How Shoulder Hip Separation Works In Pitching Mechanics

Shoulder-hip separation is a key part of good pitching mechanics - youth pitchers especially can gain velocity and consistency when they stay closed and let their hips and core do the work for their arm.
--
Dan’s IG: / coachdanblewett
Dan’s Tik tok: / coachdanblewett
🤝 Want Dan to be your mentor? Sign up here: danblewett.com/coaching
📘 My mental skills book for athletes 👉 slumpshallpass.com
✅ My Self-Guided Pitching Programs 👉danblewett.com/courses
❤️ LOVE THROWING, My Free Program: danblewett.com/lovethrowing
⚾️ New to Baseball? Learn the terminology: danblewett.com/baseball-cheat...
📬 Email me a question 👉 danblewett.com/ask-dan-blewett/
💪 My baseball strength program 👉 earlyworktraining.com/baseball/

[@OaseDaniel]

Pitching isn’t complicated, but the hardest thing to do. Great book, great video. Thanks!

[@DanBlewett]

Thank you!

[@evanescent0311]

Great demo Coach. My 11u boy has natural strength but his mechanics look off.. I think his stride & separation is the culprit. thank you!

[@sleepy4888]

Hey, I'm trying to be a walk-on pitcher for my university and your videos have been a tremendous help for me so far because I can't afford a coach. I've noticed many high level pitchers have their leading leg land on the ground before they torque their shoulders. What are your thoughts on that and is too much hip-shoulder separation a bad thing? (your body can only twist so much so I feel like you should utilize it as much as possible) Thank you for your content🙏

[@DanBlewett]

too much is too much. and i have not seen pitchers counterrotate after landing - you may be mis-reading that in whatever videos you're watching.

[@Courtside-Stories]

I’m trying to understand how my arm should feel when I drag and go to release. Should my forearm almost be passive and pretty straight? And use my back muscle and my body turning to generate power

[@DanBlewett]

id say you're overthinking it in general

[@Courtside-Stories]

@@DanBlewett for sure. When I was younger I think I just threw with my elbow and arm. My son has some really weird mechanics so I’m trying to help him start out in a healthy way but definitely confused on what it feels like to do it properly.

[@B0bLeeSw4gger]

Any tips for my youth pitcher that, as much as we drill proper mechanics, come game time, he reverts back to low leg kick and short arming after a few pitches? Always love your content. Keep it up!

[@DanBlewett]

you can lead a horse to water but cant make him drink. It's frustrating, but there's only so much a coach can do - ultimately the player has to want to change and want it to stick, and it has to be within their power to do so (not always the case with young kids).

[@TheRyanFreeman]

Would this be an opportunity to give the player some good external cues to help them retain and employ what they've been practicing? Often low leg and short arm means they are aiming, and/or worried about hitting the batter.

[@B0bLeeSw4gger]

@TheRyanFreeman well...his first start was a perfect game. The issue is, during practice, the velo is up. In a game, the command is on point but the velocity goes down. The problem there is his school coaches only see velo and don't care about command. At his current velo, he won't make Varsity even though his pitching stats are the best on his team. (The coaching is just a ridiculous mess but that's a whole different story for a different day)

[@sauron7256]

Hi im a 15 year old boy and got into baseball once again after 8 years and want to play pitcher any tips to increase the velo, and should i practice with a 10oz practice ball?

[@imknowimstupidwhenisaythis3159]

Look up weighted ball programs because it really depends on how developed you are in terms of puberty bc you could get injured