Brent's analysis of Paul's senior season mechanics seems right on.  Paul  had always utilized a "tall & fall" approach in his wind up mechanics, breaking the ball from the glove in a down, back & up motion prior to initiating his move to the plate.  We would call the point at the peak of his leg lift, where there would be a slight pause, his "check point".  I learned the "tall and fall" mechanics from Tom House back in the mid 1990s. This approach did not emhasize speed of movement down the mound.  Consequently, in Paul's wind up motion his lift leg dominated his nice and easy fall down & toward the plate. This slow movement down the mound reduced his stride length and produced very little hip to shoulder separation, placing him in the category of an upper dominant, low velocity pitcher. 

Using this motion his senior season, Paul maxed his fastball speed at 89 mph and maintained a comportable FB speed of 84-86 MPH. He achieved theses speeds with an effortless looking wind-up that looked to some like he was pitching batting practice.  Along the way coaches and scouts would comment that he had a lot left in his tank. Before being exposed to the Top Velocity Program no one ever told Paul what he could specifically do to enhance his velocity.  He has always done a ton of long toss during the high school baseball season and always worked out hard in strength training, plyometric and speed training routines.  He workout hard and continuously in the off seasons primarily for basketball which is far and away his favorite sport.  His hard work and passion helped him to earn a scholarship to play basketball at Truman State University.  A knee injury has prevented Paul from playing basketball this season. It is unfortunate and sad.  At the same time Paul has been blessed to have been given the opportunity to play baseball this spring for Truman State.  This is the first time that Paul has ever had the opportunity to partcipate in a baseball preseason workout program.    

I believe with all of my heart that the Top Velocity 3X program can push Paul into the low 90 FB range. Paul worked hard  over winter break to try to incorporate the techniques of the 3x approach into Paul's motion. The video clips from the 1/4/12 & the 1/6/12 workouts show a modified delivery. 

During these January workouts Paul tried to accomplish the following:

1. Inititate first movement to the plate with the front hip prior to reaching the peak height of leg lift. 

2. Let the front hip movement pull the lift leg down the mound.

3. Lift leg foot staying behind the front hip until the front hip is much further down the mound.

4. Reduce the high hand and glove action.  

5. Aligning post leg force vextor (linear) and achieving triple extension at the moment of front foot strike. 

5. Enhanced shoulder to hip separation at foot strike.

6. Follow through with flat back.

I am hoping that Brent will be able to complete a video analsysis of Paul's 1/6/12 workout to help us to recognize where, if any, actual improvement has been made and where specific changes are still needed in order for Paul to maximize his velocity while at the same time reduce the risk of injury to the arm and shoulder.

Have the best day ever!

Thank you for the graph. What a great information tool. It gives a quick windsield view assessment of where Paul's "pitching profile" was at in April 2011 when compared to high velocity professional pitchers. I believe that Paul's pitching profile (data measurements) are different in the 1/6/12 workout clips. I tried to determine his profile as best I could with my limited video capabilities in both the senior season (4/11) video and and the January (1/12) workout video.  The data showed that his adjusted mechanics were; starting his first movement to the plate sooner, increasing his speed down the mound and increasing his stride length.  We did not have a radar gun so we could not tell how much, if any, his increased momentum to the plate and stride length affected his velocity. We hope to gain a clearer understanding of where Paul's current "pitching profile" stands after Brent has had a chance to analyze the 1/6/12 workout mechanics.  

AGAIN, THANK YOU! 

just PM me with your email and I will send it.  JR