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10:26 am
Minor Leaguer
July 14, 2011
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It's a great point. Much of baseball is very well coached, and there are lots of great hitting instructors out there. I don't know how pitching got left out. I've had an outstanding young assistant coach for the past few years who always says that pitchers aren't real baseball players. (I was a pitcher.) Maybe that's it. It would make a good topic if anyone has any good ideas on it. How did pitching instruction get left in the dark ages?
11:22 am
Rookie
July 2, 2011
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I believe the problem is two fold.
1. Throwing a ball is different than swinging a bat. If you have good practice habits you can swing a bat full speed several times a day without risk of injury. Practicing pitching takes a true regimented program and tons of discipline.
2. I believe it takes a different mental mind set to be a pitcher.
There is a ton of pitching coaches out there that have know Idea why they teach what they teach. They are just teaching what they were taught, without a clue of why? Maybe it is good instruction, most of the time it is not.
It is incumbent on all of us to convince every young pitcher what it takes to be a complete pitcher. It does take a unique skill set.
But I for one have changed the way I teach and coach based on the ability of how with video you can functionally break down pitching mechanics.
Video and research proves that most coaches are teaching mechanics incorrectly and most coaches just won't admit it or are they NOT open to learning something new.
So they keep hurting more pitchers every year.
If this offends you, you are probably one of those coaches.
The best coaches I know are the ones who are always learning and looking for better ways to instruct pitchers and keep them healthy at the same time.
12:42 pm
April 27, 2008
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The problem is the mound. Just imagine how more difficult hitting instruction would be if the hitter had to hit down a mound. I believe with a mound it adds strength requirements to the athlete that flat ground doesn't have. I believe it is a high enough requirement that the average athlete can not meet. Therefore the average pitcher does not have what it takes physically to handle the requirements of pitching off of a mound.This physical breakdown is always illustrated in the mechanics of the movement.
It always helps to have an analogy. The best analogy to paint the picture here is relating pitching on a mound to skiing. It would be like putting the average skier on an above average slope. I am not a skier so I do not speak from experience here but I could imagine what it would be like if I went down a slope that was too steep for me. First my legs would go out then I would probably spend most of the slope on my butt.
This is why I believe most coaches are not good pitching coaches. They do not understand that most mechanical issues are the results of poor strength. I know this is the case because when I started this site, and started writing about Olympic Lifting and pitching you should have read the opposition I received on this site. Comments like, "Strength has nothing to do with pitching" or "All lifting weights does is make you tight and injured." I learn quickly that the reason most people do not get pitching mechanics is because they have not accepted that strength plays a major part here. If they would only open their eyes to this then they would see how strength effects all mechanics. This is how I developed 3X Pitching. I had heard all of my coaches my entire career tell me that strength had nothing to do with it and when my rotator cuff tore and the doctors said I would never play again, I decided to stop listening to these coaches and doctors. I then had a trainer tell me strength had everything to do with it and then everything changed. I saw pitching in a totally different perspective and 3X Pitching was the result.
4:23 pm
Minor Leaguer
August 28, 2011
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I agree here guys, hitting is definitely different to pitching and pitching requires a lot more strength than hitting. I think I know why conventional coaches stay conventional or what you call "those coaches". I learnt this from my maths and science teacher by the way. So we have two type of people who went to war. The country people and the city people. The country people seems to have lived. Why is that? Then, you answer what you think the answer is obviously. But the thing is that this is a load of rubbish because neither city or country people were better. You probably would've answered like "because they're usually farmers and have more strength or what not" if that doesn't seem right you justify why it is right and after you think you have it right you seem to believe in it fully because you think it is right and close your mind of after that and anything that goes against it they would question it or simply not believe in it. I guess this is the reason why conventional stay conventional I even might be doing this thing by justifying that conventional stay conventional because I have made up reasons to why they do and now believing that I am right. Obviously I know that there are some exceptional coaches who will change their views because they now know that there is something out there that is better than what they are coaching.
4:32 pm
Minor Leaguer
August 28, 2011
Offline
I also believe that not many players look up the Internet for pitching instruction unless they really know that they're doing it wrong and their coaches are teaching them wrong stuff. But because coaches are egotistical they think their view is right and they teach what they think is the best and tell their pitchers that they wil improve but in fact it's the opposite. The pitcher will probably come up with reasons why their method is right and if they're doing it wrong they spend their life throwing trying to get better instead of trying to look for better material because once they master conventional wisdom they think they're throwing their bes and you can say that pitchers are egotistical too, so they don't look up the info and believe what the coach is saying. But a wrong teach done right is still wrong. This is just my opinion and correct me here if I'm wrong :D a good way to end a long explanation that people may disagree with.
7:57 pm
Rookie
July 2, 2011
Offline
Z,
You make some great points.
The truth is we are going to have to make a mission to educate High School coaches and High School and College Pitchers. They currently have the most influence with the biggest reach.
They are also going to be the next generation of pitching coaches.
That is why I am personally taking up the cause.
That is what I believe Brent is also doing here at Top Velocity.
It's not just about making a good product to sell.
It's an opportunity to change the way pitching is taught and the long term impact it will have on the health and well being young pitchers arms.
Somebody has got to start the revolution.
Might as well be us.
12:50 am
Minor Leaguer
August 28, 2011
Offline
Yea, I believe that we need to educate these people because they're the ones putting the pressure on their players and not the players themselves. I also want to take on this mission to become the next generation of pitching coaches and help others too. I feel that the revolution will be an important part of baseball and people will disagree, but we should make a commitment to stick to your plans and never falter. Like a baptism, we're burying our old selves and becoming born again, not physically, but mentally. I believe later in the future we will play an important role for being revolutionary like Brent has here which I really thank him for being such a great coach and all of the other important people on this site who helped me understand 3X to the top of my abilities. :D
9:37 pm
Rookie
February 6, 2010
Offline
Hey Darrell,
You hit the nail right on the head and yes, pitching is quite different than hitting and is also very similar in some ways, such as they both have similar closed body movements with hip to shoulder separation right up the middle towards their target.
Don Ervin
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