What's up softball players! Coach Dan Blewett here today and I've got a really
good video today we're gonna talk about how you throw on the run when you're
moving forward toward your target so if you're here learning to how to throw
harder if you want to learn some throwing velocity tips some throwing
mechanics stuff some drills all that stuff is gonna be covered in this video
here today and I got a lot of slow motion video I got some full speed video
we've got different angles I got two cameras going so I think you're really
gonna like what I've got today if you're new to my channel definitely subscribe
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also don't forget that in the description below I have links to my
free softball throwing PDF ebook I have links to lots of other articles videos
and my softball online throwing courses okay so again today's video we're gonna
talk about what you do when you're crashing towards your target charging a
ball on the infield and throwing on the run but specifically we're gonna talk
mostly about throwing straight ahead which is one of the most awkward things
okay so let's get started and let's talk about first how this is gonna look and
what kind of balls we're gonna be throwing mostly straight ahead so if I'm
playing short and there's a ball bouncing slowly sort of up in front of
me I'm gonna get I'm gonna try to get around it and I'm gonna try to take a
good route towards my target what this is a lot of times gonna do because the
softball field is so small it's gonna force me to probably have to throw on
the run without fielding it taking my two shuffles and then going it's always
going to depend but a lot of times with faster batters you're gonna have to get
rid of the ball really quick so if it's hit slowly in the middle of field you
might just have to charge it and get rid of it on the move so that's we're going
to cover here today because the throwing mechanics are a little bit
counterintuitive and you're actually gonna throw off your opposite foot so
you're gonna throw if you're a righty which you're gonna be if you're an
infielder you're gonna throw off your right leg when you do this which
ordinarily when you take you know your shuffle throws you make your crow hop
your left leg is the one that's forward but when you're throwing on the run your
right leg your same side is your arm is gonna be the plant leg okay so let's see
how that looks I got a ton of slow-motion video let's go over a little
bit here too so at full speed this is what we're
doing I've got a ground ball that I'm charging I'm gonna bear Hannah cause
it's gonna be tough for me to scoop of a still ball right here but I'm gonna run
up and I'll scoop it anyway and from here I'm throwing across my body towards
first base so the big key components here are pulling my shoulder back sort
of drawing the ball by my chest almost like I'm pulling a bow and arrow and
what that's going to do is it going to help me get what we call a shoulder hip
separation which is my chest going in the opposite direction has my lower body
so little kids when they throw if you like a two-year-old brother sister niece
or nephew they get a ball their shoulders and their hips all kind of
move mostly together high level throwers what we do is our hips are going one
direction while our upper body is going the other just like hitting and then
they Smoove at slightly different paces and one stretches the other which then
sort of slingshots the whole body through when we're on the run we still
need some of that but it's a lot harder because our hips are in an unstable
position like they're moving one direction while the throw hat might have
to go another direction so what we have to do is say I'm throwing this way and
I'm planted I don't have any shorter hip separation right I'm just basically in
position to throw a dart so what I need to do is rotate and I need to pull my
arm back and now I'm turning my chest away from my target just like I would be
if I was throwing from a normal crow hop so you'll see everyone do this when they
feel it's a it's a like ball over here and they've got a throw on the run
they're still getting their chest away from their target before they then make
that really athletic sort of acrobatic throw so let's go to some slow-motion
examples and you can really see what I'm talking about so I have a net set up at
first base and I'm gonna run through and I'm gonna throw straight at it
and one thing you might notice is that I get some lean so lean is gonna help me
get a little more oomph on it because throwing straight up and down isn't just
it's just not what my body wants to do something run up okay now I'm gonna show
you how this looks without some leans I'm just gonna go straight at it which
is often gonna be the right move too and what you'll see is I tend to pull higher
there and then go whereas if I have the ability to sort of come around the ball
and get a little bit of shoulder lean it's a lot easier it feels a lot more
natural all right let's do one more okay so hopefully at this point in the video
you have a basic understanding of what the mechanics will look like which is
tight joint angle here and my elbow so I don't want to be way out here it's not
gonna work I need be somewhere less than 90 so I'm pulling the ball back and like
a bow and arrow so that's the key component and then turning my body away
from my target my upper body is another key component and then throwing off your
right leg as a righty is the other big key of this and this is a drill that you
just have to practice so the best thing to do is just move your feet towards
your target when you're doing your throwing routine and throw to your
partner so as you stretch out and you're playing catch together
just back up take a couple steps and throw to your partner I mean the best
way to do is this is a sort of an improvised throw so you want it to be
sort of improvised and athletic when you're practicing it I could give you
drills where you're just standing on your right foot turning and throwing and
that's fine that's a drill if you want to do that go for it but there's also no
reason not to just integrate this into your throwing routine where again I've
got a ball here my my catch partner and I'm just gonna tiptoe up boom make my
throw and then peel off in different directions and practice getting
comfortable that way because all this stuff is mostly just athleticism
it's improvised but it's also practiced all right so if you enjoyed today's
video definitely hit the like button share
with a friend I know for a fact there's not another video like this on you too
and get out and practice these techniques this stuff is only gonna get
better if you go out there and work on it and as much as I think throwing
drills for throwing mechanics are very important I also think it's super
important just to go out there and play a little bit and I don't mean that in
the sense of games I mean then a sense of get a partner move around throw like
an athlete and work on this stuff because you'll feel just naturally what
works and what doesn't and so your body will naturally say okay I like turning
this way I like getting a little lean I like using my shoulders in this way a
little bit better and those are the big keys a lot of this stuff isn't going to
be sort of classroom taught or tall with like specific drills it's just gonna be
taught with you understanding the basics from someone like myself and then going
out and do it alright thanks for watching
definitely check out the links in the description below subscribe to the
channel and I'll see you in the next video