When you train as many pitchers as we do, often times common themes begin to emerge. One such theme is the types of baseball pitching mechanics issues that we observe most often in pitchers. Well, here they are, along with some things we do (barring any glaring mobility issues observed in the assessment) from a corrective standpoint both in the tunnel and in the weight room to address them.
Continue reading “What are the Most Common Pitching Mechanics Issues?”
To better maximize our training time in the gym, we need to focus on only what the athlete needs without taking away the attributes that they are already good at.
Testing max strength helps us determine what the focus of training will be throughout the upcoming training period. This enables us to prioritize the athletes “lowest hanging fruit” when it comes to Strength (> 80% 1RM) vs Power (between 30-80% 1RM). We utilize VBT to help better pinpoint specific strength zones. Continue reading “How Strong is Strong Enough?”
Today, we’re going to review some of the topics we look at during an assessment in regard to pitchers shoulder mobility as well the major players that can affect it. The four big guys are as follows:
Let’s review and discuss each and go over a handful of shoulder exercises that may be helpful for each segment.
Continue reading “How to Improve Pitchers Shoulder Mobility”
The underlying factor in all things powerful and explosive when it comes to performance is “STRENGTH”. It’s the foundation that athleticism is built on and there can be no better example of this than hitting a baseball and I don’t mean just making contact, I mean hitting the ball with power and… HARD! So, how to increase hitting power in baseball? Let’s read on…
Continue reading “How to Increase Hitting Power in Baseball”
“Too often, sport psychologists are asked to ‘fix’ struggling athletes with mental problems as they approach major competitions or rebound from poor performances. Although MST (mental skills training) programs may prove beneficial in the short run to develop skills and deal with specific problems, such approaches fail to address athletes’ long-term development goals” (Holliday et al., 2008, p. 205).
I love this quote because it encapsulates my work as a mental performance coach. Continue reading “Why You Should Join the Mind Gym this Off-season?”
Developing elite hitters from a young age is about developing not only intent, but sound hitting mechanics from early on. Let me start by saying this. Due to the fact that young athletes are not proficient enough in body awareness and movement at this age, it’s important to begin with a basic / reduced set of disconnects before expanding it to more complicated movement patterns later on. Below are the disconnects / topics you should make sure you get right from a young age. Let’s get into it…
Continue reading “Developing Elite Hitters from a Young Age (10-13 year olds)”
Helping young pitchers develop into the best versions of themselves requires an understanding of their physiological development and capabilities at any given age. Asking a 13-year old pitcher to post-up may be a complete waste of time, if he doesn’t have enough lead leg strength to create a good block. With our more developed and older athletes, we may review as many as 50-60 potential disconnects. But when it comes to the younger guys, you have to be aware of what they may or may not be capable of performing. Consequently, we generally begin with a reduced set before expanding what we look for in their youth pitching mechanics. We have listed them here on a priority basis.
Continue reading “Helping Young Pitchers (ages 10-13) Develop into Elite Throwers”
Most often, pitchers and position players associate their pitching velocity or exit velo with their mechanics. As our understanding of the body and technology has improved over the years, it is now more apparent than ever that your velocity ceiling, whether it’s pitching or hitting, is limited by your physical ability more than anything else. Whether you’re a position player or a pitcher and your velo is stuck… let’s find out why.
Continue reading “Profiling Pitchers… The RPP Pitching Assessment”
Hitting a baseball is a series of sequential and interconnected movements. Many of the issues hitters face at the plate begin early in the hitting / swing process. Today, we’re going to review several components of what we consider to be a proper “Load”. If you don’t start your swing by loading well, chances are it may not end well either. Losses in bat speed, power, poor sequencing, poor swing metrics and poor “adjustability at the plate” are all examples of issues that can be initiated with a poor load. The way we look at it, there are a few things you should DO well and couple of things you should make sure you’re NOT doing:
Continue reading “What is a Proper Load for Hitters? The Do’s and Don’ts”
Welcome back to the “How to” series on pitching, where we will be diving into various pitches and speak about different grips, cues, tips, movement profiles, and even a top MLB comparison for reference when looking at a given pitch. Next up, how to throw a 4-seam fastball.
Continue reading “How to Throw a 4-seam Fastball (Grips, Cues, Types, etc.)”
