Transcription
Firing from the pecs and lats and feeling a pulling sensation into release versus letting the elbow get out in front of shoulder rotation and pushing to finish the throw.
The next drill we're going to look at is an arm action drill that focuses on getting guys away from pushing the ball and leading the arm action with the elbow. We want to get them into more of a pulling pattern, which is what high-level throwers do. This allows the arm to lag slightly behind their body as shoulder rotation initiates, creating a large stretch through the pecs and lats.
Then, at the right time, they can fire from the pecs and lats and feel a pulling sensation into release versus letting the elbow get out in front of shoulder rotation and pushing to finish the throw.
For some guys, this improves just by giving them certain throwing cues. Other guys really can't get the hang of it; they've thrown that way with their triceps their entire life. We kind of need to break the pattern with additional patterning drills.
So, this is one of those drills. This is adapted from Ron Wolf's fourth drill that I originally saw around 2007-2008, so credit to Ron for this drill. I like doing it with just a strap, just a band on my throwing arm versus the glove arm. It just makes it a little more comfortable.
Essentially, we're going to get into a split stance. We're going to keep the elbow at 90 degrees and shoulder height and get to a point where max external rotation and horizontal abduction has basically no resistance on the band. We're going to come just a hair in front of that.
At that peak end-range position, maybe you have a couple pounds of resistance—nothing that puts any of those structures at risk behind you—just enough to encourage that stretch and fire from behind your body.
So, that's essentially what it is: you're controlling your way into horizontal abduction and external rotation, and you're understanding how to pull your way into release. Pull the elbow in to release with the pec and with the lat, not push the ball into your target.
This is what it would look like. Again, this shouldn't be fatiguing; it's a super low-effort drill. It's just something to encourage guys to get the feel of allowing the arm to lay back, allowing the arm to get into that horizontal abducted position, and pulling with the pec into release.
I've seen guys do this drill and go straight into a pivot pick-off, and it's completely changed the way their arm moves and the muscular recruitment patterns they get as they fire into release. They allow the shoulder and the arm to lag just a hair behind the shoulder rotation.
You'd be surprised; some of these guys might be a little tight with the medicine restrictions, but just changing that recruitment pattern often gets guys into better positions right away.
So, that's the second low-load patterning drill that I use with the J bands.