If you take a look at the 3X Pitching Profiles, which are measurements of speeds and distances of some of the best pitcher’s mechanics in the game, you will discover that most of these pitchers have either above average 3X into hip to shoulder separation or below average hip to shoulder separation with above average 2X. To truly understand what is going on here and how this effects velocity, it is important we first understand the relationship of 3X to 2X and hip rotation.

3X to 2X and Hip Rotation

Triple extension (3X) – Is the extension of the drive leg knee, ankle and hip flexor and it will usually extended in that order. The 3X approach to pitching teaches us that achieving 3X before front foot strike will create hip rotation just at or just after front foot strike. It will also promote more explosive hip rotation which leads to optimal hip to shoulder separation. This hip rotation is occurring because when the drive leg achieves 3X, it pushes the hip flexor of the back hip forward before front foot strike. This will just open the hips a little, so when the front leg lands and stabilizes, the hips slam completely open towards the target. If the pitcher does not open the hips through 3X before front foot strike, hip rotation will happen late, reducing hip to shoulder separation.

Double Extension (2X) – This is the extension of the knee and ankle of the front leg at front foot strike into pitch release. The 3X approach to pitching also teaches us that achieving 2X before pitch release is critical to support hip to shoulder separation and it will transfer more energy or power into the ball increasing velocity. Taking 2X even farther into hyper-extension will force the hips to completely open towards the target. We know the more open the hips are towards the target at release, the more front leg extension will occur which will put more power and energy into the ball, increasing pitching velocity.

How 3X and 2X together Promote High Pitching Velocities

The best way to understand the relationship of 3X to 2X, is using the car crash analogy, which I have used a few times on this site. 3X would be the high performance car heading towards an immovable brick wall (2X). The passenger (test dummy) in the car is the ball. We do not know the effect of 3X to 2X until the car hits the wall. The farther the passenger flies out of the car, the more effective 3X to 2X worked together.

Just like when pitching, 3X is our acceleration system and 2X is our breaking system. If we increase 3X then 2X must support it to increase pitching velocity and vice versus. They work hand in hand. You can’t have one without the other.

On the elite level, when a pitcher is working to break 90mph, the relationship of 3X to 2X becomes even more important. In the case of Brandon Morrow (see 3X Pitching Profile) he has an above average 3X with a below average 2X and he is a 95+mph pitcher. In the case of Justin Verlander (see 3X Pitching Profile) he has a below average 3X with an above average 2X and he is a 95+mph pitcher. The diamond in the rough here is that both these pitchers have an above average relationship between 3X to 2X. This is why they throw in the upper 90′s.

Let’s look at these pitchers and their 3X to 2X relationship, so we can learn how to improve our relationship of 3X to 2X. Brandon Morrow has one of the best 3X moves in the game but he has a below average 2X move to support it. If you watch his front leg stabilization in slow motion you will see that it never flexes or moves after front foot strike, it is stabilizing and supporting his explosive 3X, like the immovable brick wall in the car crash analogy. This is allowing all that power from 3X to slam the hips open into his stabilized but not extended front leg, like in the car crash analogy. If he had a weaker 3X, with his below average 2X, he would lose velocity but if he had an explosive 2X like Justin Verlander, to go with his explosive 3X, then what would happen? This would change the car crash analogy. The brick wall would now be replaced with another car moving towards the original car at the same speed. Let’s replace these cars with bumper cars so the impact is greater. Now what would happen to the passenger in the original car? He would project himself even farther out of the car at impact. So you can see how powerful 3X and 2X can be if they work together. You can also see how if you increase one and decrease the other, at the same rate, then you haven’t effected velocity but if you increase one without decreasing the other then you increase velocity. 3X to 2X go hand in hand, so you must understand their relationship before you can effectively use them to increase velocity.

How to implement 2X before Pitch Release

The key to implementing 2X into your delivery is through both the motor coordination training of the component through drills and strength and conditioning. Let’s look at them separately.

Motor Training 2X – When using drills like the Med Ball or Target throws in the 3X Pitching Velocity program you want to work to keep the front leg knee behind your heal when in these drills. This will allow you to more easily achieve 2X. Once the front leg knee pushes out over the front foot it becomes too difficult to achieve 2X. These drills will help you develop the motor coordination around 2X because when you are in these drills, you are positioned with your hips open to the target at start. 2X will not occur if your hips are closed towards the target. This is why it is difficult to practice 2X within your entire pitching delivery. If you are not opening your hips at front foot strike then it will be almost impossible to achieve 2X before pitch release. This is why I recommend using the drills in the 3X Pitching Velocity Program to train this 2X motor skill.

Strength and Conditioning 2X – This is important to support 2X because for a pitcher to achieve 2X before pitch release, he must have strong quads and flexible hamstrings to complete this movement. If a pitcher is able to get the hips open at front foot strike but does not have the strength to fire the quads against the force of the landing leg hitting the ground and his hamstrings are not strong and flexible enough to support this extension and forward trunk tilt movement then the pitcher will never achieve this velocity component. The 3X Pitching Velocity program uses heavy load training to develop the quad power along with lifts like the RDL’s to develop the hamstring flexibility.

The Science behind 2X to 3X

If you need more science to support this information in this article then please study more about the physics of impulse and momentum. You can actually put together the math that supports this 3X to 2X relationship.

Here are also the studies that support these pitching components.

NPA Velocity Study conducted 2005-2006

http://www.nationalpitching.ne…..UV_NPA.pdf

“The results from our study indicate that just about 80% of a pitcher’s real velocity comes from the torque of hip and shoulder
separation”

ASMI – Comparison of High Velocity and Low Velocity Pitch Deliveries

http://www.asmi.org/asmiweb/re…..itches.htm

“Compared to the low ball velocity group, the higher ball velocity pitchers demonstrated less lead knee flexion velocity after front foot contact and greater lead knee extension velocity at the time of ball release. Extending the lead knee in this manner may provide stabilization allowing better energy transfer from the trunk to the throwing arm, and could be a critical factor in pitch velocity.

More open pelvis angle at the time of ball release (REL) also correlated with increased pitch velocity increased.”

To understand how to implement this into your pitching delivery we must first define these terms.

Force Production

“Generally, nerves stimulate muscles causing the fibers to contract with tension placed on their adjoining connective tissues. Since muscle contractions create the forces necessary to overcome resistance, the nerves represent the control center, whereas the connective tissues transfer the forces to the skeletal system. Ultimately, it is the ability of the muscle to generate forces that determines whether it will perform a movement effectively.” www.nsca-lift.org

Triple Extension

The force production generated through the extension of the ankle, knee and hip flexor is the most effective and efficient way to move the body. The extension of these three joints is call triple extension.

What does it take to increase force production through triple extension?

First, you must train your muscles to generate more force. Even better is to train through triple extension. This would include heavy load training using Plyometrics and the Olympic lifts, like the cleans. The reason for the heavy load training is because this has been proven the most effective way to develop more explosive power from your muscles. Heavy load training forces the body to recruit more fast twitch muscle fibers and also will develop more motor units to fire those muscle fibers more frequently.

Second, you must make mechanical adjustments to take advantage of this increased force production. This is because there is two different ways to move through force production. One way is a vertical movement, like a jump and the other way is a linear movement, like in a stride or sprint. In pitching we move with a linear stride and that stride is also moving down hill.  Because we are moving in a linear movement, instead of a vertical movement, we must set what is called our force vector, with our center of gravity, before the launch. The 3X Pitching Velocity Program goes into this more but the basics of this mechanical adjustment is that you must line up your drive leg ankle and knee with your front hip, and these all should be pointing towards the target. Once this occurs, then the force production of triple extension will drive the body in a linear movement towards the target. If this does not all line up, then triple extension will not occur and force production is limited.

The 3X Pitching Velocity Program produces results because it trains you to generate more force production both physically and mechanically like describe in this article. You must have both to effectively increase velocity. The 3X Pitching Velocity Program goes into full detail on how to train 3X and force production and also has many drills teaching you how to do this.

3X

3X Pitching

3X stands for Triple Extension. Triple Extension is the extension of the ankle joint, the knee joint and the hip flexor. Triple Extension or 3X is the foundation of 3X Pitching. This term comes from the Olympic Lifting world which was the springboard for sport specific training. The reason that Triple Extension is so important is that this is how athletes move and generate power. Without Triple Extension or pushing off of the ground, we are almost powerless. Better athletes are able to bounce more force off of the ground through the stretch shortening cycle and Triple Extension than others. Before I get more into Triple Extension, the stretch shortening cycle, ground reaction forces, Triple Flexion, the Kinetic Chain and other advanced terminology that will help teach you a cutting edge approach to pitching velocity, (that at the current time very few coaches are teaching and will allow you to reach your velocity goals) I will first cover the philosophy, benefits and the inspiration of this velocity enhancement and injury prevention focused approach to pitching.

The 3X Philosophy

Most approaches to pitching mechanics are arm or upper body focused. Most of them are mainly focusing after front foot strike. This would be when the lead leg lands just following the stride. The 3X approach to pitching is lower body focused and believes that the arm is only along for the ride and not the main tool for developing your top velocity. In the case study from the U.S. National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health called “An EMG Analysis of the Shoulder in Throwing and Pitching” by Doctors Jobe FW, Tibone JE, Perry J, Moynes D states that during acceleration of the shoulder and arm, the shoulder and arm had a lack of muscle activity, even though the arm was accelerating forward in space. Here is the conclusion of the entire study:

Five male subjects’ throwing and pitching motions were analyzed by dynamic electromyography and high speed photography. Electrodes inserted into the deltoid and rotator cuff muscles attempted to define muscle activation patterns during the throwing and pitching cycle. The wind-up or preparation (Stage I) had no consistent pattern. Cocking (Stage II) had a sequential muscle activation pattern of first deltoid activity, followed by the S.I.T. muscles and finally by the subscapularis muscle. Acceleration (Stage III) had a lack of muscle activity, even though the arm was accelerating forward in space. Follow-through (Stage IV) was the most active stage with all the muscles firing intensely. The muscle patterns observed during the cycle were largely characteristic of attempts to decelerate the arm.
(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6829838)

This proves that the power to move the arm through the acceleration stage, to throw the ball to the target, was created before the acceleration stage, which is also before the arm is ever being used to throw the ball. This means that from the beginning of the leg lift, through the stride and all of the mechanical events that occur after front foot strike, this is when power is being generated. The 3X approach to pitching uses science to teach pitchers how to generate more power before the acceleration stage of the arm.

The scientific formula of 3X Pitching is based on the science of matter and energy and their interactions, which is better known as physics. Older descriptions to pitching like “Drop and Drive” or “Stand Tall and Fall” are broad labels on pitching styles but fail to define a scientific approach to pitching. 3X Pitching starts by defining the three most important components and their relationships: force, acceleration, and torque. To understand the importance of the relationship between these three we must first define them separately.

1. Force - is a cause to move by pushing or pulling.
2. Acceleration - is the change in velocity over time.
3. Torque - is a twisting force.

Now let’s put them together in their relationships. Force starts the delivery through a pushing or pulling effect to generate momentum. Acceleration is the change of speed or velocity of that momentum and Torque is adding a twisting force to take advantage of the elastic properties of the body to assist the speed or velocity of the momentum. As you can see these three components are critical and must all be present when pitching. What it is teaching us is if you max out these three components, by increasing your body’s ability to generate power in your pitching delivery, you have reached your top velocity.

This is a very simplistic way to define pitching and pitching velocity through physics but it is a very significant way to define it as well. “Occam’s razor,” is an old teaching that says “the simplest explanation is more likely the correct one.” This means if you can break something complicated down into its simplest form then you may just have your answer. This answer is the formula for the 3X Pitching approach. Later on in this book I will uncover the building blocks that will build on top of this formula and teach you how to incorporate 3X Pitching into your own delivery, which will help you reach your velocity goals.

The Benefits of 3X Pitching

Of course, before you do anything in life you want to know why you are doing it and the answer to the “why” lives in the benefits. The list of benefits that come from the 3X approach to pitching is as follows.

1. More Power
2. More Velocity
3. Longevity
4. Less Chance of Injury
5. More Confidence
6. More Success

Velocity enhancement alone is a major benefit that sells most pitchers but you must make sure that you are not gaining a negative with your new positive. For example, you wouldn’t want to gain velocity and in return develop a labrum tear. Therefore you must make sure that with velocity enhancement comes injury prevention. This is another big plus about 3X Pitching.

I first developed this approach learning how to pitch again injury free. The bonus was the velocity gains. Once I started to notice the velocity gains while my arm was feeling better and stronger, I realized that I was on to something special. This doesn’t mean that you can’t get hurt once you learn 3X Pitching. What it means is it takes a more total body approach to pitching, which helps pitchers who have more “all arm mechanics”, reduce the stress they are putting on their rotator cuff and elbow. The effect of these total body mechanics will also improve your longevity. This means you will not only be able to throw more pitches at a higher intensity in the game but through your entire career. Finally with all of these benefits comes confidence, and ultimately success, but this doesn’t come without a price. The price is in the workload. It will not be easy to implement 3X Pitching into your own delivery, so if you commit, you must be certain that you will find success. If you can’t make this commitment, then I wouldn’t recommend changing what you have been doing up to this point in your career.

Inspiration of 3X Pitching

I was 18 years old and a late bloomer with a full scholarship to a top level Junior College. I was only 6 feet and 175 pounds at the time. I was set up to be the second starter in rotation for the top Junior College pitching staffs in the state. My coach was expecting a lot of me and I also had a few NCAA DI schools interested. The problem was my arm was killing me. During the second game of the season, into the 4th inning, my arm hurt so bad I was forced to take massive amounts of pain killers and on top of that I had to punch my arm while sitting in the dugout so I would feel the pain of the punch instead of the pain of the inflammation in my arm. I was facing the first batter of the inning and it happened like it was out of a movie. I threw a pitch and my arm completely gave out. I could no longer move it. I looked at my coach and he knew something was wrong. He took me out and said, “go ice your arm and we will see how it looks tomorrow.” One week later I still could not move my arm. I had surgery and my life changed forever. After 6 months of rehab, I had made no progress. My arm still hurt and I couldn’t throw the ball. At this point every major Doctor in the area told me I would never pitch again. I even worked with the strength and conditioning coach for the Dodgers and Giants and he told me that I was finished. I was 18 years old and my life of baseball was over. I could not accept this because it made no sense to me at all. This is why I decided to grow up and learn what had just happened in my life.

What I first learned was that the medical field is flawed. They do not have all of the answers. Hell, they had only one answer for me and that was “sorry we can’t help you.” I then went to coaches and pitching instructors who said if you can’t pitch, then you must be finished. This is why I was forced to learn this myself or move on in my life. I loved the game and my talents, so I refused to give up on them. I spent the next five years looking outside of baseball and outside of the medical field for answers because I felt that baseball and medicine had failed me. What I found was that baseball and the medical professions live in their own little cocoons and there is a whole new world of information that has yet to penetrate these organizations. This mainly has to do with politics and traditions. Once I learned that there is a lot more information out there than what I was told, I never stopped searching for more. This searching lead to a new approach to pitching and training for me and this is how I not only pitched again but reach my velocity goal of 94mph and played minor league ball after doctors and baseball told me I was finished.

Even after I decided to retire from professional baseball, I am still searching for more information today, 16 years after my surgery. This searching and my pitching experience has given me the knowledge of pitching mechanics that very few people possess. I would have to say that my inspiration to the 3X Pitching approach came first from my career ending injury and then the discovery that most approaches to pitching were so old that I felt I could discover something revolutionary. I will let you be the judge of that.

Triple Extension (3X)

When I first learned of the phrase Triple Extension I was shocked. I was in college and I was being trained by the top strength and conditioning Coaches in the Nation, post surgery. I could not believe that in my entire career, from rec ball to high school ball in both football and baseball, I had never heard of this terminology. I was actually very upset. It felt like all of my previous Coaches were holding valuable information from me to hinder my success. This was the day I saw the light…………………………………………………………….

Entire book for purchase. Coming soon…..

Download 3X Pitching sample here!

Before I give you these keys you need to prepare your mind for success because these keys will change how you look at pitching and velocity. More than likely the knowledge you have of pitching velocity is not getting the job done and YES you can gain knowledge from a source like TopVelocity.net which will guide you to pitching velocity that you have dreamed of reaching. Obviously, I am proud of these 3 Keys to Pitching Velocity because I am gloating but I did have to pay a heavy price for this knowledge. I had to overcome a career ending rotator cuff tear before playing pro ball, along with over ten years of searching and searching for this knowledge and abusing my body through trial and error. These 3 Keys helped me to reach my velocity goals after several doctors told me I would never pitch again. So here goes!

The 3 Keys to Pitching Velocity

1. Triple Extension
2. Optimal Hip to Shoulder Separation
3. 180 degrees of External Rotation

That is it! This list is the Holy Grail to Pitching Velocity and you now have it. I am sure you have no idea what you have, so I will take the rest of this article to explain what each one of these keys mean to you.

Triple Extension

This is the foundation of my 3X program which is apart of the Ace Pitcher Handbook and the 3X Velocity Camp Instruction Videos. Triple Extension is defined as the extension of the ankle joint, the knee joint and the hip flexor. This is the first phase of generating velocity. If performed effectively this key will increase velocity by 4-5 mph. To be performed effectively it must occur JUST BEFORE FRONT FOOT STRIKE. This is when the lift leg lands and opens to the target. If Triple Extension does not occur JUST BEFORE FRONT FOOT STRIKE then it will have a limited effect on velocity. To learn more read the article here at TopVelocity.net on 3X Pitching.

Optimal Hip to Shoulder Separation

This key to Pitching Velocity is the hardest to learn out of all the keys. It is also what separates high velocity throwers from low velocity throwers. The reason for its difficulty is that your lower half must separate from your upper half and most young pitchers do not have this coordination. Try it the next time you are throwing and you will feel how awkward it is when you first experiment with it. You can perform this component by driving your drive leg forward and at the same time cocking your throwing arm back. What this key does is build what I call core torque. Putting majority torque in your core will not only allow you to generate more velocity, it will protect your arm from injury. It will protect your arm because when you build more core torque you have a better chance of not abducting your arm into the red zone. It will generate more velocity because you are now using a big explosive muscle group to assist momentum. To learn more about this key and how to implement it into your delivery I recommend the Ace Pitcher Handbook.

180 degrees of External Rotation

This key only comes when you have mastered the two keys before this. This key component should not be implemented or worked on until you have mastered the two keys before this one. The day you are able to externally rotate your arm to 180 degrees after building optimal hip to shoulder separation, you will experience a mental high that you have never felt before. The day that ball rips out of your fingers at 90 or 95 plus, you will not look back. This key will also only occur when your arm is completely relaxed to allow these eccentric forces to take control of the ball. This is the point in the delivery that Nolan Ryan would say he would then just let it ride. No pulling the ball down to finish the pitch, only tucking your chin and thrusting your chest forward while relaxing your arm and letting your arm externally rotate. Once your arm is stretched out then all you need to do is let it fire by allowing it to internally rotate to release as quick as possible.

Like I said before this may not make much since to the pitcher who has been brain washed by conventional wisdom. So do yourself a favor if you are that guy and watch the Matrix. Yes, watch the movie the Matrix and then stop listening to the same old stuff that everyone is telling you and has been telling you on the ball field and cut through the BS. Velocity is the product of an explosive kinetic chain of events that move through the entire body and transfer efficiently and effectively into the ball. For a pitcher to reach velocities as high as 90 or 100 mph he must fire and stretch his muscles and skeletal structure to its limits without causing injury over time. If you are to reach these velocities you must push yourself to these limits and train your body to max out its potential by using everything that it has in its power. You can rely on luck or you can get down to business and learn how to implement these 3 keys of pitching velocity into your mechanics and training.

3X Timing Factor

The component before 3X occurs is the “Load” position. This is when your lift leg is coming down and your squatting on your drive leg as your hips begin to build momentum towards the target. The speed of your lower body at this position is moving at a slow pace. You are mainly working to get everything in position for triple extension. Most pitchers who do not understand the timing of triple extension would try to triple extend quickly while still in the “Load” position. This would prevent good hip to shoulder separation at front foot strike and the pitcher would leap towards his front foot landing instead of hover. To prevent premature triple extension, you must wait for your hips to be as far away from the rubber as possible with you drive leg still bent and ready to fire and your lift leg is just about to land. Notice the photo of Joba Chamberlain in this position. Now that you know when to fire your drive leg into 3X you must now understand the speed of the movement.

Remember momentum must continue to accelerate to ball release. Therefore if you accelerate two early in your delivery it will cause you to decelerate before ball release. You want the climax of your speed to hit when the ball is launching out of your hand. As for the speed of triple extension, you must start your leg drive after the “Load” position at a slow pace to make sure your drive leg and hip are moving before your back shoulder. Once you feel the separation of back hip to back shoulder begin and your core is starting to tighten then this is when you explode into full triple extension. If you do not feel the separation of hips to shoulders before you triple extend then you could easily triple extend your drive leg and your back shoulder would move along with it killing your chance of creating optimal separation. So once you feel your core tightening then it is time to fire that drive leg and push your hips to your target. Notice in the video clip of Joba here he does not accelerate his lower half and triple extend until he is coming out of the load position and his lift leg is starting to open and land. You will notice that it looks like his knee is driving down into the ground. This is the effect of the extension of the drive leg as the body is moving down hill.

Another indicator that you created good core torque is if you can hear your drive foot dragging before your shoulders and chest start towards the target. This dragging sound should happen just as your chest is thrusting forward. Notice in the video clip of Joba that his shoulders begin following the hips towards the target just after his drive foot is dragging. Most young pitchers will see in video analysis that their drive foot drag happens after their shoulders commit towards the target.

The picture here of Roy Oswalt illustrates this optimal “Triple Extension” and “Separation.” Good separation from back hip to back shoulder builds torque in the core. An indication that a pitcher is developing that torque is noticeable in the twisting of the front of the jersey which is obvious in the picture of Oswalt. This is the most difficult position to master in the pitching delivery. It is a challenge to learn the muscle memory that allows the shoulders to stay back while the hips drive forward. The reason for the difficulty is that this requires a lot of core and leg strength. This is why I promote a very intense lifting program for pitchers that develops fast twitch muscle fibers and optimal core and leg strength. You will not master this position or this core torque until you are strong enough to achieve it.

Watch this video here or read my article on, “Olympic Lifting Increases Pitching Velocity” to learn more and purchase the “Ace Pitcher Handbook” to start the lifting program.

The Benefits of the Windup

1. This means no one is on base, so you potentially have more time to build momentum through your stride but you can also do this in the stretch.
2. This also means, you have more time once you start your delivery, to focus up on the target. Not to say you can’t do this in the stretch either.
3. It is a more intimidating position to face the batter which will give the pitcher more confidence.

The Benefits of the Stretch

1. You will throw your most important pitches here.
2. You have a more simple delivery mechanically.
3. You can get a good foot position on the rubber.

I believe that the deciding factor, of a pitcher who would either like to use the stretch or the windup without runners on base, is the foot position issue. You can get your foot in a more comfortable and athletic position when in the stretch. This would really benefit pitchers who are playing on bad fields. You know that mound that has a crater in front of the rubber that annoys the hell out of you! Here is a velocity quick tip that covers how to effectively position your foot on the rubber.

Pitchers that prefer the windup over the stretch, when acceptable, usually say the reason is because they feel more comfortable in the windup. If this is the case for you or your pitchers then this is fine. The only problem is if there is a significant difference between the pitchers delivery when in the windup as opposed to the stretch.  There should be no difference once the lift leg hip begins towards the target. Notice the video of John Smoltz below. His two deliveries are seamless between his windup and stretch.

I recommend pitching in the stretch more often because you will throw your most important pitches there. If you are more comfortable in the windup then this is usually because you throw more practice pitches in the windup. If this is the case, then I recommend throwing your bullpens in the stretch the majority of the time. This will also help you when you have runners on base. When runners are on base you must do your best to help your catcher to hold the runners on by being as quick as possible during your delivery. This means you may need to slide step. The problem is if you are a pitcher who likes to throw in the windup with a big leg lift, when in the stretch and slide stepping, you lose velocity. The key to not losing velocity in the slide step is focusing on the “Load” position. This position is when your hips are driving towards the target and you are squatting hard on your back leg. If you work hard to build momentum in the “Load” position, you can build as much momentum as you do with a high leg lift. Read my article on “Lift for Show, Load for Doe” to understand more about the “Load.”

I also recommend, when in the stretch, to start with your head and hips just inside your drive foot.  Have your feet almost shoulder width apart and your lift leg hip ready to fire to the target. This will help you get your lower half moving even faster to the target which will allow you to build maximum momentum along with optimal speed to hold base runners on.

It is important to remember that whatever you do to your delivery in the windup or stretch they must match each other once the hips begin moving towards the plate. If this does not occur then it will be very hard to stay consistent mechanically through the entire game. This will have a big effect on your balls to strikes ratio.