Okay, so in my last post I discussed what I consider some misrepresentations out there when it comes to coaches selling parents and pitchers on the importance of “good pitching mechanics.” If you missed it, click here: “Safe” Pitching Mechanics is a Lie
Now to be clear, the point there was NOT that injury prevention is a bad goal or that pitching mechanics don’t matter. And there are absolutely mechanical flaws that can both hinder performance (reducing velocity and consistency) while also putting more stress on the throwing arm. I discussed some of these flaws here:
Little League Mechanics vs. Major League Mechanics.
And that’s why Motion Analysis can be such a valuable tool. When you can see clearly what you’re actually doing in your pitching delivery, it can really speed the learning process. Combine that with a solid gameplan, effective training drills, and the right amount of hard work, and you’ve got a good recipe for making the needed adjustments.
To illustrate this, I’m going to highlight a young pitcher who began using my program early this summer. Now this pitcher is only 9 years old, and usually I don’t like to get too technical with young pitchers (read this article for more on that). But every pitcher is different, and this boy was already showing tremendous explosiveness in his delivery for a boy his age, so I felt he was ready to take it to another level.
However, you never know what kids are going to do when you’re not working with them on a regular basis – will they really put in the work? And in this case, we’re talking about a pitcher on the other side of the country, so I’ve never even had a chance to work with him in person.
So when his dad sent me his latest videos I was pretty blown away! In just a couple of months since my first analysis, he had made outstanding progress in the key areas we talked about. Here are some clips from his recent before & after analysis.
[h5]1. Improving Stride Direction and a Swinging Front Foot[/h5]
[h5]1. Fixing a Collapsing Front Leg to Transfer Power to the Upper Half[/h5]
Now are his mechanics “perfect”? No, of course not (if such a thing exists… and I would argue it doesn’t). And there are certainly some things to keep working on, and I pointed out some of those things in the next video… but one step at a time.
[h5]3. Suggestions for Converting Linear Momentum to Rotational Power[/h5]
So there’s still work to do, but based on the progress he’s already made in such a short time, it’s clear he’s a young pitcher with exceptional desire and work ethic. And if he loves pitching as much as I did, look out… the sky’s the limit!
PS – If you’d like access to the exact same program this pitcher used, I invite you to try the Ballistic Pitching Blueprint.