Posts Tagged ‘pitching velocity’
January 31, 2012 | 
Author It’s been crazy busy the last few weeks getting back from California, which was a tremendous experience, organizing my schedule (booked to the teeth) and writing new programming for 50 strength training students and 42 Warbird throwers. Here’s a few things to look forward to on my site in the next week or so:
1. Early results from the first 30 Warbird Throwers. A rough look at my data suggests that my group has gained on average 3 miles per hour and as high as 7. I’m pretty excited, and have new technology (Thanks Mike!) to share throwing data on my site. Check out the Player Velocities Page under the Warbird parent tab. If you’re not local you won’t know the names, but you can check the progress some of my hard workers have made. Nick Hieb, a Junior, just threw in front of a few college coaches and sat 3-4mph higher than he had previously peaked as of last year (his peak is about +5-6). Pretty excited about him – he’s earned it.
2. My Trip to LA for Alan Jaeger’s Pro Camp was awesome. I have lots to share but as of now too little time to share it. Soon – it was well worth the trip.
3. I’m going to share via video some of what I’ve learned about velocity this winter, and I’ve learned a whole, whole lot. The radar gun is the greatest pitchers’ training tool ever created, in my opinion. You’d be amazed how much pitch-by-pitch feedback can do for a thrower and a coach who wants his kids to throw harder. I’m not going to give away my proprietary program, but I will give you insight into what you can do at home today to throw harder immediately.
Thanks! Stay Tuned….
I made the analogy of colored dye to a young pitcher the other day when discussing his practice habits. If his old habits represented red dye, and his new mechanical adjustment represented blue dye, and he had a cup of red and a drop of blue to add to a bucket of water, what color would the bucket turn?
He answered red, to which I told him that he had to dilute the old by practicing the new mechanics as much as he could, until, over time, his mechanics changed. The more you practice, the more the new overtakes the old.
That being said, I got some photographical confirmation that I had improved my mechanics via the energy angle, but not quite to the degree that I had hoped. While the change is clearly visible, I more or less diluted my old mechanics with new, averaging the two together and finding myself in the middle. Yet, I’m ok with this, and it represented the best I could do given 4 months of practice and thousands of throws doing it. Check out the photos and see for yourself where I ended up.
A snapshot of the old…
Weighted ball training is a hot topic of debate in the baseball world. The manufacturers, many pitching coaches, performance coaches, and players all swear by them, claiming it’s a proven way to increase velocity. Detractors pose that there is an increase injury risk associated with throwing weighted balls. So, what are we to think? In this article I’m going to sum up the theory and pros & cons of throwing weighted balls as well as offer my own opinion. Read the rest of this entry »
Some pitching instructors like Dick Mills claim that long toss is a waste of time, as it doesn’t replicate the mechanics used when throwing from a mound. This anecdotal argument is actually the reason long toss is effective – because it gives the arm a different stimulus: while throwing at max distance it stretches, reaches and works at peak efficiency all at the same time, which when compressed into a 60 foot throw requires the arm to move faster than it ordinarily could.
The Long Toss Benefits
1. Stretches the arm out while under tension
2. Utilizes a slightly different motion compared to mound throwing, allowing for a new muscle stimulus
3. Teaches one to reach out and really extend toward the target
4. Allows the body to find peak arm slot efficiency in throwing the ball as far as possible (i.e if you pitch over the top, but throw farthest at 3/4, maybe it’s time to pitch at 3/4)
5. Develops synchrony in the body’s movements, which helps cure mechanical timing issues
6. Teaches to pull the arm down hard when coming back in, developing more arm speed and even more forward reach Read the rest of this entry »