’d hoped. I’ve had several families ask to get on our schedule and specifically said they were coming to us to learn IR. The crazy thing is that I rarely reference “IR.”

I think a lot of it has to do with a clinic I hosted in ‘18 featuring @javasource (Mike Muhleisen) along with @Doug Romrell and Anna Miller ( Nickel.) It seemed to spark interest. It blows me away that people are seeking out IR instruction and gives me hope that it’s getting closer to changing the balance.

Our local pitching guru was a D1 pitcher 20 years ago, a very nice person and well liked. This makes it difficult to criticize her or change people's minds about her method (she starts everyone with wrist snaps). But the whole area in general is all HE. At the tournaments I go to every pitcher starts out with wrist snaps, and when a coach wants a pitcher to warm up he tells them 'go start your snaps'.

 

[Ken B]

Tough battle for sure—not unlike seeing static stretching for warm ups, routine icing after games, catchers pulling balls into the strike zone, etc…

I suggest to my kids to smile-n-nod when a coach insists on wrist snaps. I also invite pitchers to bring their coaches to lessons to catch or meet us.

Keep up the battle. Hopefully someday we’ll win the war.

 

[Bullseye]

Do not think it's professional nor accurate to say to everyone wrist snaps are not helpful. They are but one useful tool applied in a sequence with much more of the body. Isolating and getting that feel has been effective for our family. To support that speaking for my daughter who is a high level pitcher, to keep her anonymity but still provide status, she plays for one of the top 25 D1 teams in the nation. With returning visits to WCWS. Does wrist snaps and always has.