OK, so I'm not too smooth at this just yet. This is my son pitching. He is a freshman getting ready to start the season.

The video was shot with intentions of clipping out one or two throws from each angle, and to only upload those. Unfortunately I must be pretty close to retarded, as I can't do it, so the video is over 5 minutes long. Additionally, I used a shareware version of a video conversion program. Now it has a large "Trial Version" bar splashed across the middle of the screen. I think you can still see the key components, though.

At any, rate, he'd really enjoy some heavy handed critiques that don't come from Dad.

Sorry about the size

I'm no expert but he looks pretty good to me. Looks like he has good control. It does look like he could follow through a little more with his back leg.

I'd watch out for passing cars though

I am no expert either but he looks like he has a very bright future to me He has a nice athletic body and he has a smooth/easy delivery. I agree with JDsDad - watch out for those cars in the neighborhood

Yeah, cars keep getting in the way of his training! Luckily, he is on a very quiet corner in a residential neighborhood.

I think his poor leg drive may be attributable to his short stride length? Seems like he slows down the leg drive a bit to keep from falling off excessively to his left. What do you think?

Not an expert by any means, but it does look like he could use his lower body more powerfully. Maybe that would mess up what looks like a nice, fluid delivery though.....

First off if he is a freshman he looks to be ahead of the curve. He looks good. Here are a couple observations.
He could get more from his lower half/hips. My suggestion would be really get the hip turned back at the top of delivery and as he starts foward his lead leg need to get lower to the ground and almost scrape the ground with his front foot. It looks like he lifts it up and floats it toward the plate instead of getting momentum/drive started toward home. His shoulders also turn too soon and if he can learn to turn his shoulders after hips he will have much more power. The only other main thing that I saw that I might look at is he gets both his lead arm and throwing arm in a straight position at one point. Try to get him more compact by bending the lead arm and throwing arm. some things are very hard to explain in words. Let me know if you have any other questions.
Coach W

He needs to finish lower on his follow through he is too erect. He looks good otherwise should be a very good pitcher. BTW nice lookng field.

quote:

Originally posted by handyrandy:
Not an expert by any means, but it does look like he could use his lower body more powerfully. Maybe that would mess up what looks like a nice, fluid delivery though.....

Agreed. Before I say anything though, I like the kid's delivery to begin with. Instead of getting to a static balance point, the best pitchers "drift" through the balance point to create momentum going into footplant. Think about walking - do you step, then shift your weight? Of course not. You lean before picking up your foot. Pitching is a lot more natural than people want to think it is! Get that weight going down the hill.

He could stand to delay his shoulder a bit more to generate a bit more velocity, but I have no doubt he will learn that as he goes on.

As for injuries: He should remain free of them, so long as he dedicates himself to conditioning and doesn't have an abnormally large workload. I like that his throwing arm elbow doesn't get above his shoulder, which can cause impingement and future shoulder trouble. I like his follow-through, but it could stand to be a bit farther out with a flat-back finish. I like his glove tightening up and how he brings his chest to it - that will really help his control.

There is a lot, and I do mean a lot, to like about his fluid delivery. He leads with his backside, which is great - like I said before, try having him "drift" downhill before he kicks his leg down and out. He hides the ball well and throws from a good arm slot - comes downhill, so when he develops a changeup and breaking ball, it can have good depth to it.

All in all, great for a freshman!

Ever since he worked on his glove tight to his chest a few years ago his control has been great...I didn't know that was one of the factors involved! His velocity hasn't moved much in the past few years, though. I try to avoid the velocity angle with him, and for a freshman, he actually does well to avoid it as well, but you can tell it nags at him, so hopefully these tips will help him.

He does have a pretty good breaking ball, and a nice change (although he will occasionally leave it up in the zone and hitters invariably find it). The last angle (from behind) is 5 fastballs, then 5 curveballs, then one more fastball. I didn't have much room behind him to set-up the camera so it is difficult to see.

I'm most impressed with his ability to find a way to throw without a partner. That shows desire. He looks very good.

To me he is a little stiff and needs to bend at the waist when he finishes. A little too much arm slinging. Should finish with his chest out over the plant leg. Maybe a couple inches more stride would help.
I bet the neighbors love you.

The velocity angle should nag him. This player looks to have decent size and that may make him attractive later on. But as of right now, he has a very long way to go in developing his ability to throw.

His tempo is unbelievably slow. I don't understand the fallacy of the balance point. Look at Billy Wagner. He explodes with a quick movement because he has figured out one way or another that a quicker body equates a quick arm.

Does your son have a goal for his velocity? I'm not sure how improvements can be made without having a specific goal in mind. And once you have found that goal, work your tail off to get there.

This player also looks like he is laboring tremendously to throw with his body. His arm action needs serious refining. He basically pushes the ball and doesn't use his any sort of scapula loading to throw. And because of poor arm action, this player has poor sequencing with his mechanics as far as being able to effectively rotate to throw.

But I think despite these negatives (which is just my opinion and perception) this player has size and age on his side, 2 traits that most people aren't luxurious enough to have.

Keep working.

JK

I think this kid is outstanding. His mechanics are very good for a HS freshman. He generates excellent arm speed and leverage, fairly effortlessly and looks like he can throw it where he wants. Looks like he has a lot of natural ability.

He obviously will get much stronger in upcoming years. I'd like to know who he is. IMO This kid has a chance to be real good! Wouldn't be surprised if he's already experienced a lot of success.

I think some of the things people might be seeing is based on him throwing on a concrete driveway. I would much rather see him throw on a real mound.

I would try finishing a bit better (flat back) but maybe he does on a real mound. There are some who don't finish that way, so it's not absolutely mandatory, but I would give it a chance.

IMO, any changes should be small ones for the time being. If you can, please post video from the mound where we can see him throwing downhill a bit more. My guess is even his finish will look a bit different.

Wow. Does this bring back memories.

Not that I am an expert but for a freshman he seems very balanced & undercontrol with nice arm action. I doubt he is throwing his hardest in the video but as he develops core strength, he has the mechanics in place that will help develop more speed and he will be able to easily repeat his delivery (good command).

I completely agree with PG. I don't not think I would tinker much. Work on getting stronger & always protect the arm! Thanks for sharing.

Emphasis on balance and control usually equates to poor velocity. And it also equates to a lack of explosiveness, which is what this player is suffering from. This player needs to understand that velocity is his key to getting his foot in the door. Not balance, control, or anything else. These terms kill any notion of being able to throw hard.

I would assume he is pitching anywhere from 70-76 mph. And with his current mechanics do you realistically think he can gain 14-20 mph in 3-4 years?

This young man needs to practice throwing (not so much pitching) with a radar gun for feedback and try to incrementally up his reading with an emphasis on arm action and an explosive tempo. To see what good arm action is, compare this clip with any of the traditional hard throwers. You'll see differences if you have an open mind.

I think he looks fine,very good actually for a freshmen. JKB that is about the dumbest critique I have seen, He is obviously not trying to throw at top velocity I think most anyone one this board who has a clue would love to have this frosh in thier program.

quote:

needs to understand that velocity is his key to getting his foot in the door. Not balance, control, or anything else.

Unfortunately JK is correct if velo is your goal and going beyond college.
I have seen so many examples of velo over pitching in my years as a BB guy.
My son who has been taught as many have by pro scouts and who get raves for his flowing mechanics is always over looked if there are 90mph guys around regardless of how well he performs. I personally don't like it but that is pro ball. You don't need the velo to pitch D1 or high level college ball.
My son is trying to change a few things and he says it feels weird. I told him to work on it to see what happens. He is strong and has maxed at 85. To me he should cruise at 90 with his body and strength.

He has been working mainly on tempo and extension over the last couple weeks. He says he has gained some subjective velocity and a bit more movement on his fastball. His accuracy hasn't suffered. He didn't want to post another video until he felt like he moved his tempo to a comfortable level. We'll head out this weekend to a mound and do some recording.

Does anyone have a recommendation for a free program to convert DVD to video (no, one did not come with the camcorder, it only records directly to DVD)?

Copy it from the DVD to the computer. Movie Maker comes with Windos and it is very good. If you don't have it download it from the internet and import the video into that program. It allows you to edit it.

MS MM comes with XP.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/updates/moviemaker2.mspx

Devils advocate here... if throwing hard & losing command because of poor mechanics are your goals I think you will be dissapointed in the end.

My kid had "unbalanced mechanics" as a freshman because he was worried about impressing the high school coaches (which he didn't.) Threw 76-77 as a frosh and ended up with tricep tendonitis which is the only injury he has ever had. He fixed his mechanics and as he got older there were many doubters among D-1's who didn't think he would throw hard enough. He worked on his body strength, focused on using his legs while maintaining balance. He throws 92 now and no one is complaining about him now. He throws with virtually no effort. Ask PG what scouts think of pitchers who throw 90 with little effort. Yes you need velocity but it comes later to many kids. Not too many are going to throw 90 at 17 years old. Please don't get caught up in that, you will just set yourself up for failure IMO.