The Pitching Windup or Stretch

March 8, 2009

dizzy_dean.gifThe windup is almost scared to the game of baseball. It really has no purpose besides a kind of placebo effect on the mental state of the pitcher. The windup represents the old style of pitching. Back in the day when the pitchers would use the windup to get their arms moving faster. Now that we have learned that doing this is destructive to pitching velocity the windup has become just an extra step to throwing in the stretch. A little more time to focus on the target. Read more

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Little League Pitching

December 3, 2008

One of the most common questions I get as a Coach is, “How old should a kid start pitching?” I was pretty young myself but then again I also had major shoulder surgery in college. With my experience I would say, “Wait as long as you can to start making pitching your number one position.” If you have the dreams of playing Pro ball one day, I would definitely keep your arm as fresh as possible. Pro scouts drool over live fresh arms. Their eyes pop out of their heads when they learn that a young live arm has little time spent on the mound. So that being said, focus more on throwing mechanics than getting time on the hill in the little league to junior high ranks. Read more

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Weight for it!

October 20, 2008

Momentum transfer is a key component of velocity. There are many different ways to transfer momentum. You could transfer the momentum slowly over a certain period of time, randomly over a certain period of time or in the case of generating efficient and explosive velocity, you must transfer momentum as quickly as possible during your pitching delivery.

Notice pitcher’s like John Smoltz here, he has a delivery that looks effortless. This is because the explosiveness of his delivery comes at a point in time that is so fast it fools the human eye. Think of a golfer like Tiger Woods. When he swings the club back, if you blink your eyes he has already hit the ball and is following through. The same is with pitchers like John Smoltz. He throws in the upper 90’s but it sure doesn’t look like he does.

The question is, “How does this happen?” What these pitchers are doing, as they start to build momentum, is hold all of their weight back waiting for the last possible second to transfer the momentum as quick as they can. The best way for you to get a good understanding of this is with video. I hope this helps. Read more

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What is Top Velocity?

June 20, 2008

Living most of my past life as a baseball pitcher, the pivotal moment in my pitching career was overcoming career ending shoulder surgery. It changed my life and I was never the same. I spent the next five years after this major event trying everything I could to get back to the game I loved. It was the hardest thing I would ever do. I am now dealing with my addictions to over training and I am full of Top Velocity education. Read more

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