ATTN. pitching coaches

[coach james]

Has anyone ever heard of an issue with the stride foot landing too hard? My dd strides well and gets completely open as the left foot is landing at a 45°+/- angle... she lands on the toe and the the heel follows. However there is a slight thud sound. This sound is her high school PC's new hot topic this week. As many of you know, I think this guy means well but frankly is a moron on most of his ideas and methods.... is this noise a real issue or him making a mountain out of a molehill?

 

[Twenty20ticker]

Mountain out of a mole hill....with all the force used there is going to be some sound...unless of course you put pillows on her feet.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

I would have to see it, but "yes" it could be a problem. She could be jarring her ankle, knee, hip, lower back, etc. on every pitch. I personally do not hear a thud, if a girl is landing properly.

 

[halskinner]

How high does the stride foot come off the ground? The higher the stride foot goes, the farther it must come down and the harder and more jarring the landing will be.



You do not want to land on your toes, that is the weakest part of the foot. You should be landing on the ball of the foot, the strongest point.

I always told my students to only bring the stride foot as gigh as if they were wearing a roller blade, no higher. Makes for a smoother and softer landing.

 

[starsnuffer]

If she does not have good forward momentum as the foot comes down then yes, this could be a problem. The foot coming down is what triggers that forward momentum to transfer to arm speed. IF she's just going up and then down, then she isn't really accomplishing anything with her stride.

-W

 

[halskinner]

Something else I should add.

The higher the stride foot goes up, the more likely the pitcher will leap.

 

[coach james]

Her knee and stride foot only elevates about a foot to 18" but outward almost 6'. Amy's point of a jarring landing is valid, but my dd lands on the toe then heel so Im not sure how she could soften the landing.

 

[halskinner]

CJ,

If she is TRULY landing on her toes and not the ball of the foot, then her foot is collapsing onto the heel to protect the toes.


Astride foot coming up 1 to 1 1/2 feet is way too high. Try it yourself and see what happens.

Dont let the stride foot get any higher than 4 or 5 inches.

She has a 6 foot stride length? How tall is she and who told her to stride that far out.

 

[starsnuffer]

Just post a video. There's a lot of speculation going on here that may just end up confusing you more.

-W

 

[coach james]

DD is 5'9" and about 140#, her stride is honestly right around the same. Her stride does land on the ball, not nescicerally her toes