CTbballDad posted:Wow, good timing. My son has a very long stride and does not lock his front leg. Helps him live at the bottom of the zone, but with all the DH plane talk, I've thought about changing his mechanics. Guess I'll pass...
A long stride is good, but if he doesn't straighten his stride leg (and come up & over it) as he delivers the pitch he will stall behind the front knee and will never achieve maximum velocity. Doesn't mean that he cant be effective but he will never throw as hard as he can. The point being made in the twitter quotes about extension being very important is dead on - and a good cue for that is to think about accelerating the arm toward the target. Perceived (reaction) velo is more important than actual velo. But to say that DH plane is bullsh*t is nonsense. Extension (and perceived velo) & DH plane aren't mutually exclusive. You want both. Most pitchers lose their downhill plane by collapsing their post leg as they initiate their move to the plate - which kills momentum and results in a pitcher that is 6'-2" tall turning his effective height into 5' something. Then you get a flatter pitch that's thrown at less than maximum velocity - and its much easier to hit. Why would you want that?!