![]() ![]() Her parents loved it - she was a star - and the coach loved it because they won a lot of 10U tournaments. So her 10U coach would throw her in most games in a tournament, weekend after weekend. When she was pitching you stood a great chance of pitching. Just naturally through harder than other kids. I know of a girl in our area who was a phenom at age 10. And why pitchers should shut down for a little while when their season is over. The fastpitch motion is not stress-free, nor is it “natural.” One more reason why conditioning and rest are so critical to a pitcher’s long-term success. Her speed comes from mechanics and effort, not raw strength like some. ![]() She’s small and light, more of a finesse pitcher who needs to hit corners, change speeds, and move the ball in order to succeed. Understand she is not a “power pitcher” either. Actually, we all think it’s kind of gross, but it certainly illustrates the kind of strain the arm and shoulder have to endure when a pitcher is putting forth maximum effort. Hardly looks like her body is not under stress. Notice the muscles in her upper arm, forearm, hand and shoulders. As evidence, I offer these photos (courtesy of Mike Zupec) of my own daughter pitching in a recent game: There is also a belief that because the fastpitch motion (when properly executed) works better with the shoulder than an overhand pitch that it is stress-free. They understand the overhand throw, but the underhand motion is completely foreign to them. These experts on pitching baseballs can’t figure out how anybody can throw a ball with the kind of speed and accuracy fastpitch pitchers do. I’ve spoken to baseball pitching coaches who are just fascinated by the fastpitch pitching motion. The truth is, it’s a lot more natural to throw overhand than underhand. Even fastpitch pitchers will likely throw overhand. If you’re trying to knock over pyramid of milk bottles at a carnival, you’ll throw overhand. Watch a National Geographic special and see how the indigneous population in non-industrialized countries throw rocks at game they’re trying to get for dinner. I think it was my friend Coach Rich who pointed out the proof to me. They do tend to work somewhat better with the construction of the shoulder, perhaps, but that’s a long way from natural. The fact is, there’s nothing really “natural” about fastpitch mechanics. There is a belief that softball pitchers can pitch every day, all day, because it is natural, whereas a baseball pitching motion is not. baseball pitching, sooner or later the phrase “natural pitching motion” will come up. Anytime there’s a discussion of fastpitch pitching v. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |