Weighted Balls
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Weighted balls should not be used by anyone unless you are a certified trainer or physical therapist. They can do instant damage to a female's shoulder.
I had a set and tried them 10 years ago. They certainly are too heavy to take over the shoulder. So, I thought well maybe they would work with flips. But, someone has to try and catch the ball, too - so I left them in the garage for a long time and sold them to a slow pitch guy.
I even talked to Alan Jaeger on the phone about them. He is a leading authority on throwing. He said that none of his trainers or athletes use them. He recommends long toss and stretching to get maximum throwing distance and he uses resistance bands.
So, with my pitching students, we do long toss underhand and stress mechanics and multiple sports.
I had a set and tried them 10 years ago. They certainly are too heavy to take over the shoulder. So, I thought well maybe they would work with flips. But, someone has to try and catch the ball, too - so I left them in the garage for a long time and sold them to a slow pitch guy.
I even talked to Alan Jaeger on the phone about them. He is a leading authority on throwing. He said that none of his trainers or athletes use them. He recommends long toss and stretching to get maximum throwing distance and he uses resistance bands.
So, with my pitching students, we do long toss underhand and stress mechanics and multiple sports.
halskinner
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- May 7, 2008
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I had some parents tell me they had used them before coming to me. They all said the same thing, after using them for a year, they saw no positive change in speed other that what they expected to see from another years worth of growth.
Ernie Parker says to not use any weighted ball that goes over a 20% overload. I will go by Ernie's experience on that call.
I prefer to teach other things in the mechanics that build more speed.
Ernie Parker says to not use any weighted ball that goes over a 20% overload. I will go by Ernie's experience on that call.
I prefer to teach other things in the mechanics that build more speed.
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Cheri Kempf's book "The Softball Pitching Edge" which I believe the OP is referring to, also states to not to go over or under by more than 20% or you risk injury. Overloading/underloading programs are used in many sports to produce speed increases and power. These programs should be undertaken with the guidance of a knowledgable instructor if you want to get the most out of it.
halskinner
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- May 7, 2008
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I will disagree with that on the underloading issue. I use Wiffel balls to teach finger finesse and pinpoint accuracy. NEVER had a student report any injuries from pitching.
Hal
Right, I was just paraphrasing the book. We use a heavy ball (10 oz) for spins, but under supervision. And wiffels are a great way to exaggerate any mechanical flaws, both overhand and pitching. If you snap late the ball will go wild
Knowing I'm about to get flamed, I'll share my daughter's weighted ball experience. My DD is an 01 and is a control pitcher. She can hit her target 80% of the time and has good command of peel drop, change, drop curve and is learning a curve. Her fastball topped at 43 this evening using my Bushnell Speedster that I got for $20 at a sports resale shop (don't know if it is overly accurate but seems to be very consistent). Here in DFW 10U that is probably just above average and there are definitely some kids that throw considerably faster. About 2 months ago she topped at 37. She did well fooling hitters until we played teams that moved the batter to the front of the box, negating her drop, her +1 fastball and particularly her drop curve, so we talked with her pitching instructor about some strategies to increase her velocity. Of course his primary focus was on drive, solid front to push against, lean and armspeed. We also added long toss to every throwing session. I asked about over/under weight balls and he let me introduce them with caution.
Here is how we do it: Normal overhand warm-up then knee drill at 20 ft or so. After about 15 pitches with knee drill, she throws an 8 oz ball (yellow) about 10 times with focus on technique. She then throws a 5 oz ball (lt blue) about 10 times focusing on fast arm. The 5 oz ball actually seems to float and moves a lot. Her arm is definitely faster with the light ball. Then we go to the K drill and do the same routine at about 30 feet. She throws a normal ball about 38-40 from the K, the heavy ball 36-38 and the light ball 40-42. Then we go long toss with the step drill and from normal full pitch for 20 or so pitches at about 50-55 ft. Then we get into our pitching session.
So there you have an approximate 10-15% gain over about 2 months with a combination of focused technique, long toss and arm isolation with over/under weighted balls. I also am slipping in a 12" ball about 20% of the time and calling the same pitches in preparation for her move to 12U next Fall. I can't rule out simply better technique, getting stonger, the benefits of long toss etc. Or perhaps the over/under weighted balls are playing a role?
On another note, my daughter loves the gun and asks me to use it as crazy as that sounds. She has set a goal for herself of 45 by the end of Fall and wants to know how fast each pitch is. We have made up a game where her mother predicts the speed from the front porch based on her technique! I try to leverage that as a reward after some good technique and hard work.
Sorry for the novel but I hope someone finds this of use.
Here is how we do it: Normal overhand warm-up then knee drill at 20 ft or so. After about 15 pitches with knee drill, she throws an 8 oz ball (yellow) about 10 times with focus on technique. She then throws a 5 oz ball (lt blue) about 10 times focusing on fast arm. The 5 oz ball actually seems to float and moves a lot. Her arm is definitely faster with the light ball. Then we go to the K drill and do the same routine at about 30 feet. She throws a normal ball about 38-40 from the K, the heavy ball 36-38 and the light ball 40-42. Then we go long toss with the step drill and from normal full pitch for 20 or so pitches at about 50-55 ft. Then we get into our pitching session.
So there you have an approximate 10-15% gain over about 2 months with a combination of focused technique, long toss and arm isolation with over/under weighted balls. I also am slipping in a 12" ball about 20% of the time and calling the same pitches in preparation for her move to 12U next Fall. I can't rule out simply better technique, getting stonger, the benefits of long toss etc. Or perhaps the over/under weighted balls are playing a role?
On another note, my daughter loves the gun and asks me to use it as crazy as that sounds. She has set a goal for herself of 45 by the end of Fall and wants to know how fast each pitch is. We have made up a game where her mother predicts the speed from the front porch based on her technique! I try to leverage that as a reward after some good technique and hard work.
Sorry for the novel but I hope someone finds this of use.
While I think this is something that needs to happen, it should not be happening before puberty. You are doing long toss for teenagers and adults but a 10 year old who is not fully within her body.
I use weighted balls. I was given some great advice by a friend who represented at international level. Never do them full speed. Never do them longer or shorter than what you normally pitch. Never do more than 20 at a time. She gave me this advice when I was pitching state league at 22 years of age.
Weighted balls have their place. Not for children. I struggle even giving them to teenagers but it's always done with supervision.
Knee drill and K drill are not full motion throws, at least not the way she does them.
So Lozza, do you believe that long toss is not appopriate at all for a 10yr old or should we be doing it from shorter distances? Again, that could be the reason for the increase in velocity. She explodes off the rubber better when she does long toss, especially when combined with the step drill. She does arc it some to get it to me at 50 ft. This is the first I have heard about long toss as a no-no for her. If i had to pin her increase in velocity on one thing I'd probably lean to long toss as she only gets in about 20 reps with the heavy ball per session.
So Lozza, do you believe that long toss is not appopriate at all for a 10yr old or should we be doing it from shorter distances? Again, that could be the reason for the increase in velocity. She explodes off the rubber better when she does long toss, especially when combined with the step drill. She does arc it some to get it to me at 50 ft. This is the first I have heard about long toss as a no-no for her. If i had to pin her increase in velocity on one thing I'd probably lean to long toss as she only gets in about 20 reps with the heavy ball per session.
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