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My Coach
Wants me to Change My Arm slot...
I got this great
email from one of our students yesterday. He said it
was ok to reprint it for your education.
I get this questions
all the time. I won't use the players name, just his
initials to protect him mostly. You never know what
coach is reading this section.
The question.....
Bill, my coach at legion says that I need to get
my elbow higher on my throwing arm and pull my
elbow in on my curve. By doing this he said that
my curve would break more and make the fastball
more deceptive. Is this a good idea? Is there
any problems with keeping my elbow higher? I am
pitching good but my pitching coach says that
the high elbow will make my pitches better. If
you have any thoughts I would appreciate them.
Thank you, B.S. (No, this question isn't B.S.,
it is a true situation.)
Here's what I had to
say.....
B.S.,
You’ve got a great
arm slot. It is natural to you.
Your fastball sinks
an incredible amount.
How would you change
what is natural to you?
To get your elbow
“higher”, you’ll have to change your posture. We
know what happens with a posture change….you’ll show
the ball to the batter earlier, put more stress and
strain on your shoulder and elbow…for what?......To
change the angle of your curve?
How many fastballs do
you throw in a game vs curveballs? About 75% to 25%?
A lot of coaches
would like to have the pitcher change his delivery
around one pitch.
You’ve got an
incredible moving fastball and a very late breaking
curve.
I’d stick with the
plan and keep getting stronger.
Remember, to make the
arm more aggressive or the curve later breaking, you
need to be more aggressive or active on the front
side. We shouldn’t focus on the throwing arm side.
If the curve isn’t as
sharp, or the fastball isn’t moving as much, it is
probably something to do with your momentum or
sequencing.
I think you probably
knew the answer to this question.
Are you looking for
ways to communicate to your coach without alienating
him?
That’s a very tough
question.
It may take more than
this email to answer that question.
You are in a tough
situation.
One way to address it
is to address the posture issue.
Tell him you’ve tried
to change your natural arm slot but can’t without a
posture change and you’ve worked extremely hard
maintaining your posture.
You hide the ball
better than most. Maybe a video session with him
might help.
Better yet, have him
get in the batter’s box and try and hit off you.
He’ll see how well you hide the ball.
;-)
This may be a way to
handle it.
I hope this helps.
Please let me know
how the conversations are going with the coach.
Thanks,
Now, BS is in a tough
situation with the coach. The coach makes up the
line up card and you don't want to alienate
yourself, but you also want to stay on track with
your training and principles.
What to do....what to
do....
More on this later.
Honesty is the best policy I always say. But you
also need to be very diplomatic and not get the
coach upset. Work with him. Try to let him know what
you've been working on (again, what YOU HAVE been
working on. Not me, not BioForce, but what is best
for your development. I think you'll find they might
be very interested in what you have to say, and
believe me, if you've been working with us for a
while, you'll know what to say).
A good "coach" should
listen and be interested in your development. If
not, then you know what kind of coach he is.
I'd love to hear from
you if you have any suggestions on what has worked
with you and what hasn't.
Until next time,
Keep on working hard.
Bill
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