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WHY CHANGE? ENHANCE!

By Kurt Hester

Last week the Assistant GM for the New Orleans Hornets called me about implementing a core strength and flexibility program for the team. My reply was not taken well by him because I laughed. After I regained my composure I explained that if you have a well thought out strength and conditioning program, core strength and flexibility components are built in and done on a daily basis. I felt it was a waste of the teams time for me to go in once a week for thirty minutes to train explicitly on core and flexibility work. Needless to say; he was not very happy with my reply. Read more

Popularity: 8%

If Speed Kills Dont Kill Your Speed

By Kurt Hester

Every coach knows that speed is the most dominate factor in sport. Coaches recruit fast athletes and design their offenses and defenses with that speed in mind. If these afore mentioned assumptions are correct, then, why are strength coaches training these same athletes to become slow and un-explosive. Read more

Popularity: 8%

You Go Pro Baseball

I have been in a few heated debates over my pitching career and this website. This is because I had an average to below average baseball career after I tore my rotator cuff at 18 years old in my first college appearance. So I don’t have all of the labels like, All American or Major League Experience which some of my readers want to hear. You need to understand that I spent most of my career focused on just being able to pitch again, first in college and then in professional baseball. My Doctors told me that I would never pitch again because one year after the surgery my arm was still not recovering. At TopVelocity.net I am not calling myself the greatest pitcher of all time. What I am calling myself, is a Velocity expert! This is because I overcame a major rotator cuff tear to not only pitch again but to develop enough velocity that I was able to “Go Pro!” Read more

Popularity: 2%

Long Toss and the Placebo Effect

Long toss is praised by many and shot down by few. I have heard the likes of Alan Jaeger preaching long toss as the secret to velocity and the likes of Dick Mill’s trying to prove scientifically why you should never do it again. I have reflected on this topic for some time now. In my career, I did a lot of long toss but rarely did I notice any difference in velocity. I refuse to tell you that long toss is a waste of time but what I will do is share with you the Pros and Cons of this kind of practice. It is then up to you to make your own decision on using long toss in your training regime. Read more

Popularity: 47%

The Pitching Workout for the Athlete

There are NOT many pitching workouts out there made for the athlete. This is why most of them or ineffective. The reason they are ineffective is because they do not train athletic performance. I am not a certified trainer but I have spent the past 15 years learning from some of the best in the business. I have also tried just about every workout available. The only time I every noticed an effect on my velocity was after training with the Olympic lifts. Read more

Popularity: 27%

Pitching and the Point of Balance

Most old school Coaches would talk about the importance of the “Balance Position” and how it leads to good pitch location. New school thought would say that this is stating the obvious and missing the main point. New school thought would then talk about balance as most importantly a means to efficient velocity. This is what I call “Pitching and the Point of Balance.” Read more

Popularity: 20%

How to Develop Top Velocity

To develop top velocity you must first understand it. Newton’s Second Law is the best definition of velocity. Read my article “Olympic Lifting Increases Pitching Velocity” to get a detailed description of Newton’s Second Law.
Read more

Popularity: 25%

Pitching Coach Critique

This is where I critique Pitching Coaches that have made their name online. They make their money critiquing you so let’s turn it on them for a change.

I have parents calling me all the time and expressing their frustrations with weeding through all of the pitching propaganda online. They want to know what the best instruction for their son is. I usually say “I hate to tell you this but I can only give you my bias opinion.” So I have decided to do better and put together this article of critiquing these Coaches online. Just remember this is TopVelocity.net so I will only be discussing Velocity Science and Training issues. Read more

Popularity: 26%

Olympic Lifting Increases Pitching Velocity

To understand the effects of Olympic lifting on pitchers, you must first understand how velocity is measured. I will use Newton’s second law of motion, along with the Catapult Theory, to explain pitching velocity.

Newton’s Second Law:
States that the acceleration (velocity) of an object in motion is dependent upon two variables – the net force acting upon the object and the mass of the object. As the force of propulsion acting upon the object increases, the acceleration of the object increases. As the mass of the object increases, the acceleration of the object decreases.

Newton’s 2nd Law of Motion

a = f/m (f = force, m = mass, a = acceleration)

Let’s put this into baseball terms. Newton’s second law of motion would state that to throw a baseball 90 mph would require 6.5 pounds of pressure applied to a baseball, with a mass of 5 ounces, for two tenths of one second (.20). Read more

Popularity: 49%

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