One Knee Drill

[kimbercarry]

I got an email today from an online baseball guy that had a video for a "One Knee Drill" saying this is a good drill to use with youth players as it will help with developing good throwing mechanics, especially with pitching which will lead to better control and accuracy. Anyone have any thought on if I should use this with my youth team each practice or will I be wasting my time with it?

[songtitle]

My vote is time waster

[bbrages]

I thought the purpose of this drill was to promote the feeling of hip-torso separation and to work on the core, rather than to increase control and accuracy...

[dominik]

I got an email today from an online baseball guy that had a video for a "One Knee Drill" saying this is a good drill to use with youth players as it will help with developing good throwing mechanics, especially with pitching which will lead to better control and accuracy. Anyone have any thought on if I should use this with my youth team each practice or will I be wasting my time with it?

I like doing it. It promotes a steady head and a good follow through (the cue is to grab a penny from the ground on the glove side)

[ndd]

We do it as part of the warm up. They start on a knee and as they move back they stand up.

I think it gets them moving and turning. It also promotes accuracy because the receiver can't adjust as much to a bad throw, so they have to focus.

How much it helps is probably a matter of opinion.

If they are wearing shorts, they usually start standing with the feet parallel and don't move the feet to throw.

[pb07bp]

drills for the most part are time wasters. In a fast motion action like pitching and hitting it is proven that unless you do it in game speed your body will not recognize the it. All you are doing in that drill is teaching kids how to throw on one knee. If you want them to learn how to pitch, you will have to do pitching for that. Make changes as you see problems. Fix problems one by one. Do not throw 10 things at the kid at once.

What I heard works well is showing the motion from the end to the beginning. If the body knows where it is suppose to end up it will have an easier time filling in the rest of the motion on it's own.

[The Uncoach]

In a fast motion action like pitching and hitting it is proven that unless you do it in game speed your body will not recognize the it.

I'd like some reputable sources linked. Thanks.

[jbolt_2000]

We use it every time we warm up. If you choose to use it then I think it is important to explain the reason for the drill and not just tell the players to start throwing from one knee. It is important for the players to rotate through the throw with their shoulders and to complete the throw with their follow through. I teach that the throwing elbow should be touching the outside of the stride knee.

Whether it is the first time doing this drill or the 100th I always walk by my players and adjust them to make sure they are doing it right. I never want them to do things and "just go through the motions."

[Cannonball]

I never liked this drill. Personally, when I would do it, I never felt that I achieved anything. Of course that is one person's opinion. Maybe Dominic or others find a lot of benefits.

[omg]

Forget it. There is not much transfer from the little one knee, etc throwing drills to actual throwing, in my opinion. Wasting all that time when they could be working on practical throws, throwing from the stretch, pickoffs, positional throwing. Better to correct guys when they are throwing normal. Do all the clever drills and they're just back to doing the same ole thing when they stand up. Good in theory, not in practice.

[Jesse]

I use it with some kids to focus on arm action. It seems to help kids who shot put the ball. If you take the lower body out of the equation, they can focus better on the arm action. Other than that I agree it's a bit of a time waster...something a lot of coaches do because they saw another coach do it, but couldn't explain what the purpose of it is.

On the flip side, I've seen kids who already throw very well do this drill and it actually hurt their form. To me, it's a remedy only drill.

[kimbercarry]

thanks for the imput guys. It seems the consensus is that it's a time waster with no real purpose so I'm going to scrap it. I couldn't see the benefit either but figured some of you have tried it. thank again.

[SBFAMILY]

posted in eror removed.

[coach scotty]

thanks for the imput guys. It seems the consensus is that it's a time waster with no real purpose so I'm going to scrap it. I couldn't see the benefit either but figured some of you have tried it. thank again.

I used to think the same thing although I would use the drill for younger kids to help with throwing mechanics. That was until I attended a University of Tennessee softball camp with a friend and found out they use it as part of their warm ups. So now I do. I have them do 20 throws before they start their regular warm up. I trust the Weaver's opinion of its effectiveness more than mine.

[coach scotty]

I'd like some reputable sources linked. Thanks.

You won't see any. It's just a theory and never been proven.

[bbrages]

It depends on the student and the age. The one knee drill : Use a pad and place it on the ground so the hitter can kneel on their back knee and then have them extend their lead foot forward so they can get balanced. We take the legs out of it so we can focus on just what the hands are doing or not doing.

I use this drill to help stop the wrist roll and finishing below the shoulder. As you lower your hand to soft toss from the side, they move their hands rearward or separate and as you begin to toss the ball they bring the back elbow down to slot and lead with the front elbow pulling the bat from behind their head hitting the ball with a flexed lead arm elbow and then go to extension, roll out and over with the wrists and finishing over the shoulder.

The hitters who have been taught to swing down on the ball or level are prime candidates for this drill. The back slappers and ones that finish below the shoulders are also in need of this drill.

Original poster was talking about a pitching drill, not a hitting drill.

[bbrages]

I'd like some reputable sources linked. Thanks.

Well, there's this one http://www.goldmedalsquared.com/docu...leTraining.pdf

although it's focused on volleyball, the authors make some general observations:


Regrettably, concluding and/or seeking to demonstrate that “part-to-whole training progressions” are a preferred instructional paradigm simply because such progressions appear to “make sense”, ignores nearly a century of scientific evidence and volumes of published research that have conclusively demonstrated that part progressions have minimal transfer to the whole skill [2] and in a number of scientific studies part training methods have actually demonstrated negative transfer [5, 6].

[jbolt_2000]

I used to think the same thing although I would use the drill for younger kids to help with throwing mechanics. That was until I attended a University of Tennessee softball camp with a friend and found out they use it as part of their warm ups. So now I do. I have them do 20 throws before they start their regular warm up. I trust the Weaver's opinion of its effectiveness more than mine.

This is what I use it for. Warm-ups only. Not specifically for pitching, but throwing in general.
10-20 throws, then they stand up and warm-up with their whole body.

Original poster was talking about a pitching drill, not a hitting drill.

I misunderstood too - I assumed it was for throwing overall, not a specific pitching drill.
We use it for throwing, not pitching.

[Zinger]

a century of scientific evidence and volumes of published research that have conclusively demonstrated that part progressions have minimal transfer to the whole skill

Thought provoking paper.

I wonder what the implications are for tee work and soft-toss.

[The Uncoach]

Thought provoking paper.

I wonder what the implications are for tee work and soft-toss.

That would be considered "block" training, not "part to whole" training.