Drills to Fix "Inverted W"

Fan, stop reading and go back and watch some of the pros that do it different ways. We've had many past clips here showing that. If the pitcher is successful, and he's not complaining of pain and all of his other mechanical attributes look solid, then maybe you're reading too much into it. Others will chime in here I'm sure. Good luck to your boy.

You need to get off O'learys site....

quote:

Originally posted by RobV:
You need to get off O'learys site....

Which one:

www.olearysseafood.com

www.olearys.org

http://mkoleary.blogspot.com/

http://inphotos.org/olearys-camera-world-make-me-angry/

http://www.mytravelguide.com/restaurants/profile-789816...ockholm_OLearys.html

http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&id=BPDbU1WJvy4C&dq=...t&resnum=3&ct=result

http://www.professionaltravelguide.com/saint-john/see-a...s/olearys-pub-484697

I always try not to PAS GAS but thats only in public.
Chris has these theories, he has the ear of some. Let injury free efficient success be your guide. Listen also to your sons coach, read extensively so as to educate yourself and as you've done here..get more than one opinion. Mr. O'Leary isn't well liked on many of the forums out there..it doesn't mean he's all wrong and it certainly doesn't mean he's right..keep searchin and listening.

Patient: Doc, it hurts my arm whenever I bend it like this.

Doctor: Don't bend it like that.

That'll be $25.

Fan -- Good on you for doing your research. I suggest you add these items to your research process before you begin making any radical changes. In this you will find a key piece of advice -- leave the throwing arm alone -- whatever is the natural throwing motion to the genetics of the ball player is to be worked with, not altered.

With that intro, I'll turn you over to the experts who can tell you why:

The Art & Science of Pitching -- http://www.nationalpitching.net/books.asp?

NPA Online Pitching Mechanics course: http://www.nationalpitching.net/onlinecourse.asp?

I hope this helps.

Oleary was the one guy that should have been banned on this site. He was trolling for business with his rediculous theories.
Elbows should be at shoulder height to remove stress on the shoulder. Being above is better than being below.

quote:

Originally posted by BobbleheadDoll:
Oleary was the one guy that should have been banned on this site. He was trolling for business with his rediculous theories.
Elbows should be at shoulder height to remove stress on the shoulder. Being above is better than being below.

Don't worry yourself about it, he has.

quote:

. This is why I started looking into a more efficient path to have his throwing arm make

Is there anyone reputable as far as pitching coaches in your area? Sometimes a couple of lessons can make a more efficient delivery..might be worth the money..Bad habits (If that is what it is..you seem to say he's not as efficient, so it would seem he's picked one up)should be addressed before other things start getting effected. I'd much rather the thread goes towards helping you get to a better resolution, than wearing out Chris O'Leary yet again. You've obviously been to his site and I suggest you make your own decisions on that.
If you can't get a local coach I'd recommend trying to get some decent video and asking MLB veteran or some of the folks here for a look see...Roger Tomas is NPA certified and many of the posters here are fairly good at picking up issues..if that doesn't do for you I'd point to the top advertisement banner and suggest you may find help there also.

quote:

Originally posted by ILBaseballFan:
-Inverted W: when the PAS and GAS elbows rise above the shoulder level during delivery

-Arm position at foot plant: when a pitcher does not get the ball up in a high cocked position as his lead foot lands. He keeps his shoulders closed and only starts to open his hips, but his PAS hand is still well below his PAS elbow and shoulder.

Why is the Inverted W, as O'Leary incorrectly defines it, bad? Does the Inverted W cause timing problems? What if the Inverted W is present but there are NO timing problems? Is the Inverted W bad ONLY when there is a timing problem? Why or why not? If there is no timing problem, then what exactly is it that eliminating the Inverted W accomplishes? Is the Inverted W bad, by itself, regardless of timing problems? If so, then why don't pitchers with the Inverted W injure their glove side arms?

1. Son needs to work on the "down, back and up" arm action prior to firing. Right now, he is bringing the ball up facing inward.

2. He even goes so far in some of his deliveries that he cups the ball a bit.

Fixing both of these will result in his getting more wrist/hand whip in his pitches and better finger tip control at release. Meaning, you add velocity and add to command at the same time.

It should also eliminate some tension in the forearm muscles which may prevent some soreness there or in the elbow down the road.

O'Leary's focus on the "inverted W" stuff was sniffing around a common problem, but he confused it as the cause of the problem whereas it is really only a freeze frame that is associated with a separate delivery problem. I would take that out of your vocabulary so as not to follow him down that road to confusion.

You son has some timing and posture issues. A lot of this is because of his arm action.

He is also very linear in his delivery which is causing his arm to get "trapped" behind his torso. This causes him to "push" the ball rather than "whip" it.

I prefer to see a more rotational "delivery".

He needs to clean up his arm action and make it more efficient. Backwards chaining helps a lot here.

Once he gets his arm action better he can focus on a better posture to load/unload his throwing arm more effectively.

Good luck.

In that clip your son is far from Oleary's inverted W.
His glove is way too low and is pulling him off balance. The glove should be kept high until it tucks in near the arm pit area of his chest. His glove elbow should be shoulder high as the body goes forward and pulls down with the glove in the chest area until he drives towards the plate.

Well, we all see different things. And that's cool.

Overall, I think he looks pretty solid. My only suggestions would be:

(1) Eliminate the slight posture change whereby he leans forward (toward 3B) at about the peak of knee lift. Once he leans he continues to drift to the 3B side a bit.

(2) Stabilize the glove out front and bring the chest to the glove. He lets the glove drop and move around a bit. This can lead to early shoulder rotation.

(3) More tempo/momentum. He is pretty upright at foot plant and throws with too much arm. A little more momentum will let him get more out of his body. It will also move his release point closer to home plate.

quote:

Originally posted by jdfromfla:
I always try not to PAS GAS but thats only in public.

jd. You continue to slay me.