What A "Traditional Pitching Coach" Can't Tell You About Velocity Development
by Paul Reddick

Huge leaps in velocity boil down to 4 things...

Velocity Builder #1 - No Power Angle

Are you told to:

"Stop at the top?"

"Stay back over the rubber?"

"Get closed?"

"Find a balance point?"

"Show the pocket or show the number"

That's some of the worst advice you could ever be given.

The best pitchers in the game do none of these. It's fact that the best of the best all are moving toward home plate when they reach the top of their lift.

Don't take my word for it look at the cream of the crop.

A picture worth a thousand words...

Now look at Mark Prior and Dontrelle Willis. Weren't they going to be the next Hall Of Famers!

The proof is in the pudding. See the differences?? Most coaches don't see the difference. It's no wonder why both these guys can barely stay in pro ball. They should be in the prime of their careers not long shots ready to throw in the towel.

When the first movement of your delivery is wrong you will spend the rest of your delivery trying to make up for it.

All those "flaws" that traditional coaches talk about almost always start right here. They never know why their pitchers drop like flies with injuries and poor performance.

Hate to say it, but worst part is that coaches teach this...their pitchers get it right...but, then don't perform to the best of their ability. Then guess who they blame? YOU!

A bad teach done right. Is still BAD!

The power angle is crucial to velocity, control, and late movement. If you're still being taught those out of date "traditional teaches" you are leaving a ton of potential velocity on the table. Once you make the shift. The velocity will come thundering out and your fastball will be firing on all cylinders.

Velocity Builder # 2 - Visual Velocity

Ever wonder why Greg Maddux and Jamie Moyer pitched in the big leagues for so long with weak fastballs?

Most "traditional coaches" don't even understand this type of velocity but it's vital for you to understand it and use it. The only velocity that matters is the velocity that hitters see. Radar gun readings are meaningless without visual velocity. This IS the velocity that gets you noticed.

During my scouting days I would chuckle listening to other scouts fall in love with pitchers throwing 90+ on the gun but could not throw strikes or get hitters out. I would always look for the pitchers with visual velocity. It might not read as high on the gun ...but they always BLEW HITTERS AWAY.

Visual Velocity is 10 times more powerful than radar gun velocity. Gun velocity is just how fast the balls going. Visual Velocity is how fast it looks to the hitter.

No scout or coach argues with a pitcher who blows hitters away. Period.

There's a moment a hitter makes a decision about you and it's long before he steps in the box. You've probably seen hitters on your team start to get worried about a pitcher warming in the pen when they hear the catchers glove popping. ALL hitters will also look to see the reaction of your lead off hitter after the first pitch.

Visual Velocity sends a message to hitters that puts fear in their hearts long before they get in the box. Hey,This is just the tip of the iceberg.

Velocity Builder #3 - Weakening Pitches

Got a quick story for you. A few years back about 6 of the pitchers in my Elite Pitchers Group were all on the same team. Like, most HS players they pitched and played the field. This team went all the way to the finals of our local county tournament (that's big deal around here).

They were up against one of the best pitchers in the state. The kid threw in the low 90's and was unbeaten.

But, this pitcher finally met his match and got a huge wake up call when he found himself up against some smart players. They snagged video footage of his last few games and they studied it. They uncovered a major change in mechanics and body language when he threw his curveball. They also saw he could not throw his curveball for strikes. They plotted to exploit this weakness.

So, you're probably saying big deal..so they saw his curveball... he still had a 90+ fastball. Well, this team got in the cage and hit 90+ fastball's all week and went into the game armed with a bullet proof game plan.

It was simple....sit on the fastball and take the curveball.

See, when a hitter knows what's coming it doesn't matter that's it's a 90+ pitch.

They crushed him and he was out of the game in less than 3 innings.

So, the bottom line is that his weak curveball actually weakened his best pitch...his fastball. These guys were on to him when he was throwing a curve and took the pitch and locked on to his fastball.

This is a velocity killer that most "traditional" coaches never see or understand. You're the one who winds up getting short changed.

Velocity Builder #4 - A Pitchers Arm Won't Speed Up What It Can't Slow Down!

Ever been on a weight training program or went to a trainer and didn't gain any velocity? We'll don't hold your breath...more muscle doesn't add up to more velocity. I'm gonna tell you why and knowing this gives you probably the fastest way to build velocity.

It breaks down like this... There are 3 muscle groups in the front of your arm that speed up your arm. There are only 2 muscle groups in the backside that slow down your arm.

So, every person walking the earth is a little out of whack.

To make matters worse almost all the exercises traditional coaches and trainers show you only build the "speed up" muscles. They never get with the program and address the slow down muscles...even if they do they never build the right balance that's needed to get the most out of what's already inside you. Forget about building additional velocity.

The arms will not speed up what it can't slow down.

Picture it like this...if I put you in a sup'd up race car and told you that you could drive it as fast as you want down the street but warned you that there was a cliff at the end of the street...how fast would you drive? Answer: Only as fast as you could stop.

That's how your arm works. It won't accelerate to the max if it can't slow it down. Pound for pound, all those drills and exercises that traditional coaches teach are making matters worse.

If you don't build up the slow down muscles all the speed up muscles won't fire!

It's hard to swallow, but the bottom line is you're leaving velocity on the table being out of balance and everyday you fail to train properly actually makes things worse.

These’s are just 4 dramatic ways where pitcher lose velocity...

It's time to stop spinning your wheels with outdated "traditional" coaching that doesn’t work and maybe never worked to begin with.

This is where I come in...

I’ve created a system called the 90mph Club. I’m humbled to say it is now used by more pitchers than any other pitching program in history. The results speak for themselves.