As my son progressed through HS, one effort made by his pitching coaches was to land on a bent leg and come down hard. Now I'm told he's learning to land on a hard leg and come over the top.

Being a neophyte, I have come here to seek wise counsel as to what technique others promote and why.

Try a new instructor.

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Originally posted by deemax:
Try a new instructor.

I was hoping for an answer to my question. My effort is to be more educated, your reply doesn't do much towards that end.

Then post a video of your son throwing. Its hard to visualize what he is being taught through your description.

If hes being taught to land hard and throw over the top, fire the pitching coach, and go some place new.

What is a hard leg ? Is that a straight leg ?

Landing hard causes a jerk throughout the body upon coming forward..this in turn will result in a loss of control and quite possibly lower back and shoulder problems all of which I witnessed first hand when my son tried to come back too early from minor knee surgery. He started "locking himself out" which wasn't noticed at first until he started complaining of his back and shoulder bothering him. His coach noticed something was different but it wasn't until a closer look was taken that we were able to get him back to "landing soft"

I think I read somewhere that pitchers whose legs firm up to the point of becoming rigid/locking during their delivery throw the ball harder. I believe this was in one of the ASMI publications/books.

Perhaps one of the guys better versed in physics/engineering can explain this for us.

As already pointed out, literally locking the leg (e.g., locking the knee, leg straight) will cause the pitcher to have a jarring landing. This probably also makes hip rotation after landing more difficult as well.

quote:

Originally posted by CPLZ:
As my son progressed through HS, one effort made by his pitching coaches was to land on a bent leg and come down hard.

Landing on a bent front leg is good advice. But "coming down hard" isn't. Actually, when trying to imagine someone consciously trying to do this, I envision them screwing up other aspect of their mechanics. When everything else is done properly (i.e. good posture and balance, appropriate momentum, proper sequencing and timing), how hard one plants is a non-issue.

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Now I'm told he's learning to land on a hard leg and come over the top.

Assuming "hard leg" means "straight" or "bent but rigid". My preference is for pitchers to land on a bent front leg that isn't initialy rigid but which quickly firms up and braces after foot plant to stop forward motion of the hips. I feel landing on a straight or even a bent but rigid front leg will affect the proper sequencing and timing of the delivery such that the pitcher will lose control and velocity and will end up throwing more with just the arm.

Pitchers who land on a straight led are not striding enough. It is what I refer to as pole vaulting over your landing leg. I know a couple guys who do it and it not a great way to pitch. If you look at a quality pitcher it is imposible to stride properly unless you bend your knee.

quote:

Originally posted by BobbleheadDoll:
Pitchers who land on a straight led are not striding enough. It is what I refer to as pole vaulting over your landing leg. I know a couple guys who do it and it not a great way to pitch. If you look at a quality pitcher it is imposible to stride properly unless you bend your knee.

They might have overactive quads and week glutes, hamstrings, and hip flexors. Which is a common problem among the general public.