Throwing Form

[mountyfan]

My DD is getting in to a bad habit of tilting her head down to her non throwing shoulder when she throws overhand. Her throwing arm is almost stopping stiff straight out in front of her body also. She is not following thru with it across her body. The head tilting is also carried over to her pitching. Does anyone know what would cause this or ran into this problem before. How do I correct this problem. She seems to be putting way to much effort into her throws.

 

[obbay]

how old is she?

 

[mountyfan]

11 years old. This habit just started. she has played since she was 6.

 

[obbay]

I may be oversimplifying, but I think she would benefit from a bit of throwing from one knee. To me, that's the best way to work on upper body mechanics. Make sure she finishes bent forward at the waist with her throwing elbow outside her glove thigh.

kids have this annoying habit of picking up bad habits. the thing is, they don't realize it and they think they're already throwing (or hitting) correctly. My 16 yo is very good at taking critique and employing that advice. My 11 yo is good at arguing and blaming me for whatever she's doing wrong.

 

[SBFAMILY]

It is important to teach the person throwing that when they step, we want them to land on the ball of the foot at about a 40 to 45 degree angle with a flexed front knee and then and then to allow the heel to plant. Again , point out " Toe then heel" and make sure the knee is flexed. We see many young players that land heel first or try to land so the toe and heel land at the same time while the front leg is rigid or stiff . Point out when they stride /step to think " the nose and chest are over the toes" so they will allow the back foot to release from the ground and come forward and to the side. At our camps/clinics it is fun to watch young girls jump up and land and on a hard surface floor they sound like a herd of cows. Now teach them balance like most boys have from playing sports and land on the toes first then heels. Young girls have never been taught how to jump and land correctly .

 

[starsnuffer]

Is your daughter a pitcher?

Some pitching mechanics are polar opposite from throwing mechanics, and this is very confusing for some girls (for instance, a pitcher lands heel first, never toe first like a ballerina).

-W

 

[SBFAMILY]

No. This is what we just taught 150 some kids this weekend in our Bustos throwing clinic. We believe you need to learn to throw correctly to hit correctly.

 

[Ken Krause]

for instance, a pitcher lands heel first, never toe first like a ballerina).

-W

I have to disagree with that part of your statement. Landing heel first is hard on the pitcher, and makes it harder to get good resistance. Land on the ball of the foot and plant the heel, just as you would when hitting or throwing overhand.

Think of it this way. If you land with the ball of the foot, you have established an end point and are then firming up behind it. If you land heel first, part of your momentum continues forward into the rest of the foot landing, lessening resistance.

I know Michele Smith teaches heel first. She's the only top-level pitcher or pitching coach I've heard say that.

 

[starsnuffer]

Good point Ken. Mostly I see "landing with the whole foot" being taught. The comparison I've heard most is that of a pole vaulter. They want to land with a strong leg (slight flex in the knee) so all of that momentum from the leap gets transferred to the arm whip. If they land with a soft foot, that energy is absorbed and cannot be transferred. I've heard young/new pitchers taught heel first because so many of them have dance backgrounds and they are all toes. My 6 year old still runs on her toes, it too my oldest until she was 10 to start actually putting her heel on the ground.

-W