Checklist On How To Choose A Competent Pitching Instructor

by Dick Mills on May 26, 2009

How do parents find a good pitching instructor to help their son improve his pitching mechanics, his pitching velocity as well as his control...while ensuring he is using his body and not his arm to produce a more effortless fastball with good movement?

If a parent makes a poor choice of a pitching instructor it can adversely affect their son's pitching performance for years to come. This also applies to sending a pitcher to a pitching clinic.

The first lesson should be a  video evaluation

You as a parent should look for is a pitching instructor who first does an initial video evaluation of your son's pitching mechanics. In other words the first lesson should be all about evaluating your son's delivery in order to find the faults that are reducing his velocity and his control while possibly adding stress to his arm.

So this should be your first way of deciding on whether this instructor is worth even talking to. If he does not use video during each lesson...do not waste your time or money. That instructor, no matter how much experience is simply guessing since pitching is one of the fastest human movements in all of sports. No instructor has the ability to just "eye-ball" a pitcher's mechanics and give a credible evaluation.

Always ask about how to improve pitching velocity
The second question you should ask a potential instructor is about how to improve both velocity and control.

If the the instructor tells you that velocity is about developing more arm strength then cross him off your list. The latest sports science research has proven that arm strength is not much of a factor for producing velocity since the research has proven that the non-throwing arm is just about as strong as the throwing arm. Velocity has been proven to come from momentum and speed of movement of the entire body as the pitcher moves away from the rubber down the mound into a stride that is at least 100% of the pitcher's height.

In other words if a pitcher moves his body slow or has any hesitations in his delivery then his arm will move too slow and his stride will be too short. This is why pitching drills are so detrimental to improving pitching mechanics.

Why pitching drills should not be emphasized
Pitching drills produce slow moving, robotic and over-thinking pitchers. They spend time worrying about whether they are doing the drill correctly rather than moving their bodies explosively toward the plate.
As for improving ball control we know that mechanics must be consistent first. Then once mechanics are consistent ball control is simply target practice where the pitcher works on making the adjustment by focusing on it and throwing enough pitches to the same location over and over so his body learns how to locate that pitch in that location.

Why pitchers should never slow down their delivery to improve control
Many instructors and coaches will advise pitchers to slow down in order to improve control. The sports science research says this is wrong. Velocity should never be sacrificed in order to gain control. Control can be learned by moving fast and when a pitcher moves faster into a longer stride, control is much easier because the pitcher is closer to the plate at ball release.

Why flat ground practice makes no sense
If the instructor is not having the pitcher throw from a mound but on flat ground then how will the pitcher learn how to pitch from a mound? Flat ground pitching is clearly a waste of time since pitching mechanics are totally different. Once a pitcher starts to pitch from a mound in games then all his practice should be from the mound...and never on flat ground.

Why strength and conditioning should not be over-emphasized

Pitching velocity and control is largely about improving mechanics while practicing often from the mound while being videotaped. I would estimate that pitching is 70-75% mechanics and practicing and 25-30% conditioning. Clinics that do not focus on mechanics and video evaluation but are mostly about conditioning and training should be looked at with skepticism for helping pitchers improve their overall pitching performance.

Finding a good pitching instructor should be done very, very carefully since this decision will affect your son's performance for years to come.

In summary...here is a quick list of things to look for when evaluating a pitching instructor:

• He uses video to initially evaluate mechanics and does so during most if not every lesson
• He understands that pitching velocity is not a strength issue but a momentum and speed of movement issue into a stride that is at least 100% of the pitcher's height.
• He does not use towel drills, balance drills, kneeling drills or any other drills during lessons to improve mechanics.
• He understands that lower body mechanics must be improved in order to produce energy for arm speed as well as to create a strong foundation for the upper body. Poor lower body mechanics can reduce velocity, control and lead to arm injuries.
• Make sure that what the instructor says makes good common sense.