Every Mechanical Pitching Fault Limits Pitching Velocity And Control

by Dick Mills on August 25, 2009

This year I have identified over 25 mechanical pitching faults while doing videotaping and one-on-one instruction of over 200 Little League, high school and college pitchers. These faults reduce pitching performance and add to the risk of arm injuries.  

Here is a common mechanical fault that will limit this high school pitchers ability to maximize his velocity and control.  This is called early hip rotation.  This is common to many amateur pitchers. Notice how the back leg caves in.  This means the pitcher is beginning to turn over his back hip much too early.  This can be caused from a very bad habit of just wanting to throw too early, swinging the leg out and around or it can also be caused by a lack of functional strength and flexibility.

This is one of the biggest velocity killers for Little League, high school and college pitchers.  You will rarely see this in a professional pitcher.

This is a common fault that parents and coaches should be aware of because it severely limits arm speed and therefor increase the risk of an arm injury because the arm is forced to do more work.

I see this fault every single week while doing video analysis as one-on-one instruction.

The off-season is the perfect time to fix mechanical problems for all pitchers as well as build functional strength and flexibility.  The younger the pitcher the easier it is to fix the pitching fault. 

Little League pitchers who develop functional strength and flexibility early will find it much easier to build a solid foundation of pitching mechanics.

Thus why parents of Little League pitchers should seek instruction that uses videotaping as the cornerstone of building solid pitching mechanics.

Video analysis is the key to pitching improvement. And so isn't building functionial strength and flexibility. 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. And how to get specifically stronger for pitching without losing flexibility. 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