I taught my HS pitchers to throw the cutter instead of a true slider to save wear and tear on their elbow. I have to say that I never had one pitcher with a sore arm. My pitchers could get a lot of run on the ball and some dipping action as well. Not all of them threw especially hard but I do admit that my pitching staffs were above the HS normal with regards to speed. Once a pitcher gets the grip right, I have my pitcher, "put a lot of pressure on the middle finger fingernail." I have them use a FB motion. For me, it is hard to discuss pitching over the internet. I'm a guy who is a show em and let em guy as I explain it so I hope that this helps. I have a decent cutter and threw it in BP every day to save my arm instead of throwing sliders. Good luck!