Help! Starting well, finishing badly

Pitching Mechanics
#1

12 years old. 4’11" 89 lbs. Throwing 55-57 on Bushnell gun. Has hit 60 a few times. Here’s the problem:

Up until footplant, he looks pretty good. I have done video and slowed it down and compared to some of your more “Textbook” type pitchers. To the untrained eye (mine) he looks good ALMOST until release. His PAS leg is trying to come off the ground instead of dragging his toe. Almost immediately at release (Maybe a little before) his head begins to tilt along with his shoulders. From here his leg comes off the ground and begins to come around instead of up, pause and then around. He ends up his follow through with his body at a 45 degree angle to the left, head down and HUNCHED over at the shoulders. He seems to have no follow through to amount to much. Another MAJOR problem is that his forearm begins to supinate down, his elbow seems to stop after release and his hand keeps going so at some point he ends up with his arm facing almost straight down at a 90 degree angle. Almost like he is trying to throw a screwball instead of a fastball. I don’t think he suddenly just does all these things wrong. I think he is doing something MAJOR wrong early on and it just begins to show up after footplant. All help is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Also, I have 2 videos I can post but I don’t know how to put them on. I have them on an sd card. I have read the instruction on the board but I’m not real good with this computer stuff yet.

#2

PM’d you in regards to posting a video. It would be best to see a video before making general comments on his delivery.

The one thing you mentioned, which is something I had struggled with for a little bit, is his driving leg coming off the ground before ball release. That is a problem. For one thing it probably indicates that he is not reaching full back leg extension. If he’s releasing the ball with with his back leg off the ground it is a less stable platform than a foot still in contact with the mound which will adversely affect his command and control.

Most people say the back foot should be “peeled” off of the mound. I practiced keeping my foot planted and just turning it over rather than focusing on trying to “violently” drive forward which was leading me to have almost a jumping forward effect instead of a smooth drive.

If you check out the post I made on here about my mechanics, you will notice that I was not properly driving and my back foot was leaving the mound before ball release. Once I corrected that problem, I saw an immediate increase in my control and velocity.

#3
#4

I think your analysis is a bit off with respect to what I see as the “Textbook” type pitcher…some of these things could be an issue because he is trying to do a particular action without the chaining events that happen prior to release etc.

Good balance on his post but the first thing I see is how he takes the ball out of his glove, the two opposite camps say 1) the ball should come out of the glove down and back in a round motion 2) pull the ball straight back to a high cocked position. I feel the first is the most effective and how most pitchers throw.

Next, his glove side stays glued to his chest, this is his control side. Two camps again (maybe more) 1) reach the glove toward the target and as you move home pull it toward the chest or under the left arm and back, or take the body to the glove making the same action happen. 2) reach the elbow forward, tucking the glove toward the chest in a kindof chicken wing fashion, as he moves toward home pull the elbow to the chest. Again I like the first version but that is just me, I can see that this may be the biggest issue that he is experiencing including how his glove ends up hanging nearly at the ground.

#5

buwhite,

Thanks for the reply. Let’s talk about his left arm. I should have posted this but didn’t. He normally extends his left arm out toward the target but doesn’t do a good job of pulling it back towards his chest. I was thinking that his left arm being out to the side may have been what was helping to throw him out of balance. I had him start with his glove pulled in to his chest and just kept it there to see if that helped with the problem. It did not. I was not planning on putting this particular video on the forum, I just decided to after the fact. Please, please, please look at the video again and try to ignore the left arm. I agree with you and we will DEFINITELY fix that. It is for sure wrong but it is not the reason for what he is doing. He CANNOT follow through in a forward direction for some reason. Something is going wrong before that point and making his shoulder turn down and to the left of the plate. Thanks for the input!

#6

I would like to see a side view with him using his front side more before I comment more on his specific mechanics. In the mean time here is a drill that my son uses to get off the rubber quicker, helps with timing and doesn’t require you to throw the ball…he calls it the bucket drill.

#7

Thanks. We will start using this drill. I will try to get a better video of him this weekend. We have a tournament so maybe he will pitch.

#8

Try starting him in a more athletic postion, he’s off balance from get go with his feet together like that. You want his feet about shoulder width and the knees not locked.
I’d like to see the kid just throw the ball without all the “stuff”. What he’s doing is un-natural and really just about impossible to analyze.

#9

I agree with the comment about his feet. We can change that easily. Again, the left arm problem has been fixed. What is all the “Stuff” that you are referring to? I can’t change it if you can’t tell me what it is. This is why we are on the board to begin with, because I don’t know and need someone smarter than me to help correct it.

#10

The “stuff” is him holding his front-side un-naturally, I asked to see him throw the ball as he normally would, preferably from a mound in cleats (Front and side, at very least a side). We can’t help if we don’t see what he really does.
As you fix things, his mech will change and so it is good to watch his progress over time and tweak as issues present. First though, a baseline for now needs to be established, the only way to do that is see his mech at the best approximation possible to reality.

#11

Alright, I think I am following you now. You want to see another video with him throwing from the mound, both front and side view. You want to see the left arm doing what it is supposed to and I’ll go ahead and change his feet as well for the video. Are we on the same page? Thanks in advance.

#12

yeppper sounds like a positive plan and I look forward to your posting it.