This year has caused me to think a lot about the basics of throwing. I broke my hand, so I had to throw exclusively with the righty for about 2 months. Also, I've been teaching a lot of youngsters to throw. Between the two, I've had to really analyze what goes into the basics.
Teaching them to throw low is a hard thing. I'm getting some javelin throwers, and people with a baseball background, so the get low to throw thing is tough. I think that throwing low is not the end all be all of throwing technique, but it helps in the wind.
This is what my current thinking is when i work one on one with a brand new player.
I start w/ the backhand. They always have the forefinger on the rim. I show the power grip, and have them throw a few. Then switch to...
Forehand:
I show the 2 on the rim grip, but I also show the 'split finger.' I tell them the split finger is a training wheel, but use it if they need it. I stress that they need to make sure to get the frisbee down into the webbing. I think Darrell N. called it getting it behind the 1st metacarpal/phalangeal joint. I then have them throw short flips out to about 10-20 feet. I then have them fake backhand, throw forehand, concentrating on learning the pivot, and changing the grip over to forehand. Holding the pivot, and changing the grip are stressed over speed. I show them what a mark looks like at this point, so that they see the value of this pivot.
(then the same, forehand fake to backhand).
Then I have them throw the forehand on a bended knee. I'm thinking it will make them think of throwing lower.
Then I have them throw with knees bent, pivoting...
What have I learned from throwing Right handed?
It's actually pretty hard to throw a forehand with a lot of hyser when you are learning to throw. Maybe that's just me.
An offhand backhand is kind of a useful throw. It's pretty nice where my other choice is the 5 foot push or forehand.
The offhand forehand, i've not found it to be useful. But perhaps I lack vision.
The offhand thumber is my favorite throw in the world.
Throwing everyday is very important when learning to throw. Concentrating on the activity is important. The kids who have improved throwingwise the fastest are the ones who 1) make the most practices, 2) throw the same basic way almost every time, 3) are more competetive personalities.
I thought I was '100%' healed (not pain free, but strong enough) until yesterday. It was pretty breezy at league night, and the distance, accuracy, release angle etc. were all off. So it seems like anything else, it's 10% of the effort to achieve 90% of the results, and 90% of the effort for the lastest, bestest 10%.
someone should write a book about this stuff.
8 comments:
2 finger split... i never teach that, because why bother... but reading this made me think a little more about it... and now i beleive it is not only a useless step in the throwing learnign curve, but actually hinders proper grip. i've been inspired to write.
some of the girls w/ smaller hands have a hard time using the 2 on the rim...
women should use a smaller disc.
Having seen a ~9 year-old at regionals ripping 30 yard flicks with a perfect power grip, I'm no longer convinced that hand size prevents you from using the power grip. Maybe it's that much easier at the start, but it's not strictly necessary.
For those who absolutely insist on putting a finger in the middle, I'd suggest the grip with the middle and ring fingers under the rim, the index finger in the middle, and the pinky alone on the outside.
What do you think about these grips (seriously), particularly the one on the right (mine)?
I tried to throw some forehands with the power grip last weekend, and it just felt so unnatural that I couldn't continue.
I've been golfing since I was about 8, but about five years ago, completely revamped my grip and also made some significant changes to the swing. The swing changes were necessary because of the grip changes, since the incorrect grip caused one or more compensations in the swing (something to keep in mind when correcting technical flaws, especially in coordinated players) that would have been disastrous unchecked. Even now, the correct grip still doesn't feel comfortable, as it feels like I have no control of the club. (I used to hold the club almost in my palm, now hold in nestled in the 2nd finger joint, and really ought to hold it in the middle segment of the fingers.)
That should be these grips, which currently seems to be down anyway.
I use the one-and-a-half grip (modelled by Jim Parinella in the link above), but tonight I experimented with the two-finger grip (both fingers hard up against the rim) in a league game tonight, and I like it a lot better. The transfer of power from the arm and wrist to the disc is a lot smoother. It took me a bit of recalibration to throw it accurately, but it's worth it.
I used to use a similar grip to Jim, and on the whole it worked pretty well. Recently though, I've switched to the power grip because of difficulty throwing a good IO flick from low and wide. I found that having the index finger slightly split gave the disc a little extra support, and therefore was coming out too flat.
The power grip doesn't support the disc, so I'm now able to throw a better IO, and it's therefore also a little easier to throw upwind.
My other throws needed a few slight adjustments, but don't seem to have experienced any negative effect.
My 2 cents.
Post a Comment