Best pitching velocity drills?

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Apr 2, 2015
1,198
113
Woodstock, man
The #1 thing any pitcher can do to improve speed is to buy/use a radar gun.

And yet, most instructors don't even use one. If they were any good, they would prove their results.

Try things. If it makes you faster keep doing it.

Technique > Strength
 
May 17, 2012
2,804
113
OK I found this study that completely contradicts what you are saying. Care to link these peer reviewed studies that you are using as evidence?


Results: A total of 4119 article titles were retrieved, of which 156 were selected for abstract review. After manual removal of duplicates, 128 abstracts were reviewed. Of these, 17 met the inclusion criteria, and the full text was obtained. After full-text review, 7 additional articles were excluded, leaving 10 articles that met inclusion criteria and were included for analysis.

Conclusion: Weighted-implement training increased pitching velocity in the majority of the included studies.



" Finally, there was a high risk of reporting bias in several studies, as the primary outcome variable, velocity, was incompletely reported. For example, several reports included only a test statistic with no mention of mean or standard deviation for velocity change.5,26,37,38 Overall, given the significant methodological limitations and high risk of bias, the body of literature as a whole had a quality level of very poor per the GRADE Working Group guidelines. "
 
Mar 28, 2014
1,081
113
" Finally, there was a high risk of reporting bias in several studies, as the primary outcome variable, velocity, was incompletely reported. For example, several reports included only a test statistic with no mention of mean or standard deviation for velocity change.5,26,37,38 Overall, given the significant methodological limitations and high risk of bias, the body of literature as a whole had a quality level of very poor per the GRADE Working Group guidelines. "
Yes.

Do you have a link to those studies you keep quoting? I can't find them. I do not come in on either side of this argument, I just want to see the data but for some reason you refuse to show it and only continue to quote it. Thanks for the help.
 
Jan 6, 2018
221
43
I'll add to the long toss - buy a 14" ball and have her practice spinning it. Both hands. Toss it up from one hand to the other, find her grip, toss it up to the other hand with as much spin as possible using just the fingers...repeat. After a couple weeks of doing that for a few minutes a day the 12" ball won't feel so big!

My DD had a 7 MPH drop with the change to the bigger ball (she was tiny) and that's how she got through it. Got all 7 MPH back before spring and added 5 more that first 12U season...38 to 50 MPH with just a lot of work on proper mechanics, long toss, and spins with the big ball.
 
Jul 31, 2019
495
43
The #1 thing any pitcher can do to improve speed is to buy/use a radar gun.

And yet, most instructors don't even use one. If they were any good, they would prove their results.

Try things. If it makes you faster keep doing it.

Technique > Strength
I agree that radar gun feedback is a good motivator, but the watchout is pitchers tend to overthrow, causing mechanics to breakdown
 
Apr 2, 2015
1,198
113
Woodstock, man
the watchout is pitchers tend to overthrow, causing mechanics to breakdown

You hear this refrain all the time, but what exactly does 'tend to overthrow' mean exactly?

And how does this differ when, say for example, grandma comes to watch a ball game. Or when the game is close. Or when the fans start cheering during an at bat?

I have gunned pitchers for years and have never actually witness this happen.
 
May 15, 2008
1,913
113
Cape Cod Mass.
I agree with the radar gun, without it you're blind as to what actually works.

One thing that I have had success with is an external cue. You set the goal and let the body figure out how to get there without interfering in the natural process. Cues like 'push off harder', 'whip more' etc have a marginal effect. I simply tell them 'move the ball through the circle faster'. It sounds like 'magical thinking' but I have often been surprised at the result.
 
Oct 9, 2020
47
8
Here is a question, my DD(9 yrs old)has been pitching/lessons for about 11 months. DD is about 5' 90lbs, throws 43-45mph and we have played 2, 10C tournaments and has had a lot of success . She broke her arm in August and has been back pitching for about 2 weeks. We are working on more spotting our pitches and by mistake picked up a 12 inch softball heading out to practice. We went ahead and did her workout with the 12in ball, needless to say I don't think she lost any velocity and seemed to be able to control it better. I wanted to see if anyone thought this would be good for pitching workouts when not doing her lessons. It really seemed like the velocity was still there and the spin was good also. Let me know if anyone has tried this or any thoughts. I am new to the pitching and looking for Ideas. Her goal is to get to 50(which is a little ambitious imo) and being able to locate all pitches. Thanks, for the help and insight.
 
Oct 2, 2018
205
43
Georgia
You want to pitch hard then pitch hard. You have to throw faster to throw fast. Long toss because it gives you a goal to throw hard and fast. Underweight training with a lighter ball gets the arm moving faster so legs have to move faster. I know its a Forest Gump answer but its the key. Train often for speed<like every time you practice>but not high volume. Make it part of your routine.
 
Jul 31, 2019
495
43
You hear this refrain all the time, but what exactly does 'tend to overthrow' mean exactly?

And how does this differ when, say for example, grandma comes to watch a ball game. Or when the game is close. Or when the fans start cheering during an at bat?

I have gunned pitchers for years and have never actually witness this happen.
When I refer to overthrowing, I’m specifically referring to pitchers that quit stabilizing their back shoulder and try and “muscle” the ball. The back shoulder accelerates forward through the release point.
 

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