Video Analysis Of 15 Year Old High School Pitcher Throwing 85 mph

by Dick Mills on February 16, 2010

Here is a video of a 15 year old high school sophomore whose pitching velocity is already 85 mph.  We did a a Video Analysis of his pitching mechanics about three weeks ago.  So his father decided he wanted to help him maximize his potential and insure that he would not get injured.

This 15 year old turned out to make our "top three high school prospects" who have been here over the past year. Not because of his current velocity but because of his overall potential. (We think he has 95 mph in his future.)

OH...the other two - one a 5'10" 175 RH senior and the other a 5'11" 145 LH junior. Ryan and I predict these two guys will be top high school prospects this year and both are also throwing 85 mph and will soon get over 90 mph.

Here are the faults we worked on:

1.  Weight shift - early hip rotation and not shifting his weight properly (he does what we call "up, down, and out." This means his leg goes up, then it comes down before he shift his weight. Not good.

2. Early hand break - Needs to break his hands later and lower.

3. Leg swinger - big leg swing out and around toward 3rd base. This produces a slowing action of the entire body. (see the cardboard box in the video?)

4. Leaning off toward 1st base at landing - This the result of three things. Leg swinging, poor back foot action, and poor functional strength. Weak core strength.

5. Bracing action - not bracing up his front leg and hip soon enough.

Of course we started off by going over the video we used when we did the analysis about three weeks ago.

Interestingly, Roman, after our analysis immediately started to work on his posture. Good move.

So we went into the office and Ryan put Roman up side-by- side with Red Sox Daniel Bard, Zach Greinke, one of our best previous students Mitchell, and a former retired pro who has thrown 100 mph.

We spent about 1/2 hour getting Roman to fully understand what he needed to change and why. (Yes...kids listen to us much better than to their parents about their pitching.) Then Ryan took him through a dynamic warm-up (about 5-7 minutes) and then he started throwing at which point I started the camera rolling. 

What did we work on first? Do you know? And why? The leg swing. I had to get my trusty cardboard box out so Roman could play kicker for a while until he got enough feedback after kicking the box to stop kicking the box.  Ten times is usually enough.

Next we worked on posture, then weight shift and hand break and we will let bracing take care of itself...after Roman does the exercises that Ryan showed him to get him functionally stronger with his entire body.

On Sunday morning we went over the previous days video, showed Roman how he improved and them what he still needed to improve.

After two hours on Sunday we were done and Ryan and I were satisfied that Roman knew what to do.

His father called me yesterday for a report as he could not attend. His mom came. I told his father what I told Roman. Big time potential...if he kicks himself in the butt, works on making the changes (which I believe he will) but also gets functionally stronger...which will be the difference between staying at 85-87 mph or flying past 90 on to 95 mph...which he might be able to do by senior year.

He may want to go to ASU (Arizona State) so I suggested he attend their prospect camp in August. They will love him and he will get on their radar screen immediately.

His father told me that he will be here again prior to ASU's camp for another session and then we will get a video each month this season. Smart guy.

He understands the word "investment." Invest now and he won't have to pay that big college bill later.  I think he and his wife want to go on more vacations.

OK. (What do you think my son Ryan is doing in that video?)

But remember this... there are no secrets to pitching improvement. Just sound sports science principles that we apply to pitching that just make common sense. No magic spoken here.

A video analysis is your best insurance policy against poor instruction, guaranteed improvement and added arm insurance against injury.  http://www.pitching.com/video_analysis/

Our Explosively Pitching DVD program teaches 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.  We also teach them proper conditioning.

See our Off-season discounts on our instructional DVD's:  http://www.pitching.com/products/

"I had spent several hundred dollars on a pitching coach who was leading my son down the path to ruin. He embraced every failed philosophy and technique you've identified - long toss, towel drills and more drills ad nauseum. My son's skills were deteriorating. When I found your website and read your report, I sense intuitively your words had merit and deserved further study."   Mark Smith, Downers Grove,IL