doe Pitching Articles

Here are some pitching articles on this important pitching velocity topic. This topic is currently open for discussion. You can either comment on the articles below or start a thread in the pitching forums.
Pitching Velocity Quick Tip #3

by Brent Pourciau · October 24, 2010
This Velocity Quick Tip focuses on the lift leg and how it can work against you when trying to build core torque. Core Torque is critical to reaching your top velocity. This video will show you how to use the lift leg to help you generate more core torque or hip to shoulder separation.
To learn more about the problems and benefits of the lift leg read the article Lift for Show Load for Doe.
These tips all are covered in depth in the Ace Pitcher Handbook and the 3X Velocity Camp Instruction Videos. If you are looking for velocity drills to help you become more total body in your pitching mechanics then you must consider purchasing this information.
If you have any questions please post your comments below.
Why Pitchers Should ICE Their Arms?

by Brent Pourciau · May 9, 2009
There is a lot of controversy around pitchers and icing their arms post game. After surgery I was very strict when it came to icing post game. I know that it isn’t enough for me here to just say that, “Hey, I did it, so you should too.” So, I took some time to research the web and I found several websites reference the work of Dr. Meeusen from Antwerp, where I played some professional baseball. He based his life study around icing as a means to help heal a damaged muscle. His documentation describes how ice can be effective and where it can cause problems.
Research by Dr. Meeusen on Icing a Pitchers Arm
Does Velocity Come From The Arm Or The Body?

by Brent Pourciau · April 16, 2009
This question can stir up a big argument but there is only one answer. The arm does not generate the velocity. It only guides the pitch. Therefore the arm must follow the body and does not come into play until the body has done its job. This was the conclusion of a study performed by the famous Dr. Jobe back in the 1980′s. Here is the actual result from the case study:
The Pitching Windup Vs Stretch

by Brent Pourciau · March 8, 2009
I get this question a lot, “the windup vs the stretch, what is better?” The problem is the windup is almost sacred to the game of baseball but it really has no purpose besides a kind of confidence builder on the mental state of the pitcher. The windup represents the old style of pitching from back in the day when the pitchers would use the windup to get their arms moving faster like in the video clip here of Dizzy Dean. Now that we have learned that doing this is destructive to pitching velocity, the windup has become just an extra step to throwing in the stretch. Read more
The Hip Slide To Pitching Velocity

by Brent Pourciau · February 12, 2009
The biggest problem I find in young pitchers is that they have poor separation in their hips to shoulders. There are many articles on this site covering the pitching component “Separation.” It is so important because having separation from your back hip to back shoulder before the shoulders rotate to the plate, is critical for velocity and the health of your arm. What “Separation” does is it builds core torque. It puts more torque in the big muscle groups of the core, instead of mainly in the small muscle groups of the shoulder. Read more
Bad Pitching Mechanics Is A Sign Of Muscular Weakness

by Brent Pourciau · February 10, 2009
Above average coordination is a sign of fast twitch muscle strength. Fast twitch motor neurons recruit more muscle fibers. This means more control of the body and also more explosive power. The biggest problem for a pitching coach, when working with a pitcher who does not have good hip rotation or who does not load and build a full body stride, is that this is the result of poor core and leg strength and no mechanical drill will fix this problem.
Drills only help pitchers who are having a hard time changing flawed muscle memory. It doesn’t help pitchers who have good muscle memory but poor muscle strength. This is why we have weight rooms. This is why any coach who tells you that weight lifting will NOT help you as a pitcher is clueless and is wasting your time and maybe even your money. A good strength and conditioning program that incorporates Olympic lifts, plyometric training and an intense speed training program is essential to developing good pitching mechanics. Good athletes make good pitchers. Read more
Pain In Triceps And Biceps When Pitching

by Brent Pourciau · February 1, 2009

* If you have shoulder pain and you would like to heal the rotator cuff without surgery checkout this page.
So you have pain in triceps and or biceps when pitching and it has more than likely been hurting for a while. You are searching the web for answers because you need this pain to go away so you can get back to business. I get it! I was you in my career.
When I had this problem and I couldn’t find the answers to a quick fix of the problem, I just looked for ways to hide the pain. I was taking Advil almost everyday and I started to have to take tons more of it because the pain was getting worse. The pain first started in my elbow and then it moved up my bicep into my shoulder.
It got so bad that I had to take the maximum dose of pain killers, along with icy hot, and in between innings I had to hit my arm so I would feel the pain of the hit and not the pain coming from my throbbing arm. This was the day that my rotator cuff tore and my career completely stopped. I was shocked and depressed at this time in my life because I had let the pain get so bad, that it ended my career.
I Want to Help You Remove This Pain
I am writing this article here to help you because I wish someone would have helped me at that point in my pitching career when the pain first started. If you have pain in your lower, or upper bicep, or your lower or upper tricep and maybe even in the back or front of your upper forearm, you are overusing and abusing your arm. If you have anyone or all of these pains, then you need to stop and listen to your body.
Pain is your bodies way of telling you that something is wrong. Pain does not just go away. It will only get worse, like it did in my career, if you do not make some changes immediately. Unfortunately, you should have not waited this long to make the changes but better late than never! Read more
The Major Misconception Of Pitching

by Brent Pourciau · January 30, 2009
Pitching is a very complex sequence of movements that involve building torque and force to generate velocity. So many things happening during a blink of the eye within the pitching delivery. What is even harder than pitching, is explaining this stuff. This is why every coach has his own interpretation. This is also why science wins over conventional wisdom. If you can prove it scientifically then conventional wisdom is forced to listen. If you eliminated ever coach in baseball who could not explain pitching scientifically, you would have about 2% of them left to coach the position. This is why so many misconceptions plague baseball today, especially pitching. Read more
Fast Twitch Pitching

by Brent Pourciau · January 28, 2009
Professional Baseball is full of genetic freaks. Long and slender pitchers who throw mid to upper 90′s like A.J. Burnett and Aroldis Chapman. At this moment, Major League scouts are combing the earth looking for these rare specimens. This is why it is so exciting when someone like Tim Lincecum at 5’9 170 pounds, throwing 95 mph, comes along and blows everyone’s mind. Yes, Tim is a new kind of freak but what he proves is that throwing hard can also be a little mans game. Tim is evidence that the strength and conditioning world is not just hype. It is real and it is the fountain of success for any athlete. It teaches why someone like Tim Lincecum throws as hard as someone the total opposite in size, like A.J. Burnett or Aroldis Chapman. Why doesn’t Major League Baseball teach little guys to throw as hard as big guys? Because they do not have too. Major League Baseball is like a spoiled child. It gets everything it wants. Therefore, they have no need to make what they already have. Read more
Overload To Underload – Right Concept, Wrong Approach

by Brent Pourciau · January 14, 2009
Using the overload to underload approach to train a young pitcher’s arm and central nervous system to increase arm speed is the right concept but the wrong approach when using weighted baseballs on a young pitcher. The problem is with using weighted baseballs on a young pitcher, who more than likely does not have the motor coordination of high velocity mechanics, is that it sacrifices the arm to teach the body how to move weight more efficiently and quickly. To understand how backwards this weighted baseball approach is for the young pitcher we must first look at what role the arm plays in the entire pitching delivery. Read more
The Biggest Mistakes Young Pitchers Make

by Brent Pourciau · December 10, 2008
I hate to be so pessimistic, but the reality is the younger generations are lazy and not held up to the standards of the past generations. Our society today is a lot more open to excepting mediocrecy than hard work and achievement. The only reason competition continues to improve is because of the global infiltration of baseball. The game is now full of Latino’s, Asians and Europeans. I am writing this article to hopefully motivate the younger generations of America to wake up and get moving. Here is one of my favorite quotes. You should read this every morning. Read more
Can Working Out Increase Pitching Velocity?

by Brent Pourciau · December 10, 2008
I have heard many players and coaches say that working out will not increase pitching velocity. I have even heard them say that it will hurt the pitcher. I understand that this is many parents, coaches and players concerns because it seems to be conventional wisdom that working out is bad but I will be the first to tell you that if you just do your research, you will learn otherwise. It will also prove to you that those who are spreading these rumors about working out and pitching, have not done their research.
When someone tells me that working out is bad for pitching, I then ask them then why was about 70% of Major League Ball Players on Steroids or Human Growth Hormone during the Steroid Era? It isn’t because they just wanted to look good on TV. I then ask them then why was the majority of the position players listed on the Michell Report pitchers? I always get a few stutters, followed by total silence. Read more
Baseball Pitching Workout – Beginner

by Brent Pourciau · December 9, 2008
This is an excellent beginner workout. It focuses on training the body as a single unit. All these lifts support the development of Fast Twitch Muscle Fibers which will make you more explosive as an athlete. This workout was developed for pitchers but recommend for all positions. When starting this beginner program for the first time, make sure you keep your lifting weight down. Use the bar to start and once you gain confidence in your lifts, you can begin to add weight and use the percentages listed. Select the images below the workout of the lifts to view the instructional video. You can also view the Coach Gayle Hatch instructional videos here: Coach Hatch Videos to learn the lifts. Coach Gayle Hatch is a legend in the sports training world. He is most know as the 2004 USA Olympic Lifting Coach and was just named the World Coach for 2009. Some of the lifts do not have instructional videos. Search the web for exercises that would fill the role. Read more
Pitching Velocity Keys Found In A Car Crash!

by Brent Pourciau · December 7, 2008
I am sure you are asking, “What does a car crash teach us about pitching velocity?” It actually teaches us pitchers everything we need to know to truly understand how pitchers generate top velocity. The reason for the correlation of the pitching delivery to the car crash, is the car crash analogy really helps us visualize the complex dynamics of momentum transfer. The reason for the complexity is because of the speed of the event. The moment in the delivery when momentum transfers into the ball to start its propulsion to the target, is as short as a split second. The problem is analyzing this event for educational purposes takes a lot longer. So this is where the car crash analogy will help us. Read more
The Pitching Workout For The Athlete

by Brent Pourciau · December 5, 2008
There are NOT many pitching workouts out there made for the athlete. This is why most of them or ineffective. The reason they are ineffective is because they do not train athletic performance. I am a USA Weightlifting Certified Trainer and I have spent the past 15 years learning from some of the best in the business. I have also tried just about every workout available. The only time I every noticed an effect on my pitching velocity was after training with the Olympic lifts. Read more
The “Load” Position

by Brent Pourciau · November 22, 2008
All the photos here are of professionals performing the “Load” position, as listed in the Ace Pitcher Handbook.
Read the article “Lift for Show, Load for Doe” to learn more about the importance of “Loading.”
Read more







