All About Pitching

Pitching Workout - How Slow And Controlled Kills Pitching Velocity

Last fall, I worked with a former AA left-handed pitcher who is trying to make it back to pro ball and get to the big leagues. I had done a video analysis of his pitching workout previously and from that video analysis he wanted a couple of one-on-one sessions to help make the improvement in his pitching mechanics in order to improve his pitching velocity. He had played AA for two years in a row and pitched well. His problem - he only threw 83-85 mph.

He also wanted to know if by improving his pitching workouts he could also improve his velocity. I told him that no amount of weight training would help improve his velocity but that if his pitching workouts emphasized explosive full body exercise then that would be beneficial in his efforts to build a more explosive delivery.

He was told by his organization, which will remain nameless, that if he got his pitching velocity to upper eighties he could be big league pitcher. However, they could not tell him how to improve his velocity...which is very sad. If they understood pitching mechanics and knew how to videotape, they would be able to maximize the velocity potential of every one of their minor league pitchers.

This pitcher is 6'2" 175 lbs. When I videotaped him, his first pitch produced a stride length of 70". When we started using focusing on moving faster toward the plate by stepping back instead of to the side, within a 1/2 hour his stride was to 80" and was consistently past that line to 82" by the second day.

During our two day session every once in a while he would stop and grin and shake his head. I would ask what was going on and he would say that what I was telling him to do was the exact opposite of what his AA pitching coaches told him including the minor league pitching coordinator.

One thing this organization taught every pitcher was that they should be slow and controlled. And boy did it show in him. And he knew it.

A Pitching Drill That Kills VelocityThey had a pitching drill they had every pitcher do to finish up every pitching workout. It was the "up, down and out" drill where each pitcher would lift his leg up to balance, hesitate, let it down to the mound surface and then slide it out to landing. This is a typical drill that teaches pitchers to move slow thus reducing the pitching velocity greatly.

This pitcher was taught to move slow. I commented on one of the major league starting pitchers for that organization and how slow his delivery was. This is a big guy and yet he is throwing about 90 mph. He is also a friend of this AA pitcher. He told me that when this major league pitcher first signed out of college his fastball was 98 mph. It didn't take them long to get him all the way down to 90 mph using their slow and controlled philosophy.

Since 2004, when I hired two sports scientists to assist me in learning what the new research said about improving pitching performance, I have continued to emphasize building more forward momentum into a stride that is at least 100% of the pitcher's height. Not only have pitchers seen big jumps in velocity but also improved control with no sore arms.

Because of the new research my old program had to be changed to emphasize my new philosophy. That is what produced our Explosive Pitching DVD program. http://pitching.nexcess.net/product/complete-pitching-instruction-program/

Choose Your Pitching Instructor Wisely

I will continue to remind you why you need to very carefully choose a pitching instructor. Why you should not waste your time and money on pitching clinics.

If your instructor is not videotaping your son you are wasting your money and your son's time.

This AA pitcher was taught to be slow and controlled.

If you want your son to throw faster you had better get the slowness and any hesitation out of his delivery. You had better stop drills and not wasting time on irrelevant activities such as flat ground throwing or long toss. Or lots of weight training.

I told this AA pitcher to immediately purchase a video camera and tripod because that will be his pitching coach. And if he is lucky he may have a pitching coach with an open mind who will work with him to help maintain a faster tempo delivery with a long stride.  That is how all pitchers can improve their pitching velocity.

If you move or train slow - your fastball will be slow.

Dick

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!