Thread by @SteveEnglishbey

Paul prompted me to take another look at Kelly [I HAVE looked at him before this].And i wanted to make a few comments.

https://twitter.com/setprosports/status/1480227781355188235

1]"Nothing special about his windup". I recently stated along the lines that...."loading is only as effective as it helps to UNLOAD." Paul, similarly, is hinting at the fact that is NOT primarily about loading. More fundamentally, it is about how one unloads.

2]Yes, of course, this DOES relate to loading. But I think the fundamental point is: One cannot NECESSSARILY conclude as to how one is going to unload....

3]..., based on loading parameters such as , stride length, tempo going into foot plant, exact throwing arm alignment, etc.

4]I do think that SOME loading parameters ARE pretty vital. One is that of creating a sufficient degree of scapula RETRACTION [otherwise known as horizontal adduction of the shoulder].

5]Kelly does create this kind of scapula action. But what really strikes me as significant is the SPEED of the "reversal" from maximal retraction, to "lag" to release.

6]In looking both in real time and slo-mo, it appears to me to be ....VERY QUICK!!

7]This kind of load/unload quickness is [of course] very consistent with research regarding "stretch-shortening" processes wherein a reduction in the "amortization" time yields greater power.

8]Along with the noted speed of the upper body unload, I would further note that one can infer the "fullness", so to speak, of the connection of the finger release to the more proximal shoulder component [the scapula musculature].....

9]...by looking at both the flexion of the trunk and the "finish"[so to speak] of the throwing arm. Note the rapid flexion of the trunk [and note the magnitude].

10]Based on everything I know about momentum processes this is a REACTION to the combined angular rotation of the upper trunk and the scapula protraction of the back scapula.

11]You can further infer this from looking as to the "finish" of both the throwing arm and the body mass, ie., both are displaced towards the first base dugout.

12]Bottom line: Kelly, like ALL other hard throwers, creates VERY good shoulder rotation, and VERY good physical linkage between the distal element [hand/ball] and the more proximal linkage [back side scapula].Better known as CONNECTION.

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