I recently wrote an article on squat technique and the “Knees Out” vs “Knees In” Debate. If you missed it, you can find it HERE.
But can we take this a bit further? Can we apply the knees out debate to throwing patterns? Will this increase the resistance between that back hip and trunk? Let’s dig deeper…
There’s definitely rear hip movement in every throwing athlete, but there’s also a ton of variation between them, just like in squatting patterns. I’ve seen players with their “Knee Out” when throwing as well as players with “Knee In” when throwing. So, how efficient is this and does it actually matter when throwing? Is it more beneficial for your rear hip to move into external rotation before internally rotating?
Below are a few professional players that are effective yet they show different rear hip movements.
“Knee IN” Throwing Athletes
The back leg DOES NOT externally rotate before internally rotating.
Neftali Perez
Erik Turgeon – Former NY Met AAA
“Knee Not In” Throwing Athletes
The back leg externally rotate before internally rotating.
Matt Barnes
Kevin McGowan
Greg Maddux
Manny Machado
Bob Feller
Take Home Message
The take home message is that you have to look at each athlete individually and assess them properly before you make any changes in their back leg movement. Structural limitations can cause variations in patterns and hyper/hypo mobility can also play a role so athletes may not be able to actually externally rotate the rear hip before internally rotating it.
For Kevin McGowan and Erik Turgeon, who trained here at AB, their squat patterns match up almost identical to their rear hip movement when throwing. I’d be curious to see what the squat patterns would be like with the current athletes posted.
Coaches, take video and see what is going on before you start making adjustments. This is why the same program does not work for everyone. Identifying squat patterns can also help you understand hip movement when throwing.
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