The Harm of Throwing 'Over the Top', Part 2

June 5, 2015

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In 2014 I wrote a newsletter on why teaching kids to throw "over the top" is a bad coaching concept because of how it changes upper body position and puts more stress on the elbow:

Now a new study again proves this to be true:

In the study, the average shoulder tilt for each pitcher was 24 degrees. And while velocity increased by 1.5% (1.1 mph) for every 10 degrees of shoulder tilt over 24 degrees, shoulder stress increased by 3.2% and elbow stress increased by 4.8%.

For the researchers, this increase in arm stress WAS NOT worth the price of the extra 1.1 miles per hour:

because the elbow ligament ("UCL") is already very close to injury and adding stress by tilting more will bring the elbow too close to injury;

They concluded:

So...what throwing drill can help a pitcher minimize shoulder tilt?

It's called The 2-knee drill and a video of this drill is available in my Baseball Video Library.

To subscribe to my video library, click here.

Have A Question About This Newsletter?

Contact (631-352-7654 / PitchingDoc@msn.com) Dr. Arnold!