- Apr 12, 2019
- 58
- 8
While it is widely agreed softball pitching requires leg strength, I haven't picked up on how strong legs create speed. Could somebody explain how this works?
What's the deal with leg strength?
- Thread starter fistafury17
- Start date
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The way I understand it , leg strength is used to move the hips forward.
You are asking a good question. There are two parts.
PART I: Just how important is leg drive?
The arm counts for around 85% of the speed. My DD could throw 55MPH flatfooted and 65MPH with leg drive. But, 55MPH is barely a decent HS pitcher. 65MPH is D1.
When a pitcher starts reaching the top, adding those last few MPH is very important. So, the pitcher needs to develop leg drive.
The emphasis at the younger ages should be getting the arm motion correct...good circle, good IR, good whip, etc. After they have good arm motion, then work on leg drive. But, some parents go crazy trying to develop better leg drive with young pitchers.
PART II. The physics behind leg drive...
Pitching is about momentum transfer. The idea is to get the pitchers body moving in a straight line toward the plate, and then stop the body using front side resistance.
With proper mechanics, the momentum is transferred to the arm, resulting in faster pitches.
The example is if you have a brick on the dashboard of your car. If you want the brick to go through the front windshield, you accelerate as fast as you can, and then hit the brakes.
Same thing with pitching...get as much forward momentum to the plate as possible, and then stop the body.
Technique trumps strength
If you’re talking being a pitcher vs a thrower then yes, this is correct. That being said, I know of a bunch of pitchers with terrible mechanics who throw hard because they are strong kids who chuck the ball. The ball may wind up 4 feet over the ump’s head and into the backstop at 65 mph though.
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