Expert: John Priest - 3/21/2009

Question
Hey John my question is regarding a pitchers arm slot, I throw from a Low 3/4 arm slot and my elbow drops but i throw in the high 70's not really bad for a 14 year old but my arm slot is kind of like side arm. Allot of coaches and trainers have tried to work with me to keep my elbow up but nothing seems to work. My question is what can i do to keep my elbow from dropping and to keep my arm high?

Answer
Jose,
Every player I have see that drops their elbow usually develops some kind of arm pain.  It is good to throw from different arm angles and it can all be done with proper elbow position.  I don't know any coach that teaches a side arm pitching style, and if you want to pitch side arm you will always be around coaches trying to change it.  There are a few drills that you could do to get proper arm action.  One of the best pieces of equipment is called the strike out strips.  I am not trying to sell this product but is does work and I use it with all my pitchers.  You can see this product at www.strikeoutstrippz.com.  Check out the web site and see how they work.  Its a great product for pitchers.  You can even ask Jack Kucek questions.  He is the inventor of the strips and a former MLB pitcher.  I met him at the 2008 American Baseball Coaches Convention and he is very knowledgeable with pitching mechanics.

Thank You for the question and let me know if I can help further.
John Priest