The following is a series of videos we posted not long ago on social media. They are excerpts out of a presentation I gave on how we train pitchers with an eye towards their Long-Term Athletic Development. I think you will enjoy them… Continue reading “Long Term Athletic Development for Pitchers”
Pitch Development and Design… Pitch-by-Pitch
1. Pitch Development and Design… Basics
Tomorrow’s elite pitchers have to learn and take advantage of the implications of data analysis. Advancements in technology have brought data to the doorsteps of commercial baseball facilities and the future will be never be the same.
When pitchers are moving at rapidly increasing speeds, observing and evaluating a pitcher’s movements with high speed data capture can be truly eye opening. The amount information can be overwhelming at first, but as you begin to grasp it, the aha! moments begin to accumulate. We are discovering things about pitchers that were unfathomable just a year ago without this technology. Pitch Design is here and it will change how tomorrow’s pitchers will be trained… [click here]
Continue reading “Pitch Development and Design… Pitch-by-Pitch”
Baseball Strength Training When Throwing Ramps Up…
When you get past the on-ramp stage of a combined baseball strength training and throwing program and get into the more high intensity throwing portion, you need to keep a few things in mind. For the few guys that still need to gain muscle/weight, we’ll handle them a bit differently in the weight room but that’s for another blog. For most of our guys that have packed on muscle, this means that weight room work from a volume and intensity perspective can and should be scaled down. Continue reading “Baseball Strength Training When Throwing Ramps Up…”
Rapsodo Pitching Data, a Comprehensive Report
During the past year, we have spent endless hours crunching pitching data and there are some unbelievable and amazing conclusions which we would like to share with you. This report is a summary of approximately 10,000 pitches thrown by 50 high school-level pitchers, randomly selected from our various winter, spring and summer programs. The new Rapsodo pitching camera system exposes a great deal and explains why “the eyes lie”. We are willing to bet that our findings are not unique but rather common place in youth pitchers everywhere. Continue reading “Rapsodo Pitching Data, a Comprehensive Report”
The Mental Game of Baseball, Control What You Can
Whenever I watch local high school games and I work with younger pitchers it always takes me back to when I played at all these levels. One of the biggest things that I notice at the high school level, after watching nearly 1000 professional games over 7 years with the Indians, is a point my pitching coach made when I was in AA-ball. He said, “don’t try to control the un-controllables, just control what you can!”. The mental game of baseball is about focusing on the controllables. Let me explain…
Continue reading “The Mental Game of Baseball, Control What You Can”
Command and Control – Case Study: Butler’s Josh Loeschorn
As strength coaches, our goal is to not only improve an athlete’s performance but also keeping our athletes healthy during the season. This is not unlike a race car that comes out of the gate blazing and after 100 laps requires a “pit stop” to try to address wear and tear. Continue reading “Command and Control — Case Study: Butler’s Josh Loeschorn”
Pitcher Development Program… Case Study: Brian Doherty (Class 2020)
The following is a brief review on 15-year old, 6’4”, 205 lbs. RHP Brian Doherty (Class 2020) who has made tremendous progress in our Pitcher Development Program. Brian trained at RPP this past fall and then rejoined us again recently. As a part of the development program, he has been working on a variety of topics this spring, including:
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- Pitching Mechanics and Delivery
- Ball Movement Patterns (Data Analytics)
- Strength and Conditioning Continue reading “Pitcher Development Program… Case Study: Brian Doherty (Class 2020)”
4 Great Pitching Mechanics Fixes in the Weight Room
Over the past few months I’ve released several videos demonstrating how we can use the weight room to help get our guys into better positions in the delivery while on the mound. Today, I thought I would put together a few of the ones that were most popular. Continue reading “4 Great Pitching Mechanics Fixes in the Weight Room”
5 Things You Need to Create Stability and Power at Foot Strike
When talking about how force is transferred from foot strike up into the arm, I like to use the “crashing a car into a wall with crash test dummies” analogy. Continue reading “5 Things You Need to Create Stability and Power at Foot Strike”
Cuing Stride Length… Different Strokes for Different Folks
Not all mechanical cues are, or should be, created equal. Many times, size and mobility (anthropometrics) need to dictate how different positions of the delivery are cued. Continue reading “Cuing Stride Length… Different Strokes for Different Folks”