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THREAD: I had a request to discuss the "arm swing vs. ball in glove" debate and wanted to provide a discussion thread. Historically, the arm swing was actually illegal until about 30 years ago and is much more prominent in women's softball. The first argument for arm swing is 1/
Probably that fact. An arm swing is more ideal to generate force. Jumping research states that jumping without the arms provides only about 75% of the same momentum as with an arm swing. When the standing broad jump was an olympic sport, athletes would use weighted objects in 2/
Their hands to generate faster arm swings and more mass for a greater moment of inertia (like having a ball and glove). The question is: Is more momentum actually ideal? The main argument for ball in glove has been reducing the batter/coach's ability to pick the pitch. Pitching 3
Coaches may also use ball in glove as a means of creating symmetry in the drive and stride phases of the pitch. IMO there is a trade off for both and I think it depends on the athlete. I have found that too much momentum going forward is just as bad as not enough. In watching 4/
@HailStateTF athletes throw the javelin #JavU I noticed that they never approach the throw at a full sprint because this deters from optimal energy transfer due to not being able to block with their front side. The same holds true in all throwing events. The real goal should 5/
be generating the most momentum that a person can then transfer up the chain. This is possible with both arm swings and ball in glove, but each pitcher handles those differently. Most of the best college pitchers right now use an arm swing, but not all. Finding what works for 6/
each person is probably the answer I would give. And I would make that determination based upon kinematics and efficiency rather than either speed across the mound or a pitch pick. #MechanicsMonday
