what's the best way to increase pitch speed?
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It starts from having rock-solid mechanics. That means all the parts of your body are doing the right things, in the right order, and at the right time.
Beyond that, I'd say increasing overall strength (including your core), and then executing the entire motion faster.
Beyond that, I'd say increasing overall strength (including your core), and then executing the entire motion faster.
"Arm speed" is only one aspect of throwing hard--IMHO, "the whip" is more important arm speed.
But, generally, there are a lot of elements to throwing hard. Good mechanics is the key...you can do all the speed work in the world, but if the pitcher has a fundamental flaw in her motion, she will only get to a certain level--which will likely be around 50 MPH.
The mechanics are all inter-dependent, so you can't pick one out and say, "Oh, do this and you'll throw 60 MPH." E.g., "the whip" is essential to add speed, but if the hips are not in the correct position, the whip isn't going to help. And getting the hips correct isn't going to do anything if the upper body is messed.
Once the mechanics are good, then there are some drills that can be done to max out a pitcher's speed. But, until the mechanics are right, there is little to be gained by doing speed drills.
But, generally, there are a lot of elements to throwing hard. Good mechanics is the key...you can do all the speed work in the world, but if the pitcher has a fundamental flaw in her motion, she will only get to a certain level--which will likely be around 50 MPH.
The mechanics are all inter-dependent, so you can't pick one out and say, "Oh, do this and you'll throw 60 MPH." E.g., "the whip" is essential to add speed, but if the hips are not in the correct position, the whip isn't going to help. And getting the hips correct isn't going to do anything if the upper body is messed.
Once the mechanics are good, then there are some drills that can be done to max out a pitcher's speed. But, until the mechanics are right, there is little to be gained by doing speed drills.
Yes, I would say good mechanics is the key. I have heard and read many drills such as "long toss as in pitching from way beyond the circle". "Walk throughs and Run Throughs", "Multiple revolutions of the arm", "rapid fire" drills and "weighted balls". And yet the single greatest thing a person can do to increase speed is work on mechanics. Unless you are at or above the average speed of good pitchers for your age group the issue is likely mechanics. When they improve then you should be at a good speed for your age group...then add the other stuff.
R
RayR
Guest
I found a lot of value in BoardMember's Interal Rotation (IR) thread. I believe in this because it takes advantage of the the carrying angle of your arm - builds in a whip position of the arm.
You just need to be educated in how to take advantage of it. Facing the ball out (RH toward 3B) will help set the arm to take advantage of the carrying angle making IR easier to accomplish.
You just need to be educated in how to take advantage of it. Facing the ball out (RH toward 3B) will help set the arm to take advantage of the carrying angle making IR easier to accomplish.
My DD kind of 'plateaued' at 50 mph as a 12 yo. Her PC teaches a traditional 'straight up/stand tall'
pitching style and stressed good mechanics and proper release point. He took her from being a child who wanted to
pitch to a pitcher in 18 months, but then she stopped improving.
I took it upon myself to research thru the web (and this forum) on how to get her to the next level. I found
her a new PC who stressed mechanics while using more of the body and getting a bit lower when driving off the rubber
and using the arm 'whip'
After only 6 lessons, she is now throwing her fast ball at 55-56 consistently and her rise a bit faster (58).
She has gone from being a good pitcher to a dominant pitcher in her 14U age group. She is working a bit
more on conditioning drills and has a serious 'wow' factor in the circle.
As I coach more girls at older ages, I see several very good 'practice pitchers' who do everything right throwing
to dad on the bucket who struggle in game situations due to a lack of mental toughness. Sometimes the perfect pitch
is hit hard by a good or even lucky hitter, but the pitcher needs to use this to be stronger mentally while having a short memory and
working on making the next out on the next batter. When pitchers mature physically, some do not progress without working harder.
All this being said, arm strength and whip combined with mental toughness will make a girl a better pitcher. Plenty of girls who pitch well
at 12U become position players as they cannot compete at 14U and high school ages. I had a pitcher last year who was 4'10 and weighed
about 90 lbs. that had a serious 'arm whip'. She was not overpowering by any means but had the nastiest curve ball I have ever seen.
She was very good but only for 3-4 innings as batters would figure her out. I used her as a platoon pitcher with my #2 and they
chewed up lots of innings winning far many more games than they lost.
pitching style and stressed good mechanics and proper release point. He took her from being a child who wanted to
pitch to a pitcher in 18 months, but then she stopped improving.
I took it upon myself to research thru the web (and this forum) on how to get her to the next level. I found
her a new PC who stressed mechanics while using more of the body and getting a bit lower when driving off the rubber
and using the arm 'whip'
After only 6 lessons, she is now throwing her fast ball at 55-56 consistently and her rise a bit faster (58).
She has gone from being a good pitcher to a dominant pitcher in her 14U age group. She is working a bit
more on conditioning drills and has a serious 'wow' factor in the circle.
As I coach more girls at older ages, I see several very good 'practice pitchers' who do everything right throwing
to dad on the bucket who struggle in game situations due to a lack of mental toughness. Sometimes the perfect pitch
is hit hard by a good or even lucky hitter, but the pitcher needs to use this to be stronger mentally while having a short memory and
working on making the next out on the next batter. When pitchers mature physically, some do not progress without working harder.
All this being said, arm strength and whip combined with mental toughness will make a girl a better pitcher. Plenty of girls who pitch well
at 12U become position players as they cannot compete at 14U and high school ages. I had a pitcher last year who was 4'10 and weighed
about 90 lbs. that had a serious 'arm whip'. She was not overpowering by any means but had the nastiest curve ball I have ever seen.
She was very good but only for 3-4 innings as batters would figure her out. I used her as a platoon pitcher with my #2 and they
chewed up lots of innings winning far many more games than they lost.
push harder off of the rubber
My DD just started with a new PC and has already picked up about 3 mph on her fastball. They only thing different she is doing is pushing harder with her right leg (RH pitcher). Which is a product of the strength and conditioning program her PC uses. When we first started going to this PC one of the things that I noticed about his other girls was how much bigger their thighs and midsections were compared to my DD. Hey key is getting stronger and then doing everything faster.
Well, you got me on that one. I've never been a young girl. And neither has Bill Hillhouse, Ken Krause, Boardmember, and Ernie Parker, to name a few.
I have no idea what this means...but it sounds like it means something.
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