The Crow-Hop
Helping Make Flat-Ground Throwing Safer For Pitchers
April 7, 2015
(Click here for a 1-page .pdf of this newsletter)
When discussing long toss with my pitching students, I strongly
emphasize the use of a crow-hop to improve quickness, build momentum,
and perfect timing in the transfer of energy from the lower body to the
upper body.
Now a 2014 study in the American Journal of Sports Medicine shows the benefits of the crow-hop on minimizing arm stress:
Specifically:
Pitchers throwing 60 feet on flat ground from a
stationary position had similar arm stress as throwing off the mound BUT
produced much less velocity:
![Short 20Distance 20same 20stress 20as 20mound](/img/Pitching%20Newsletters/2015/Changeup%204.6.15/Short%20Distance%20same%20stress%20as%20mound.png)
While
throwing with a crow-hop at 120 and 180 feet produced lower arm strain
than either throwing 60 feet off the mound or 60 feet in a stationary
position on flat ground:
![Crow 20hop 201](/img/Pitching%20Newsletters/2015/Changeup%204.6.15/Crow%20hop%201.png)
![Crow 20hop 202](/img/Pitching%20Newsletters/2015/Changeup%204.6.15/Crow%20hop%202.png)
This led the researchers to conclude:
![Conclusion](/img/Pitching%20Newsletters/2015/Changeup%204.6.15/Conclusion.png)
To watch a video on proper long toss and a proper throwing drills for long toss, you can subscribe to my Baseball Video Library by clicking here
Have A Question About This Newsletter?
Contact (631-352-7654/PitchingDoc@msn.com) Dr. Arnold!