For all you Baseball & Softball Coaches out there that just can’t get away from the darn Wrist Flick Drill, I’ve created something just for you! It’s called the Wrist Flick “Set Up” Throw.
It gives you all those warm and fuzzy feelings of using the Wrist Flick drill, without actually hardwiring your brain to perform an incorrect, push throw.
The Wrist Flick “Set Up” Throw
Left Leg Staggered Stance Throws
Right Leg Staggered Stance Throw
Feet Even Throws
What Does This Drill Teach?
1. How to turn the trunk/torso against the hips, creating separation and resistance between the two structures, which helps create velocity!
2. Creates an efficient arm path and elbow angle into and through external rotation to ball release. This path helps protect the elbow from unwanted forces as the hips open towards the target.
3. Helps decrease the angle between the humerus and forearm, which allows the elbow to “drive” through to ball release as fast as possible. DriveLine Baseball has coined this term and is the main reason for their name!
4. Allows the scapula (shoulder blade) to glide along the ribcage and upwardly rotate. When you perform Wrist Flicks or the L-Drill, the scapula either doesn’t move at all or moves incorrectly and inefficiently against the ribcage!
5. Allows the forearm to pronate through ball release. Using the standard Wrist Flick Drill, pure wrist flexion and elbow extension is reinforced. This does not happen in an actual throw!
6. Helps athletes recognize that their lead arm must move first, before coming forward to throw. This creates a delay between the lead arm and throwing arm, which happens in a normal throw!
As the lead arm initiates its path, the throwing arm will also move into “Scap Load” or “Lat Load”. Then as the lead arm is cleared/pulled down and away, the throwing arm will make its way into and through External Rotation.
By letting the lead arm clear/pull down and away or out and away, will help create that separation and resistance between the torso and the throwing arm. This also helps increase Thoracic Extension!
Sets, Reps & When To Use This?
We use this drill during our practice warm ups using a normal weighted ball as well as in our facility using DriveLine Baseball’s PlyoCare Balls. We usually perform 3-5 sets of 10 reps for this particular drill. It’s not meant to be performed at max effort, but rather at lower intensities to really understand what the arm path is and how the arm moves into and through external rotation to ball release!
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