Thx in advance for thoughts, observations & drills etc…
Took this video after his game (did not pitch that day). I caught him & would say he was pretty close to 90-95% velocity-effort. This is a pretty accurate video of his “game” mechanics.
He’s 54-56 sit speed, good year so far. Seems to get his arm “stuck” or “lagging” & he’s rushing as well… I think, that’s where I would like some other opinions.
Thoughts, drills or otherwise?
What I see:
It looks like he opens up a little early causing his arm to get trapped slightly. Also has poor rotation as he moves out (a common issue for younger kids), and unloads the arm.
Working on the arm action and thinking “stay closed” and “move forward by rotating” may be helpful cues to try as he moves out down the mound.
I agree completely with the last post- you need to stay square with the front leg as long as you can. Opening up your front foot and knee kills your ability to generate torque with your lower half. It opens the door for your weight to come through to the front side which also causes your arm to drag a bit- most likely noticeable when you start to fatigue later in games and command of pitches becomes scattered. Control your leg lift- guide your front leg to the proper landing spot and you should notice an increase in velocity
I don’t think it’s a matter of “opening up too soon” with his front foot/leg… it’s that he opens it too much. Look where his front foot is pointing - toward the left hand batter’s box; he should point it straight at the plate or preferably at the right hand batter’s box.
The other major issue is that he is not getting to full back leg extension - and is rotating the BACK leg too early. The cue should be to just keep the entire body as long as possible until the back leg gets to (or near) full extension. THEN the front foot lands and braces, pointing to the right hand batter’s box.
I agree with the leg lift - too high and the leg swings out; keep the foot under the knee and don’t hook it back - this will prevent swinging and will be easier to keep the front foot “closed” at landing.
I’d also like to see better rhythm with the hands; as the knee goes up the hands go up - the knee goes down, the hands go down.