Release Point

Relax dad. You have a good instructor who recognizes that a 13 YO takes time to develop into his body. My son was a long twig in HS and I kept saying he needed to be out over his front leg more and his coach told me "relax dad he will eventually grow into his body and it will get straighted out.

He is a freshmen in college now and he is just starting to get the leg strength to support him properly.

Ahh the ol' consistent release point quest. This, like mentioned by yourself and BOF, takes time. Nobody can outrun time. Everyone is allowed the same amount of time. Finding a consistent release point is a process of finding the arm slot you want for his style and go from there. Release points always change and you are fortunate to repeat one as well as the delivery itself once every 1,000, to 10,000 times. (So I have heard) with that spend alot of his time hitting his target and if the release point stays within a 4 - 6 inch cube your ok.
You have to do some crazy stuff like, push your change-up or pop your breakingball to give up the pitch.

Free tip: Never work on release points or think of release points. One can think of a release point and never hit his target...like...holding the ball longer to throw it lower, or letting it go earlier to throw higher. I hear this alot from all ages of kids, even young professionals.
Think of hitting your target and release points will change. To throw lower, aim lower and visa versa. This gives you the best chance with the simplest thought process. Adjustments happen when you think of the end result.

Today+today+today+today+etc = You and your destiny
How will you spend your time?

Merry Christmas.

I was thinking about this term or phrase "consistent release point" and wanted to share some thoughts that you can ponder.
Why was this ever brought about in pitching instruction? When was it brought about? What was the key for it's usage?

If it was meant to make the pitcher know that he was inconsistent on his arm slot. (Example: elevating his arm to get more on top of his "downer breakingball" or if he was getting under his change-up.) I could understand its usage.

The following is poor usage and should be re-thought.(because I hear it from so many, I believe it hampers command) When a young pitcher has poor command and cannot hit his target consistently I believe it would be a bad cue to mention that his command would become better with a consistent release point. In this format of usage you place way too much thought in what you are doing and how you are doing it. There is way too much going on while on the mound. combined with my tip in the previous post. "An on mound" adjustment does not assure a positive or successful adjustment at the plate. Where the reverse thought process can assure an adjustment. This is also a way to make pitches better. This is the key to attaining correct feel for pitching (for me) because you are not graded on how well you can think about things, you are graded on hitting you target. Hitting your target requires you to make it the primary focus.

Would like to hear thoughts about release point terminology.

Another thought when thinking about end result as oppose to release points. Thinking about starting your CB at the hitters front shoulder or hip so you can throw it for a strike. I had a young man set the record for Hit batters with a breakingball. It ended up where he aimed.

Fred,

Of course this is just a wild guess, but it seems to me to be at least likely. So many things in baseball are described by words and phrases that are based on an attempt to get someone to understand something using a few words, they couldn’t explain very well even if they used an encyclopedia. So instead of trying to explain the thousands of things involved in a pitch, and how they interconnect, they choose one thing that sounds good and is usually understood, hence, release point.

And when you think about it, if all those other things weren’t involved, RP alone could easily explain why a pitcher can’t seem to consistently throw pitches where he wants to.

Here's my 2 cents...

Some elements of the pitching delivery are really a result of other elements of the delivery. As such, we don't work on them directly. Rather, we work on those other elements. Release point location is a result of other elements of the delivery: posture and balance, glove-side control, etc. Increasing consistency (and timing) of these other elements will increase consistency of release point location (and of pitch location). Functional strength also figures in as it contributes to how well a pitcher can perform the elements of is delivery.

Yeah, it takes time - lots of reps.