Six Common Pitching Mechanics Features Of High Velocity Throwers
by Dick Mills on October 14, 2009
There are common features of high velocity throwers that you will not see in most high school or college pitchers...certainly not Little League pitchers.
Here is video comparison of Royal's Zach Greinke and Red Sox Daniel Bard that shows features that are similar in both pitchers. Notice how their timing is almost exact as they move from the back leg to the front leg and then into ball release. Timing of the parts is a key ingredient that insures that forces are efficiently transferred from the body to the arm...so there is less stress on the arm.
The common features you will observe here that you will not see in most high school, college or Little League pitchers are:
- Early weight shift - get the hip going out first
- Do not rotate early over the back leg
- Have explosive leg drive
- Complete leg drive before landing
- Land with the trunk and the throwing arm and shoulder still back so the arm gets involved late
- Bracing action of the hip, knee and ankle upon landing to speed up the trunk and the arm
These are the mechanical skills that all pitchers should be working on to improve during the off-season. When we one-on-one lessons here at our facility in Scottsdale, AZ these are the mechanical adjustments we help pitchers make whether they are high school, college or professional pitchers.
It is quite clear that these common features of high velocity throwers have little to do with arm strength since the arm gets involved very late in the delivery. In fact, sports science research has proven that arm strength has little to do with pitching velocity. Thus why long toss or weighted balls or weight training will not improve pitching velocity.
It is the speed of rotation of the trunk that whips the pitcher's arm through. Trunk rotation speed is all about the forward momentum of the body going from the back leg to the front leg and then finally the bracing action of the front leg and hip.
Only pitching mechanics where forces are developed and transferred to the arm very late can produce more velocity with less risk of arm injury.
Velocity is produced by the body...not the arm. This is why 45% of Little League pitchers and 60% of high school pitchers pitch with pain. They simply have been taught to use their arm when the body should be producing velocity.
This is what I have been focusing on in our Explosively Pitching DVD program since 2004. We teach parents how to help their sons use their bodies to pitch instead of just their arms. Not only does this improve velocity but reduces the risk of arm injuries. http://www.pitching.com/products/
"My 14 year old son's velocity jumped 12 mph, his control improved dramatically and his arm pain vanished. For the first time since he has been pitching, he finally understands what he is doing...what causes the ball to do what it does and how his body functions to be effective...now that is priceless."
Mark A Smith, Downers, Grove, IL
