Walk In Pitching Speed Increase

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I've been reading and posting relative to hip rotating prior to release vs. hip rotation after release.....wanted to pose the question to see others opinions on this question. As always, I've got a few opinions on this but will hold off for a while;

Why do most pitchers throw 2-4 mph faster when they perform a Walk In pitch?
 
May 12, 2008
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What is the difference for pitch speed when both feet don't have to be on the rubber?

I would suggest in both cases, greater time to develop momentum.
 
Jun 20, 2008
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I believe that with the walk through drills, the legs and hips are already moving and the arm has to move faster to catch up to the legs and hips...I'm sure this is part of it but I don't know how much...

With my oldest I see no difference in speed with both feet starting touching rubber or one behind, my youngest is slightly faster when the stride foot starts behind the rubber, I believe it is because she transfers her weight better during the rocking motion and pushes out harder...I'm not sure though...
 
Jul 17, 2008
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Troy, Illinois
Doesn't it also have to do some with the intent? My dd's instructor has her do a 50% walk through where she is given some portion of the motion to really concentrate on as she gains momentum from the walk. Then, she progresses 75 then 100. On the 100%, she is supposed to only care about trying to drive with her legs and have her arm gain speed on the downward portion of the delivery. I should note that my dd thinks to much and so that may have something to do with why her instructor wants her to focus in this manner.
 
Sep 29, 2008
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Northeast Ohio
Not ready to answer yet other than to say it could be the same reason outfielders have to take a step and big push to get the ball home on a line.
 
Nov 6, 2008
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Walk In

While we know that body acceleration is not the only determinant of ball velocity, it does play a major role. 90 to 95% of maximum velocity can be achieved in a side drill without any significant body acceleration. In an effort to capture some of that residual 5-10%, we look for ways to increase the speed of the body moving forward, i.e.explosiveness or acceleration, and seek to couple that maximum body speed with the ability to stop and stabilize the body at time of release. Walk In (Walk Through, 3 step,etc) drills challenge the body to not only move faster but also to harness and stabilize that increased momentum.
 
May 12, 2008
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With my oldest I see no difference in speed with both feet starting touching rubber or one behind, my youngest is slightly faster when the stride foot starts behind the rubber, I believe it is because she transfers her weight better during the rocking motion and pushes out harder...I'm not sure though...

Rick, tell us about the men's game in this respect please.
 

BLB

May 19, 2008
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Stride knee contribution to forward momentum!

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned anything regarding the stride knee's contribution to forward momentum. During a pitching session with 6 or more pitchers, we asked them to stride as far as possible while pitching. We measured their distance then asked them to focus on exploding their stride knee up and out towards the catcher without thinking of stride length. We had increases of between 8 to 12 inches in stride length. Do you see any connection with this to walking into the pitch?
 
Here are some of my thoughts relative to walk in performance. I'm going to steal a couple lines from others that have posted on this thread.

The walk in does tend to rev up the "intent" level and that is good if it doesn't equate to muscled up contractions.

The walk in tends to get more momentum/energy generated---faster body mass traveling forward---so that when the landing foot plants it transfers more energy into the rotational aspect of the pitch. Here in lies the key...back to the hip snap discussion. The mid torso/core muscles create the hip snap which we've discussed moves up the kinetic chain, etc. etc. So the added energy transfer from the walk in and sudden stopping action caused by the landing leg providing "front side resistance" assists those core muscles in generating hip snap which in turn moves up the chain.

Ever notice that some kids don't show an increase or minimal increase when doing a walk in? As a general rule these kids have poor hip snap or virtually no hip snap in their regular pitching motion. In their case the walk in may help to generate a little more arm speed going into release but the arm speed alone is not enough. It is the energy transfer that is important and they really don't have much contribution from their hips/core.
 

halskinner

Banned
May 7, 2008
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Rick,

I studied this issue at great length while I was still teaching. Someone said 2-4 mph faster with the 'Run through drill' (as it is called out here.) If the pitcher already had a fairly explosive push off from the rubber, I think those numbers are fairly accurate.

However, if the pitcher was a step style pitcher, or a L&D pitcher with somewhat slow motions, those numbers could be more like 7 to 10 mph faster depending on that individual pitcher.

The longer the stride, the faster it must be taken, at least to a certain point.

The reason we call it the 'Run through dril' is because it is done a little faster than what you would consider 'walking'.

The big trick there is to get them to start their momentum using the 'Legal Rock Back', so the center of their body weight is slightly behind the pitching rubber as they start their forward motion. This is like being able to start a half step behing the rubber and do a 'run through'. There are a few secrets to doing it with good balance.

Seldom did a student come to me and we did not have to extend their stride and make that faster. That ALWAYS equates to a faster ball speed and a much more confident pitcher.

The legal rock back is a chapter in my book.

Winning Fast Pitch Softball
 

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