Pitching - Where to start?

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Jun 6, 2016
2,714
113
Chicago
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.

Wrist snaps aren't helping her, outside of maybe mentally as part of a routine she's comfortable with. Thankfully, they haven't hurt her, so there's obviously no reason to stop it.

But since no part of actually pitching involves those wrist snaps, it's really impossible that they actually help with the physical aspect of pitching.
 
Mar 10, 2020
734
63
Wrist snaps aren't helping her, outside of maybe mentally as part of a routine she's comfortable with. Thankfully, they haven't hurt her, so there's obviously no reason to stop it.

But since no part of actually pitching involves those wrist snaps, it's really impossible that they actually help with the physical aspect of pitching.
That's some blatant narrow-minded thinking. Foolish to overlook that it builds forearm muscle strength and grip control.
 
Feb 3, 2010
5,752
113
Pac NW
That's some blatant narrow-minded thinking. Foolish to overlook that it builds forearm muscle strength and grip control.
Fingertip awareness is spot on. Using a striped ball, I ask pitchers to spin the ball with a perfect stripe with each fingertip on each of the 4 horizontal axis’s. It’s a good challenge. I’m not 100% positive it translates directly, but I think it helps create awareness of which fingertip does what and how.
 
Last edited:
Oct 26, 2019
1,375
113
I am kind of with @Bullseye on this one, but I come at it from a different perspective. I think a lot of the “drills” that pitchers do don’t translate to full speed pitching anyway.

The proof is always in the results. A drill is only as good as the intent of the drill do-er. Meaning the “drill” works on whatever the do-er is intending it to work on (what their mental focus is on). In my experience a lot of kids, especially younger kids, have no focus whatsoever when they are doing the wrist snaps or t-drills. They are just going through the motions.
 
May 15, 2008
1,913
113
Cape Cod Mass.
I am kind of with @Bullseye on this one, but I come at it from a different perspective. I think a lot of the “drills” that pitchers do don’t translate to full speed pitching anyway.

The proof is always in the results. A drill is only as good as the intent of the drill do-er. Meaning the “drill” works on whatever the do-er is intending it to work on (what their mental focus is on). In my experience a lot of kids, especially younger kids, have no focus whatsoever when they are doing the wrist snaps or t-drills. They are just going through the motions.
The problem with wrist snaps is that they are typically taught as an integral part of the pitching motion, with the idea that one should 'snap the wrist' at release, and this is just plain wrong. Teaching this to a young pitcher will cripple their development. The lucky ones who survive are the ones who intuitively develop IR.
 
Oct 26, 2019
1,375
113
The problem with wrist snaps is that they are typically taught as an integral part of the pitching motion, with the idea that one should 'snap the wrist' at release, and this is just plain wrong. Teaching this to a young pitcher will cripple their development. The lucky ones who survive are the ones who intuitively develop IR.
I’m with you. We don’t do them on my team and I don’t advocate others do them for those reasons. What I meant was most girls I see doing them are just “going through the motions” and probably aren’t getting anything out of them good or bad.
 
Jun 6, 2016
2,714
113
Chicago
That's some blatant narrow-minded thinking. Foolish to overlook that it builds forearm muscle strength and grip control.

There have to be, I don't know, ten million other things you could do to "build forearm strength" that don't also contribute to bad mechanics. It also seems to be an inefficient way to build forearm strength, especially when you do it like 10 times before pitching.

I have no idea what you mean by grip control, but I'm certain there are other drills that can accomplish that.

It's not narrow-minded to think that crappy, counterproductive drills that encourage poor mechanics should not be done.
 
Mar 10, 2020
734
63
There have to be, I don't know, ten million other things you could do to "build forearm strength" that don't also contribute to bad mechanics. It also seems to be an inefficient way to build forearm strength, especially when you do it like 10 times before pitching.

I have no idea what you mean by grip control, but I'm certain there are other drills that can accomplish that.

It's not narrow-minded to think that crappy, counterproductive drills that encourage poor mechanics should not be done.
I posted about my highly successful daughter uses wrist snaps and it has helped her. That's the bottom line. The fact you are unable to grasp this makes a point of its own. Your disagreeing with it is irrelevant.
 
Jun 8, 2016
16,118
113
For every drill out there are going to be good players who used them. If you take the viewpoint that a drill is useful if a successful player used it then there is no such thing as a bad drill which is fine I guess..🤷🏽‍♂️
 

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