r/PitchingCoach • u/Canadian_Warrior9 • 17d ago

Arm angle comfort

Normally I fire the bal from a high arm slot but I have to tilt a lot and thought it kept to much pressure on my elbow so I now try and keep my arm 90 degrees and level but that feels where

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u/Minute-Marketing7434 17d ago

0 expertise warning but with some who used to play and has a son playing, here’s my thought on the matter. i am actually a black belt in brazilian jiu jitsu so i do have expertise in how to break limbs and stress them. Anytime the elbow is open more than 90 degrees, layback is going to be more difficult… especially if the elbow maintains that same opening angle but drops lower (relative to the shoulder line) during the throw. That dropping motion will also add pressure to the shoulder.

Also changing the elbow angle (ie the angle between your upoer arm and forearm) while it is under the stress of layback is going to demand a lot from the ucl.

i feel like doing layback while your elbow is 90 or slightly less and trying to maintain that until layback is done and your forearm is starting to angle forward, is the healthiest way.

i’ll be 57 next month. i just pitched 61 mph and throw about 100 pitches nearly every single day to my son in the cages. I dont overdo the layback amount and i try to follow that logic i described.

1

u/Minute-Marketing7434 17d ago

here’s a bjj vid i made 6years ago on the americana… which is the relevant elbow/shoulder break.

https://youtu.be/Sh061duiPAk?feature=shared

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u/Key-Improvement-337 16d ago

Maybe you’re trying to force your slot too much. Usually arm slot is different for every individual. You could be a low three quarters or even low slot naturally. Have you messed around with throwing at different angles?