Sidearm Distance tips?

[schla104]

Well, I went out with a couple of friends on Sunday to Acorn Park and Lakewood. One of my friend throws RHBH. He can throw about 350' even a little further maybe. We had a little competition going for pride. I was throwing sidearm because that's my prefered throw at least until I figure out how to throw a good backhand. I can only throw sidearm about 320'. I ended up winning in the end thanks to my only real strength which is putting.

But in light of my recent attempts to learn backhand, and this experience, I was wondering, what would improve my sidearm distance? Anyone have any tips?

[Blake_T]

hitting distance lines will boost D.

aside from that, making sure that you lead with your legs/torso and getting a good follow through will help.

[The Euphoric Nightmare]

Hrm, I've only been golfing for almost a year, & just didn't find the backhand comfortable after soo many years of summer baseball. Have worked my sidearm to break 400 on the practice field (back of endzone to 20-40 steps beyond other endzone), and can rely on 350+ on the course. This is while at 3000 ft. of elevation here in Montuckey, at 1800 ft. in Washington I lost about 20-30 ft. while playing a tourney.
Here's what got me beyond that other goal post...

I was contemplating the difference between the righty sidearm and lefty backhand. The only real differences are the grip/snap of course, but the major is which shoulder is getting pulled around the fulcrum (center of gravity) of the throw and how.
With the righty sidearm, the right shoulder starts behind the fulcrum and is pulled counter-clockwise (CCW) from the 6 to 12 o'clock relation to the fulcrum.
With the lefty backhand, the left shoulder starts in front of the fulcrum and is pulled CCW from 12 to 6 o'clock relation to the fulcrum.
Essentually, why backhanders can out D sidearmers is in the leverage.

But...that being typed. If that's the difference, then I thought why not make my sidearm tech as close to the backhand tech as possible.

I read over the Blake's Distance Drilling Ariticle

Major points to keep in mind.

• "The first and main conscious motion of the throw begins with the footwork. The placement, direction, and speed with which you place your steps are the foundation of the throw. Assuming that you throw with an X-step approach, there are two main focal points to contend with. First off, your cross step (with your left foot if you are a rhbh thrower) must have your toes pointing more than 90 degrees but no more than 180 degrees away from your target."
  
  That min 90 degree is essential to get the hips involved. You should be "mooning" the target by having yer rear facing it. This will probably take yer eyes off the target which I've noticed most others throwing sidearm fail to do, relying mostly on their torso and arm muscles.
  
• "The second key to footwork is that the toes on your pivot (plant) foot should be at an angle between 90 and 45 degrees from your target. This will lead to a natural opening of the hips as you transfer your weight forward. The general recommendation for the push from the cross step to the pivot is to focus more on quickness than on strength, but this may vary based on your build, athleticism, and leg strength"
  
  I can't stress this enough. Hips involved (180 rotation) = power. Hips come from footwork.

One other major point I'd like to make from Conrad Damon's Sidearm Article

• "The first thing to learn is to slow your arm down, though it's awfully tempting to throw it like you're throwing a ball. Trust me, that doesn't make your throw go farther. It makes it flutter like mad, taking offlike a noisy basketball but not going quite as far. Your snap must always be quicker than your arm - the same applies to good backhand technique. As your snap speeds up,you can speed up your arm. Keep your elbow in. That'll keep everything under control and make it much easier to get good snap."
  
  I bring up this point because I believe there's a major misconception out there. That is sidearmers prefer overstable discs because they get a lot more snap on the disc, thus have troubles with discs flipping. This is dead wrong. Sidearmers prefer overstable because of the disc orientation from the fulcrum. That is, the disc is further from the fulcrum throwing sidearmed than it is backhanded. With levers, the further a point is from the fulcrum the faster it will move, but the closer a point is to the fulcrum the more power is exerted at that point. So there's a point where the delicate balance of power/speed is maxed that backhanders naturally get closer too. With sidearmer's discs further away from the fulcrum, the speed to power ratio begins to get too heavy on speed, causing the disc to lose stablility.
  Simply, the closer a sidearmer can get the disc to their body the more power they can impart onto the rim. So keep that elbow in close.