I know I definitely made way two many posts about this but here it goes:
Does "staying low" basically mean you are using lower body strength: legs, etc.
Thanks.
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Gosh I hope so or Ive been going about this all wrong
the whole reason I stay in a low athletic stance,is so I can drive through with my legs better
the whole reason I stay in a low athletic stance,is so I can drive through with my legs better
Generally speaking, yes. Because if you "pop" up into an upright position, you have lost a lot of power and momentum you could have used from the spring in your legs.
It might be different if you were throwing uphill, or trying to slam-dunk a baseball.
Keep this in mind: ideally, you would like the ball to move on a downward path from your hand to second base (no arc). With that as the ideal, you need to get as much leverage and momentum BEHIND (not under) the ball as possible. You also need to "power" the ball to 2B as quickly as possible. So the plan is to get backward-forward motion, and the way to do that is by staying low. By staying low, you are taking advantage of the driving force of your legs.
It's not unlike a football offensive lineman hitting a sled (or defensive tackle). The lineman is taught to stay low and use his lower body strength to drive from a 3-point stance, forward and into the sled/defensive lineman. If he "pops up", he loses much of his leg power and is easily manhandled, as he is relying almost exclusively on upper-body strength.
It might be different if you were throwing uphill, or trying to slam-dunk a baseball.
Keep this in mind: ideally, you would like the ball to move on a downward path from your hand to second base (no arc). With that as the ideal, you need to get as much leverage and momentum BEHIND (not under) the ball as possible. You also need to "power" the ball to 2B as quickly as possible. So the plan is to get backward-forward motion, and the way to do that is by staying low. By staying low, you are taking advantage of the driving force of your legs.
It's not unlike a football offensive lineman hitting a sled (or defensive tackle). The lineman is taught to stay low and use his lower body strength to drive from a 3-point stance, forward and into the sled/defensive lineman. If he "pops up", he loses much of his leg power and is easily manhandled, as he is relying almost exclusively on upper-body strength.
Not sure if anyone watched the highlights last night regarding AROD...they were specifically analyzing his most recent series of errors..in the vid caps you could see Arod...weeks ago..fielding coming out low...great arm angle (elbow even with shoulder) and driving low towards 1st....then recently a sudden upward movement of his body...losing his leg drive..arm drops down and he slings it...2 or 3 almost in the dugout...there are few good athletic moves that do not start out low and driving...standing tall in baseball only helps when your trying to get the glove above the fence when its a potential dinger!!!
Not only do you lose the lower body into your throw when you don't stay low, you take longer and your pop time will increase. The object to staying low is using your legs into the throw and saving time by not having to come all the way up.
