In the video below, Coach Boo Schexnayder introduces two medicine ball drills designed to teach upper and lower body mechanics in the throwing events. These drills are simple and easy to follow, allowing the thrower to focus on basic mechanics during each phase of the throw.
This exercise is designed to teach basic upper and lower body mechanics and the proper integration of the two.
* Related article: Upper Body Mechanics in the Throws
* Related article: Lower Body Mechanics in the Throws
–The exercises are all double arm throws done with medicine balls.
–The simplicity of the double arm ball throw enable the thrower to focus on basic mechanics and eliminates any distraction the strike may cause.
–The first drill is a kneeling square push.
–The term square refers to the fact that the throw begins with the shoulder square to the direction of the throw.
–This exercise enables teaching of the proper physical positioning of the ball with respect to the thrower’s body throughout the throw.
–It also introduces the concept of the strike occurring late after the ball is initiated in the body’s core.
–In this exercise, the thrower kneels with the ball at the chest with the arms and wrists flexed.
–The thrower rocks back a bit and then moves forward a bit so that the ball is already moving forward when struck.
–The key point here is teaching the thrower to strike a moving ball.
–The strike is a pushing movement with the thumbs directed downward as the wrists extend at release.
–Drill two is a kneeling square overhead forward throw.
–The premise of this drill is identical to the previous one but an overhead throw takes the place of the push.
–The ball is positioned high and just behind the head.
–Note that on all our overhead forward throw work, that the forearms are turned outward slightly so that the elbows are wider than the shoulders and wrists and the elbows are flexed slightly.
* Coaching Resource: Teaching Progressions for the Throwing Events
–Striking a moving ball as the thrower rocks forward again is a key point.
–Note the pronation and that the thumbs are directed downward at release.
–Here the idea of preserving positional relationships is introduced by making sure the ball does not lag excessively as the thrower rocks forward.
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