Hi, first time posting. Looking for some opinions/guidance for my son. Have some video from January. Since this video he’s pitched through the spring season. Limited him to ~50 pitches 2x per week. He’s 8yo.
One thing we’ve worked on during the season was getting better with his stride and staying a bit straighter when he goes into balance position.
Thanks
Should correct that somewhat. Was 50 pitches 1x a week, which was usually 3 innings. and about an inning one other day a week. So was probably closer to 75 pitches a week.
I see a posture change at the beginning of his stride. He starts off standing straight up and down. But right at about peak of knee lift he bends forward at the waist. Moving some of his weight toward 3B while he’s trying to stride toward home plate can be a source of inconsistency. Have him start with a bend at the waist and knees (think batting stance or free throw shooting stance). That way, he’ll be in the position his body wants to get to without the unnecessary movement of getting there during his delivery.
I also see a bit of a sequencing problem in that he gets his shoulders rotating early - at the same time as his hips instead of after his hips. Two things contribute to this. First is his head movement. It’s common for young pitchers to try to use their head to create power. Unfortunately, pulling the head to the side to help pull the shoulders around usually pulls the shoulders around early. Second, the glove arm may be too quick to do its thing which also results in the shoulders rotating early. It’s tough to tell from the camera angle but I’m thinking he might be able to extend the glove arm out front more to mirror the throwing arm’s extension to the rear. The extra time it takes to move the glove further out front before turning it over is time that the shoulders stay closed longer. This mirrored position is called “equal and opposite” and the fix is to the glove arm - not the throwing arm.
Thanks for the feedback. We worked a lot on the body movement (crouching) during the season. It was resulting in him not getting his stride leg out straight and then having to throw across his body.
The shoulder/hip rotation isn’t as clear to me (don’t really know what I’m looking for there). I’ll see if I can get more recent video from another angle.
Adam
He looks really good for his age, like to see some video of him off a mound though, mechanics can dramatically change then.
I also see a posture issue at about :02 seconds of the video, he kinda bunches up prior to his drive to home. The only other thing I would be very concerned about right now is how he finishes, what is that all about with him going into a cannonball? I would like to see him finish in a more more athletic position ready to field his position.
Like to see where he is at now that he has more time under his belt, do you have any game time video?
I need to take some more video. Will try and get some during the summer season. You are right thought, on the mound, things change :).
We worked through some things, like getting the leg up, and not bending during the balance phase.
One thing he needs to be constantly reminded of is to follow through with his right leg.
I do have some recent pics which show different spots in the motion. We didn’t really have a mound this year (fields were wrecked in a tornado last year) This is from 39’ he is moving up to 42’ in summer ball and 46 next season:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/amazza/5803111264/][img]http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2255/5803111264_2be4b64e11_m.jpg[/img
adamlm
http://www.flickr.com/photos/amazza/5803111264/]chris-pitch-8
by [url=http://www.flickr.com/people/amazza/[/url], on Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/amazza/5802556271/][img]http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5077/5802556271_ff1c145dd5_m.jpg[/img
adamlm
http://www.flickr.com/photos/amazza/5802556271/]chris-stride
by [url=http://www.flickr.com/people/amazza/[/url], on Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/amazza/5803113518/][img]http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2037/5803113518_78e924f35a_m.jpg[/img
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/amazza/5803113518/]chris-stride-3
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/amazza/5802576541/][img]http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2120/5802576541_2971f73015_m.jpg[/img
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/amazza/5802576541/]chris-pitching-1a
by [url=http://www.flickr.com/people/amazza/[/url], on Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/amazza/5802577225/][img]http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3064/5802577225_35c2cff9c7_m.jpg[/img
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/amazza/5802577225/]chris-pitching-1d
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/amazza/5802577957/][img]http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2153/5802577957_894343b455_m.jpg[/img
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/amazza/5802577957/]chris-pitching-1g
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Just to reemphasize my earlier point, the body is going to adjust to a posture in which it has the strength to do what you’re asking it to do - that being to perform the explosive movement of throwing the ball hard. Normally, that posture is an athletic posture involving some bend in the knees and waist. If you start in some other posture, then your body will adjust to that posture during your delivery so you will incur extra, unnecessary movement during your delivery. Trying not to bend will either be futile or it will negatively impact the delivery. So, the best approach is to start in that athletic posture your body right from the start. That way, there’s no adjusting into it during the delivery because you’re already there.
Stand behind your son and watch his head or, better yet, watch the button on the top of his cap. You want to see it move only towards home plate. If you see any side-to-side movement, have him adjust his posture until he is able to stabilize his posture.
