Is it OK to reach behind when throwing?

[coachmook]

I have a 9 yr old that plays a lot of outfield and pitches a little. He would like to pitch more. When he throws the ball he reaches very far behind him. If you imagine him playing centerfield when he throws to 2B, he reaches back toward RF. Is this OK. I would like to make sure he is OK before he starts pitching more. Is arm is pretty strong, but I don't want him to do any damage. I hope I was clear on how he throws.

Any help would be great.
Thanks
Mike

[StraightGrain11]

I understand what you're talking about. In terms of "damaging" his arm, it will depend on "how" he is reaching that way. But if it doesn't hurt him when he throws in the field, it shouldn't hurt him when he pitches. What it might do, though, is cause his arm to "get left behind [his body]" when he's pitching, and this can affect both control and velocity.

Do you have a clip of him? Without a seeing him, that's about all I can say.

Hope that helps.

[Postblank]

If his throwing arm elbow is going behind his shoulder line with that throwing action, that's going to be a lot of stress on the front of his shoulder. Anything extra going on in back with the loading action is going to result in mechanical flaws and pain/injury. I'd recommend teaching him to pendulum swing his arm back into a loaded position (imagine if he was standing on the rubber and bringing his arm back toward second base).

Going any further past that is going to hurt him and probably is causing horizontal inconsistency.

[coachmook]

Thank you both very much. I am trying to get a clip of him. If I do, I'll post it.

[CoachHenry]

In addition to the other's words, at times it hurts accuracy. Of course some people with non-conventional throwing motions (or hitting, etc) do very well with it but it is something to watch for. And while he is young you have the opportunity to correct things, if you feel they should be corrected.

[Jake Patterson]

I have a 9 yr old that plays a lot of outfield and pitches a little. He would like to pitch more. When he throws the ball he reaches very far behind him. If you imagine him playing centerfield when he throws to 2B, he reaches back toward RF. Is this OK. I would like to make sure he is OK before he starts pitching more. Is arm is pretty strong, but I don't want him to do any damage. I hope I was clear on how he throws.

Any help would be great.
Thanks
Mike

Mike,
To answer your question - No - this will hurt his arm. If he were pitching I would have the ball face SS not CF or 2B. I would also not teach a 9/ y/o to reach behind the plane of the shoulders.

[StraightGrain11]

Are you talking about something like what Smoltz and Backe are doing here?

I agree, Jake, I would never TEACH anyone to pitch that way. But he is saying he does it "naturally". Now, I also agree with you that it CAN hurt the arm, but it is not certain that it will. I'm just wondering if this is more of a "if ain't broke, don't fix it" type situation. Having said that, I haven't seen his motion, and I once I do, it may need to be fixed.

[azmatsfan]

When my oldest started pitching at 8 I took him to a professional pitching coach for a one time lesson just to make sure his mechanics were good to avoid arm problems. He noticed my son had this same problem. He suggested having him throw with his back to a wall or fence so he wouldn't be able to bring his arm too far back. This broke my son of the habit. I wouldn't have him throw full speed at first until you're sure he won't bang his throwing hand on the fence.

[coachmook]

Straight
It looks a little bit like this, but worse. His entire arm is back there for a while. It hurts my arm just watching him throw(of course everything hurts my arm after all the throwing over the years).

azmatsfan
I have tried this a little and was worried about him running his hand directly into the fence(which he did). I think I will continue this, without having him slam his hand into the fence.

Thanks everyone for your help. I am getting a clip of him throwing and batting to see if you all could give me some definitive advice.

Mike

[Dirtberry]

coachmook,


You had better fix this now and get it done because this is one of the hardest mechanics to fix later.

I roll up some newspaper lengthwise and tape it together to make a long soft stick. Stand behind him and ask him to pitch while holding the stick in the path where he takes his arm back. If he takes his arm back around his hip, touch his hand with the stick. He will get immediate feedback. You need to listen to Jake and Postblank on this to prevent any future alignment problems. This also takes continual practice and awareness because of reversion.

[StraightGrain11]

Straight
It looks a little bit like this, but worse. His entire arm is back there for a while. It hurts my arm just watching him throw(of course everything hurts my arm after all the throwing over the years).

Then his arm is getting left behind his body. Right now, it probably won't hurt him because he's really loose and flexible . But as he gets older, this will put A LOT of strain on the shoulder muscles, and WILL lead to injury.

It does need to be corrected. The wall/fence drill is a good drill. Another drill I was taught (by a White Sox scout) was to take a dish towel, hold it at the ends and go thru your throwing motion. Since your hands can only separate the length of the towel, his arm will never be able to get that far back. If he's "leaving his [throwing] arm behind", then it will end up getting "pulled thru" by his glove arm and won't feel right (won't hurt him, but it will feel awkward enough to him that he'll know he needs to change something). Might sound weird, but it does work.

[Deemax]

When he throws the ball he reaches very far behind him. If you imagine him playing centerfield when he throws to 2B, he reaches back toward RF. Is this OK.

It was OK for these guys...

[Jake Patterson]

Dee,
Comparing an athletically toned pro at the pinnacle of his game to a developing child confuses more than helps. If a prepubescent child throws like they above they will undoubtedly develop injuries.
Jake

[coachmook]

Deemax
He actually looks a lot like Ryan in the picture you showed. I didn't notice this until this year. He used to short arm his throws(from the ear) and I kept telling him to reach back. I think this may be where he started reaching behind him along with reaching back. He also has complained this year about his lack of accuracy.
I am hoping changing this motion will help his accuracy.

Mike

[wrstdude]

Dee,
Comparing an athletically toned pro at the pinnacle of his game to a developing child confuses more than helps. If a prepubescent child throws like they above they will undoubtedly develop injuries.
Jake

Do you think they did NOT do this as children?