What is different about females that makes their overhand throw so different from a males overhand throw?
It’s all in the training and pratice. Boys tend to practice sports more often and learn the proper way to throw. Girls who are taught to throw the “right” way and practice playing as much as boys do can throw just as well as any boy, if not better.
There have been threads on this before. Much of it comes down to what girls are expected to do in school during P.E. classes.
From a biomechanical standpoint, girls don’t pick up the technique of cocking their arm back correctly.
Pick up a ball in your throwing hand. As you prepare to throw it, your wrist should be outside your elbow.
Now put the ball in your “other” hand. Most of us will not be able to throw the ball with our wrist outside the elbow. Our arm will turn toward our body. And VOILA! you are throwing “like a girl”.
When I went to Japan on a trip, I saw several Japanese baseball games and there were women throwing out the first pitch several times and a few contests where women had to throw baseballs. Japanese women tended to throw properly, so apparently they are being taught correctly.
Also - if you look carefully, typically girls (that throw like girls) throw off of the wrong foot.
When you pitch, or toss a football, etc., if you are a right-hander you step forward with your left foot as you throw. Most girls throwing right-handed will step forward with their right foot as they throw.
— Peter Wiggen
I was pleased to discover that my girlfriend throws an American football at least as well as I do. I don’t know where she learned how, but she’s good.
I know plenty of boys that can’t throw. Do they throw like girls? Then the girls that can’t throw, throw like girls, but girls that can throw, throw like boys? But not like the boys that can’t throw, who throw like girls, but not like the girls that can throw? It’s all so confusing.
Simpler:
Why can’t some people throw correctly? They never learned how.
The definitive answer to this question was supplied by James Fallows
Great article beagledave. Thanks for the link.
There may be some minor biomechanical issues, but mostly it’s just training. Don’t ever accuse my wife of “throwing like a girl”…she’ll gladly demonstrate her throwing style by pitching one right at your head!
I have coached kid’s cricket teams for years and under the age of 12 lots of the kids (boys and girls) need instruction and practice in catching and throwing a ball. It doesn’t take long to get a child proficient if they practice and, if you start with both boys and girls who “throw like girls”, no noticeable difference in capacity to learn.
I can throw a baseball 88 MPH…
I can throw a football 55 yrds…
I can pinpoint-cast a fishing Lure within an inch of my target
I can probably throw a hand-grenade 30-40 yrds…
Why can’t I throw a Frisbee? Most chicks I Know can throw a
Frisbee…
Why must I be Damned with this Malady?
God knows;)
A recent thread on this topic (Link)