You Go Pro Baseball

February 21, 2009

18I 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

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Overload to Underload – Right Concept, Wrong Approach

January 14, 2009

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Using weighted balls to force the pitcher’s body to adjust its throwing mechanics to be more efficient, is the right concept but the wrong approach. The problem with the Overload to Underload throwing program is that it sacrifices the arm to teach the body how to move weight more efficiently. To understand how backwards this approach is we must first look at what role the arm plays in the pitching delivery. Read more

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Poor Posture Causes Injury and Decreases Velocity

January 12, 2009

posturePoor posture is a sign of weakness and laziness. Because it is seen as being “Cool” to lounge around in class or hanging out somewhere, this is causing poor posture in young athletes today. DO NOT ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN TO YOU. Poor posture will lead to an arm injury, especially in pitchers. If this is you, then you must read this article.

Notice the image below of the subacromial space. When the arm is relaxed and down, there is enough room for the shoulder to rotate internally and externally but when the arm is raised above the head, in a throwing position, the subscromial space is almost closed. This can easily cause an impingment of the rotator cuff muscle, mainly the supraspinatus. Poor posture makes this even worse. This is because the shoulders are forward and the acromion is positioned more on top of the supraspinatus muscle impinging the muscle even more. With poor posture and the constant internal rotation of the arm during a pitch, over time this will start to tear the muscle. This could lead to a complete tear of the rotator cuff. Read more

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Pitching Nutrition and Supplements

December 24, 2008

juiceplusPitchers and all athletes who reach the high school, college or pro levels are always looking for an edge. The athletic supplement market has exploded in the past decade to fill this need. If it isn’t steroids then athletes are looking for the next best thing. I will say it here again. Steroids are not the edge you want. It takes you out of your game because you do not own it. What I mean is, however you perform when you are on a steroid or illegal drug, you will only be able to be that person when you are using the drug. This is what causes abuse and serious long term problems. Read more

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How to prevent or overcome shoulder surgery?

October 9, 2008

This article is for every athlete out there. I am an athlete, who overcame a career ending rotator cuff tear in college, to pitch again and make it to minor league ball. I was told, I would never pitch as hard as I did before the tear. I topped out at 94 mph my last season for the San Diego Surf Dawgs, over eight years later. That was more than 8 mph from before surgery. It was a long road and I am here today, to teach you everything you need to know on how to prevent this from happening to you. Read more

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