Re:Throw-arm is too low... - Throwing Events Discussion

Hey guys,
I am having some trouble with my throwing arm. I have noticed that when I get to the power position of my spin, the discus is too close to my hip instead of up and behind my shoulder. Any ideas/drills to help get it up behind my shoulder at the power position for a faster/higher release?

is your arm dropping just in the power position or is it something gradual that begins out of the back? i find many times the root of a problem is not where you notice it, but more so at a previous point of the throw

broomstick drills and cone drills can help with that. as a proactive measure, i have my guys learn the discus by throwing 3 foot construction cones. the weight and length of the cone encourages them to keep good hand position.

broomstick drills are very basic and fundamental but that is sometimes exactly what you need. try them out, just some ideas!

I watched some videos of myself, and you were right. I am dropping my arm long before the power position. I will start doing more broomstick drills and such. Thanks so much for the help.

I would also suggest looking at what your nonthrowing arm is doing out of the back of the circle. A lot of beginers tend to pull their nonthrowing arm shoulder into the middle of the circle to help them build momentum. This causes the thrower to become off balance which in the front of the circle causes the dipping motion of the discus. I always tell my kids to make sure their feet come out of the back first. A good way to prevent this is to hold the nonthrowing arem out in front of you with your hand bent so that you can see your palm. If at any time you can not see the palm, imagine there is a mirror there and you are looking at yourself, then you have started to pull that shoulder. The broomstick drills will let you know if you are keeping your shoulders level and that is what you want all the way through the throw. Good luck, hope this helps.

nshedg,

Thanks for that example. I'm going to try that with a few of my throwers.
Can you, or anyone else, tell me if there is an "exact" time in the spin when the thrower should pull the non-throwing arm in to wrap? Also, should that pull in be kind of natural or aggressive to gain momentum?
I was working with one of my guys yesterday after watching video, and he was trying to get the timing down. When he pulled in too early, he ended up either way off balance or actually extending and pulling in a 2nd time. However, he WAS amazed at how fast he speeded up when that arm came in, so we talked about long arms - slow out of the back, wrapping - speed in the front. It looks, and feels, to me like the non-throwing arm comes in (is in) when the right (or power) foot hits the center. Is this correct?
Also, and sorry for the length of this post...
This same kid has a problem of bending at the waist as his block leg is coming around, creating imbalance and scratching. I THINK this is caused by taking too long to get that left (or block) foot on the ground. Therefore, I had him working on trying to bring that knee as close to his other knee as he steps through. Is this correct or is there a better way to do it or explain it?

Thanks guys SO much for all the input here. My kids appreciate it!

Pam

CVthrowsCoach those are great questions. Think of an ice skater, the tighter their bodies the faster they move. But for throwing when don't want to apply an unnessasary force to the mix. By pulling the arm your thrower is getting off balance which is causing him to bend at the waist in the front of the circle. Have him start by pivoting to 90 degrees. Hold his hand and let him fall to the center of the circle with his hips makeing sure his upper body is up and his shoulders are level. Once he gets the feel of this postion let him go without telling him. Watch the reflex that happens, as gravity is pulling him down at the hips his nonpivot foot will come through out of the back to catch himself in the middle of the circle. Make sure he has level shoulders here as well. Then get him to do it himself after a couple of trys with you. Make sure his feet out of 90 to the center are so close they are almost tripping him. This cause that closeness we want generating the speed we want. Make sure his upper body is right over the top of his hips in the center, this will make it easier to pivot to the power postion. When he pivots through the half turn make sure his feet are close together again which will speed him up even more. Through the whole throw make sure his shoulders are level and his head is back with the discus. Hope that helps. To be honest I wrote a longer entry but was timed out. So I hope this will be good enough to help.

Nshedgpe,
Thanks for the lengthy response; I'll take whatever you have to offer!
I've done the drill you suggested with this thrower before. He started really trying to dump the hip about 3-4 weeks ago, and that's when we worked on that. He's pretty strong and in shape, so I figured he could do it, but he's struggling. I tell him to concentrate on keeping the first step/leg extended long as long as he can while his knee/butt/hip are pulling him into the ring, and then try to recover with his 2nd step (to the power position) by trying to rub his knees together as the leg passes. It sounds like you are saying both steps should shoot for keeping the knees/feet close. ?

Now as for the arm... Are you saying he should not mentally pull his arm in at the middle and just let it come naturally? Or are you saying he should try to keep it out? If it stays out, you won't get a decent wrap, hence no whip.

Oh, and one MORE thing I forgot to mention about this same kid...
On video we were able to see that his power base was HORRIBLY short, like maybe 2' at best. With this tiny base, any little off-balance move is going to be compounded, which is why he's soooo out of shape at the end and after he throws. I can't figure out why he'slanding in that tiny base, but he is consistently NOT driving down a straight line through the middle; both steps are not to center, even though he's trying to dump the hip.

If you'd rather answer in email because this is getting so involved, feel free. I'm at mxmom29@yahoo.com

Thanks,
Pam

Pam