What's up, softball players.
I'm coach Dan Blewett.
In today's video, let's talk about how to throw a softball sidearm.
We'll talk about throwing on the run.
We'll talk about throwing from a standard ground ball.
And this is going to be applicable to both fast pitch and slow pitch players.
So in today's video, we'll learn how to throw sidearm.
All right. So if you're new here, this is a great skill to learn.
If you're an advanced fastpitch player or if you're an infielder for fastpitch
or slow pitch, it's really important because the game is so fast.
Throws are pretty short.
So as an infielder, throwing sidearm is a really important tool, so let's learn it.
All right.
So first we'll talk about the key mechanical points
in throwing sidearm, and then I'll throw some full speed at the end.
So stick around and you can see what it looks like all put together.
So there's a couple of key things.
Number one, you need to have a tight angle at your elbow.
So that means not way out here.
Any time you're throwing sidearm in softball,
you've got to have a less than 90 degree joint angle.
So that means pulling the ball.
And this is a good way to think about it,
is pulling the ball out of your glove by pulling your elbow behind your body.
It's really pinching your shoulder blades back here and thinking
about taking the ball with your palm down towards your pec.
So from my right chest muscle right here,
my pec, I'm pulling the ball out of my glove once I've got it here,
I'm pulling my elbow behind my body and the ball is going to come to my pec.
The next key factor in throwing a softball sidearm is
when you're throwing on the run, which means that I scoop a ground ball up
and I'm going to throw without planning my feet.
It's always going to be a same side leg throw.
That means if I'm a righty, which I am, I'm going to throw off my right leg.
Now I'll show you the other version, which is say you square up to ground ball
and you field it here.
Now I'm going to throw off my left leg because I'm shuffling.
But when you're throwing on the run, which again say, I'm running up here,
I scooped up a ground ball and I'm just going to get rid of it.
It's always going to be a throw off my right leg.
So when you're making
your throw in softball off your right leg, that's sidearm throw.
What's going to happen is I'm going to pull back to my pec,
my elbow is going to come back, and then the first thing it's
going to start and this is a key part of the throwing mechanics from sidearm
is my glove arm and my glove hip are going to start to open me up first
and they're going to start to almost like fire
hydrant me open, and then my arms it come through.
After that, a lot of softball players make the mistake when they get here
of trying to throw without letting their hips lead them open.
So if I'm playing third and first bases this way, I want to get open here
and then everything's going to come through on its own.
So that's a key part of throwing a softball sidearm.
All right.
So let me demonstrate the first way and then we'll demonstrate the second way
and throwing a softball sidearm. So the first way is throwing on the run.
So, again, this is when you scoop a ground ball up
and you're not going to set your feet and it's going to come from your right foot.
So I'm going to charge field it just pinch and throw.
So I'm going to charge.
And then the second type of sidearm throw that you would make an either fast pitch
or slow pitch.
You're going to field the ground ball
while you keep your feet moving,
and then you're going to pull your shoulder blade back.
Glove, arm and hips will still start you and then everything will come through.
This is not the same as throwing on the run.
Your left leg will be the lead leg on this type of throw.
So hopefully this demonstration of how to throw a softball sidearm,
whether you're a slow pitch player or fastpitch player, was helpful.
It's not a hard technique.
Need to work on it every time you play catch.
So when you get loose, don't just do this playing catch with your partner, break
it down, work on moving your feet, work on different types of throws.
When you're getting ready for practice, getting ready for your games,
or just tossing it around with a friend. All right.
Thanks for watching.
I hope you enjoyed this video.
Subscribe if you haven't and I'll see you here in the next one.