Pitching Speed

[FiveFrameSwing]

FFS - the same concerns exist for weighted bat drills, too! Any drill can be poorly executed. Vigilence and attention to form are also required or your wasting your time

I hear you GM ... thing is I, I've seen many kids swing heavier than normal bats without this particular issue ... in fact, I've found that swinging heavier than normal bats encourages loading slow & early. On the other hand, I've frequently observed hitters performing the Bonds' drill and being rushed. If your experience is different, then that's good ... just haven't seen the drill performed well and like I said, the typical response I've observed is that it retards the early & slow loading motion that I wish to encourage.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

Unless you have a digital readout, you can't tell. However, I had a jugs gun, but they don't work reading a pitching machine pitch because the spinning wheel throws off the gun. So I put a barrier in front of the tire so that only the ball coming out was seen by the radar. I got a reading then. But I have always had super-jugs other than my first machine. That is a good point about the cord, and it is a reason for using the heaviest gauge outdoor cord.

Secondly, you can trust your eyes. I know not all people can d this, but I can judge speed very well. And since I have caught and taught many 45mph pitchers and Michele Smith, college, and men's pitchers who threw even harder, I can give it a pretty good shot.

A radar gun can time the 'wheel' or the 'ball exiting the machine' .... depends on where you place the radar gun. I haven't had an issue measuring either the 'wheel' or 'ball exit speed'.