No Progression With Pitch Speed

drc9805 said:

Jojo, Do they have an off-season class that consists of weight training?

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See if crossfit classes are available in your area. It's probably the best workout available. Especially in the off season!
I have a player that is a small built girl. 15yrs old, and only 100 lbs. Mechanically speaking she does way more right than wrong however, she couldn't get over 50mph... last year she started crossfit with her mom who just needed a gym buddy. Over the last year she hasn't grown an inch and no big adjustments to her mechanics, but she now is a consistent 54/55 mph pitcher. I believe it's her new found conditioning!

coach james said:

See if crossfit classes are available in your area. It's probably the best workout available. Especially in the off season!
I have a player that is a small built girl. 15yrs old, and only 100 lbs. Mechanically speaking she does way more right than wrong however, she couldn't get over 50mph... last year she started crossfit with her mom who just needed a gym buddy. Over the last year she hasn't grown an inch and no big adjustments to her mechanics, but she now is a consistent 54/55 mph pitcher. I believe it's her new found conditioning!

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Will have to check if there are any classes in our area. Thanks.

#1 way to achieve more velocity is optimizing arm whip mechanics using internal rotation. Everyone says its the lower body, drive mechanics, etc that create the most velocity of the pitch but I disagree. Remember the sling-shot pitchers back in the day could really bring it and they didn't use leap & drag or even a windmill pitch. How did they achieve such great speed? By utilizing excellent arm whip mechanics.

Try this experiment. Using your Radar gun (that measures the speed of the ball as soon as it leaves the hand), have your DD stand flat-footed at 45 degree angle to you and have her pitch to you only doing the windmill pitch (no leap & drag) and then compare the speed results to her pitching using the full leap and drag mechanics. I think you will be surprised how much velocity she can achieve by using arm whip only.

I'm not suggesting that drive mechanics, core strength, front-side resistance, is not important, but 80% or more of the speed of the pitch is generated by arm whip mechanics and that is the area of focus that I would spend the time to achieve more velocity. Said another way, you can have the best drive mechanics in the world but if you are not optimizing great arm whip mechanics you will gain very little speed.

Out in Left Field said:

Thinking about results (compete, strike out batters, hit my spots, through a good change up that fools the batter, win games) has gotten lost.

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Totally agree with this.

DD has increased her velocity about 12-15 MPH from the age of 12 to now (17). Perfecting (as much as one can) proper mechanics and working with a personal strength and conditioning coach have been the keys IMO - along with her desire to pitch in college.

Received a PM from an individual that recommended the Xcelerator to increase pitching speed. We never used this product and looking for any comments. The only pitching aid we use is a yellow spinner (looks like a hockey puck).

Fastpitch86 said:

Received a PM from an individual that recommended the Xcelerator to increase pitching speed. We never used this product and looking for any comments. The only pitching aid we use is a yellow spinner (looks like a hockey puck).

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If you want to promote a straight arm during the arm circle than use this device. I much prefer a bend in the arm to generate good arm whip into release and not a straight arm. Do the best pitchers in the world have a straight arm during the arm circle?

That is an awesome tool IF YOU LOOKING TO BECOME THE BEST HELLO ELBOW PITCHER YOU CAN BE... LOL
As rocket said, it promotes a locked arm and will negate a ton of whip.
Honestly, the best whip reinforcing tool I've ever found is a tball bat. Use it from the 9:00 position by gripping the handle and having the bat head at a 45° angle and pull downward violently with the palm facing upward. The weight of the bat will WHIP down and through the release zone and will give a feel of what good whip feels like.

Multi vitamins !

coach james said:

That is an awesome tool IF YOU LOOKING TO BECOME THE BEST HELLO ELBOW PITCHER YOU CAN BE... LOL
As rocket said, it promotes a locked arm and will negate a ton of whip.
Honestly, the best whip reinforcing tool I've ever found is a tball bat. Use it from the 9:00 position by gripping the handle and having the bat head at a 45° angle and pull downward violently with the palm facing upward. The weight of the bat will WHIP down and through the release zone and will give a feel of what good whip feels like.

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That's what I was thinking when I read up on the Xcelerator product. Looking for suggestions to work on in my basement during the winter. I have limited space in the basement, maybe 20' x 20'.

Interesting how some say long toss is counterproductive. I guess someone needs to inform Monica Abbott as that is a key part of her regimen. My DD works at 67-68 and utilized both long toss and weighted balls for about 5 years. Weight training is fine but kind of ludicrous if only for a 3 month HS Season. Unless HS is the end game you need to look beyond that. A HS coach will turn you into the best HS player you can be. Which will not get you beyond HS. Peak athletic performance is a year round commitment. There is no "off season" only times of less than full intensity. You need to train, condition, and eat properly year round.