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Life Lessons Life Lesson #43: Teaching Arm Action Arm Action - To Teach or Not To Teach To what degree should an instructor change a specific athlete?s arm-action? If it?s pre-determined, then should arm-action be left alone? Or, should every athlete be taught the same throwing mechanics. I think that each athlete is different, and that there is no clear-cut angle that every athlete should throw from. I do believe, however, that there are a number of throwing absolutes coaches can use to develop positive habits and healthy arms. Athletes should be encouraged to keep their unique and individual arm-slots, but ensure that they follow the throwing absolutes to ensure healthy and effective arm action (especially at young ages). Finally, I believe that there is an appropriate time within the instruction process to address arm action and attempt to teach, modify, or change. DEFINITIONS Arm-action is the movement of the throwing arm during the pitching motion ? its actions, angles and movements. Arm-action can be short or long, slow or fast, live or dead. These are all baseball terms used to describe the way an athlete throws. However, there are the two key phrases most frequently used to describe arm-action: Arm-Angle: The easiest way to explain arm-angle is to picture a snapshot of a pitcher immediately before release (taken from home plate). With the pitcher?s body facing home plate and the throwing arm passing the side of the head, the term arm-angle refers to the angle between the head and the upper arm. Arm-Slot: A pitcher?s arm-slot is the lane through which the arm travels. Looking at a pitcher from home plate again, each degree the arm reaches away from the head represents a different arm-slot through which an athlete may bring his arm and hand through. With young athletes, we call these arm-slots ?lanes?? and describe the arm as choosing a lane to drive through. Coaches also compare these arm-slots to the hours on a clock: Throwing from an arm-slot closest to the head, or directly ?over the top,? compares to 12 o?clock? while throwing completely ?side-arm,? would be 9 o?clock. Most pitchers throw from an arm-slot, and utilize an arm-angle, somewhere in between 10 and 11 o?clock. NATURAL ARM ACTION Each athlete has unique arm action. Some athletes are simply more comfortable throwing from a specific arm-slot than others. Whether or not the arm slot is viewed as healthy, certain athletes gravitate to certain slots. Every youth baseball coach has experienced that one athlete that continuously drops his hand lower and lower - closer to a side-arm delivery. Correct it as you may, the athlete will return to that arm slot as soon as you stop reminding him. It?s as if this athlete has been programmed to throw from a specific arm-angle, and without thinking the arm will return to that comfortable angle. We must respect the fact that athletes are not robots and will not all throw with the same arm action. THROWING ABSOLUTES Respecting that each athlete is unique, and has his/her own most comfortable arm angle, I do believe that research has proven a number of throwing absolutes:
An instructor?s responsibility is to work with an athlete?s natural arm action and involve positive throwing absolutes. To do so, an instructor should follow proven methods and best practices, encouraging all athletes to abide by these guidelines, although to varying degrees of adjustment. Athletes need to be allowed to keep their natural arm action, while making necessary changes to give them the best chance of succeeding and staying healthy. While a group of pitchers may make the same adjustment of keeping the elbow up and the hand outside, each individual will do so to a very different point. In the case of an athlete that loves to throw sidearm? we will still communicate to that athlete the importance of throwing ?top to bottom.? We?ll encourage the athlete to move closer to a ?three-quarters? delivery, ensuring that the throwing elbow passes the body above the throwing shoulder. Additionally, we?ll teach the athlete to follow through consistently to avoid a heavy rotation-based delivery (side-to-side). But in the end, we will allow this athlete to throw from a lower arm-slot relative to the hours on a clock. In the case of an athlete that brings the throwing arm extremely close to the side of the head (to the point that the hand cuts the side of the ball), we will encourage that athlete to move his hand away from the head. Following the throwing absolutes, we want the hand to come through release further away from the head than the throwing elbow (hand outside elbow). These two athletes may throw from significantly different arm slots, but both are following the throwing absolutes to encourage health and consistency. As a profession, baseball is still searching for clear-cut answers as to the ?best? way to throw (highest velocity, lowest injury rate, best accuracy). As this research continues, coaches must incorporate the latest breakthroughs into their own styles. These styles should then be communicated to athletes in a way that they have found to be successful and effective over time. TIMING / STYLE I think it?s important to recognize the timing for when an instructor attempts to modify arm action. Specific arm-action instruction (fine training) must take place when the athlete is ready; after working through the larger movements, balance, alignment, weight control, etc. Typically, the instruction process works from the ground up? meaning athletes train on concepts specific to the feet, legs and hips before moving to the arm. Only when an athlete can throw without losing balance, flying open, falling over, and drifting will they maximize their ability to effectively understand and apply throwing arm instruction. As an instructor, I?m much more lenient to personal preferences with older pitchers. While we never want to intentionally increase the stress load on an arm, an older athlete is much stronger and can better handle varying arm action. Currently, we?re working with three athletes that are great examples as to how we address arm action: Athlete #1 is an 11-year old, right-handed athlete. Still growing, this athlete has the traditional side-arm delivery. His elbow consistently drops below the shoulder, and any corrections to that arm slot last one or two pitches before slipping back. Using training techniques involving the glove arm, body as well as the throwing arm, our instructors are working to get the athlete comfortable with a slightly higher arm slot and more of a top-to-bottom philosophy. We want to keep the elbow above the shoulder and then allow the hand to extend away from the head. This will allow the hand to pronate naturally and take stress off of the elbow. Because this athlete has already developed some tenderness in the elbow during the course of a season, and experienced pain significant enough to take time away from baseball, it?s important that we encourage a more traditional arm angle. It is our goal to assist him in reaching the point where he has the opportunity to try out for a high-school team (if that?s what he chooses to do). Athlete #2 is a high school freshman, big and strong, but with the most important years ahead of him. His arm slot is a clean, three-quarter delivery, but when throwing a curveball, he has a hard time getting the hand turned completely in (facing the head). Instead, the hand turns about half-way and the resulting pitch is much closer to a slider. Much more comfortable to this athlete, this slider happens to be a great pitch and will be an effective strikeout weapon in the future. However, because the slider is a tough pitch on the elbow, we are greatly encouraging this athlete to learn a proper curveball. When the athlete is 17 or 18, we?ll seriously look at the pros/cons of involving a slider. We explain the situation to the athlete honestly: ?You have a hard time throwing a curveball? it?s as if your body wants to throw a slider. However, that pitch is difficult on your elbow, so we?re going to continue working hard to develop the traditional curveball. When the time is right, we?ll go back to the slider and incorporate it into your arsenal. Down the road, you will have four pitches: fastball, change-up, curveball and slider. With your discipline and hard work, you will end up better in the long run having both a curveball and a slider.? Athlete #3 is a college junior, left-handed pitcher of slight build. At the age of 21, this athlete is basically done growing. His velocity has plateaued and his role on the team has grown consistent: middle relief (often spot relief: one/two batters). In year?s past, we?ve encouraged this athlete to maintain a three-quarters delivery, avoiding the sidearm delivery which he had naturally gravitated towards. The three-quarter delivery was effective enough to pitch through high school and onto a college team. However, reality says that this athlete?s career may be over in a year or two. So, we?ve allowed/encouraged this athlete to experiment with an even lower arm-slot to see if we can extend his career. Interestingly enough, he?s been very comfortable throwing almost underhand (where the hand releases the baseball very close to the ground) and the effect on his pitches has been nothing but positive. With an unconventional release and two pitches with lots of movement, our goal is to extend this pitcher?s career with the opportunity to face professional hitters. All three examples show the different ways that arm-action can be addressed. It?s a huge responsibility and one that should be taken seriously. Each athlete is different, so the end result will vary. Therefore, all arm-action training will follow pre-determined throwing absolutes, with adjustments made depending on age, size and career status. |
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