Getting a better follow-through on throws
Throwing is one of those odd things that seems like it should be natural, but for many girls it’s not. For whatever reason they tend to use their arms only instead of following through completely for maximum power. When they do receive some instruction on following through it gets somewhat better, but often it is awkward as well.
One way to try to get a better follow-through is to have them replace the front shoulder with the back shoulder. In other words, when they throw, their throwing-side shoulder should finish where the glove side shoulder started. This is assuming, of course, that they turned sideways to begin the throw.
Once they get the idea of shoulder follow-through, you can also have them bring their back leg in line with the front leg. This complete use of the body should have them gaining more power and speed, and better accuracy too.
Posted on March 18, 2007, in Coaching, Throwing. Bookmark the permalink. 2 Comments.
Life in the Fastpitch Lane 
Great info Ken. My daughter plays with the 12U Thunder and has been working very hard to try and improve her throwing speed and accuracy. I work with her, but sometimes lack the right words or methodology that she can relate to. I’m going to have her read your article, as I think it “paints a picture” she can relate to.
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Hi Grant,Glad you found it helpful. Throwing is such a core skill, yet it’s often overlooked as there is so much to learn with the game. The ability to throw well can help a player make a team, while I always believe that poor throwing mechanics makes an easy way to eliminate players in a tryout situation.Many games are lost due to poor throws. The better players can throw the more success they’ll experience, and that’s what it’s all about!
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