Practice #6 (2/18 and 2/20)

This weekend was cold with temps in the 20's and 30's, but we hadn't practiced in a while, so we held two throwing sessions, one on Saturday and on on Monday, President's Day.

I attedend the Monday session, as did Ken, Amanda, Frantzena and Marley. I threw with Franzten for an hour. She's a natural athlete (2 sports in high school on a competitive level) and has a very good backhand. Her forehand, while inconsistent, has a lot of potential. She has the same problem I had when I first learned to throw. We both played so much baseball/softball that the mechanics of throwing a ball are embedded in our muscle memories. It's difficult for her to force herself to keep her wrist upturned and lead with her elbow. While she often turfs her flick, she gets a lot of power on her throws and they're usually flat.

Ken made a lot of progress with Marley who wasn't hindered by the same stubborn muscle memory issues. With no previous sports background, she simply followed Ken's pointers and was throwing a serviceable, though weak, flick. And Ken totally reworked Amanda's forehand so she was using her body much more efficiently. By the end of the day she was effortlessly throwing deep flicks, whereas before she was straining to throw a moderate-range flick.

So, all in all it was a good day despite the small turnout. If we had two hours to work with each player on her throws, the team would be in better for it.