IR1, IR2, and IR3 Getting better

[WillyT812]

I've got three pitchers I'm working with all coming along nicely. We're just working on whip and rotation from the nine o'clock. The first pitcher, IR1, gets a nice whip and rotation but too many bullet spins.

These are shot with my Nikon 1 at 400 fps with sunlight streaming in from some windows.

 

[WillyT812]

This is IR2, few problems to work out but we're moving along. She needs to finish the rotation and not try to use her body for this drill. Give me another month and I'll have this one whipping and rotating like nobody's business.

 

[WillyT812]

This one I'm excited about, only her second day. The first day easily had 6 or 7 pitches with nice velocity, spin axis, and RPS, this video is day two of her. She'll have this down in no time. I could detail out what she needs to do but not necessary, just a great day two for her

 

[Ken B]

I think #1 is very close. I wouldn't worry much about spin until she can blaze in her sleep. Once she/you feel she has whip nailed, then try to control spin. Side note: She half-heartedly uses her glove. I like the phrase, "up together, down together" for both arms.

#2 looks like she's worried about hitting her leg with the ball. She needs to stand tall and trust her whip. Just a hunch--is she a replanter? I like how she uses her glove and eventually might ask her to use it more and to lead the pulldown with the elbow.

#3 Keep it loose and fluid.

 

[Boomers2012]

Has slingshot pitching made a return? Wow, sorry, flashbacks...Do you think doing slingshot helps you with the leap and drag and a circle you need to make later?

Seriously??? Your comments keep getting more and more absurd. I almost look forward to them as I know I will get a chuckle from reading them.

Willy, stick with Kens advice. He has always pounted my DD and I in the right direction.

 

[MonkeyAbs]

does #1 look like she's closing a wee bit early? hips /shoulders seem a bit ahead of the forearm. Not much, but just a bit.

 

[nanotech14]

Unlike what Hillhouse teaches it trains the arm / elbo bend from the bottom of the circle up. I bring Hillhouse up because he believes pitching is simple and if you do A B and C then all this magically happens. I don't agree. It may have came simple to him but it isn't simple. I train hard ball pitchers also and I think the underhand pitch is more complicated for many reasons!.

why make it harder then it has to be? That's the great thing about Hillhouse, he keeps it simple.

 

[WillyT812]

Thanks for all the comments guys, all valid. OILF, had you not been a regular poster, a newbie so to speak, I would explain how, when teaching someone to pitch, we work backwards through the kinematic sequence. But you're a veteran with an agenda most of us are still trying to figure out.

IR3, the little scamp, keeps sneaking her arm up to twelve when this is a nine o'clock drill. She's still learning to just throw underhand and take a step as she's doing it, same with number 2. I try to tell my girls we're not using our bodies yet to add to the whip...that's coming.

I learned something the other day trying to get IR1 to relax the underhand throw. When I feel she's tightening up I'll immediately go to relaxed overhand throwing, telling her to feel the amount of effort(less) we're putting into that throw...underhand is the same amount of effort. Relaxed whip, focus on a relaxed downward snap. Each of these girls I've taught how to whip a throw overhand...no pushing. They've gotten quite good at it and it helps learning the feel of underhand whipping.

 

[WillyT812]

Forgot to mention, this is the Nikon 1 (S1) I bought at Best Buy for $269. They have a J3 model for about one hundred bucks more. Both have adjustable shutter speeds which is a must for those trying to capture the release phase. The main difference is the J3 has a better LCD screen on the back. I can film the girls, the camera automatically slows/processes the video clip for instant slow motion playback for the girls and myself. One of the best purchases I've made for softball. We can argue till the cows come home about what's going on up to and through release but this settles the discussion as we progress.

 

[FrozenRope]

why make it harder then it has to be? That's the great thing about Hillhouse, he keeps it simple.

nanotech Because when you get right down to it... as SlingIt1 points out....it's NOT NATURAL. This is a learned motion/skill. There's no other game/sport/hobby/activity that this would be useful for, so therefore it's not commonly practiced. It IS complicated. It DOES need to be trained. The reason BoardMember and other believe in training the arm motion is to avoid the pains of "Keeping it Simple" and letting the young ladies "Just figure it out". Why would you?

There are 2 high level "methodologies" for teaching the windmill pitch. The first method is to stand a kid on a pitching rubber, hand her a ball, give her a couple of cues, show her a demo, and tell her to fire away. Then sit back and figure out which of the 20 issues you're going to address first. By the time you correct the first problem, she's developed at least a half dozen bad habits because you can't possibly fix all of the issues at one time.

The second method is to take the time to "TRAIN" the most important part of the motion, the actual act of "THROWING the ball UNDERHAND" and then build the pitching motion around that concept.

Willy The young lady in the first video is awesome. She's got it. Teach her to throw a football spiral underhand and she'll straighten that spin out in NO TIME!

#2 is looking good as well, she's just got some posture issues that should not be too tough to correct. I think there's a timing issue with the hips closing that are cause for the lean. Keep plugging away.

#3 looks pretty darn good if that's only day 2. She just needs to learn to trust the motion. Once again...there's nothing "NATURAL" about it.

OILF Great Feedback {Insert Sarcastic Emoticon here}