This is not about Chip and Howard as I said you see it at the college level everyday and Chip is a college coach so it is my general observation and my opinion.
Len as to the college coach who in my opinion "got it" look around and name me a coach who up graded and moved to the SEC from the Midwest.
From the net...
Laxity
"Females tend to have more *** ligaments than males, which is thought to put their joints at increased risk for injury. A recent study showed that the risk of injury in females may correlate to hormonal changes associated with the menstrual cycle. In particular, female athletes may be more prone to knee ligament injuries, shoulder instability and ankle sprains. "
Shoulder
"Increased ligament laxity may place the female athlete at higher risk for shoulder instability. Particularly in overhead sports such as volleyball, tennis, swimming and softball or baseball. Women tend to have decreased upper body strength as well, adding to the risk. Rotator cuff strengthening exercises may help to prevent this injury. Internal and external rotation exercises using elastic tubing with the arm at the side is particularly helpful. For athletes who continue to have problems with shoulder laxity despite these treatments, new arthroscopic techniques allow for "shrinking" the *** ligaments, using a thermal heating probe."
I have seen this time after time with females especially! If they do not hit well as to stride and weight shift for hitting they usually have poor throwing mechanics and balance.You will also see them hitting with their weight more over the front leg verses up against it at an angle.
The main factors affecting throwing is they do not land on the ball of the foot and do not land on a flexed knee to allow the weight to transfer and for the back leg to release. They do not use the glove side arm efficiently either in my opinion.
While doing a clinic with Howard Kabota, we discussed he was teaching a high level throwing technique to girls who could not even get balanced properly and the leg was stiff and not flexed.
There were about 60 plus coaches at the clinic and not one of them could explain how to get balanced!
Howard K sent me an email three weeks after the clinic and said he started teaching balance before throwing and was having greater success by doing this.
When balance is understood, the next step for throwing is too land on the ball of the foot with a flexed knee and finishing your release to the glove side thigh verses snapping the wrist and leaving the arm out in front of you. 80% of the arm injuries happen in the deceleration phase of throwing and that is after the release.
The ACL is at risk for throwing as well as hitting yet little attention is paid to either in my opinion.
I have also noticed the carrying angle differences in the female requires over hand angle adjustments in their throwing mechanics because they have a 4 to 10 degree difference that as males we do not have.
Throwing progression may be important however balance and landing on the ball of the foot on a flexed knee does not happen for the female naturally and MUST be taught. Their glutes do not fire like ours to flex the knee.
From the net... ? Additionally, bio mechanical research shows that the gluteus muscles, or external rotators of the hip, fire differently in males and females. In males, the hip muscles fire a split second before landing, thus stabilizing the hips, or core. With females, the gluts' don?t fire before or after landing, so the hips rotate in, the knees buckle inward, and the ACL is stressed.
Source: David Marshal, M.D .Medical Director, Sports Medicine Program Children's Healthcare of Atlanta
