Video of me, I look terrible

Pitching Mechanics
#1

I look kinda bad right now, my stride is short, I dont generate much momentum, and my front leg looks weird. I hate when my toes point towards short stop,or 2nd base, notice how I land toes first?..

Here is side view: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wkkZiAM9uY (I compressed it so it loads faster,but the quality is kinda bad)

you can copy the link,then paste it at www.keepvid.com and download the clip there, so you can go frame by frame.

where and how to start improving? :confused:

#2

Nikae,

I must say, I’m more optimistic about your mechanics than you seem to be.

You were pitching from a flat surface in this clip, so your stride is naturally shorter than it will be from a sloped mound.

It won’t be hard for you to generate more momentum to the plate–set up with a posture that has your feet about “armpit-to-armpit” wide. Your video (which should be taken with a tripod in future) shows that you drop down quite a bit going into your stride. This is wasted momentum. Your best solution for this would be to adopt a slightly lower stance in the set position, so that you can maintain your starting posture into foot-strike. It’s simple…think “free throw posture”, with enough bend in your knees so that you don’t drop down any further into your stride.

The second thing you should think about for generating more momentum with your mechanics is: Make sure you are getting your booty (your front hip) going toward the plate at the same time that you initiate your leg lift. Very few good pitchers wait until their leg lift is complete to start shifting their weight forward at the hips–they do it early, just as their leg begins to lift.

I think there is nothing at all wrong with the mechanics of your leg lift, nor is there anything inherently wrong with what your foot does during the lift. Lots of elite pitchers flick their toe toward shortstop or 2nd base. I’m not sure why you would hate that, unless someone with a cookie-cutter mentality told you that you should hate it. As discussed above, it’s more of a timing/sequencing issue for you than a mechanical problem— the commencement of your forward weight shift at the hips should begin at the same time as your leg lift begins, in my opinion.

Best of luck!

#3

Well, no you don’t look bad! Just after you release the ball–keep going forward toward the catcher. Everything looked fine–until you released the ball and stool up and brought your leg around and down. Release the ball–stretch forward–toward the catcher–snap it off–snap the towel–complete your pitch–ball hand stretches forward(releases) snap it off, and slapthe opposite knee. Then you should be VERTICAL TO THE GROUND! EYES FRONT!

#4

Nikae,

First, you start with your feet too far apart and that requires you to make a weight shift towards 2B when you initiate your knee lift. If you start with your feet closer together (armpit width like laflippin suggested) you can eliminate that unwanted movement so that all of your movement is torwards home plate.

Second, you really lack momentum. You need to get those hips moving forward sooner and faster. I’d also suggest a higher knee lift which will help lengthen your stride as well as contribute to momentum when you swing it out front since it will have to get out there a bit faster.

#5

When I try to add more momentum, I find it hard to rotate hips just at the right time. I basicly mess things up (cant control my movements) and lose velocity/control…have to work on it for a while.

Thanks for the tips!! I will post another video as soon as I see any improvement.

#6

Re: “When I try to add more momentum, I find it hard to rotate hips just at the right time.”

-----------Whenever you change something substantial in your delivery, whether it’s a mechanical change or a timing/sequencing change, you should expect that it will be difficult for a while and you shyould expect to feel awkward and/or uncomfortable during the early stages.

There is simply no way around this basic fact of life: If you develop a set of mechanics repetitively over a long period of time…whether they are efficient or inefficient mechanics, you will be “comfortable” as long as you continue to perform them in the same way you are accustomed to doing.

People have different estimates; however, the rule-of-thumb that makes most sense to me is: If you are trying to make a substantive change in some aspect of your mechanics, it may require ~1000 repetitions of the new motion to make the change a permanent part of what you do.

Especially in the early stages of making a change to your mechanics, you must consciously instruct yourself to do the new thing on every repetition, because it will feel awkward and uncomfortable. In early stages, as soon as you lose concentration on the change you are trying to make, you will tend to lapse back into your old, comfortable habits–whatever they are.