Here is a link on a 12 year old pitcher on my team working out in the winter
I have slowed the video down. The red tape at the front of the mound is at 5 ’ . This kid is about 5’ 7" tall( big 12 year old)
Thanks for this great website and any suggestions
BV
ps. I have recarpetted the mound since this video
This kid is 12? What do they feed him?
He has fairly good mechanics except for a few things I think will really help especially with control. He takes the ball way too far behind himself. Get him to take the ball more down, back, and up. This will get him to throw the ball more in a single plane. Also it will allow him to get the ball up in the cocked positiion as his lead foot lands. Now the ball is behind him at this point. You have to get the ball up before you can throw down. Look at the Clemens video over his back shoulder to see what I mean.
Finally, he needs to be in better control of his body. Have him try and keep his head going straight at the catcher. Also He needs to post up better with the lead leg. (But this should come with the development of
strength as he matures.
cowboy,
Looks like you’ve got a fine young pitcher there.
I liked the quality of the video for analysis. Everybody should use a tripod like you did!
Here are some things you might want to think about:
The pitcher starts very tall, but drops down perhaps 8" - 10" very early in his stride forward. Tom House/NPA would say that dropping down abruptly is wasted motion and most likely occurs because the pitcher is not strong enough to maintain his original posture into foot-strike. Their ‘fix’ would be to ask the pitcher to start from a balanced posture that is already about as low as he gets in his stride. If he does that, then all of his motion will be directed forward (where it belongs).
The pitcher looks like he has been taught to “stop at the top”, i.e., complete his leg lift before initiating forward motion to the plate. However, think this through: If the pitcher has created no forward momentum by the top of his leg lift, he must then create forward momentum from a static position, balanced on one leg. Instead, House and the NPA would strongly recommend that this pitcher shift weight forward at his hips from the very beginning of his leg lift.
The pitcher has almost no drag line. That is most likely related to the high posture that he starts with. Even though he drops down considerably into his stride, it may not be enough to give him a drag line. You might want to experiment with height of starting posture with this pitcher until you get him low enough to have a stable, repeatable drag line.
The post foot’s drag line is (a) the post foot’s way of helping to stablilize the pitcher’s motion toward the target and, (b) a good diagnostic for direction of the pitcher’s momentum at release.
House/NPA suggest from their research that nearly all elite pitchers have a drag line that is equal in length to about 2x the pitcher’s shoe length.
he looks good to me. he gets his lower body going and has a nice finish. how long has he been pitching and is he having any problems?
Guys - thanks for all the great responses. I actually took this video a month ago and had already started with some of your suggestions. They are really working - this kid is throwing consistent strikes and upped his velocity. “stop at the top” is gone
I am still working on the arm path - he still wants to take it behind him - so we have been pitching with his back to a wall
He still wants to drop down when he comes forward - but bending his knees is helping .
Keep up the great work
Cowboycoach
Hmmm… laflippin mentioned a lack of momentum while Dusty thought the pitcher got his lower half going. Those comments sound contradictory to me. Actually, it’s a tough call with only a front view to look at. But in this case I’m going to agree with laflippin. It looks to me like the pitcher doesn’t start forward until well after the peak of the knee lift. He needs to get moving forward sooner.
i watched the clip again. i wouldn’t mess with him much. i like what he’s doing. looks like a big frame for a 12 yr old. keeps a nice angle as he goes down the hill and a nice finish.
has he had success? throws strikes / has he been gunned? any arm pain? i like him
Well, everything looked fine–except, the hand that you break from the glove(with the ball)–goes “off line”. Hands break, back around–ball hand faces second base/ or third base/or first base. hands break, back and around–straight back! Going “off line” is giving you a twist motion that will make you OVER compensate.
When I said " get vertical " to the ground, I meant " get horizontal", to the ground.