driving with lower body

I'm going to guess that your core isn't strong enough to use the push from the lower half.
If that is true your leg push will only cause your upper body to rush forward and be out of position for the launch phase.
Look into "backwards chainning" it might help you get a feel for the total body throw.
Find a good core workout that may include excersizes that emulate the pitching action.
Good Luck
Rollerman

I appreciate your response and advice, although I can promise you that my core, and my legs for that matter are very strong. I'm a three sport athelete, so a strong athletic base is nessecary for me. Please don't look at this as being rude.
Any other suggestions? thanks.

quote:

Originally posted by Andrew:
I a 14 year old lefty pitcher who has been constantly told that I barely use my lower body power when I throw. In addition, I'm told that almost all of the power I use when I pitch comes from my arm only, which I know is not good. Unfortunately, while I am told these observations, I am never offered advice as to how to fix it.

How do your coaches know this? Have they looked at a video of you?

The key to throwing with the body is to get the hips rotating well ahead of the shoulders; to have the hips open while the shoulders stay closed.

Not to push off the rubber.

One way to make this happen is to visualize yourself striding sideways to the target with the side of your foot facing the target (and your toe facing 1B). At the last second before you land, rotate your foot so you land with your toe pointing at the target. As your foot lands, keep your glove pointing at, or to the 1B side, of the target as long as you can. Then let your hips pull your shoulders around.

It takes some getting used to, but it's an amazingly efficient way to generate velocity.

If you're throwing 80 mph at 14 years old without using your core/lower body, you are going to be throwing some serious heat when you get your mechanics right and finish growing. The advice of having the hips open while the shoulders stay closed is exactly what you need for velocity. Look around, I'm sure you'll find the picture of Casey Fossum, which is a perfect example of this. If you can't find it I'm sure someone will post it.

Thanks for your advice. I took a look at the picture of Fossum, and he looks much more powerful than I am in that part of my delivery. I think it will take a while to get used to, but the off-season is the time to get used to it. Thanks again.

the pain guy, to answer your question, some have video, but most just observe me live.

Thepain and nd make good points. You do not puch off the mound. If you look at videos/photos the pitchers toe leavers the mound while the hips rotate. They are so stretched out it would be imposiible to get a push off. As thepian says the power comes from the hips rotating ahead of the shoulders and the thrust of the body towards the plate. make sure you are following through and finishing the pitch. Nice leg kick and throwing hand down past the leg. Head steady on target. Use thye towel drill to work on the mechanics.

Thepainguy offers good advice. Do you lead with the front hip instead of the front shoulder? Do you load up the backside? Does your back foot stay parallel to the rubber and in contact with the ground as long as possible? Do you look slow or too mechanical? Does your delivery look smooth? Answering these questions will help me know what your problem is.

Your 14 and topping out at 83-84 mph...I'd say your something right as that velocity for a 14 y/o LHP is excellent

Sorry for the long wait for my response.

First of all, I would again like to thank all of you for your enthusiasm and knowlege you all are using to help me (more of both than my coaches ever use on me).

Bustamove, when I read your post, I realized that the detail I have given all of you is really not complete enough to help you guys get the full picture. I don't really consider myself qualified to answer all of those questions about my mechanics, so I have decided to take video of myself and hopefully will have it posted by the end of the week(if it ever stops raining!). All I can tell you for sure about my mechanics is that, as I said before, I know they are not so great, especially the underuse of lower body and overstressing of my throwing arm.

When I post the video, I will add more detail about work regimen and all the other details.

One quick question about the video that I forgot to add to my post was are there any specific angle(s) that would be most helpful besides the obvious angle of from first base side? (remember I'm a LHP)Thanks.

Take a bit from the front to show your alignment and from the throwing arm side to show your stride and body position at various points in the throwing motion.

There are three angles you need to tape. First is the side view which you said, second is the back view, and third the front view.

Andrew- I would guess since you are working on pushing off the mound you probably have you're head too far forward. You also I would guess lead with the front shoulder. The fix would be as the leg is coming down from the balance simply lead with the hip instead of front shoulder. This will take out the possibility that you're head may be too far forward, just lead with the hip and you're head will be in proper position.

Some additional questions you need to look at when watching yourself pitch:
1. How is you're posture? Should be a nice straight back starting off.
2. Moving out are you going sideways? If not you turn you're leading foot too early meaning early hip rotation.
3. Are you moving out quick enough? If you seem slow simply speed up tempo.
4. How long is you're stride? Should be 80-90% of you're height.
5. Do you land on a flexed leg? Or is knee drifting forward.
6. Does elbow get to shoulder height while in high cocked position? If you don't get there it causes arm stress.


This is just a start as their is much more but this should help you.

One of the things I have noticed over the years with LHP is that they tend to lean back slightly at the balance position. My son does this occassionally with poor results. I tell him to keep his chin slightly down when he is in the set position. Even touch his glove tip to remind him. This allows his hips to come around sooner and stronger. If you get out of balance at the top of the balance position it is harder to bring your hips around.

Andrew, I would highly commend Bobble's advice to you above.

When I was young, every pitching coach I ever had emphasized pushing hard off the rubber for forward thrust. A lot of kids today are coached by adults who learned that mantra, as I did.

It wasn't until I was older (playing in an adult league) that a former pro pulled me aside and told me to stop pushing and work more on hip rotation. The effect on velocity was immediate. It also helped reduce arm stress and enhanced spot control.

Why? Because if you emphasize pushing off, quite often your entire lower body is gone (forward) before your arm is up and ready to go forward. This leaves your arm to do all the work alone, and it often results in your arm dragging behind. That stresses your shoulder and elbow, and often leaves your hand in a poor position for directing the ball. Plus you will experience fatigue sooner in your outings. And since your hips can rotate faster than you can push forward, you really aren't maximizing your velocity.

The Tom Seaver "drop and drive" was the fad of my era. But if you watch slo-mo video on successful MLB pitchers today, the thing you'll see is how their belt buckles whip from facing the side (towards 1B for you as a lefty) to squaring up to home plate in an instant. Then the upper body is in a better position to fold forward over your landing leg.

All through youth ball and travel ball, we taught this to all our pitchers and it worked wonders. So many kids who'd struggled with control in the past gained control, added velocity, and gained confidence in the process. Now many of those boys have grown up to where they work with pro coaches who teach this method.

The key is to rotate TOWARDS HOME. Some overdo it and fall of the mound to the side (3B side for a lefty). Make sure you channel your energy to the target, not in some other direction.

I just watched myself, and from what all of you told me to look for, it isn't really worth posting because you perfectly predicted what my mechanics look like without ever seeing them. My stride is a little too short, and my shoulders rotate WAY before my hips. Infact, my hips start rotating at the seemingly last possible second. Also, I have almost no follow through. So I now know what I have to work on, and thanks to all of you for your advice.

Good luck with improving you're mechanics. Make sure you update us with you're progression and if you have any other questions ask me.