Fixing a throwing motion

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If anyone has any words of wisdon I would appreciate it. My dd is an all around good player...that being said she throws right handed with here elbow leading her hand. For some reason this has all of the sudden happened and is affecting her throwing strength and will wear her arm out quickly. How do you fix a throwing motion? She recognizes it because we have talked and she has asked me how to fix it and I frankly dont have the answer. does anyone have any drills to correct?

 

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My DD used This http://www.throwmax.com/ Before travel she played 1st never had to throw much. We used this for a month before tryouts. Now has one the better arms on her team.

 

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look here
http://http://www.game-ex.com/vb3/showthread.php?t=19390&highlight=throwing+drills
http://www.game-ex.com/vb3/showthread.php?t=11386&highlight=throwing+drills

if you go to coaches corner use the search box on the right, look around and find what hitter has to say about throwing and mechanics, good info.FR

 

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Depending on where you are in the throwing motion, the elbow should be leading the hand or ahead of the hand.

 

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Depending on where you are in the throwing motion, the elbow should be leading the hand or ahead of the hand.

I was just gonna post the same thing. I don't think chstrahl is explaining the problem right because leading with the elbow isn't a problem and it also won't decrease arm strength.

 

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The related question is - "What does her swing mechanics look like?"

If her throwing motion has changed, has her swing changed also? A YouTube video of both would be very helpful.

 

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As stated your elbow leads the hand to a point. With out seeing it, if she just all of a sudden changed her throwing motion and just throws with her elbow or what I call (short arming) it may be a bad habit picked up due to pain in the shoulder. Stated above there are alot of good throwing videos out there.

 

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The elbow leads clear through the motion even at finish...That is a problem. Almost like a slight side arm motion. Will take a look at the viodeos given thanks all keep'em coming. She did change her swing stance to adjust for faster pitching. She also bats left handed and doing very well both sides of the plate. What is the corollation with throwing?

 

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Waiting for Hitter to chime in... Correlation to hitting and throwing is an eye opener, to say the least. Find poor throwing mechanics and you'll probably also have a bad swing on your hands. BUT - with proper instruction and discipline, things can be fixed pretty fast.

Depending on what your DD's goals are, and if you as a parent feel you're not qualified, do some networking and find a qualified instructor for her. Ask her coach to recommend someone.

Be prepared for the long haul if she's really dedicated to the sport! Learning good throwing/hitting/pitching mechanics is NOT something you can do over a long weekend. Learning great softball skills is an ongoing process which requires an experienced eye, and LOTS of tweaking.

 

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Went through this same thing about four years ago when DD was ten. Her motion just seem to change overnight. Had a High School coach watch her throw. After two throws he asked her if her elbow hurt. She said not when I throw like this. I found out she had hurt her elbow and did not tell us. This was her way of throwing without pain. It was a very hard habit to break. To this day if she has elbow pain she goes right back to that same motion. Ask your DD and have it checked out....Good Luck

 

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I am a coach as well myself but fairly new so trying to learn as much as I can when it comes to helping the girls correct bad habits. All feedback is welcomed and absorbed. She actually tells me she recognizes the difference and has asked for help to fix herself so this is why I am asking theses questions, thanks all. I have told her she will hurt her elbow and shoulder if we cant correct it soon.

 

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Went through this same thing about four years ago when DD was ten. Her motion just seem to change overnight. Had a High School coach watch her throw. After two throws he asked her if her elbow hurt. She said not when I throw like this. I found out she had hurt her elbow and did not tell us. This was her way of throwing without pain. It was a very hard habit to break. To this day if she has elbow pain she goes right back to that same motion. Ask your DD and have it checked out....Good Luck

The statement below came from an on line dictionary so you know what the carrying angle would look like.

?When the arm is extended, with the palm facing forward or up, the bones of the humerus and forearm are not perfectly aligned. The deviation from a straight line occurs in the direction of the thumb, and is referred to as the ?carrying angle?



What this means is that the elbows will look like they are closer together verses a males when the arms are stretched straight out in front of you.



When throwing over hand you will usually see the girls that can or do have a 4 to 10 degree off set in the carrying angle to throw more over the top of their head and some look as if it is almost side arm.


While at a clinic in Pittsburgh I decided to do an unofficial study by looking at the carrying angle of 160 plus girls. I ask the girls with the most angle to throw and the girl who had more of a male type arm being less carrying angle to throw and I could then see the difference in arm slot.



Up to this point I never really ever considered carrying angle as an issue. Then I found it affects (females) golf swings, extension and is deemed to be a good thing for under hand pitching and is considered a plus to have!


The female has for the most part narrower and rounded shoulders, wider hips and the knees are more under them than a male and their center of gravity is lower.


The carrying angle allows for the arms to swing past the hips when they walk.


I would at least look at it before I changed anything.

 

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The elbow leads clear through the motion even at finish...That is a problem. Almost like a slight side arm motion. Will take a look at the viodeos given thanks all keep'em coming. She did change her swing stance to adjust for faster pitching. She also bats left handed and doing very well both sides of the plate. What is the corollation with throwing?

What postion does your daughter play?

 

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What postion does your daughter play?

She catches.

 

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She catches.

When she takes the ball out of the glove does she do so by drawing the glove and the throwing hand back towards her cheek and then "pull" the ball of out the glove like using a bow and arrow?

 

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Yes, that is how I have taught her. I teach all the girls to bring the glove to the "cocked hand".

 

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Yes, that is how I have taught her. I teach all the girls to bring the glove to the "cocked hand".

So the girls will then initiate the throw with the throwing arm at approximately a 45 degree angle back towards their head...."throwing from behind the ear" is a term often used...is this all correct?

 

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Yes all correct. Am I over analyzing her throwing motion?

 

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Yes all correct. Am I over analyzing her throwing motion?

I HAVE EDITED THE URL FOR THE CLIP TO A SITE THAT IS BETTER FOR VIEWING.



Do you have a clip of her throwing?

I see catchers from all over the country complaining about similar arm pain issues. I believe that this type of throwing motion in a contributing factor. Having the ball back by the ear positions it in such a way that when the back hip begins to rotate forward to initiate the throw the power generated by that rotation just rotates around the ball and the ball basically just sits back their behind the ear. The throwing elbow drives forward with the hip but not the ball. The hips and elbow accelerate, but not the ball.

Finally after the hips have rotated and the elbow has finished rotating out front, (giving the appearance of the elbow leading the throw) the catcher finally accelerates the ball with by flinging the forearm forward and snapping the wrist. A great deal of pressure on the elbow and the throw can have a "pushing" look to it. Some girls will finish the throw with a side arm type flinging of the forearm.

The botton line I believe is that the ball is not being accerated by the power center of the throw, the back hip.

The glove being drawn back I believe also contributes to this problem. When the throw begins I want the glove elbow to be directly ove rthe front hip. This is allow that elbow and arm to drive down along side the hip and help pull tyhe shoulders and chest forward. This opstion can only be achieved if the ball is taken out of the glove out front, not drawn back.

If the glove is drawn back then at the moment the throw begins the glove arm will be pulled back across the chest and when the rotation begins on the throwing side the glove arm will be rotated back across the chest and will most likely fly to the side pulling the glove side shoulder open early.

The clip reference below will show you a drill we use to get the catchers in the "Launch" postion I teach. The position just before the throw begins. Watch the exchange out front and see how when the front foot hits the ground, (the signal to throw) the glove arm/elbow is positioned directly over the left hip.


Click on Link Below

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8tK2PPQWGA

 

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My response above now has a better clip for viewing the drill