Pitching Lessons In Baton Rouge
Looking for pitching lessons in Baton Rouge? Look no further. Baseball player development has advanced fast. Kids are now playing very competitive baseball at younger ages. I’d like to first say that kids should be playing other sports and not just baseball year round. There is a lot of evidence of kids who play multiple sports growing up to become superior athletes and also significantly reducing their risk of injury. This is due to the different stresses put on the body by different sports, not forcing the body into overuse and not burning the kids out at a young age. However, this article is about pitching lessons. The best pitching lessons in Baton Rouge consist of creating a plan from each individuals unique strengths and weaknesses. At 5 Tool Sports Science we assess every athlete to determine where they need to improve in their kinetic chain through biomechanics assessments, mobility assessments and athletic assessments. From there, each athlete has a baseline of measurements and will have a training program to build towards their goals of becoming an elite level pitcher. It’s not a guessing game anymore. We know exactly how the elite level athletes move and we can show each athlete where they are falling short. That’s where the work begins and there is no way that can be accomplished in a couple of 30-60 minute lessons each week. Frankly, if all you’re doing is a couple “pitching lessons” a week you are most likely wasting your time and money. You need a program, a long term plan to attack your weaknesses and reassessments to measurably track progress to develop your talent to the next level.
Develop The Horsepower
One of the biggest problems I have with pitching lessons is that the framework of a 30-60 minute lesson doesn't allow for the total athletic development of the pitcher. Contrary to popular belief, pitchers are athletes and they need a program to build speed, strength, power and muscle mass. This is the horsepower in the engine. You can have the smoothest mechanics in the world, but if there is no horsepower in the body you ain’t going anywhere. There is a direct correlation to baseball levels of play and lower body power. For example, vertical jump peak power increases with every jump in level of play. If you’re not competing at the level you want to be, it might not mean you need more pitching mechanic work, it might mean you need to get your butt in the weight room and start eating more food in the kitchen.
High School: 7,481 (w)
NAIA College: 8,539 (w)
NCAA D1 College: 9,127 (w)
Rookie Ball: 10,798 +/- 791 (w)
Single A: 10,823 +/- 737 (w)
Double AA: 11,127 +/- 622 (w)
Triple AAA: 11,435 +/- 957 (w)
MLB: 11,542 +/- 849 (w)
Results of this study indicate that both anthropometric and performance variables are able to differentiate professional baseball players at different levels of competition. Lean body mass, speed, lower-body power, and grip strength were also shown to be significantly correlated with baseball-specific performance variables. - Anthropometric and performance comparisons in professional baseball players (1)
Build Elite Kinetic Chain Pitching Mechanics
On top of building the horsepower, you also need to develop elite pitching mechanics. Elite high velocity pitchers are masters at utilizing the kinetic chain. The Kinetic Chain is a series of joints starting at the ankle and extending through the knee, hip, shoulder, elbow, and wrist. The elite high velocity pitcher transfers energy up this kinetic chain more effectively from the ground up. Studies have found that the leg, hip, and trunk movements are significantly responsible for increasing pitching velocity and reducing the risk of injury. When considering pitching lessons for your young athlete, you will want to make sure that the program has coaches that are measuring your biomechanics and understand how the kinetic chain works in the pitching delivery. At 5 Tool Sports Science, we are one of the best destinations in the nation to assess your biomechanics and develop elite kinetic chain pitching mechanics. We motion capture each athletes pitching mechanics to create a baseline and determine where each athlete is “leaking” energy in their kinetic chain. Our assessments allow us to track progress and ensure measurable results. From there our coaches work with the athlete through drills and exercises to improve the deficiencies in the kinetic chain and develop healthier and harder throwing athletes.
The pitching motion should not be thought of as an upper extremity action, rather an integrated motion of the entire body that culminates with rapid motion of the upper extremity. Improvement of velocity can result from optimization of the kinetic chain, which likely also reduces the kinetic contributions of the shoulder to produce top velocity. Reduced kinetic stresses on the shoulder may prevent injury, leading to greater durability and health of the throwing shoulder. - The kinetic chain in overhand pitching: its potential role for performance enhancement and injury prevention
This is an actual report that you will receive from us at 5 Tool Sports Science. You will know exactly where your movement/mobility weaknesses are.
Improve Mobility/Movement Skills
Another key piece to developing an explosive and healthy athlete is understanding and enhancing human movement. Many athletes do not produce the amount of power and force that they are capable of because they leak force and power through broken positions. The body is a kinetic chain from the ankles, knees, hips, shoulders, elbows and wrists. If you are missing range of motion, strength or motor control in any of these joints the whole system will compensate to pick up the slack. This not only makes your performance suffer, but it leads to injury as well. Traditional pitching lessons do little to address any movement quality issues in the athlete. At 5 Tool Sports Science you will receive a detailed assessment and mobility report that will show you exactly where your movement/mobility deficiencies are. From there, you will be prescribed exercises to correct these deficiencies, making you a better moving and more explosive athlete.
Nutrition
An argument can be made that an athletes biggest limiting factor to reaching his potential is his nutrition. Lean body mass is another direct correlation to increases in baseball levels of play. The best performing athletes in baseball are bigger, faster, stronger. The average height of an MLB pitcher is 6’3 and 215 lbs. Simply put you need to have a good weightlifting program and nutrition program to develop the muscle mass needed to perform at higher levels of the game. Without a good nutritional approach you won’t recover from your workouts, you will gain very little muscle mass or potentially lose muscle mass and most importantly your performance will suffer. Whether your goal is to lose weight or maintain weight, it starts in the kitchen. All of our athletes at 5 Tool Sports Science receive the 5 Tool Nutrition Manual and cookbook with all the information they need to ensure they know what to do in regards to their sports nutrition. Our coaches are also there to help guide them along in the creation of their own meal plans to reach their athletic potential.
Live At Bat Competition
The best thing a pitcher can to do to improve his game is face hitters. Most pitching lessons consist of throwing a bullpen, but pitchers don’t face hitters. We do weekly live at bats at our field to get our pitchers live reps against hitters. There is no better way to improve your accuracy and off speed pitches than competing on the mound. Nothing beats the real thing and pitchers need to be facing hitters to improve in this game. Period.
Summary
If you’re looking for pitching lessons in Baton Rouge, come train with us at 5 Tool Sports Science. We assess every athlete to determine where they need to improve in their kinetic chain through biomechanics assessments, mobility assessments and athletic assessments. Our programs are designed to develop the horsepower, enhance your pitching mechanics, improve your movement quality, educate you in the kitchen and get you live reps on the field. Our reassessments allow us to track progress and measurably obtain results. It’s not easy, but if you’re willing to work, we will make it count. You can register online here.
References
1. Hoffman, Jay R., et al. “Anthropometric and performance comparisons in professional base- ball players.” The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research 23.8 (2009): 2173-2178.
2. Seroyer, Shane T., et al. "The kinetic chain in overhand pitching: its potential role for performance enhancement and injury prevention." Sports health 2.2 (2010): 135-146.