10 Tips to Funding the Right Pitching Instructor

1. His #1 goal should be to eliminate arm/shoulder injury.   Too many pitchers are retired or require surgery at a young age.  If you pitch, this should be your first concern.   Look for a pitching coach who is well familiar with pitching injuries and has science to back up what he is teaching you.  Your source of power should not start and end with the arm.  If you look throughout history at the best pitchers who enjoyed the longest careers without injury, you will see some things in common with their mechanics.  Your coach should be well versed in the mechanics of the best, elite pitchers.  A good pitching coach knows that true power comes from the whole body and not just the arm.  Learning to harness the power of your legs and core is an art that many pitching coaches just can’t teach…because they don’t understand how to initiate a proper set of pitching mechanics. 
2. Has some experience pitching.  If the coach never pitched in his life, or only pitched as a child…how can he understand complex mechanics well enough to teach them?  Take for example Tim Lincecum’s father, who taught Tim;  in his 50′s, the man could still smoke a fastball at 86mph!  I don’t think it’s as important if a coach every pitched professionally, only that he is still able to still illustrate what he wants you to do.  It’s much easier to see what to do than have someone speaking techno-babble trying to tell you what he wants you to do (while he racks up the $ by the hour).
3. Has a book or instructional video available.  Anyone trying to teach in this day and age should have a program in place that involves either a book or video instructional series. Maybe the teacher is older and no longer able to move the way he used to, fine,  but he should at least have a video of someone who can still pitch using the methods he is teaching. Some instructors use youtube clips of professionals to explain their methods.  Make sure the professional pitcher’s real life matches what the instructor is saying.  For example:  if he says that the particular pitcher never works out, but in real life the pro does have a workout routine…that should be a warning sign of quackery.  A video breakdown of a student paired up with a professional pitcher of similar build or mechanics would be better for you to understand what he is teaching.  A before and after video of a student would be an even better test of a coaches ability in my opinion.
4. Can make a video breakdown of your mechanics.  Personal pitching mechanics breakdowns are extremely important in understanding what’s going on with your body.  A breakdown should show you step-by-step what flaws you have, and how to make the changes needed to correct those flaws.  I believe you should have this done before you start the program, and at some point during the program, so you can fully understand if you made any progress or if you need to make more changes.
5. Beware the quick fix!  Chances are that if you only need a quick tweak of your mechanics, you are already a professional pitcher.  It takes many PERFECT reps to ingrain perfect mechanics…never let anyone tell you otherwise.  for example:  many teachers can give you a simple tip to make you seem more accurate…keep your head straight during the whole delivery.  This is old common knowledge.  If your head (which weighs several pounds) is moving all around, your body will tend to follow.  But there are great pitchers who are also elite athletes that are strong enough to control their body even though their head is tilted.
6. Should have a workout routine to ingrain correct mechanics.   I don’t care if you throw tractor tires around or do some far eastern yoga…you can’t change mechanics unless you do some work.  It’s not enough to try to remember fifteen mechanical thoughts while you pitch…matter of fact, that will never work.  Good mechanics happen so quickly that you rarely have time to think of more than one or two things.  It’s much better to have your mechanics down to the point where you only think about the spot on the glove you want to hit with your next pitch.
7. Beware of the wizard of Oz!  You’ve seen those ads for expensive programs that will teach you how to throw 99mph.  Ever notice that they never really give you a clue about the voodoo they sell until after you pay up the money?  A good teacher knows enough to give you a clue without giving it all away.  A better teacher can give you tons of information and still has more depth of knowledge to draw from long after you buy his lesson package.  The better teacher will be the guy that teaches you all through your career if you let him.  Check out the teacher’s website, hang out on the forum and take the time to see what is really happening.  Ask about other teachers and methods on their forum, if you get banned….there’s your sign.  Time to move on.
8. What do people say about him?  Personally, I would avoid a teacher that people either love like Jesus or hate like the Devil.   Don’t even sip on the cool-aid.  Sure there will always be people with an opinion,  but it’s usually not good when people are tipped so far in either direction.  Some people will always disagree with any teaching, no matter what it is…but hate for a teacher should be a caution sign.
9. Does he teach linear or circular motion?  This would be a final make or break point for me.  A linear motion basically keeps the ball moving in a straight path towards the target for as long as possible.  If the ball is moving straight, it’s easier to keep it going straight to target.  If your delivery features a circular motion that has you finishing your pitch and falling or moving to the left (for right handers), you have to really have accurate hands to deliver your pitch…which is much harder to do without a bunch of natural talent, which may not show up every time you pitch.  The other thing to consider is pitching efficiency. Pitchers that make use of linear motion like Tim Lincecum, Aroldis Chapman and Trevor Bauer also have superior velocity for their body size.  Scouts don’t care how much movement you have on your ball…they care about velocity.  Being able to hit 95+mph matters.
10. Can you talk to him?  Seems like a simple question, but many teachers will not answer your phone call both before nor after you buy their program.  Seems like a no-brainer, but I would move on if I couldn’t talk to the teacher.  When you get a teacher on the phone, ask some questions, express any concerns you may have.  If he can’t wait to hang up the phone or has an attitude,  he may be the same way after you pony up the dough.  If he is really busy (a good sign), he may ask you to call back at a time when he can spend more quality time with you.

Hopefully, this information will help you find a good pitching instructor that can help you achieve your dream of pitching.  If you need a good place to start looking for an instructor, I suggest you check out the top source for pitching instruction at www.TopVelocity.net. I would take advantage of their FREE Pitching Video Analysis to see if this is the right pitching instruction for you.

By Ross Johnson

I remember the first time i saw video footage of Trevor Bauer’s training program; I thought “what in the world is that guy doing?” Trevor crow-hopped across the pitching mound and threw a smoking hot fastball…but i couldn’t watch the ball, on the count of his unorthodox delivery! It was then that i knew that Trevor had figured out something that few others have.

As Trevor explained in articles and interviews, he watched video footage of Tim Lincecum and counted frames from leg lift start to leg left high point and realized that Tim was moving in a Linear motion the entire time. Between six and eight frames would go by as Tim gained momentum…and Trevor had an Einstein moment when all things pertaining to pitching started to click for him. Trevor went through various changes in delivery to get the linear movement he was seeing in Tim Lincecum, some say Trevor took it a step further. Heralding back to the good old days when pitchers had unorthodox free-flowing mechanics, Trevor was well on his way to having his very own place in unique pitching mechanics history.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the country, down in Cajun land…Brent Pourciau quietly continued teaching those same unorthodox mechanics as he had been teaching for years. While others marveled at the strange mechanics of Tim Lincecum, Trevor Bauer and Aroldis Chapman…Brent explained it all in very technical detail. You see, Brent also went through his own quest for best pitching mechanics years ago. After a shoulder injury from pitching and being told he would never pitch again…Brent found a way. That way is called “3X Pitching”.

3X Pitching

I found 3X Pitching a couple of years ago while surfing the Internet looking though piles of the same old junk that hasn’t worked for the last thirty years. My son Nicolas is another kid that dreams of going Pro and playing with the big boys one day. As a father, i want my son to succeed, but my main concern is the health of his arm. Too many youngsters are having Tommy John surgery, and that concerns me. We tried all the usual methods found on the Internet with limited results. Then I found the website TopVelocity.net and we knew we had found something different… Answers to every question i had about any part of pitching mechanics. “Why does Trevor and Tim’s crazy mechanics work?”, “can anybody do it?” These were my initial questions. If you know anything about pitching, you will know that Tim Lincecum and Trevor Bauer throws with more efficiency than most pitchers. Take those same mechanics and add height and you have Aroldis Chapman who has been known to throw with velocity upwards of 105MPH! We quickly adopted the 3X Pitching philosophy and began the same mechanical adventure that Trevor Bauer was on. The reward? Velocity on tap with zero arm pain.

As Trevor soon found out, you have to take a stand to keep those wonderful crazy looking mechanics. The baseball industry is just not quite ready for those mechanics. everything is all about arm safety, but no one thinks “Hey, here’s and idea…let’s get stronger.” In the last thirty years we have seen a decline in the amount of working out a pitcher does. Matter of fact, many “experts” believe you should not exercise…ever. Just tell that to Nolan Ryan, the master of strong legs and a long healthy pitching history. He will quickly tell you that you have missed the boat and what about pitch counts? The average pitcher not only doesn’t work out, but he doesn’t throw much either. Add to that fact starting pitchers may not have to pitch but one game every 4-5 days. If you do have unique mechanics, you may be asked to change them as part of your big money contract. Trevor passed on the quick signing deals because he didn’t want anybody changing his routine. I say he is smarter than the average pitcher.

One thing i learned from Trevor Bauer (that you should learn also), is that YOU have to make up your own mind on what method works for you. Let your arm tell you what hurts, and stop doing that immediately! Check out this link if you want to follow a great forum on Trevor Bauer training program.

Several frequent issues of all pitching injuries:

1. Overuse
2. Poor pitching mechanics
3. Poor strength and conditioning

This is significant to comprehend because injury prevention should be the major focus of any in-season pitching program. Based on these facts a great in-season throwing system ought to include a reduced amount of throws to avoid overuse, drills to sustain good pitching mechanics and lastly include a weight training program which will institute good physical fitness.

Unadvised Training

Before I layout the perfect in-season training method we need to first determine and number traditional approaches to pitching that would belong to the category of the above common injury issues.

Extreme Long Tossing (Surpassing distances of one humdred and fifty ft)

This style of training, though it is very popular, comes with a cautionary tale. ASMI completed numerous scientific studies with this form of training and it rendered elbow varus torque within the pitching arm and throwing mechanics which were not conducive to the pitching mound. ASMI urged against these type of tosses for rehabilitation and training purposes.

This type of training can easily result in overuse of the rotator cuff and elbow and whenever bad mechanics exist, the pitcher is a lot more prone to injury.

Weighted Ball Training (Over Under Load Training)

I have got no data against this type of training. I have in fact used these two pitching methods in my career, however it was ahead of my arm damage. This kind of training once again falls into the three common factors of the majority of pitching injuries. This will raise the amount of throws along with poor mechanics, positions the thrower in danger.

Television and Web Gadgets

I’m not really stating that every gizmo or attention-grabber on television or the Web is crap, nevertheless, you must make sure that they do not place you within the class of the three typical factors ultimately causing arm pain while in-season. Some of these gizmos market a high number of pitches and weak mechanics. I advise you to coach your self on good mechanics and use this ideal in-season training program before you decide to throw away your money.

The Optimal In-Season Throwing and Strength Maintenance Program

This routine includes the two parts, the pitching program and the power training program. You will need to realize that we’re not wanting to enhance speed or power while in-season. The inspiration of any optimal in-season throwing system is to protect against injury and to maintain strength. When you succeed at this you’ll experience consistent velocities between performances and you will definitely stay off of the Disabled List (DL).

This is not a generic program as it is able to handle every age, all levels of the game along with your throwing work load. Your own pitching work load includes your personal amount of pitches for every outing.

There exists a critical element to an in-season pitching program that wont be discussed below and that is diet regime. Effective nutrition facilitates your own body’s capacity to restore and repair.

Relief Pitcher Work load (In accordance with 2 day Pitching Rotation)

1. 21 – 35 throws – 24 hours rest from pitching
2. 36 – 50 throws – 2 days rest from throwing

Day one (Rebuild & Mechanics Work)

1. Dynamic Warm Up
2. Pitching Routine (Instruction In this article) 3X Med Ball Exercises, 3X Target Drills on Mound
3. Plyos (1 set, 20 yards) Pogo Plyos, Bunny Hopes, Frog Jumps
4. Anaerobic Training (3-6 each) Hurdles, Resistance Sprints, Normal Sprints
5. Rotator Cuff Program (Tubing or 2-3 lb dumbbells, 3 sets ten repetitions) External Rotation, Positives and Negatives, Shoulder extensions, Up and Out, Windmills

Day two (Eat, Rest and Recover)

1. Dynamic Warm-up
2. Visualization (Picturing yourself throwing perfect pitches with perfect mechanics, has been confirmed being far better as compared to actually practicing)

Starting Pitcher Amount of work (Determined by 4 Day Pitching Rotation)

1. 51 – 65 pitches –> three days rest from throwing
2. 66 pitches and more –> four days rest from pitching

Day one (Maintenance)

1. Dynamic Warm-up
2. Jumps (1 set, 20 yards) Pogo Jumps, Bunny Hopes, Frog Hopes
3. Anaerobic Conditioning (3-6 each) Hurdles, Resistance Sprints, Normal Sprints
4. Core Routine (three sets 10 repetitions) V-Ups, Medicine Ball, Russian Twists, Two Leg Jack Knife, Med Ball Slams, Back crunches
5. Rotator Cuff Program (Resistance Tubing or 2-3 pound weights, 3 sets ten repetitions) External Rotation, Positives and Negatives, Shoulder extensions, Up and Out, Windmills

Day 2 (Mechanics)

1. Dynamic Warm Up
2. Pitching Exercises (How to Beneath) 3X Med Throws, 3X Target throws on Pitching Mound
3. Twenty five Pitches Bull Pen 60% intensity (10 Fastball, 10 Curve/Sliders, 5 Change-ups)

Day three (Eat, Rest & Rebuild)

1. Dynamic Warm-up
2. Visualization (Visualizing yourself throwing perfect pitches with perfect mechanics, has been confirmed being far better compared to actually practicing)

For a lot of information on these drills and exercises please go to TopVelocity.net. Anyone can make contact with me privately at TopVelocity.net/Contact.

Mechanics Drills

The following part of the program could incorporate any exercises to help develop the muscle memory for good mechanics without placing a high volume of pitches on your throwing arm. I have outlined two mechanics exercises from the 3X Pitching Velocity program and a link to the 3X Pitching Mechanics Video in the reference section listed below. I highly advise watching the video before using the 3X Drills therefore you possess a good comprehension of the method.

3X Medicine Ball Throws (15-25 Throws together with 2 pound med ball. DO NOT Exceed 2LBS)

Step #1

Start out in a full stride, which is 80-90% of your height. Each of your feet must be facing the catcher. You sit on the ball of your back leg foot with nearly all of your weight on your back leg. Your shoulders are closed towards the target. The med ball is behind your head, over your throwing shoulder, with the two of your hands holding the baseball. Your chin is buried and behind your belt buckle.

Step #2

Raise your front leg and triple extend your drive leg before your lift leg foot strikes. Triple extension is the extension of the ankle, knee and hip flexor. Land strong without letting your lift leg knee push past your lift leg heel. At front foot strike you are going to feel your hips slam open as you maintain your shoulders closed. This is going to produce core torque or hip to shoulder separation that is certain to coil your body and then launch your shoulders towards the zone externally rotating your throwing arm.

Step #3

You should end with your chest area out over your lift leg and your chin always tucked. Release the ball by stretching your arms out and up and do not PULL THE BALL DOWN TO RELEASE.

3X Target Pitches (15-25 Pitches with Baseball)

The significance at this point is to implement the motor coordination or muscle memory from the med throws towards the target throws.

Step #1

You are in the exact same position and stance as the Med Throws Phase 1. Total stride, feet in the direction of target, shoulders closed. Truly the only distinction is your throwing arm is behind your head cocked and set along with your baseball glove side is elbow to zone and glove hand relaxed. Use the baseball glove side to help you aline your shoulders up with the target.

Step #2

Similar to the Med Throws Step #2, start with lifting your front leg while loading your weight on your drive leg. Carry out this by having an explosive drive of the back leg, acquiring triple extension prior to the front foot lands. This will create power through your stride and fire your hips open as soon as the front leg touches down and stabilizes. The shoulders should reside closed to produce ideal hip to shoulder separation.

Step #3

Commence the pitch by allowing your shoulders to release the core torque, leading with your torso in the direction of target. Keep your chin tucked when your torso pushes out over your lift leg plus your arm externally rotates. Ensure only at that position your pitching elbow is above your shoulder. Finish the pitch by internally rotating your throwing arm and stretching your elbow up to release point.

References:

1. Position Statement for Youth Baseball Pitchers http://www.asmi.org/asmiweb/position_statement.htm
2. Biomechanical Comparison of Baseball Pitching and Long-Toss http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21212502
3. 3X Pitching 101 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJOM_TOkCoc
4. 3X Pitching Velocity Program http://TopVelocity.net
5. In-Season Pitching Program for all Levels

Should you be like the majority of every pitcher who reads these guidelines and benefits from them, then you definitely must purchase the 3X Pitching Velocity Program. This program, built on these pointers and more, can help you take your skill to a level which you never thought you could achieve!

Remember that you are bound by nothing. You have the power to throw 90 miles-per-hour. Physicians said to me I would be unable to pitch again and I proved them entirely wrong. These tips will help you do the same.

Pitching Velocity Secrets

1. Change speeds.

This should always be your first step in improving velocity because there is no risk involved. This creates an false impression of velocity. By changing the speed of your pitches this will throw the hitter’s timing off and will make a 70 mph fastball seem like a 90 mph fastball. Pitchers like Trevor Hoffman have made long major league professions off of this one rule. He is a master of the fastball change up combination. Use this tip for fast effect while you work with the other velocity tips.

2. Pitch from the ground up.

Most of us make the oversight at a very early age, that to throw a baseball simply takes the arm to complete the task. Then once we grow bigger and move up levels in the game, we find ourselves continuing to simply use our shoulders and arms to throw the ball. This is a serious problem. Because of this we still have an incredible volume of shoulder and elbow injuries in the game.

You need to improve your perspective. You have to teach your body to recruit larger muscle groups once you require more velocity from your delivery. This begins in learning to pitch from the ground up. Velocity originates from forces added onto the ball. These forces come from momentum in your lift leg as well as your push off the ground or what is called ground reaction forces. You then must be able to transfer these forces into the ball. This can be learned from the 3X Pitching Velocity Program.

This training video talks more about the throwing pitfalls we make at a young age.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TytQv2sT-g8

3. Loading your weight back until launch.

Timing and efficiency of weight shift, during delivery, is the essence of velocity. This is where velocity resides. Most beginning pitchers do not load at all. After they lift their leg they fall towards the target. This causes poor velocity and arm injury. Browse my article “Lift for Show, Load for Doe” to understand “The Load” position.

4. Building Core Torque.

Crucial component to velocity, is building majority torque in the core. The core is the area from just above the knees to just below the chest. This region contains the most powerful muscles in your body. So it makes sense that you can use this section of the body to generate velocity. In case the core isn’t mainly used to construct torque, then the shoulder and elbow is going to be forced to hold the torque needed to create velocity.

To understand more about “Separation” or the need for developing core torque, read the article “Pitching Torque and the 3 pivots” plus watch this video.

5. Create more Elastic Energy.

Once you have built core torque and your weight remains to be loaded back, rotate and thrust your chest forward while your arm externally rotates behind your head. This elongating of the stomach and shoulder is creating elastic energy in the body. The more relaxed you are, the more elastic energy can be produced.

To educate yourself regarding this read the article, “Pitch Velocity = Elastic energy.”

6. Momentum transfer.

Exactly what is the benefit of creating momentum when you can not control or transfer the momentum to the ball? The condition with coaching someone to be able to create more momentum when pitching is they don’t know how to control it and they get worse before they get better. Because of this , proper momentum transfer is essential for good velocity. If you leave any momentum within your body, then you have left some velocity behind.

The 3X Pitching component of “Stabilization” explains how this momentum transfer must happen.

7. Early elbow extension and Internal Rotation.

A lot of throwers believe that if they pull their arms straight down at release this will create more velocity. The contrary is true. Top velocity pitchers release the ball sooner than low velocity pitchers right after external rotation of the throwing arm. Which happens after momentum transfer when their chest is out over their toes and their arms are externally rotated. This means after your body has done its job it’s essential to release the ball as fast as possible by letting your elbow to extend up and away from your head. It’s essential to also begin internally rotating your arm, once your elbow extends, so you can release the pitch with your thumb pronated down. This will guard your arm throughout the deceleration phase.

Read the article “Pulling down is slowing down” to find out more.

8. Refuel your ATP.

ATP is the main supply of energy for all muscle contraction. There are various chemical reactions that take place to produce ATP. When a muscle is utilized, a chemical reaction breaks down ATP to supply energy. You can find only enough ATP residing in the muscle cell for a couple or 3 slow twitch contractions, or one burst of power from a fast twitch contraction. More ATP must be created.

To understand rest between throwing a pitch, initially you must understand what happens throughout the delivery of the pitch. Initially your muscles use ATP to power the contractions but the amounts of ATP available are limited. The cells have got a limited capacity to replenish ATP while in the activity before being forced to switch to other solutions to fuel the activity.

Fortunately, the body can replenish ATP when you’re resting. About 50% or 1/2 the depleted ATP is replaced after about a minute of complete rest. Almost all of the ATP that the entire body can replenish (approximately 95%) is actually restored after three minutes of rest. I recognize pitchers cannot wait that long between pitches, but the longer you are able to wait, the better the possibility to develop more velocity.

9. Fast Twitch Muscle Fiber.

An ideal strength and conditioning program such as the 3X Pitching Velocity Program, is based around remodeling fast twitch muscle fiber. This will be significant for velocity, because when adding somewhat more velocity to a pitch, you must recruit more muscle fiber within your muscular system to make this happen. Now we have already talked about where that muscle fiber must originated from, you now should try to learn how to remodel more muscle fiber within the correct places within your system. Spending your main time in the weight room sitting on cushioned machines, isn’t the solution.

Begin with the “Beginner Pitching Workout” and then you can move to the “Fusion System” in the Ace Pitcher Handbook.

10. Speed your recovery.

By boosting your time to recover between starts or appearances, you are making sure you never enter a game below 100% recovery. If your system is totally rebuilt and replenished, this is a better opportunity you will possess the ability to generate your top velocity. That is why it is very important keep a strict program of a good strength training and conditioning program, in addition to a balanced alkaline based diet. You want to find out about alkaline based foods. These are green vegetables and more, that really help restore the PH levels in your system. Once your system gets very acidic, you do not recovery as rapidly. Diet is very important to recovery.

Read this article on “Pitching Nutrition and Supplements” and start consuming more alkaline foods using this chart.

Bonus Velocity Secret
Lay off your arm.

Cease wearing your arm out. It’s going to take enough abuse on the mound. You should make sure your weight training program isolates the core and legs more than the shoulders and arms. In case your arm is constantly sore and tired, it is because you use it to much. Try changing habits, like brushing your teeth with your non-pitching arm and you should not arm wrestle your roommates utilizing your pitching arm. Look after yourself and it will take care of you

I am aware almost all these pitching velocity tips failed to go into much detail. The purpose of this article was to give you some guidance for building efficient and effective velocity, without sacrificing the body in exchange. If you need more detail on each one of these of these tips, then enroll in the FREE e-newsletter at TopVelocity.net and begin reading the articles.

If you are really serious about pitching then discover the 3X Pitching Velocity Program to take control of your career. Good luck!

Balance is an major component of the elite athlete but it must be developed through force production. This is when the athlete pushes force into the ground and then stabilizes the joints to allow for the force to then push back into the body to create movement. This has to do with Newton’s Third Law of Motion that says, To every action there is always an equal and opposite reaction. This stabilization of the joints during this force production is what is considered to be “balance”. The more force the athlete can drive into the ground, while stabilizing their joints to allow for that force to push back, then the more explosive the athlete. This means that performing a drill that requires very little force production, like the old “Balance Drill,” is a total waste of time and limits the athletes ability to develop the motor skills to perform explosive movements, like throwing a hard fastball.

In conclusion, the answer to the question is YES, the old “Balance Drill” will hurt velocity because it is training the athlete develop balance and movement through very little force production and because of pitchers like Aroldis Chapman and Tim Lincecum to name a few we know that the more force applied in the stride phase the more torque created at front foot strike. This torque then transfers into the velocity of the ball.

To learn more about force production and velocity you must read this article called, 3X Force Production is the Driving Force Behind Velocity.