“Everyone knows how to throw”. You have probably heard this expression many times as it appears to be universally accepted especially in the sports of baseball and football. As a result, very few parents and coaches spend much time teaching youngsters how to throw more effectively. The same thing happens in the later years.
Throwing is a learned skill. Everyone may have the rudiments of how to throw but to become great in the skill requires not only good instruction but also much practice. Because we learn differently (mainly through trial and error) we develop different ways of throwing.
Once throwing is better understood it becomes relatively easy to teach one how to throw more effectively and as a result, become more successful in his sport. To be an effective pitcher or quarterback, however, requires not only well mastered throwing technique, but ample development of the physical qualities specifically related to the technique.
Becoming a good baseball pitcher or football quarterback usually takes years of development. Understand that it takes continued instruction, practice and training to develop the ability to throw with speed, power and accuracy. Without these qualities a pitcher or quarterback can never be successful.
Compounding the problem is that even though throwing is a highly complex skill most instructional books do not break the skill down into its fine points. In these books some of the movements that should be executed are described but the joint actions, the sequence of actions and the muscles that are involved in executing each movement are rarely given.
For example, it is not uncommon to see the following description: turn sideways, raise the front leg, extend the arm, step into the throw, (stride), rear back with the arm, whip the arm forward, snap the wrist, turn the shoulders, release and follow through. These are general terms that can be interpreted in many different ways. They do not tell you exactly what should be done in each action and in what sequence.
These key factors are not brought out mainly because throwing a baseball or football is most often not understood by coaches and teachers. As a result, throwing is rarely broken down into its’ fine points and taught accordingly.
In fact, I have never seen a full sequential analysis of all of the joint actions involved in throwing with explanations of the joint actions, especially in relation to the production of speed, power, accuracy and most importantly, safety!
Because of the lack of precise information many opinions have been expressed as to what constitutes effective throwing and how it can be improved. However, by understanding exactly what takes place, it is possible to make some relatively simple modifications in throwing technique to make it much more effective and safer.
For example, I work with baseball pitchers and football quarterbacks on all levels of play. When they get a biomechanical technique analysis they are usually surprised to learn that they can have more explosive throwing. Once they learn how to involve the major muscles of the body for the production of power, and the arm actions for accuracy, they are amazed at how much easier and effective the throw becomes.
Several players summed it up well by stating something to the effect that they were able to throw with less effort, but yet have greater speed and accuracy. They were now capable of explosive throwing. Doing this is not hard since it is merely a matter of understanding what is taking place in your throwing and then taking steps to adjust the throwing mechanics. As this is done it is also necessary to develop the physical abilities specific to the throwing technique.
For more information on improving your ability for explosive throwing see Build a Better Athlete. Also for information on getting an analysis of your throwing motion see Frame by Frame.