If you are a coach who has just started reading about 3X Pitching, bought the program, or studied the mechanics guide, your probably thinking wow... this is amazing!!!
But... You might also be thinking....
How the heck do I do it?
How do I implement this with my kids?
5 days a week??
Really???
Are you serious?!?
Well at least that's what I thought when I first learned about the 3X Pitching system. I was amazed by this revolutionary approach, the science that backs it up, and inspired by possibility of truly helping kids that are willing to commit themselves to excellence, dream large, and work their tails off to reach their potential.... at the same time, I was a little overwhelmed. There is a lot of information to take in, learn, and implement. It took some time to understand the drills, mechanics, exercises and learn how to teach them.
You've got to understand there is a learning curve with this program. So my suggestion is to commit to doing one part of the program and then build your way up to teaching the whole thing. My suggestion is to learn the program a piece at a time.
Here is how I did it...
Steps to Coaching 3X Pitching
First, we started with the 3X medicine ball routine and the 3X throwing program (mechanics part of the program) 3 days a week. I did this for about 6 weeks until I had these drills completely down. Next, we added in the Fusion System (strength part of the program). We did this for a full eight weeks combined with the 3X throwing program, finally we added in the anaerobic exercises (speed part of the program). We are now running the full 16 week program from the Ace Pitcher Handbook and plan to run this program in cycles throughout the year.
We offer the program weekdays, Monday thru Friday from 4pm-6pm to our private lesson students. It's structured as an after school camp. Some players come when they can, some attend camps for the 3Xx mechanics drills only, and some come everyday. I encourage them to attend as much as they can, and commit themselves to a routine.
This is not an end all approach to implementing a 3X training program. It's just an example of one way to do it. The key is doing each piece of the program correctly. The fastest way to beat the learning curve is to get out to a 3 day 3X Pitching Camp in New Orleans and have Coach Pourciau walk you through the entire program. It's worth every penny you invest! You will not be disappointed!
If you understand your players personal strengths and weaknesses, you can probably access what part of the program they will get the most velocity gains from. If they are already strong and fast, they'll probably benefit from the mechanics drills the most. If they're fast with good mechanics but lack the strength, they'll probably benefit from the fusion part of the program the most. And if they are strong but slow down the mound, the speed training part of the program can make them into a more explosive pitcher. In essence, you should ask yourself, where do each of my players need the most improvement: speed, strength,or mechanics? Encourage them to start there and build on that.
That being said I highly recommend you build up to doing the whole program with your pitchers. Mastering it one piece of at time helped me implement running an effective coaching program. My advice is stick with it, it's the best program around for helping your pitchers reach their velocity goals.
For help on specific drills, always refer back to the system videos and dive into the online content on topvelocity.net. This will keep you on track, and give you a better understanding and perspective on how to coach the program.
Implementing the program is just the first step. A greater challenge is inspiring and mentoring players to stay committed. Stay tuned for my next article entitled "3X Program Commitment."
"The people who accomplish the greatest feats in life are not always the smartest, most talented or physically gifted individuals in the world, often times they are the people who try the hardest, work the smartest, and dream the largest."