Girls throwing, and Ashley rambles about sidearms

[JR]

Have you thrown a 150 Millennium Orion LF? That is a good faster more gliding disc than the Teebird and might be longer for you. World distance record for ladies is set with a heavier one. It has a higher power requirement than the Teebird so it will have a hefty fade most likely but that can be a good thing too. Depending on your speed and spin creation capabilities it may not be any longer than the Teebird but being faster it can at least handle winds well. Sidearms have more tolerance for OAT than with the TB because of the fade. It is difficult to gauge how much the 150 (Q)OLF would fade for you. It could be more than the 163 TB or around the same if you have more speed and spin than i think. At least it should have room to grow into. I don't remember if the plastics available are Millennium and Quantum for sure. Q will be less gliding and harder fading thus shorter if M is available based on rules of thumb. QOLF is certainly not a form flaw revealing disc for beginning ladies but you are not that.

When you throw sidearm do you take steps and follow through so that the side that faces away from the target in the reach back faces toward the target after the follow through? You don't need to reach back behind the side with the disc as long as you have some steps and a follow through and get the shoulders turning in the end of the throw and into the follow through to get the disc going. There are 500' FH throwers in men that have the front of the disc at the rear side in the reach back. They have a good running speed and an almighty wrist snap. I've made the joke that you should never trust a sidearmer because they can slap you hard without moving the arm so they stay stealthy and retain deniability. That can be an effective drill for getting enough wrists into the throw. Freezing everything in place from the wrist up and having a healthy motion range in a fast wrist motion. I don't condone slapping anyone

[money 21]

what does your bag look like now? still throwing the 145 surge? my wife has started throwing a 148 x cyclone and having success with it.

[ashley]

Haven't been throwing it much. It got a good gouge in it, that seems to affect the stability quite a bit. I am going to work on my hyzer flips, so it may make an appearance there. I added a 150 teebird to the regular line up, and I am loving that disc. It has a lot more glide than even my 163.

I am going to be working on my x step a lot this year. I can throw from a standstill and get good accurate distance out to around 250, but my runup is only adding 50 feet on a good day. I have been working on coming through on my heel and that seems to really improve my accuracy. My goal for this year is to make my runup look as good as my standstill. I feel like I am two different golfers. Standstill is smooth and consistent, runup not so much. When I first started, I started my run up backwards, it looked ridiculous but I got good distance with it. I hope by breaking it down I can get even farther.

[JR]

That is a normal progression in form so i wouldn't worry about the x step being wonky at times. Leg and core muscle power would act as an insurance against losing balance. Yoga and pilates would help in gaining body control as well which would have direct implications for throwing with cleaner form. A win win win. A win in quicker adoption of the running form, keeping you throwing cleaner even when you get tired and having better health keeping you playing and handling work and normal life better.

[ashley]

Spent a good amount of time in the field today. Feel like I now have a good starting point for my runup. Distance was a little better, accuracy was way up. I was throwing 6 drivers, and putting at least half of them in a 10 foot radius each time. Every once in a while I would catch myself starting my old way, and I'd have to start over.

After the first dozen tries(without a disc) it actually felt a lot less overwhelming, and I don't know why I have struggled with it for so long. I can definitely see the potential for a lot more power. Still need more work, but I feel like I have a decent foundation to start from.

[ashley]

All of my work is starting to come together. I played Open in a tournament this past weekend, and took 1st place by 1 stroke! I averaged 884 over the four rounds,and played the more consistently than I ever have. My distance was probably 250-290 most of the time,but I did get a few drives out over 300. Focusing on my last plant step with the right foot seems to be the biggest factor in my driving consistency.

[JR]

Congratulations! In Europe that rating would place you well in even the largest events. The right leg placement is great for consistency of hyzer/anny angles. The length of the final step is a big part in nose up issues and rotation speed=power and timing of the sideways accuracy so yeah it's a major factor and if you can maintain it the same all the time you've crossed a huge hurdle.

[JHern]

All of my work is starting to come together. I played Open in a tournament this past weekend, and took 1st place by 1 stroke! I averaged 884 over the four rounds,and played the more consistently than I ever have. My distance was probably 250-290 most of the time,but I did get a few drives out over 300. Focusing on my last plant step with the right foot seems to be the biggest factor in my driving consistency.

I hope you're able to play in a WGE this coming weekend. My wife's event has 56 women playing, last I checked...we're getting fired up! Of course I know that not every region has a suitable WGE tourney, and that doing it yourself can be a bit of a hassle (getting rated players to turn in scores, etc.). Still, the player's packages are incredibly generous for $15, I wanted to sign up for one myself but I don't think I'd pass...