All About Pitching

Momentum Pitching - A New Style Ideal For Youth And Little League Pitchers

Most parents want to know how they can help their son's build a strong foundation in pitching mechanics in order to maximize velocity, create better control while reducing the risk of arm injuries. The latest sports science research suggests that today's pitching instruction is actually counterproductive for attaining that goal because it is creating slow and robotic pitchers whose velocity potential will continue to suffer while pitching arms injuries continue to skyrocket.

Sport science research suggests that in order for pitchers to not only maximize their throwing velocity and to reduce injury, the focus of pitching mechanics should be to maximize momentum or the speed of movement of the body. The focus today seems to be the opposite or is more focused on pitching drills which have proven to create slow and robotic deliveries which create the problem of reduced velocity at all levels.

Pitching Drills Actually Reduce Velocity Unfortunately, pitching drills focus more on what the upper body and the throwing arm is doing when velocity is actually produced by the speed of movement or forward momentum of the lower body as the pitcher moves from the back leg to the front leg.

By the time a pitcher lands on his front leg, most of his velocity has already been produced from stored elastic energy as the pitcher's body is stretched out. Pitching velocity then is largely produced before the throwing arm actually moves. In other words velocity comes from stored elastic energy from the body moving fast into a long stride. The throwing arm actually receives its energy or arm speed as a result of how fast the pitcher moves his body. It does not come from arm strength. This is why even small skinny pitchers are able to throw with over-powering velocity such as Giants' Tim Lincecum who at 5'10" 170 lbs. throws regularly from 94-100 mph.

Tim himself has stated many times that his arm is along for the ride. It is the body that produces velocity while arm speed is the result of momentum.

What We Learned By Studying Hall Of Fame Pitchers

In 2007, myself and a world renowned sports scientist Dr. Brent Rushall discovered that many Hall Of Fame pitchers from the past did something very different than is being taught today. Instead of stepping to the side and then lifting into a balanced position, they stepped straight back toward second base or on a slight angle and then simply moved their body explosively away from the rubber using a long stride. The step back toward second base helped them produce more distance through which to move their body which allows the body to produce more forward momentum. This added momentum of the body into a longer stride produces more elastic energy which creates more arm speed...all without using any balance position or slight hesitation...as is taught today.

The Importance of A Long Stride

We watched Hall of Fame pitchers like Nolan Ryan take that step back and then without hesitating he continued to drive his body explosively into a stride greater than 100% of his height. We found this also to be true of Hall Of Famer Sandy Koufax and Whitey Ford and most other pitchers who pitched prior to the 80's.

The Beginning Of Momentum Pitching

From our research of these great pitchers I coined the term Momentum Pitching which signified the idea of stepping back toward second base and then simply driving the body sideways using a strong leg drive into a stride at least 100% of the pitcher's height. In 2004, I created a new system of pitching instruction that I termed Explosive Pitching Read About Explosive Pitching DVD's which is a more traditional delivery but without the focus on balance while removing any slow movements or hesitation. I consider that our flagship instructional program for pitchers of all ages.

Momentum Pitching is simply Explosive Pitching with a step back toward second base. The idea of Momentum Pitching is to remove any slow movements or hesitation or any lateral (side to side) movements which slow momentum and thus reduce pitching velocity.

Parents of pitchers should ask themselves if their son's have an explosive delivery or do they look slow, have hesitations or do they look robotic. This is the result of removing natural pitching actions by over-coaching using pitching drills. Sports science research has proven for decades that drills are not how optimum mechanics are learned...in any sport.

Momentum Pitching Is Simple To Learn And Easy To Teach

For the Little League pitcher the ideal pitching delivery is Momentum Pitching because it is simple to teach. It does not require pitching drills. The total focus of both Momentum Pitching or Explosive Pitching is to move explosively from the back leg to the front leg using maximum momentum. Momentum Pitching allows pitchers to use more natural actions rather than being over-coached in little steps which also create over-thinking pitchers who believe pitching is a bunch of small steps.

Momentum Pitching removes the idea of slow and controlled and allows the pitcher to move more explosively thus improving not only velocity but also reducing stress to the arm since velocity is produced by the body.

What about control?

Control is simply target practice using a high volume of practice pitches. However, when pitchers are not able to throw with good control, most coaches and instructors today have them slow down. That is not only counterproductive but increases the risk of arm injuries since the body will slow down thus the arm must do more work to produce velocity. A pitcher should never slow his body down to improve control. In fact, control will improve because the pitcher is actually closer to the plate at ball release because of a longer stride.

Also, the faster you move the body the less chance of mechanical errors. So moving the body slow produces less velocity, more chance of mechanical errors and reduced control. And that is how most coaches and instructors are teaching pitching today. These are all reasons why more youth and Little League parents should be looking at the advantages of Momentum Pitching.

Don't Forget - My Complete Pitching Instruction program is the only complete "pitching clinic" home study course available that is backed by real sports science research. It's designed for parents, coaches, and players of all ages. Whether you're a pitcher just starting out, or an advanced pitcher looking for answers, we make it simple to understand for both the parent and pitcher.

"Dick’s program has given me the knowledge I need as a pitching coach to help young people succeed. I highly recommend it to any pitcher Little League through college. From mechanics to conditioning to the mental aspect, everything he does is top notch. His program helped our pitchers go 29-1, have a 0.80 ERA last season, and win a State Championship."

Banks Faulkner, Gilbert Indian Baseball, Gilbert, SC

If you're serious about improving pitching performance without risking arm injury or worse reserve your copy of the Complete Pitching Instruction DVD Set today!