Softball: throwing

In this blog post I will be talking about throwing. For me especially, throwing is something that i can always improve on. Throwing is one of the basic skills to learn in softball but also one of the skills that takes practice. There are 4 main steps to throwing a softball. "throwing is an area that must not be under coached... 4 steps to throwing a ball is grip, star position, release and follow through" ( Veroni 103).

Step #1: Grip
"the player should grip the seams of the ball with three fingers across the seam and the thumb opposite the middle finger" ( Veroni 103 ).

Step#2: Star position
" the ball is brought back behind the head with the ball pointing down; and elbow parallel to the ground with upper and lower arm at right angle" (Veroni 103).

Step#3: Release
" The upper arm should remain parallel to the ground while to wrist snaps back, placing the ball facing up just above the head" ( Veroni 103).

Step#4: Following through
"And to completing the throw with a full follow through" (Veroni 104).

In these here pictures, I am getting grip in the first picture, then I'm in star position getting ready to release and follow through. For me, I have been shown many different ways on how to throw a softball, some tips help and some don't. Most of the time i throw what is most comfortable for me, but there also comes times when you need to throw a certain way to get the ball where it needs to go. But some people are so comfortable throwing  a softball a certain way you could be throwing incorrectly and is hard to change. 

Do you think an athlete would be better off following instructions on how to throw? Or whats most comfortable?