15 year old pitching mechanics

#1

Hi guys, hope all is well.

Havn’t posted my sons mechanics on here for awhile. Last year about this time I had him up and it was noticable how little momentum he had going to the plate with his front hip. Thanks to some on here, Roger and the like, I focused on getting him a little more momentum to the plate and he had a nice summer pitching.

I still have questions about his arm action though. I’ve looked into various articles, studies, and opinions on this. He isn’t really a slinger but I’d almost prefer that…where the forearm and arm are almost parallel before slinging the ball to the plate. He is more of a long armer in the back. I’ve studied some throwing programs and am trying to get him to lead more with his elbow to get more of a slinging effect.

Any comments on his mechanics and throwing motion are appreciated. I have no idea where he is with velocity now, but it was decent for his age and his level of competition last year.

Here is the video from one year ago today

Here is 5 months later …I’m just not sure of the arm action yet



I’ve learned a ton over the years from a lot of people and really appreciate the feedback

I’ve studied and enjoyed Paul Nymans work and I am trying to get my son to get more of the arm action he suggests as I believe it is key…the problem is he’s not an inverted W guy but I feel that arm action is very important along with everything else working together to get the full efficiency of the throwing action.

He has a long way too go and continues to work hard…

#2

It looks like you’ve improved the building of momentum but he could still lead more with your glove side butt cheek. This will increase the stride length which seemed a little short.
As for the arm action, he definitely is long in the back. It looked like from the oldest film that he was taught at one point to show the ball to cf which it seems you know is not correct. In the more recent clips you can tell that you have worked some to correct the arm action but it is still long. The inverted w is not the worst thing in the world but i’d subscribe more to the chris o’leary arm action.
http://chrisoleary.com/projects/Baseball/Pitching/RethinkingPitching/Essays/

Your boy seems to be swinging his arm back. If you look at many pros they drop the ball by their knee and leave it there. Then, as their body drifts forward they start to pinch the scaps without the throwing elbow ever getting above shoulder level and rotate their throwing arm til it lays back allowing their elbow to lead the ball to the target. Joba Chamberlain and Josh Beckett do this well.

#3

I wouldn’t do very much with his arm action right now. It’s looking good. What I would try to work on is the timing of his back foot rotating off the rubber. It’s too late. If you look at videos of pros, you’ll notice that the back foot is rotating off the rubber just as the front foot turns over to land. Holding it back too long can inhibit rotation.

#4

You know that was one of the things I was looking at and I wasn’t sure if that back foot should be turning right at front foot plant which it appears it does…or a little sooner. I was thinking as long as it rotates before the front foot plants it’s ok…which is does but barely…you are saying it should be rotating a few frames before the front foot actually lands right?

What helps in getting that rotation from the post leg a tad sooner? Is there any mechanical thing to think about?

#5

The momentum looks noticeably improved since the older video was shot. He may be able to increase it more and that might help with the back foot issue DM pointed out.

I don’t have any concerns about his arm action.

I think he has a bit of a postural issue (lean to the left) at release. I would recommend moving him to the left side of the rubber just enough to get his drag line to end on the line from the center of the rubber to the center of home plate. This will help him square up to the target without the late posture change.

#6

[quote=“Roger”]The momentum looks noticeably improved since the older video was shot. He may be able to increase it more and that might help with the back foot issue DM pointed out.

I don’t have any concerns about his arm action.

I think he has a bit of a postural issue (lean to the left) at release. I would recommend moving him to the left side of the rubber just enough to get his drag line to end on the line from the center of the rubber to the center of home plate. This will help him square up to the target without the late posture change.[/quote]

I was thinking the same thing regarding a little more momentum maybe helping him spring the back foot a little.

Appreciate the help…

Happy new year everyone