Thread by @SteveEnglishbey

"One aspect of the delivery does not necessary dictate final result. All depends on how effective momentum is developed and transferred to the baseball."

I think these 2 statements are vital in trying to analyze ballistic/complex movements like throwing a baseball.

https://twitter.com/setprosports/status/1430933658970513414

Based on long experience, I think that all too many tend to focus on isolated or particular segments or postures at particular moments in trying to determine causal effects.

While this kind of focus CAN be potentially helpful in really understanding causal effects, it also can serve to inhibit a good understanding of the actual "underlying realities" [Nyman].

Years ago, Mel Siff wrote quite a bit as regards the fallacy of, as he stated, isolated muscle testing. The fallacy [of course] is in thinking that one can somehow determine/assess complex ballistic movement via testing a single muscle or limited group of muscles.

As Mel stated ---with a rare combination of eloquence, simplicity, and accuracy, elite level movement is like a "symphony of muscle action."

The obvious implication of this analogy is that high level complex ballistic movement is NOT really about a SINGLE isolated movement or muscle action.

Rather it is MUCH more about how EACH segment combines to create a synergistic whole at the endpoint.

Meaning really it is about how each segment works with the next segment in a manner which optimizes momentum transfer and accuracy at the endpoint.

OF COURSE each segment of the postural or kinetic chain need to be fully and correctly understood.

BUT. The KEY to this understanding is understanding how these segments are functioning in the context as to how they "fit" within the overall kinetic chain.

In this context, a quote from one of Anders Ericsson books stands out. In talking to a golf coach about his elite level student he said this:

[Paraphrasing]: "Well he has a very good understanding of each segment and how it should work. And he has a very good understanding as to each segments fits with the other."

Simply put, I think that THAT kind of understanding, in some degree, explains this golfer's high level performance.

And furthermore, I think that this kind thought process, similar to Mel's analogy, should be THE goal of coaches trying to understand/interpret/assess/TEACH complex movements like throwing/swinging.

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