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.

The arm is strictly used to hold on to the ball and guide it to the targeted location. It only effects velocity by adding more spin to the ball. This happens with the forearm just before release. The rotator cuff does not generate velocity. The muscles that make up the rotator cuff are to small and weak to generate velocity. If this wasn’t the case then all pitchers would be internally and externally rotating hundreds of pounds with their rotator cuffs to make them stronger, so they could throw harder. Velocity comes from the core and leg muscles. This means that the Overload and Underload throwing program would really only strengthen the forearm at the expense of the rotator cuff taking on more wear and tear. Making the forearm stronger, would only mean more spin on the ball, which would have a minimal effect on velocity.

I used the Overload Underload throwing program for years when Dick Mill’s once preached it. He now credits it to causing injury. It happened that I was using this program the year I torn my rotator cuff. I am not saying that this program was the reason for my tear but it did speed up the process of the injury. I had bad mechanics. I was an all arm pitcher and when I used this program it made everything even worse. The overloading with the weighted balls put more wear and tear on my cuff. If I had good mechanics, it would have put that extra weight in my core and legs. The underloading with the lighter ball gave me the illusion that I was throwing harder but it really is only an illusion. Just like the illusions of throwing harder when you move from throwing 300 feet to 60 feet.

If you want to develop more velocity, the only approach that works is from the ground up. Strength training coaches use the overload approach to build strength everyday but they apply it to the legs and core. This is because they understand that the big muscle groups of the legs and core is where velocity and speed lives. Your arm can only handle so much but your core and legs can so much more than you could imagine. The rotator cuff’s main purpose is joint integrity. It holds the arm to the body. It must have the strength to hang on for the ride. The rotator cuff is important to velocity because without it, you have no velocity at all.

I recommend you never use weighted balls except for a football. When we throw a football we keep the football closer to our bodies which protects our rotator cuff. I do recommend you use a program that trains the core and legs along with learning proper mechanics, if you want to gain velocity. Here is a beginner program to get you started.

Related articles:

• How a BAD Pitching Coach Can Ruin a GOOD Pitcher
• 10 Legitimate tips to Pitching Velocity
• Bad Mechanics is a sign of Muscular Weakness

What you need to do first in your young career is focus one becoming an exceptional athlete. Scouts are looking for players who are talented athletes with little wear and tear. This is true with any recruiters out there. They do not want damaged goods. So the less time spent on the mound, at a young age, and the more time spent improving your athletic performance, the better. Play every position if possible and if you get to varsity baseball in high school and you want to just focus on pitching, then I would so, “OK, Do it!”

This doesn’t mean you should NOT practice pitching mechanics before high school. Start learning proper pitching mechanics as young as possible because proper pitching mechanics mean proper throwing mechanics. Proper throwing mechanics also produce proper hitting mechanics. This is because a Coach who knows how to train proper mechanics, understands how to train the athlete and not just a pitcher or hitter. This is also why I encourage young athletes to play as many sports as possible, without them overlapping. This is because, once again, we must train the athlete and not just one specific talent.

To prove this, just look at Professional sports. Pro sports are full of multi-sport athletes. Greg Maddux is a great golfer, along with John Smoltz, Roger Clemens, Ken Griffy Jr. Cal Ripken loved to play a lot of basketball in the off season. Tom Glavine was drafted in the NHL back in 1984. Michael Jordan retired from basketball to play minor league baseball. Bo Jackson, Deion Sanders and Brian Jordan, to name a few, played at the same time for the MLB and the NFL . The list goes on and on.

So, stop trying to fit yourself in the perfect mold of a pitcher at 14. Focus on your competitive edge and learn everything you can about the sport and all the positions. I always tell my pitchers, “Train the athlete first and then you can train the pitcher.”

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• Pitching Coach Critique
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• What is Top Velocity?

http://chrisoleary.com/projects/Baseball/Pitching/PitcherInjuryAnalysisProject/Patterns.html

It is always nice to find unconventional thinking when it comes to pitching instruction. I recommend you read his article. I was forced in my early career to overcome a serious shoulder injury, because I wasn’t taught this important piece of information. Ever sense my almost career ending injury, I have been coaching this theory, but never referred to it as the “Safe Zone.” I will now!

Here is another article from Dr. Harding at Wellington Orthopaedic, talking about the “Safe Zone.”

http://www.wellingtonortho.com/health/shoulder-safe.html

This theory of injury prevention, which you can read about in full detail in Chris’ article, is based around this picture of Mark Prior. Mark Prior suffered a rotator cuff injury after this picture was taken. What he is doing is “Scap Loading” with his elbows way above his shoulders. The problem here is he is impinging his supraspinatous muscle with this movement. Read my article on “How to prevent or overcome shoulder surgery?” to get more details on the rotator cuff and impingements. Chris recommends, in his article, that a pitcher should “Scap Load” with the elbows below the shoulders to prevent this impingement of the rotator cuff, which causes more wear and tear. I recommend this as well, because it not only will prevent impingement, it will increase “Separation” and create what I call the “Power Curve.” The “Power Curve” refers to acceleration in either a straight line or a curve. In learning about centripetal force, which I first studied for a science project in elementary school, you will find information about this “Power Curve.” I listed it here:

“The direction of an object in movement around a circle is changing; hence, its velocity is also changing—and this in turn means that it is experiencing acceleration…..The acceleration of an object in rotational motion is always toward the center of the circle.”

This means that acceleration has more of an opportunity to increase when curving around a point in time, because velocity increases when either the direction changes or the speed of the object increases. If you have ever heard that old saying, “Thumb to thigh, then palm to sky” or “Get into the T position,” you have been coached to pitch like what Mark Prior is doing above. This also means, when your “Palm is to the sky,” the direction of the ball from that position to the release point, is more of a straight line. If you “Scap Loaded” in the “Safe Zone,” like Greg Maddux here, when the shoulders rotate and the elbow hits the “Wall,” your hand and ball is pulled behind your head like Tim Lincecum below. This means the path of the ball or the direction of velocity, is going to be more of a curve. Therefore more potential velocity and less wear and tear on the rotator cuff.

In conclusion, you must read Chris’ article because this will save your career and it questions these conventional thinking pitching coach’s about physics and how it applies to their coaching theories. Any questions please comment or post in the discussion board.

Related articles:

• What you need to know about the shoulder.
• How to prevent or overcome shoulder surgery?
• Pitching Coach Critique

My advice to you is take two pitches as far as you can. You will see the best pitchers in the game taking two pitches through high school, college and even low A minor league ball. I know this may be upsetting to you but don’t take it negatively. When you see the improvements you will make as a pitcher when you focus on your fastball and one offspeed pitch you will be pumped.

Where should you go from here?

Start with reading my articles on velocity because these articles are teaching you the perfect delivery for your fastball. There is also a mental leap involved here. The reason a lot of young guys throw many pitches is because they do not have the confidence in their fastball. You must gain this confidence. I didn’t say find this confidence, I said you must gain it. So, set your sights on an explosive fastball and you will earn it. Your mental training starts with visualizing this goal. I want you to see yourself dominating with your fastball. See yourself throwing with perfect mechanics that you read about on this site or watched in the AcePitcher instructional videos. Using these visualizations along with reading and watching the material here you will with no doubt gain a top level fastball. We are here to support you.

Related articles:

• Olympic Lifting Increases Pitching Velocity
• How a BAD Pitching Coach Can Ruin a GOOD Pitcher
• Pitching Coach Critique