I knew it was only a matter of time before someone asked!
Today I was asked by one of the other parent (a dad) - "who thought Aaron to throw the ball that way"? My question...although I know exactly what he is asking...is what does 'that way' mean!
A couple weeks ago we were asked by another parent at one of the School's game - 'how long has he been throwing sidbar?
We've all tossed something at one point in our lives and we most likely threw it without thinking about it. So the real question here is - can you be taught how to throw?
When Aaron was younger, Andy would take him on the sidewalk and they would throw a ball back and forth to each other and I am sure most, if not all, parents did this with their child at some point. In fact, that was what got him noticed. An older gentleman who was driving by as they were playing catch, slowed down and said to Andy, 'wow, he's really got an arm on him'! So, some can say that Andy taught him how to throw, but if you're asking about the movement of his arm...that's an entirely different story.
Neither me nor Andy thought anything was different until a few years ago...when people started talking. I know a couple years ago Aaron had a hard time with Coach Mike as he was discouraged from pitching the way he does. Coach Mike, like everyone else, kept saying he will have an injury if he continues to pitch like that. The only injury, so far, is when another kid on the team pushed Aaron from behind and broke his colarbone! The truth is not many coaches understand how to work with a Sidewinder so they discourage them! After getting nowhere with Aaron, Coach Mike gave up and just allowed him to pitch the way he is comfortable, and he has been doing just that since then.
My answer to the question today - Aaron throws the ball the way he is comfortable...that's just the way his arms move, naturally! So I guess it is safe to say - he is self taught!
We've all tossed something at one point in our lives and we most likely threw it without thinking about it. So the real question here is - can you be taught how to throw?
When Aaron was younger, Andy would take him on the sidewalk and they would throw a ball back and forth to each other and I am sure most, if not all, parents did this with their child at some point. In fact, that was what got him noticed. An older gentleman who was driving by as they were playing catch, slowed down and said to Andy, 'wow, he's really got an arm on him'! So, some can say that Andy taught him how to throw, but if you're asking about the movement of his arm...that's an entirely different story.
Neither me nor Andy thought anything was different until a few years ago...when people started talking. I know a couple years ago Aaron had a hard time with Coach Mike as he was discouraged from pitching the way he does. Coach Mike, like everyone else, kept saying he will have an injury if he continues to pitch like that. The only injury, so far, is when another kid on the team pushed Aaron from behind and broke his colarbone! The truth is not many coaches understand how to work with a Sidewinder so they discourage them! After getting nowhere with Aaron, Coach Mike gave up and just allowed him to pitch the way he is comfortable, and he has been doing just that since then.
My answer to the question today - Aaron throws the ball the way he is comfortable...that's just the way his arms move, naturally! So I guess it is safe to say - he is self taught!
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| These are his natural movements... |
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