My son is a 13 yr old catcher. On his throws to second when he releases the ball, rotates the palm outward. almost looks like he's throwing a slider. What would cause this, what would you guys suggest for corrections, thanks.
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Does he play catch with the same release or just throwing to second as a catcher?
Without watching him throw, it sounds like he is letting his hand rotate around to the side of the ball when he throws rather than staying behind it.
I have seen this quite a bit.
First they need to understand what they are doing. They need be explained to that because the hand is rotating to the side of the ball, it is causing the ball to spin like a slider and not go where they want it to. Not to mention it slows down a lot and really hurts their pop time.
Next have them lay on the floor on their back and take a baseball and throw it up in the air, keeping the hand behind the ball and make it spin top to bottom and return back down to where they threw it from. This works muscle memory along with helping them see the visual part of seeing the ball spin.
They need to work this motion when they are warming up and long tossing. It is muscle memory that has to be corrected.
Hope this helps some. I am sure there are some others out there that have some better methods and will share.
Good luck in getting this corrected.
I have seen this quite a bit.
First they need to understand what they are doing. They need be explained to that because the hand is rotating to the side of the ball, it is causing the ball to spin like a slider and not go where they want it to. Not to mention it slows down a lot and really hurts their pop time.
Next have them lay on the floor on their back and take a baseball and throw it up in the air, keeping the hand behind the ball and make it spin top to bottom and return back down to where they threw it from. This works muscle memory along with helping them see the visual part of seeing the ball spin.
They need to work this motion when they are warming up and long tossing. It is muscle memory that has to be corrected.
Hope this helps some. I am sure there are some others out there that have some better methods and will share.
Good luck in getting this corrected.
Take an old ball and take a sharpie or something like that and black out half of the ball using a 4 seam grip. Then when he throws to get loose he can see if he's cutting the ball.
If he stays behind the ball properly then you will see the midline where the white and black meet. If he cuts the ball then you will see a black / white rotation as the ball spins like a slider / curve ball.
If he stays behind the ball properly then you will see the midline where the white and black meet. If he cuts the ball then you will see a black / white rotation as the ball spins like a slider / curve ball.