Listen to Kevin Royer's 3X Pitching interview where he talks about hitting 93mph in his first fall appearance this 2012. When he first discovered the 3X Pitching approach to increasing pitching velocity he was sitting in the low 80's. He attended a 3X Velocity Camp at the end of this past summer and was topping out at 86 and only a few months later he was 7 mph harder. Listen to this awesome interview and learn his insights on the power of 3X Pitching.
Kevin currently plays for Northern Oklahoma College.
Contact Kevin Royer on Facebook
Watch His 1st 3X Pitching Video Analysis
Watch His 2nd 3X Pitching Video Analysis
Kevin posted the news of his big fall outing on the forums, so I called him and asked him if we could do an interview.
Kevin Royer Interview Transcript:
Brent:
Alright, this is Brent Pourciau TopVelocity.net and I got Kevin it's Kevin Royer right? Is that how you say your last name?
Kevin:
Yes it is!
Brent:
Cool Kevin, I will never forget when you came into the 3X Velocity Camp. It was this summer wasn't it?
Kevin:
Yes, it was. It was at the end of this summer in August.
Brent:
Yeah, I will never forget when you came in and because something happened at that camp that it was really kind of cool. I haven't really seen that type of those quick results you had in a moment where I could really see things where changing for you and it was just so obvious that even the guys in the camp where taken back by what was happening. Just to describe it basically when would do our drills or do our throws you would do the separation throws and it was amazing because we would do our separation throws and if you didn't hit like if you didn't stay tilted and you would always work hard to stay tilted. You know high 70's in these drills and right when I could see the separation happening it was like a 6 mph jump or an 8 mph jump you would jump up to like 84-86mph and it was ridiculous and it was just so obvious which made a really cool effect and it was and all the other guys in the camp their eyes where lighting up because they were going, WOW look if you can just hit it you can implement it and you being a good athlete it made it so obvious that wow look at right their almost an immediate jump in velocity was pretty cool. But I want you to kind of tell everybody how you came into the program like tell us how you what you were doing how you found 3X Pitching when you first were looking for it.
Kevin:
Alright, I was basically I came off and injury for my high school year I didn't get to throw at my high school senior year because I had an elbow injury and I had to take a year off and couldn't throw at all. I actually ended up going to a college and started to throw I was throwing maybe low 80's at max and I was just looking for a solution because I used to throw harder than that in high school. I didn't know the mechanics, I just basically found them in high school I didn't know how to use them. When I was in my first year of college I couldn't really throw hard I was like low 80's and I was searching for answer and I was looking all over the Internet and then I came upon TopVelocity.net and I was like man I am going to give this a try from what I can tell this looks really good and I gave it a try and I definitely have seen a lot of improvement so far.
Brent:
I think you gave it more of a try you have been working pretty hard it looks like I mean don't you feel?
Kevin:
Oh yeah!
Brent:
Well cool so when you came into the camps, why did you want to go to the camp? I mean what made you want to come down here all the way down to the camp?
Kevin:
Well basically I had been doing the program kind of not all the way I was just kind of looking for an answer not really committed to anything yet. I was trying to grasp the hip to shoulder separation but I really wasn't getting it all the way like I just couldn't really figure it out. I was almost jumping off the mound and but I couldn't get my lower body separated from my upper body and then I just wanted to get some one on one training and that is when I really saw some big results.
Brent:
Yeah, so tell everybody more about what you think the camp did for you. What was the difference between you before the camp and then you after and what significant impact do you think it made on your training?
Kevin:
Well at the camp before I went to the camp I thought I knew what hip to shoulder separation was and like I thought I knew but after like there was definitely great instruction in it and it actually made me feel what hip to shoulder separation is and after you get to feel what it like feels like then you know how to get it almost but a lot better but before you can feel it you really don't know how to do it. The camp definitely helped me feel what to hip to shoulder separation was.
Brent:
Cool man and you were that guy who came into the camp who had some average numbers as far as your athleticism you had a descent broad jump vertical jump 60 so we really looked at you I am trying to remember what I told you but it was pretty much just getting you to harness that mechanically and also at the same time we could get your numbers to an elite level. Do you feel that that is what you have been doing is just continue to work on the motor coordination around the mechanics and pushing your goals up and your performance up?
Kevin:
Oh yes definitely! I have been the Fusion System definitely getting me stronger. I haven't gained weight so my power to weight ratio I think has been going up but I have been getting stronger. I have been doing the conditioning program every Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday I think it is and that is definitely helping me to get faster being able to get my 60 up and vertical up.
Brent:
Yeah, you move so fast its like ultimately you are going to easily put yourself into an elite category as an athlete you just have some good genetics on that end but you where pretty inconsistent mechanically and that is just because you where learning it. What do you think made you more consistent mechanically now that you are playing this fall?
Kevin:
Well it is basically what goes back to that thing where if I could feel if I did the hip to shoulder separation right I knew I did it right but I couldn't always put those mechanics into my delivery and after you feel it once then you just know exactly how it feels and you just keep working to get to those mechanics but and now that I have been working at it a while I have been constantly getting a lot higher pitching velocity.
Brent:
Any of the drills have helped as far as the throwing drills?
Kevin:
Oh yeah definitly. I really like the med ball drills because they allow you to use your big leg muscle and implement those into hip to shoulder separationwithout tearing up your shoulder really hard and those are the things that have helped me a lot.
Brent:
Cool, yeah I can definitly see that. Welll why wont you tell everybody your numbers so you came into the program throwing how hard?
Kevin:
I was topping out at 85 but I was living around 83,82,83 right around there.
Brent:
Cool and then what this fall you have obviously had a great fall but it is just the beginning tell us where you are sitting this fall.
Kevin:
Alright, this fall my last outing I was living around 90-91 and I topped out at 93 and 6 innings 11 strikeouts and I have only allowed one hit and the big think is my accuracy is even though my velocity has gone up my accuracy has gotten a lot better by like the first year I went to college I red shirted because my velocity was down and my accuracy was just horrible but now I have only allowed one walk this year as well.
Brent:
I don't know what is going on my phone my dang phone keeps dropping out so I last asked you the question what helped your precission what did you say?
Kevin:
Oh, I don't know how but the hip to shoulder separation just definitly helps your accuracy because when i was using all of my arm I was just very inaccuracte and now I have only allow one walk in the innings that I have pitched.
Brent:
Yeah I mean the reason that it helps is because your arm is getting invloved later in your delivery so when it gets involved later then it is moving with your momentum and your momentum is going in a linear direction. So then your arm is moving in a more linear direction. See if your arm got involved early. If you didn't have good hip to shoulder separation your arm got out early then it would get in front of the linear momentum and therefore it would try to take control and therefore what does your arm do with your shoulders it just rotates. You are casting your arm out and everything is rotation and then it is harder for you to throw the ball in a linear direction when everything is rotating around, right.
Kevin:
Yes definitly and I have seen a huge increase in accuracy it is awesome!
Brent:
That is just great! You are a great example of the program just because you came in with an open mind about the athleticism of the pitcher and you are an athletic guy and you really jumped into it and you took the mechanics with the same mindset that I just need to harness this athleticism and you are focusing your power as and athlete your speed as an athlete into the ball and then you are going to be a great pitcher because of it. This is why you have had such great results quickly because you definitly come into this with the mindset of, Oh I am a pitcher and pitchers are not athletes which is more conventional. You are definitly a good prospect for 3X pitching because you didn;t have that closed mindedness of conventional pitching wisdom, you know!
Kevin:
Yes, definitly!
Brent:
Well awesome man what an amazing jump you went from low to mid 80's to low 90's in what 6 or 7 months or a year or less?
Kevin:
I would say less than that. This summer even when I went to the camp I was throwing mid 80's and I was just been figuring out the hip to shoulder separation and now it has definitly gone up.
Brent:
Well good I mean hey manI just want I am glad you were willing to do this interview. I just wanted to put out your success and we are really. I mean you are kind of in the beginning of this. God knows where you can get. I could ultimately see you as a mid 90's guy a mid to maybe upper 90's guy if you just keep working hard man and implementing the program. Yeah, I ultimately want you to come down to the camps too. I mean not the camps for training with the guys in the summer like we talked about if you can I would love to help you continue man because you have a lot of good things that are going to happen to you striclty because where you are getting with your velocity now. You get up to that mid 90's level you are going to have a lot of attention coming your way, you know.
Kevin:
Yes, that is what I was planning on doing. I really saving money trying to get down there this summer because I definitly thought that was a great opportunity.
Brent:
Alright dude we will just stay in touch with that and make it happen. I wish you the best keep dominating this fall and thanks for doing the interiew man.
Kevin:
Yeah, no problem!