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The Split Perspective of Separation

Separation is a major component to developing top velocity and longevity. Separation means having separation from your back hip to back shoulder. Notice the picture here of Felix Hernandez. His back hip is pointing towards home plate and his back shoulder is pointing towards second base. This creates torque in the core. You can see the stretching in his jersey around the stomach area. Having more torque in the core instead of the shoulder of the arm will lead to more velocity and a healthier arm. Read more

Popularity: 39%

The Hip Slide to Pitching Velocity

The biggest problem I find in young pitchers is that they have poor separation in hips to shoulders. There are many articles on this site covering the pitching component “Separation.” It is so important because having separation from your back hip to back shoulder before the shoulders rotate to the plate, is critical for velocity and the health of your arm. What “Separation” does is it builds core torque. It puts more torque in the big muscle groups of the core, instead of mainly in the small muscle groups of the shoulder. Read more

Popularity: 47%

Bad Mechanics is a sign of Muscular Weakness

Above average coordination is a sign of fast twitch muscle strength. Fast twitch motor neurons recruit more muscle fibers. This means more control of the body and also more explosive power. The biggest problem for a pitching coach, when working with a pitcher who does not have good hip rotation or who does not load and build a full body stride, is that this is the result of poor core and leg strength and no mechanical drill will fix this problem. Drills only help pitchers who are having a hard time changing flawed muscle memory. It doesn’t help pitchers who have good muscle memory but poor muscle strength. This is why we have weight rooms. This is why any coach who tells you that weight lifting will NOT help you as a pitcher is clueless and is wasting your time and maybe even your money. A good strength and conditioning program that incorporates Olympic lifts, plyometric training and an intense speed training program is estiental to developing good pitching mechanics. Good athletes make good pitchers. Read more

Popularity: 45%

The Major Misconception of Pitching

Pitching is a very complex sequence of movements that involve building torque and force to generate velocity. So many things happening during a blink of the eye within the pitching delivery. What is even harder than pitching, is explaining this stuff. This is why every coach has his own interpretation. This is also why science wins over conventional wisdom. If you can prove it scientifically then conventional wisdom is forced to listen. If you eliminated ever coach in baseball who could not explain pitching scientifically you would have about 2% of them left to coach the position. This is why so many misconceptions plague baseball today, especially pitching. Read more

Popularity: 36%

Pitching Velocity Drills – The Sled

The main purpose of a Drill, is to practice a component of the delivery that will help to correct a mechanical flaw. I also believe it is important to add resistance to a drill to help imprint the new muscle memory.

The drill below should be performed 2 – 3 days a week, for at least 3 – 4 months. The drill should also be performed after completing the “Flexibility Training” portion of the Fusion System which can be found in the Ace Pitcher Handbook.  You can also find more drills in the handbook. Try to push each drill to muscle fatigue, if possible. Read more

Popularity: 59%

Lift for Show, Load for Doe!

Ok, the leg lift isn’t only for “Show.” There is a lot of momentum that can be generated by the leg lift which transfers into velocity. The question is, “How come pitchers who have big leg lift’s in the wind up, when pitching in the stretch, have a lower leg lift but still throw the same velocity?” The answer is called the “Load.”

“Loading” is when the pitcher holds his weight back over his back leg, while his front side continues building momentum towards the target. This is why strong legs and core, produce powerful pitching. Look at Eric Gagne in this picture. He is squatting on his back leg, waiting for the perfect time to fire his hips and then his shoulders. Read more

Popularity: 44%

The Principle of Specificity and Sport

by Chad Englehart

Introduction

Specificity of Training principle is one of the most utilized training principles used by exercise professionals today. (Kramer et al., 2002) discussed the principle of training specificity and explained that the training responses elicited by a given exercise mode are directly related to the physiological elements involved with coping with the specific exercise stress. What this means is that if an athlete’s want to perform better at a particular event or skill they must train specifically for that particular skill. For example, if an athlete wants to become stronger one must lift heavy weights and if an athlete wants to jump higher one must jump. As a strength and conditioning Read more

Popularity: 31%

Resisted Sprints and Effects on Kinematics and Sprint Speed

by Chad Englehart

Speed Training

Implied in any linear speed discussion with a Strength and Conditioning Specialist, is the concept of resisted speed training strategies. Some professionals consider resisted speed training as the most efficient sprint training technique on the planet, while other consider it not as effective because of a biomechanical stand point. Different resisted speed strategies include, towing, uphill sprints, sand sprints, and weighted sprints. Tahachnik (1992) explained that towing of weighted devices such as sleds and tires is the most common method of providing towing resistance for the enhancement of sprint performance, although the use of parachutes has also Read more

Popularity: 28%

Sprint Mechanics and the 40 yard Dash

by Chad Englehart

As a strength and conditioning professional one of the most prevalent questions we are asked is “Can I get my 40 yard faster and how fast can I be?” This question is easy to answer, for starters everyone can get faster because speed can be taught and how fast can an athlete become really depends on their genetic makeup. According to Brent McFarlane (1987) sprinting speed can be learnt through motor educability, he goes on to explain that the skills and techniques of sprinting must be rehearsed and perfected at slow speeds and then transferred to sprints at maximal velocity. Most of us know the definition of Read more

Popularity: 31%

TopVelocity.net and the Lincecum revolution

I couldn’t have said it better myself. Well, it looks like the baseball world is seeing the light. Thanks to little giants like Tim Lincecum and his father.

His father Chris works for Boeing, which is why he produced a son with such a perfect understanding of physics driven mechanics. Tom Verducci has written the article of all articles when it comes to the revolution of the pitching delivery. Verducci writes for Sports Illustrated. In this article he expresses a better understanding of physics driven pitching mechanics than some of the best Coaches in the game. It goes to show how baseball’s ego has prevented its own evolution. MLB has been drafting young, tall and lanky pitchers for years because these pitchers can get away with more and therefore Read more

Popularity: 25%

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