Crow hopping problem!

[fullcount32]

Any drills that can be done to stop crow hopping? Tried to work on dragging the pivot foot but when in full motion it still sometimes happens. Would like to fix it now before it becomes a major problem. Any suggestions.

[gosaints10]

Here's a couple of drills as suggestions:

 

1) "Karate Kid" Drill

Pitcher practices pitching from a starting position with both arms in the air and the plant foot/leg elevated. It's called the Karate Kid (not a formal name, obviously) because it somewhat looks like scene in the Karate Kid movie. Another way to say it is that the pitcher starts the pitch motion from where they would be normally at full extention of arms. It is impossible to crow hop from this position. Also teaches good leg drive. Do this about 20-25 minutes a day for awhile without letting the pitcher ever throw from their full motion position. I've seen this correct the problem in a matter of days with enough repititions.

 

2) Bunge Cord

Attach a bunge cord to the drive leg around the ankle while pitching in full motion. The drill is actually more designed to improve the push / drive but it has benefits with "fixing" the crow hop as well. It is not necessary to apply much tension in this drill.

 

3) Practice Pitching Motion without the Ball

Simply have the pitcher go through the entire pitching motion without the ball concentrating on ensuring the drag foot never leaves the ground. Implementing penalties such as "push ups" or some other non-desirable activity every time she crow hops during this drill seems to have a positive impact in helping the pitcher quickly make the necessary adjustments.

[Indian]

Having high school umps who would call it, so it wouldn't continue and continue and be harder to get out of would help too.

[TBALLEXPERT]

Having high school umps who would call it, so it wouldn't continue and continue and be harder to get out of would help too.

 

 

You hit the nail on the head with that response! But umpire's seldom call a pitcher out on this "illegal" pitch in HS softball unless the opposing coach makes a request for the umpire to do so. I think most of the time the better pitchers on the better teams have little trouble with this,usually its a less experienced pitcher on a weaker team who is usually losing anyway. Most coaches who are winning a ballgame aren't going to complain about a pitcher & their technique when they are thumping them anyway. /flower.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":flower:" border="0" alt="flower.gif" />

 

Umpire's should make this call without being prompted by an opposing coach regardless of the score, but I think they feel like if no one is complaining that they must be doing a good job /roflol.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":roflol:" border="0" alt="roflol.gif" />

[Indian]

A pitcher was doing it every time in a game earlier this year, as bad as I've seen. By the mid-innings it wasn't even close. She is a senior who's already signed. That will have to change for sure.

[UC21FAN]

/popcorneater.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":popcorneater:" border="0" alt="popcorneater.gif" /> Give a qualified pitching instructor a call and ask them, thats my best solution. e-mail me and i'll give you his # barry.woods1@us.army.mil

Any drills that can be done to stop crow hopping? Tried to work on dragging the pivot foot but when in full motion it still sometimes happens. Would like to fix it now before it becomes a major problem. Any suggestions.

[ERA]

It's plain and simple. The brain needs a visual feedback during your routine to break this habit. I've had both my daughters do this with excellent results. Find a real ball field or have a real pitching rubber to throw from. Be sure to have some loose dirt around the front where your drag foot will be. Start by just trying to dig the deepest trench you can with that foot and be sure there are no skips in it. When you finish your pitch, observe the ground. The "check mark" that you leave with your foot should be there. If not, the dirt tells the whole story. The key is to clear the last dig mark every time before the next pitch. Obviously, have someone else there to help which makes it go easier and faster.

 

This has worked for everyone I've ever worked with. Hope this helps.

ERA /cool.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="B)" border="0" alt="cool.gif" />

[sballshiner]

You hit the nail on the head with that response! But umpire's seldom call a pitcher out on this "illegal" pitch in HS softball unless the opposing coach makes a request for the umpire to do so. I think most of the time the better pitchers on the better teams have little trouble with this,usually its a less experienced pitcher on a weaker team who is usually losing anyway. Most coaches who are winning a ballgame aren't going to complain about a pitcher & their technique when they are thumping them anyway. /flower.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":flower:" border="0" alt="flower.gif" />

 

Umpire's should make this call without being prompted by an opposing coach regardless of the score, but I think they feel like if no one is complaining that they must be doing a good job /roflol.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":roflol:" border="0" alt="roflol.gif" />

 

 

 

 

I agree completely with you. Umpires should make this call on their own. By letting it go on it only hurts the pitcher in the long run. What college is going to want a pitcher with this bad habit only to have to work to get her out of it? Is it right for a pitcher to throw from 38 feet when the rules state 40. Come on! Have the umpires to call it or take it out of the rule books. Then the better pitcher may be the one who can hop the closest to the plate before releasing the ball. This could change the game a lot. You might start seeing a lot more better pitchers. Lol. /roflol.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":roflol:" border="0" alt="roflol.gif" />

[BaldNBeautiful]

You hit the nail on the head with that response! But umpire's seldom call a pitcher out on this "illegal" pitch in HS softball unless the opposing coach makes a request for the umpire to do so. I think most of the time the better pitchers on the better teams have little trouble with this,usually its a less experienced pitcher on a weaker team who is usually losing anyway. Most coaches who are winning a ballgame aren't going to complain about a pitcher & their technique when they are thumping them anyway. /flower.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":flower:" border="0" alt="flower.gif" />

 

Umpire's should make this call without being prompted by an opposing coach regardless of the score, but I think they feel like if no one is complaining that they must be doing a good job /roflol.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":roflol:" border="0" alt="roflol.gif" />

 

 

Good point, but there is another facet of this is that there is a sizable number of umpires who don't know how to interpret the rule. There is a huge difference between crow hopping and simply losing contact with the rubber (while beginning the motion or sliding the plant foot along the width of the rubber) that does not give the pitcher AN ADVANTAGE. We have all seen coaches use the misapplication of this rule to badger less experienced field umpires to calling "illegal pitches."

[MTUMP]

If any of you Fans/Coaches had any clue about what you were talking about concerning what crow hopping was and how to interpret it as it concens to giving a pitcher an advantage I would be stunned. The ones making comments about umpiring have NO CLUE what an umpire has to do on every pitch and it would take you 4-5 years to be qualified to even call a High School game. So get a rule book, study it, and I will be glad to give you an exam any time. And also, you have to be able to be in shape enough to at least be on a ball fiels for at least 4 hours and listen to the un-educated crap the fans say all game long.

[stlbrd]

If any of you Fans/Coaches had any clue about what you were talking about concerning what crow hopping was and how to interpret it as it concens to giving a pitcher an advantage I would be stunned. The ones making comments about umpiring have NO CLUE what an umpire has to do on every pitch and it would take you 4-5 years to be qualified to even call a High School game. So get a rule book, study it, and I will be glad to give you an exam any time. And also, you have to be able to be in shape enough to at least be on a ball fiels for at least 4 hours and listen to the un-educated crap the fans say all game long.

 

How about "leaping"? When does this not give the pitcher an advantage?

[MTUMP]

How about "leaping"? When does this not give the pitcher an advantage?

 

 

It always offers an advantage but rarely happens. This is harder to call than crow hopping because most of the time it is so close to the ground.