throwing

what is the proper way to throw a ball with speed? i can throw the ball but i want to put some speed on it and be able to not make bad throws. any advice?

Throw with the body, and snap at the wrist and at the elbow....watch major league baseball and see how they throw the ball

what are some drills to practice throwing the ball faster

When you talk to hitter/Howard , all of his clinics we teach throwing correctly first. We have found those who do not throw correctly are not good hitters. He has many pages covering this subject. Try to get to one of his and Bustos clincs this winter. They will cover this subject in detail. Here is one drill. Lay on the floor. Lead with the elbow and try to throw the ball up and let it come back down and catch it. If you put spin on it, you will not be able to catch it. Spin is good if you are a pitcher, but not good if you are throwing the ball to first base! Just a sample.

You can gain velocity with a lot of long toss, another way is throwing a softball with 3 fingers and a thumb instead of 4. As I'm sure you were taught years ago to always point your glove shoulder in the direction you wish to toss and be moving forward by shuffling your feet or learn the crow hop if your an outfielder.

SBFamily, are you serious that you guys have analyzed if you cant throw you cant hit? That's interesting, I'd like to read your literature on it, please email it to me. rdelawder@gmail.com

rdelawder said:

You can gain velocity with a lot of long toss, another way is throwing a softball with 3 fingers and a thumb instead of 4. As I'm sure you were taught years ago to always point your glove shoulder in the direction you wish to toss and be moving forward by shuffling your feet or learn the crow hop if your an outfielder.

SBFamily, are you serious that you guys have analyzed if you cant throw you cant hit? That's interesting, I'd like to read your literature on it, please email it to me. rdelawder@gmail.com

Click to expand...

When I first work with a hitter if I see no evidence of a weight shift and flexed front leg I ask them to throw and what we see is the back foot does not release from the ground as their front leg is not flexed allowing the weight to shift forward. I have never seen a girl look ugly in her swing and throw correctly.....I have had boys however that have an ugly swing and are pitchers and throw well however never with a girl.

We relate to throwing in our hitting analogy to they can feel the momentum building as they throw or hit (our floor is marked for the pattern to follow so they can see how much further they are moving forward by flexing the knee and driving off the back leg)....the hand going back to throw and the hands separating slightly to hit. Usually they comment something feels different in their hip or legs and they feel stronger! They most likely used their legs for the first time. When ask if their arm hurt anymore they say no! Using a radar gun we have seen typical increases of 5 to 8 MPH minimum when they flex the knee and release verses not coming through.

Have them get into their position to get ready to release the ball i.e. they have stepped and are bringing the arm over and hold just the index and social finger and gently pull them forward and IF the knee is flexed you will feel little resistance and if the knee is stiff you will pull the fingers out of their hand (just kidding) however they will feel a tug and feel the difference. Getting the girls to feel the difference is huge in their learning anything new.

Watch the girls during warm ups and it looks like the back foot is nailed to the ground and typically you will see the boys release a little if not completely.

SB, why is spin no good?? That's how almost every kid here has been taught to throw with spin off the wrist snap. Gives a straight and strong throw. Rotating and follow through like a seatbelt going on while doing so.

SBFAMILY said:

Here is one drill. Lay on the floor. Lead with the elbow and try to throw the ball up and let it come back down and catch it. If you put spin on it, you will not be able to catch it. Spin is good if you are a pitcher, but not good if you are throwing the ball to first base! Just a sample.

Click to expand...

Good drill i have done this with both a baseball and football....but yes you can and should be able to catch it.........all balls thrown have spin unless they are knuckle balls

Parma Wildcats said:

Good drill i have done this with both a baseball and football....but yes you can and should be able to catch it.........all balls thrown have spin unless they are knuckle balls

Click to expand...

I think SBfamily meant a side ward spin verses pulling down....we tape a circle around the circumference of the ball as if it was a four seam grip. We put our elbow into the glove so we minimize the action of the forearm and focus on the wrist...when they throw correctly you should see the ball coming at you half and half because of the tape. If it is tumbling or is off center you will see it in the tape. When laying on the ground we have them get the elbow above the shoulder and with the ball in their hand the back of their throwing hand is on the ground holding the ball. Have them raise the elbow only 10 times while the back of the hand stays in contact with the ground and then throw the ball leading with the elbow.

Usually 3 things could happen the ball goes up and they can catch it or they palm the ball and it goes more towards their feet and last too loose and it goes behind their head.

Now that makes sense Hitter!

Now with that said...I throw Like SB states.. infielders hated my throws from outfield as they were almost sidearm curves coming in, but they got there...

Hilliarddad3 said:

Now that makes sense Hitter!

Now with that said...I throw Like SB states.. infielders hated my throws from outfield as they were almost sidearm curves coming in, but they got there...

Click to expand...

Thank you as sometimes our fingers can not catch up to what we are thinking and SBfamily is a student of the game and has helped a lot of kids.

Howard

Thanks Howard. Yes we have black tape to see how the ball spins. Hillardad3 is correct. We get many kids putting spin on the ball that makes it difficult to catch. You see this on long throws. 3B to first or outfield throws. Roger did Howard give you enough info on what I meant On watching throwing to see if they can hit? Plus when we ask kids if they have knee or arm issues , it goes back to poor Mechanics'. Howard has spent some time researching injuries and some of the articles are very interesting to read.

SBFAMILY said:

Thanks Howard. Yes we have black tape to see how the ball spins. Hillardad3 is correct. We get many kids putting spin on the ball that makes it difficult to catch. You see this on long throws. 3B to first or outfield throws. Roger did Howard give you enough info on what I meant On watching throwing to see if they can hit? Plus when we ask kids if they have knee or arm issues , it goes back to poor Mechanics'. Howard has spent some time researching injuries and some of the articles are very interesting to read.

Click to expand...

Yes SB, it was very interesting and educational.