Motor coordination is the combination of body movements created with the kinematic (such as spatial direction) and kinetic (force) parameters that result in intended actions.

Michael Jordan spent most of his life playing basketball. Olympians spend most of their lives practicing their Olympic skills. This means their motor coordination is specific to their skill set and if they want to convert their talents into another sport then they would have to spend a good portion of their lives re-programming their motor coordination. Just watch the Biography of Michael Jordan playing minor league baseball late in his career. He struggled for years before he started to see any success in the game. He also had to double his practice time to keep up with his competition.

The point to this argument is that when the conventional wisdom of the game dismisses the statements that jumping farther, running faster, lifting heavier does not apply to the act of throwing or hitting a baseball, is absurd. If this was the case, then why does Major League baseball measure the vertical jump, running speeds and overall speed and strength of the athlete when scouting? I understand, it isn’t enough to just find the logic in this argument, I must also produce a study to help prove my point. View the study below called, The Relationship Between Power And Lean Body Mass To Sport-specific Skills Of College Baseball Players. You can view the source to the study here.

METHODS: Thirty-seven members of an NCAA Division I men’s baseball team (age =19.7 ± 1.3 yr) volunteered to be evaluated. Tests included percent body fat, lean body mass (LBM), grip strength, upper (1RM bench press and 1-arm dumbbell row) and lower body (1RM squat) strength, rotational power (medicine ball side toss), leg power (vertical jump), running speed (10, 30, 60 yd sprint), throwing velocity (TV), bat velocity (BV), and batted-ball velocity (BBV).

RESULTS: Correlation coefficients were calculated for all variables by utilizing a correlation matrix from raw scores. Significant (p < 0.05) and moderately high positive relationships were indicated between BV and BBV (r = 0.70); 60 yd sprint and 30 yd sprint (r = 0.77), 10 yd sprint (r = 0.70). Significant and moderately positive relationships were indicated between BV and vertical jump (r = 0.58), LBM (r = 0.43); medicine ball side toss and BV (r = 0.50), TV (r = 0.49), BBV (r = 0.45); 1RM squat and 1RM bench press (r = 0.58). Significant and moderately negative relationships were indicated between 60 yd sprint and vertical jump (r = -0.57). Coefficients of determination for all variables were also calculated. Of particular interest was BV and BBV (r2 = 0.49), vertical jump (r2 = 0.34), medicine ball side toss (r2 = 0.25), LBM (r2 = 0.18); medicine ball side toss and TV (r2 = 0.24), BBV (r2 = 0.20); 60 yd sprint and 30 yd sprint (r2 = 0.59), 10 yd sprint (r2 = 0.49), VJ (r2 = -0.32).

CONCLUSION: Results suggest that strength training programs designed to improve baseball player’s performance should emphasize increasing leg power, rotational power, and LBM.

This study is suggesting that increasing ones vertical jump or leg power, along with rotational power and Lean Body Mass, will increase velocity. So this study supports the claims that jumping farther, running faster, lifting heavier will actually increase your velocity. This study goes to show you how illogical and uneducated the conventional wisdom of the game is, which unfortunately includes most pitching coaches!

If this case study isn’t enough, then here are some great examples of how this athletic approach to training the pitcher is changing the game. The best example of the athletic pitcher, in my book, is Tim Lincecum. He is small and explosive like an Olympic gymnast. Here is an excerpt from the New York times where his teammate Mark DeRosa is talking about his amazing athletic ability.

Outfielder Mark DeRosa, who signed with the Giants last winter, said he never knew Lincecum was so athletic until he saw him ace the team’s agility testing — standing broad jump, vertical leap — in spring training. DeRosa already knew how that translated to the mound. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/07/sports/baseball/07giants.html

I am assuming Mark DeRosa knows how Lincecum’s vertical leap power converts to the mound because he understands the basics of motor coordination. How many conventional pitching coaches in this game understand the difference between motor coordination and athletic ability? I would say very few.

Here is another great excerpt from an ESPN article where one of Lincecum’s teammates are amazed by his athletic ability.

In one well-traveled story from last year, the ace (Tim Lincecum) walked through the clubhouse and suddenly did a complete backflip, sticking a perfect landing. Centerfielder Aaron Rowand, one of the crustier Giants, took Lincecum to task immediately, telling him he was too valuable to endanger himself with such frivolity. The pitcher didn’t argue, but his father says, “They don’t understand what kind of athlete he is. He’s not going to hurt himself doing that.” http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3931546

I understand that Tim Lincecum was born with the potential to be this athletic but I believe most all people have this potential as well, just some have to work harder than others to get it out of them. Here is a perfect example of a pitcher working hard to pull this kind of athletic ability out of him. Men’s Health put together an excellent article on how Major League Pitcher Tim Collins turned himself into an elite athlete, using hard work and a strength and conditioning program, that developed his lower body, core strength and Lean Body Mass. Here is some excerpts from the Men’s Health article which illustrate his transformation.

Tim Collins was a 131-pound high school senior who stood 5’5″ and threw an 82-mph fastball.

The 131-pounder with the 25-inch vertical jump is now 172 rock-hard pounds with a 38.7-inch vertical. The guy who was gassed racing against a couple of strength coaches now spends 8 hours a day in the gym, hanging out with the athletes and coaches before, between, and after his training sessions.

The fourth pitch is Collins’ fastest so far, a 93-mph dart that Hunter swings at, and misses.
http://www.menshealth.com/fitness/transformation-tim-collins/

Tim Collins is a pitcher who tapped into his potential through hard work and went from 82 mph to 93 mph, using a strength and conditioning program developed by Eric Cressey.

At my Baseball Academy, just outside of New Orleans Louisiana. I have a very similar story with one of my local pitchers. His name is Mitchel Sewald and he has been on the 3X Pitching Velocity program for the past 6 months. His vertical jump was around 28 inches before the program and his 60 yard dash was around a 7.3 before the program. At the end of this summer, his vertical jump went over 36 inches and his 60 yard dash went down to 6.5 secs. At the same time his pitching velocity went from 82 mph to 92 mph. He just committed to a full ride to pitch for LSU after his senior year. He is going into his senior year season this new year.

This is all proof, that increasing your vertical or linear jump, which is your power production, while developing proper motor coordination around good pitching mechanics, like the 3X mechanics, will increase velocity. So yes, you can tell your pitching coach that if you can Jump Farther, you will Throw Harder.

The key to discovering this loss in velocity is through video analysis, it is a critical tool to identifying what is killing pitching velocity. If you are experiencing similar issue or you are dealing with some of the issue listed below then post your video here in the forums for a FREE pitching velocity analysis and we together, will discover the number one issue that is killing your pitching velocity.

I have discovered many reasons why these pitchers, who have contacted me over the years, are losing their velocity. I have listed the top 10 reasons here outside of strength and conditioning. I will address training issues that kill velocity in another article. These mechanical issues are usually the result of a pitching coach who has made some big changes or a pitcher who has learned some misguided information. Read this list and if you feel any of these issues deal with your delivery then I highly recommend that you send in your video for analysis.

10 Ways to Kill your Pitching Velocity

1. Changing your arm path – This has to be the most common mistake made for pitchers. Your arm path has very little to do with your velocity. What changing your arm path does is force you to slow down your stride speed to adjust to your new arm path. Because stride length to stride speed is such a big factor to pitching velocity this adjustment in arm path can be detrimental to pitching velocity.
2. Pulling glove side – Trying to pull with your glove side or even trying to reach out with your glove side will have a similar effect of changing your arm path. It will force you to slow down your lower half to allow your glove side to take over. It can also force you to open your shoulders early which will decrease your hip to shoulder separation at front foot strike which is the component that is responsible for 80% of your velocity.
3. Pull down throwing arm to release – It is a big misconception that pulling down your throwing arm generates more velocity. The opposite is true. Look at all hard throwers at release. They are releasing the ball above their heads over the tip of their hat and the arm is full extended. Pulling down the throwing arm during release will prevent early internal rotation of the throwing arm. Early internal rotation of the throwing arm after external rotation is listed as a high velocity component in the ASMI case study of a Comparison of High Velocity and Low Velocity deliveries.
4. Reach out to the plate with your lift leg – This mechanical adjustment causes a pitcher to open the hips early which prevents optimal force production. Most coaches who take this approach are trying to increase stride length but what they are forgetting is the most important part to having a long stride which is stride speed. A long slow stride will do nothing for a pitcher but decrease velocity. A long stride is only beneficial if the pitcher is accelerating his speed through the stride.
5. Feet closed power position – Most inexperienced pitching coaches will coach pitchers from the so called “Power Position,” this is the position at front foot strike. When the pitcher is in a full stride with glove elbow in line with target and throwing arm cocked. The mistake these coaches make is that they coach the pitcher in this position with the feet closed to the target. This means for a pitcher who throws right his feet are facing third base and for a pitcher who throws left his feet are facing first base. All hard throwers land with both feet facing the target. This is how they are capable of generating hip rotation immediately after front foot strike. If you have been coached to land with your feet closed and then to rotate your hips open after front foot strike, then this will destroy velocity because it does not support good hip to shoulder separation.
6. The Balance point – Balance is another big misunderstanding in conventional pitcher mechanics. Balance is more a component of strength and conditioning the pitcher instead of the mechanics of the pitching delivery. There is no mechanical component in the pitching delivery that will help the central nervous system balance the body. It is already programed to do this and through strength and conditioning we can enhance the pitchers ability to balance itself through high velocities. This being said the conventional approach to pitching which says the pitcher should be balanced at leg lift, is absurd. The pitcher should be balanced at all points in the delivery. Coaching the pitcher to stop at leg lift to find his “Balance Point” will only decrease velocity because all hard throwers are moving forward during the lift leg position. Stopping to find your balance at leg lift will make it harder to build your optimal speed through your stride.
7. Cocking arm high and back to second base – Having a high cocked arm angle through the stride and into front foot strike will not only hurt velocity but can hurt your arm. How it hurts velocity is it reduces hip to shoulder separation. When your front foot hits, the rotational forces begin to build torque in the body so by keeping your arms closer to your body allow for more rotation similar to an ice skater spinning around. The more the skater pulls their body into their core, the faster they spin.
8. Drive leg rotation instead of extension – The 3X approach to pitching believes that triple extension of the drive leg is not only the best way to build stride power but it is the best way to create optimal hip to shoulder separation. Coaching the drive leg to internally rotate into front foot instead of drive and triple extend into front foot will reduce stride speed and not coil the body as well at front foot strike which will reduce velocity.
9. Lean into your stride – Some pitching coaches will coach a pitcher to lean over their belt buckle during the stride. Some will even coach the pitcher to crouch inward at leg lift. This can hurt velocity if at front foot strike the pitcher is not tilted over the butt. It is easier and more effective to start in a tilt position. Tim Lincecum is a great example of this tilt and it is a big reason for his ability to create so much torque at front foot strike. To learn more about the tilt read this article called, The Pitching Key to Torque is in the “Tilt”.
10. Droping your lift leg down before you begin your stride – I have seen tons of low velocity pitchers come to me with video of them lifting their leg to start their delivery and then immediately putting it back down before they start their stride. What is the point of the lift leg if you put it down before even moving forward? I have heard coaches teach this to prevent the lift leg from opening early in the stride. Slowing down the pitcher will never fix any mechanical issues. You are always better speeding up the lower half when trying to fix a mechanical flaw.

Pitching Velocity Information and Articles

If you have found yourself a victim of some of these velocity killers or maybe even all of these velocity killers, then you need to STOP pitching now and take a step back. You are wasting your time even pitching with these pitching velocity killers. I highly recommend that you schedule an off-season ASAP and use a program like the 3X Pitching Velocity program to re-program and re-develop your central nervous system and muscular system to that of an efficient, explosive athlete/pitcher.

What you will learn from this site and through the 3X program, is that no mechanical adjustment can help you develop the speed and power issues that are killing your pitching velocity. The one thing that all of these 10 issues that kill pitching velocity have in common, is that they all are the effects and problems that arise when a pitcher has speed or power issues. This is why you need a program that will train you, as much as coach you, to become an elite, explosive, high velocity pitcher. Post your video today to see if you have any of these issues that are responsible for killing your pitching velocity.

Here are some articles to help you increase your pitching velocity:

Pitching Mechanics Video Analysis

Improve Pitching Velocity Tips

Pitching Velocity Tips

In the rest of this article, I am going to post Alan Jaeger’s approach to pitching and the Top Velocity approach. I hope that you will read them both. This is a great opportunity for you to learn both perspectives. What you will learn is that these are two totally different approaches to pitching and this will ultimately help you develop your own.

Alan Jaeger’s Long Toss Approach to Pitching

Alan sent me this article which summarizes his approach regarding arm development, including his emphasis on Long Toss. The Article contrasts what he believes to be the benefits of Long Toss, and the detriments of a restricting a pitchers distance (ie 120 feet) and arc. The article is from 2007 and in the meantime Alan Jaeger’s bio has grown considerably. Here is his up to date bio with his phone number and a link to his site. Read the article here

Alan Jaeger has worked with over 300 professional baseball players (including All Stars Barry Zito, Dan Haren, Mike Lieberthal and Andrew Bailey), several Collegiate Programs (including 2004 National Champions, Cal State Fullerton) and three Major League Organizations, including the Texas Rangers. Alan founded Jaeger Sports in response to the growing need to address the two most neglected areas of baseball: The Arm and The Mind. For more information please call 310-665-0746 or visit us at www.jaegersports.com.

Top Velocity Approach to 3X Pitching

The 3X Pitching approach is cutting edge but simple. It was inspired by the National Pitching Association’s Velocity Study conducted in 2005-2006. This study proved these revolutionary results. You can read the entire study here.

1. 80% of a pitcher’s real velocity comes from rotational momentum if his kinematic sequencing and energy translation are efficient.
2. 20% of a pitcher’s real velocity comes from directional momentum if his kinematic sequencing and energy translation are efficient.

These results may not hit you hard at first but if you think about it more, they will open your eyes to something revolutionary. What this studied has proven is that 100% of your velocity comes before your arm has even started throwing the ball. This isn’t the only study proving this. A study performed by the famous Dr. Jobe called, An EMG analysis of the shoulder in throwing and pitching, produced these revolutionary results. You can read the entire study here.

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 Acceleration (Stage III) had a lack of muscle activity, even though the arm was accelerating forward in space

After learning these studies prior to my rotator cuff surgery in 1995, the first question that popped into my mind was, “So what is arm strength, if your arm has very little to do with velocity?” This question, along with these case studies and many more, helped create a revolutionary approach to pitching that is growing more popular everyday called 3X Pitching.

The 3X Pitching will teach and train you that to throw harder, all you need to do is enhance your bodies ability to produce power and then convert that power into hip to shoulder separation. This stratgey is not only supported by these scientific studies but it has produced some amazing results. To learn more about the results read the testimonials on the home page here.

To learn more about 3X Pitching, here are some links and articles on this site to educate you on the details.

1. 3X Mechanics Instructional Video – This video gives away all of the 3X Mechanics. You can count the schools of pitching on your hand, who have actually contributed a list of pitching mechanics or components to the baseball world. Not only has Top Velocity developed its own pitching mechanics but two of these components are changing the way we see the power pitcher.
2. Pitching Velocity Specificity – This article references countless studies that prove the most effective way to enhance velocity through training. This is a must read to learn more about why the 3X approach uses heavy load training to enhance velocity.
3. Scientific Proof that 3X will Increase Velocity and Prevent Injury – This article proves why increasing stride power, through triple extension (3X) and heavy load training, converts to higher velocities.
4. Why Some Pitchers Throw Harder than Others? – This article, along with a case study, illustrates the major use of the throwing arm in most hard throwing pitchers.
5. Pattern Overload a Major Cause of Pitching Injuries – This is a must read article. It proves why overuse, along with the loss of joint integrity, is a major cause of most pitching injuries.
6. More 3X Pitching Articles – There are many more articles on this site which will educate you even more on the entire 3X approach to pitching.  Please read on…

I hope you can read both Alan Jaeger’s approach to pitching and the 3x approach to pitching and feel that you have a pretty solid understand of the skill of pitching. What I also hope you learn from all of this is insanity, is that your success will come from more than just an approach or a workout. It will come from a strong work ethic. So educate yourself as much as you can on pitching but more importantly feed your souls passion to play this game at the best of your ability. Alan Jaeger and I wish you the best in your career!

The Cycle of Ignorance

I usually ask those pitchers who are in a top level college program where the college has a strength and conditioning coach and a pitching coach, “If these two coaches were in the same room together, would they have much in common? Would they spend much time together?” The answer is always, NO! These two coaches have nothing in common and in most cases they never speak to each other. This lack of communication and education is a major problem for the pitching community. What this creates is pitching coaches who deter their pitchers from using strength and conditioning coaches by giving them misinformation like; strength and conditioning will only make you bulky and less flexible. The reason most pitching coaches are misinformed is because they are teaching their pitchers exactly what their pitching coaches taught them. I like to call it the “Cycle of Ignorance” and baseball has been caught in this cycle for a very long time.

Now that pitchers are throwing harder and there are more hard throwing pitchers, this “Cycle of Ignorance” has forced pitching coaches into the belief that they must reinvent the wheel to develop the power pitcher, so they can produce competitive pitchers in today’s game. This re-inventing of the wheel is seen in pitching training programs where the pitcher is required to push tractors and carry old tires to help them develop strength and power. A strength and conditioning coach, who is certified in the science of exercise fitness, who has an above average  understanding of physiology and kinesiology, does not need to re-invent the wheel when training a power pitcher in this way. This coach would use power movements like the Olympic lifts or resistance sprints to develop the same type of power and strength in the pitcher, instead of having to use a tractor and an old tire. Ultimately, the Olympic lifts and the resistance sprints are a better and safer method for developing the power pitcher because it comes with a series of proven techniques to help prevent injury while developing strength and power because these techniques have been developed by a large organization of strength and conditioning coaches over the years.

I am not saying that all out of the box training programs are re-inventing the wheel but I do find a lot of risky training methods that could be a lot safer and better for the pitcher, if they first looked for an exercise or drill from the strength and conditioning field. If a pitching coach was to study and learn from the strength and conditioning world or actually get to know that strength and conditioning coach, he would fine that it has all been done. More than likely his head would explode and he would eventually question why he never opened his eyes to this type of training in the first place. This was my experience in my career when I started to learn from the strength and conditioning world as a pitcher. I felt like a fool! I listened to the baseball community my entire career and they were telling me I should not pay attention to these “Gym Rats” or “Meat Heads,” because pitchers are not power athletes. Once I realized pitchers were power athletes and strength and conditioning coaches have been improving and building power athletes for years, I then bought into their methods and started learning more about performance than ever before. Now when I work with pitchers as a pitching coach and strength and conditioning coach myself, I can’t believe how uneducated most pitching coaches are and how much of a disservices they are doing to the pitching community.

Strength and Conditioning the Power Pitcher

The most effective way to develop a power pitcher in the off-season as a strength and conditioning coach and a pitching coach, is to separate the training program into two parts. The first part is the motor coordination training and the second part is the strength development training. Most strength and conditioning coaches, who do not have the pitching experience, fail during the motor coordination training. This is because this training must involve developing the motor coordination around the pitching mechanics and most strength and conditioning coaches have no clue of good pitching mechanics. I would even say most pitching coaches have no clue of good pitching mechanics but this is for another article. This means the motor coordination training must involve drills to help develop the motor coordination of good pitching mechanics. You do not want to include strength development during this motor coordination training. After training motor coordination you then want to move into strength development. This would involve drills and exercises that help breakdown the big and small muscle groups in an controlled environment to promote a higher hormonal production which in return will build the athlete bigger, stronger and faster. This increase in muscles growth based around this style of strength training also remodels the muscle fibers and grows more motor units. So not only does the pitcher have more powerful muscles but more motor units to control these powerful muscles. This is the ideal strategy in developing the power pitcher and it should not be seen as an “Out of the box” approach or unconventional because this is the same strategy the strength and conditioning world uses with all the power sports.

The 3X Pitching Velocity program has been developed around this approach to training the pitcher at the youth and professional levels. This is why the 3X program has been so effective in meeting its claims of adding 5-10mph in 16 weeks. If you are willing to look outside of the conventional wisdom of the game for a complete approach to increasing velocity then you must check out the 3X Pitching Velocity program TODAY!

More than likely your Pitching Coach has no idea what Force Vector Pitching is and why it is so critical for velocity. I would love to see the look on his face when you ask him what force vector pitching is and why is it so important.

I have talked about the Pitching Force Vector many times on this site and in my analysis. It is also in the 3X Pitching Velocity program and the fact is, I really can’t talk about this critical component enough.

What is the Pitching Force Vector?

The Force Vector is the angle of the line from the ankle to knee. It is called the Force Vector because in any athletic event, yes pitching is an athletic event, the athlete must use ground reaction forces to produce force which will initiate body movement. Therefore the drive of the leg from the ground is what I like to call Force Production. The more force you can apply into the ground, the faster and harder we move as athletes, but this force must be guided in the direction that the athlete intends to move. This direction of movement is based on the angle of the Force Vector. If your Force Vector is vertical, you move vertically like a basketball player, if your Force Vector is horizontal, you move along the surface of the ground like a pitcher in his stride phase.

Force production in pitching will occur in both legs during the delivery, which if performed correctly, will rotate the hips. If we compared these pitching mechanics to an engine, the legs would be the pistons and the hips would be the drive shaft. We apply force to the piston and it then rotates the drive shaft.

Improving Pitching Mechanics and Velocity

In 3X Pitching, triple extension is the movement to create force production in the drive leg and triple flexion is the movement to create force production in the landing leg. The 3X Pitching eBook which is a part of the 3X program defines this into more detail. What is important to understand is that triple extension followed by triple flexion, where the force vectors are both in line towards the hips, like in all the pictures here, is what produces a high velocity pitcher. This is why I put together these animated clips of some of the games hardest throwers and labeled their force vectors so you can see how similar they all are. If I was to label the force vector of a low velocity pitcher, the force vectors would not be in line with the hips at any point in the delivery. They would be more vertical. These high velocity pitchers are able to keep their force vectors in line with their hips because of both leg power and they have developed the motor coordination to use this leg power effectively. Why this c0nverts to velocity is because these pitching mechanics create more explosive hip rotation than any other mechanical movement in the human body. All they have to do after the stride phase is to make sure that the shoulders have separated from the hips during this explosive hip rotation and the rest will come very easy. Most velocity loss and inconsistency is due to the loss of leg power and the breakdown of the Pitching Force Vectors during force production.

I highly recommend that you either film yourself pitching to analyze your force vectors or educate someone who can be that third eye for you, especially your coach. You can also post your videos in the forums for a video analysis but don’t forget that this has as much to do with strength than with motor coordination. You need a strength and conditioning program like the Fusion System in the 3X Pitching Velocity program to make it possible for you to implement these mechanics on a consistent basis.

* The first person to post who these pitchers are here I will send you a 50% off coupon to the 3X Pitching Velocity program.

Now that he is back, Tom House is claiming that he did some research on the new ArmourBite™ and he found that it will add 1-2 mph to your fastball when using the plastic mouth piece. This is the info coming from the home page of his National Pitching Association website.

National Pitching Associtation ArmourBite Claim

New Mouthpiece Improves Velocity!

Yep you read that right. Our research team at RDRBI lead by Tom House did some testing with the ArmourBite® to see if it could improve velocity. It works!

Because I have a lot of respect for Tom House and Under Armour®, I had to purchase the ArmourBite™. I will put together a full review of my performance after I use it for at least a month. Tom House is not the only one making the claims. Under Armour® is saying it will increase strength up to 20%, Increase Endurance up to 25% with Less Lactate Acid build up (This is confusing because research has shown that Lactate Acid is good for performance!), and improved reaction time up to 12% faster. This all makes me want to be so skeptical but Major Dena Garner, PhD at the Citadel said she felt the same before she did the research which has proven Under Armour®’s claims. Under Armour® is known for producing or support legitimate sports technology, so I am very close to being a believer but ultimately I need more research and to experience it myself.

The reason for my skepticism is because this device and these claims remind me of those plastic bands that everyone wears around their wrist because they also claim to increase strength and balance which I think is a joke. The more research I have done on this mouth piece though, the more I believe it may be worth its weight in gold. Supposedly, this mouth piece prevents the mouth from clenching during high intensity performance which this clenching causes a lot of performance issues. BiteTech who is the inventor of this technology, which Under Armour® is selling, says:

Clenching the jaw triggers the production and release of a cascade of hormones, including cortisol, the stress hormone. Performance Mouthwear prevents teeth clenching and relieves pressure on the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). By preventing the excessive production of hormones, the body is able to unlock its full potential.

They are also saying that the clenching effects breathing as well which leads to fatigue. This reminds me of those nose bands that the football players wear to help them with breathing during performance which is also worth its weight in gold. If the ArmourBite™ does prevent this excessive dump of cortisol into the system and support better breathing then maybe they can make these claims. The cortisol issue is important because research shows that testosterone is reduced when cortisol is present.

The more I learn about this mouth piece, the more I can’t wait to get it in the mail. This also gets me more excited because now you have a well respected pitching coach admitting that increasing strength will benefit velocity. This would mean he would have to make the same claims about a program like the 3X Pitching Velocity Program which uses the same approach to increasing velocity. It used the Fusion System which is by far the best strength and conditioning program on the web. I will not make my claims before I do my own tests but I would recommend using the ArmourBite™ with the 3X Pitching Velocity Program because if it does what it claims, it will enhance the programs ability to develop speed and strength around the 3X Pitching Velocity Mechanics which will help you reach your velocity goals even faster!

For more info on the product select the image below and search “ArmourBite”.

ArmourBite at UnderArmour.com

Dallas Baseball Instruction

If you are looking for instruction in the Dallas area then checkout Coach Pourciau’s video analysis which also comes with his One on One email coaching. His instruction is some of the best you will find. He has worked with hundreds of successful baseball players in all levels of play.

Dallas Baseball Training Programs

If you are a position player looking to gain sprinting and bat speed then the Baseball Training Manual is what you need. It comes with a free stream to the instructional videos for you to learn all of the drills, exercises and lifts. Coach Pourciau is also available to do video analysis for your lifting mechanics. For more information contact Coach above.

If you are a pitcher and looking to add 5-10mph to your velocity then you must start the revolutionary 3X Pitching Velocity Program today. It is a 16 week program which comes with the 3X Velocity System of med throws and target throws along with the Fusion system which is a complete strength and conditioning program.

Dallas Baseball USSSA Travel Teams

If you are a travel team looking for a training program for your position players or pitchers then contact Coach Pourciau and he will customize your program to meet your needs. 985-377-9249

Dallas Baseball Video Analysis (Pitchers)

Here are some of the top Pitching Velocity Programs online. These programs and baseball training videos have produced some serious results in increasing velocity, preventing injury, improving longevity, enhancing power production and helping those ball players get to the next level. A good place to start is with a Pitching Video Analysis so you can learn how the 3X programs will benefit you.

All these programs or in a digital format. If you would like these digital programs gift rapped and shipped then add the 3X Digital Cube to your cart along with your programs and the digital programs will be uploaded to the USB flash drive, gift rapped and shipped to the address you specify in the gift shipping section at checkout.

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Dallas Baseball Training Program (All Position Players Ages 14U)

Here are some of the top Pitching Velocity Programs online. These programs and baseball training videos have produced some serious results in increasing velocity, preventing injury, improving longevity, enhancing power production and helping those ball players get to the next level. A good place to start is with a Pitching Video Analysis so you can learn how the 3X programs will benefit you.

All these programs or in a digital format. If you would like these digital programs gift rapped and shipped then add the 3X Digital Cube to your cart along with your programs and the digital programs will be uploaded to the USB flash drive, gift rapped and shipped to the address you specify in the gift shipping section at checkout.

Dallas Pitcher’s Velocity Program (Ages 8U)

Here are some of the top Pitching Velocity Programs online. These programs and baseball training videos have produced some serious results in increasing velocity, preventing injury, improving longevity, enhancing power production and helping those ball players get to the next level. A good place to start is with a Pitching Video Analysis so you can learn how the 3X programs will benefit you.

All these programs or in a digital format. If you would like these digital programs gift rapped and shipped then add the 3X Digital Cube to your cart along with your programs and the digital programs will be uploaded to the USB flash drive, gift rapped and shipped to the address you specify in the gift shipping section at checkout.

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The article on TopVelocity.net that has been getting a lot of attention and the one that Jaeger is not happy with, is the article called Long Toss and the Placebo Effect. You can view it by selecting the title. The comments are below the article. Everyone thinks that I am against Long Tossing and the truth is that this isn’t true. I believe in Long Tossing up to about 120 feet. What I DO NOT agree with is “Extreme Long Tossing” like Jaeger promotes which can exceed distances of 350 feet. I feel that this is reckless because if you do not have efficient throwing mechanics you are taking a big risk with the health of your arm at these levels. This is why I preach against Jaeger’s Long Toss program because he does not work intently on correcting mechanical flaws before pushing his pitchers to these extreme distances. A great example is Joel Zumaya. This is Jaeger’s claim to fame whom he has put all over his website. Just this past MLB season Joel Zumaya broke off his shoulder bone. This is a major mechanical flaw that caused Zumaya’s shoulder bone to snap and you would hope his pitching coach could have prevented this major shoulder injury. If I was his pitching coach I would have at least taking responsibility for his injury.

Another reason I do not support this “Extreme Long Tossing” is because I like many other pro pitchers did not use this in my professional career. Actually before I tore my rotator cuff in college, I would perform extreme long toss. I am not saying that this is why I injured my arm. What I am saying is I never used it again and was able to add 8 mph on my fastball which got me into pro ball.

The day I broke 90+mph post surgery, which I had at 18 years old when I was throwing 86 mph with horrendous mechanics, is because of a new program I was on for about 6 months to a year. The day I found this program was the day I decided to stop making this stuff up and seek professional help from those who I felt knew what they were talking about. I found Tom House who is a well known pitching coach and Doctor and Kurt Hester who is a nationally recognized strength and conditioning specialist. Tom House taught me about hip to shoulder separation, which I had none and Kurt taught me speed and strength like you wouldn’t believe. With this combination I experienced an 8 mph increase in velocity.

I wasn’t long tossing past 250 feet plus. I wasn’t using weighted balls. I was performing the Olympic lifts, plyos, and sprint work, 1 hour a day, 5 days a week while I was playing for a travel team in the summer. If I pitched on a day of a lift, I would not change my program. I would lift at full intensity and then pitch a 7-9 inning game one hour later. This is because the lifting program was lower body dominate. I wasn’t pounding my arms. I was pounding my legs. I also was working on good hip to shoulder separation during practice and before the games. I thought at this time, that with the lifting intensity and the pitching of 7-9 innings that my body would give out and it did the opposite. I would finish a 9 inning game with higher velocities than in the first inning. I continued this program and it is what I believe put me into pro ball after doctors told me I would never be able to compete again.

The program I used is now the Ace Pitcher Handbook. I am aware that this program isn’t for everyone and that just because it worked for me, doesn’t mean it will work for you. I understand this but you will never know if a program like this will have the same effect on you if you don’t give it your best.

I also believe that the reason arm injuries have increased by 700% in the past ten years is because pitchers are training outside of the mechanics of the pitcher. Extreme long toss mechanics is a lot different than on the mound mechanics. I explain this here

The Proper Research on Why Long Toss is Bad for your Arm

This is also the case in the weight room. This is why I believe the Olympic lifts are the only intense lifts you should use because they have a lot of similarities in mechanics to pitching. You can read more about this point in the first article I wrote on this site.

Olympic lifting Increases Pitching Velocity.

I am glad that “Extreme Long Tossing” is getting this much attention with this site and Jaeger’s but I hope that those who are using this approach are educating themselves on the dangers. I also hope those who use my approach are educating themselves on the dangers as well. Which are, just like learning good throwing mechanics before you try to throw your arm off you must learn good lifting mechanics  before you try to move a house. Be smart, work hard and always listen to your body!

During the prime of the likes of Nolan Ryan, the popular way of generating more momentum back then was the “Stand Tall and Fall” style developed by Nolan Ryan and his pitching coach Tom House, who may have coined the term. This proceeded the popular style of “Drop and Drive” used by the great Tom Seaver. These two styles of pitching are still used today. What is changing is pitching mechanics are evolving from an art form into the world of science.

Instead of hearing terms like “Stand Tall and Fall” or “Drop and Drive,” we are now hearing terms like “Core Torque,” “Triple Extension” or “Scap Loading.” What we are learning is the more science we can put into pitching, the more benchmarks we have to help pitchers make their improvements. If pitching mechanics are only seen as an art form, then they are based on opinion, which has been the case for some time now. When pitching mechanics are seen as a science then through analysis pitching mechanics must meet certain benchmarks to be labeled efficient and effective.

What we have learned from these two styles, “Stand Tall and Fall” and “Drop and Drive,” is more momentum equals more velocity. What we know today is that digital science has proven that momentum is only effective if it transfers from the lower half to the upper half of the body before it can move into the ball at release. This is the importance of “Separation.” “Separation” is when the front leg lands and the back leg is extended, the back hip is around and the back shoulder and body weight is still back. Notice the picture of Tim Lincecum above in this position. You can develop all the momentum in the world with a Nolan Ryan leg lift or a Tim Lincecum jump off the mound but if you do not let that momentum travel up your body into the ball with proper “Separation” then this means you will be stuck with just your arm to generate the velocity of the pitch.

I like to use the analogy of a moving car. Imagine a car traveling at 100 mph. The drivers side door is closed but it isn’t closed all the way. All of a sudden the driver slams on the brakes and stops the car in its tracks. What would happen to the door? It would fly open because once the momentum of the car is stopped by the brakes, the momentum moves into anything that is not secured down. The door was not secured down, so it picked up the momentum and flew open. This is exactly how momentum must travel through a pitchers body. To transition from the moving car analogy into the delivery of a pitcher we could say the car is the legs and core of the pitcher and the door is the shoulders and arms. Once the pitcher puts on the brakes with his front leg during front foot strike and the shoulders are closed with weight back, then the momentum will travel into the shoulders and arms driving them open towards the front knee. If the front leg continues to stabilize, the momentum will jump into the ball once the shoulders and arms cannot travel any farther.

This analogy makes it sound simple but it is not because there is a sequence of rotational pivots that must rotate perfectly in order for the ball to reach your potential velocity. To learn more about these pivots read Pitching-torque-and-the-3-pivots. It is also a major feat to train your muscles to move your “car” at speeds that cannot be seen by the human eye but I believe it is possible and so should you. Purchase the Ace Pitcher Handbook for a complete training program to help you grow bigger, stronger, faster.

The two greatest pitchers of our time is Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens. Their success came from their genetic make up and also their work ethics. Both of these pitchers had intense training programs. Roger Clemens was even using illegal drugs to enhance his work ethic and increase his improvements. Both of these pitchers grew bigger, stronger, faster in their careers and they both threw harder the older they got. This is because their work ethics improved their overall strength, which helped keep their flawless mechanics consistent and efficient. If they had slacked on their off-season training programs then you would have noticed a decline in their careers. This wasn’t the case and it is known today that they both where extremely hard workers.

Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens careers are proof that proper weight training and plyometric training will lead to a successful career. So why do coaches ignore this fact? Because they usually do not have first hand experience. If you want to be a high performance machine then you must train your body to become one.

Why should pitchers use a good strength and conditioning program?

1. To enhance pitching mechanical efficiency, which will lead to more consistency and increased longevity.
2. Help the body heal faster.
3. Develop fast twitch muscle fibers which have a higher capacity for explosive energy.