Front/Side/Back slo mo of another pitcher on my team...

[SLAM96Coach]

Hi there,

You all gave great feedback for my daughter a while back. I really appreciate it. I the coach for our 14U team and have a couple more pitchers I'd like your thoughts on. Each of them has different coaches...

This girl was our most successful pitcher for us the past year from a consistency standpoint. She has a very good out the back change up to go with her great control of the fastball. When I needed a great game, she got the ball. She's been through a lot of pitching coaches over the years.

My questions about her are:

Is her step TOO big?
Her flip/release looks strange to me...what do you suggest?
Arc on takeup seems to be outside the plane but she comes through on plane? Agree?

Her dad is a coach as well on the team and he'll be watching the feedback to this thread.

Her needs as she moves to 14U this year are...pitch #3 ( what should it be???? ), and more velocity on her fastball. She's at 50 right now. I'd like to see her in the mid 50s come march. She's about 5'6/5'7...

You all don't know how great it is to get your feedback. I've learned a lot about pitching by reading this board and seeing the analysis of these videos. It's perhaps been worth more to me than listening to some of the coaches my daughter's had.

Really cool stuff and I appreciate your feedback greatly.

For more fun, check out this side-view comparison I did of 3 girls on the team out of the 4 pitchers I have. You'll see slo mos from all angles of the other 2 in the future....

Thanks again.

 

[BoardMember]

Not bad.......not bad.......There are some issues for sure that should be corrected for her to advance........

Her arm swing is basically just fine. Her stride length isn't too long.....

Her arm swing is late.......her foot is down for far too long before she hits the release point......and her arm is traveling too far down the circle after plant before release...

Her release mechanics/timing inconsistancies are due to the plant/release timing issue and can cause inconsistant release points and rotations that are a mix of tumble/turn-over rotation when she trys to "heat it up"......

I know you said she's fairly "consistant" and your "go to" girl.......This is because her mechanics are "good enough" to allow her "guide" the ball fairly well......

BUT........

IMO, her further development to a higher level is in jepordy unless she fixes the plant foot/release point timing issue so that she can "really bring it" without sacrificing accuracy and rotation.......

Don't get me wrong.....she isn't far off........And with some focus on a shorter plant/release sequence and spin work she has good potential for significant improvement............

Take a look at the plant/release timing of the top level. Notice Jennys plant occurs when her arm is almost down to 9:00......Same with Ueno:

Plant/Release Timing

Hi there,

You all gave great feedback for my daughter a while back. I really appreciate it. I the coach for our 14U team and have a couple more pitchers I'd like your thoughts on. Each of them has different coaches...

This girl was our most successful pitcher for us the past year from a consistency standpoint. She has a very good out the back change up to go with her great control of the fastball. When I needed a great game, she got the ball. She's been through a lot of pitching coaches over the years.


My questions about her are:

Is her step TOO big?
Her flip/release looks strange to me...what do you suggest?
Arc on takeup seems to be outside the plane but she comes through on plane? Agree?

Her dad is a coach as well on the team and he'll be watching the feedback to this thread.

Her needs as she moves to 14U this year are...pitch #3 ( what should it be???? ), and more velocity on her fastball. She's at 50 right now. I'd like to see her in the mid 50s come march. She's about 5'6/5'7...

You all don't know how great it is to get your feedback. I've learned a lot about pitching by reading this board and seeing the analysis of these videos. It's perhaps been worth more to me than listening to some of the coaches my daughter's had.

Really cool stuff and I appreciate your feedback greatly.

For more fun, check out this side-view comparison I did of 3 girls on the team out of the 4 pitchers I have. You'll see slo mos from all angles of the other 2 in the future....


Thanks again.

 

[sluggers]

Boardmember is being too polite.

The girl has got serious problems with her motion. She'll never break 51 mph if she doesn't go to someone who knows how to teach pitching. Unless she gets some serious help, she will be another great 12U pitcher whose best days were last year.

I've attached two captures from her video and two from an Osterman video. In the first, you can see your pitcher leaning to her left. The lean should be to her right. If you look at Osterman, she is leaning to the left, but she *is* a leftie. In the second of your pitcher, you can see that her weight it totally over her front foot before release. In the Osterman side view, you can see her weight in the middle.

These may seem minor, but it is the difference between 50 and 60. 50 MPH pitchers are a dime a dozen. At 60 mph, she can pitch in college.

As to her release (and I'm surprised BM didn't jump on this), someone taught her to do a "peel release". That is, she is trying to make her fingers go straight up at release. She ends up fighting the internal rotation of her arm, so she is stopping her arm.

Her Dad needs to find ONE good pitching coach and stick with her/him, because the current approach ain't working. The other girls on the team are going to pass her this year or the next, and she'll be watching the game from the bench.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

I tell the girls that a lot needs to happen, between toe touch and heel drop. Your pitcher knows that something needs to happen, but she doesn't know what.

I call it foot "plop." The ball needs to travel from behind the hip, to release, in the time that she comes from toe touch to heal drop. She isn't getting to toe touch, so she has plop.

Then, she has lost her momentum, so she closes her hips, leans forward and shoves the arm forward, using her shoulder and elbow. (Chicken elbow)

Her right shoulder should be lower than her left shoulder. Hers is higher.

I would have her do a lot of Power K's, emphasizing toe touch. Then, I would look to see if that has solved the forward lean, too.

Her pitch needs to come easy and right now she is fighting it.

You did a great job, with the video and it looks like a great facility. What state are you in?

 

[SLAM96Coach]

Thanks for your comments...

Just what I was looking for. Thanks!

We're in Washington State in the Federal Way area. ( South of Seattle ). This is a Middle School, believe it or not! Even better, I get it for 3 hrs every Sunday for FREE!!!!! I feel very lucky. The field is a fieldturf field that is a full size football field with 2 diamonds at opposite corners.

Obviously living in the northwest gives you some serious weather challenges, but turf helps out. We work out once a week indoors in a cavernous middle school gym and then use this field whenever we can on Sundays.

Thanks again for your feedback. I'll post another vid today of pitcher #3.

 

[SLAM96Coach]

Toe Touch / Heel Drop...

Hi, thanks for your input.

When you say toe touch, you mean the left foot should plant Toe first, right? And what clock hand should the ball be at when the toe touches?

Thanks

I tell the girls that a lot needs to happen, between toe touch and heel drop. Your pitcher knows that something needs to happen, but she doesn't know what.

I call it foot "plop." The ball needs to travel from behind the hip, to release, in the time that she comes from toe touch to heal drop. She isn't getting to toe touch, so she has plop.

Then, she has lost her momentum, so she closes her hips, leans forward and shoves the arm forward, using her shoulder and elbow. (Chicken elbow)

Her right shoulder should be lower than her left shoulder. Hers is higher.

I would have her do a lot of Power K's, emphasizing toe touch. Then, I would look to see if that has solved the forward lean, too.

Her pitch needs to come easy and right now she is fighting it.

You did a great job, with the video and it looks like a great facility. What state are you in?

 

[Amy in AZ.]

Yes, left foot at toe touch. Clock hand, I have figured out that I am backwards of some people. With noon being straight up and my hand moving back to 1, 2, and 3, "my" right hand is at 5ish, or a bit preceding it. And release is at 6ish or a bit later.

 

[go4fpsb]

I tell the girls that a lot needs to happen, between toe touch and heel drop. Your pitcher knows that something needs to happen, but she doesn't know what.

I call it foot "plop." The ball needs to travel from behind the hip, to release, in the time that she comes from toe touch to heal drop. She isn't getting to toe touch, so she has plop.

Then, she has lost her momentum, so she closes her hips, leans forward and shoves the arm forward, using her shoulder and elbow. (Chicken elbow)

Her right shoulder should be lower than her left shoulder. Hers is higher.

I would have her do a lot of Power K's, emphasizing toe touch. Then, I would look to see if that has solved the forward lean, too.

Her pitch needs to come easy and right now she is fighting it.

You did a great job, with the video and it looks like a great facility. What state are you in?

I am seeing what Amy sees, the closing of the hips and shoulders at release and the forward lean needs to be corrected and she does something I have never noticed before, she turns her pivot / right foot over in a way so that she drags on her little toe, almost an inverse position of what you normally see. It looks to me rather than getting the hip slide against the front side she just turns her hips to the closed position at release. As Amy suggested a lot of Power Ks or Boardmembers "show it and throw it" finishing into a figure 4 with the hips, shoulders and knees in a 45 -52 degree angle to the catcher at release would be a good drill for her. As I recall Sluggers has a drill with three arm circles and toe touching that helps teach timing but I couldn't find it in the threads.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

You know what we need? We need our drills on here, because I thought of the "touch, touch, touch," 3 time touch drill, but I don't know it too well, either.