2020dad posted:coachld posted:2020dad posted:hsbaseball101 posted:We don't know where throwing velocity comes from. Even with perfect mechanics and good strength you won't turn a 60mph pitcher into a 90mph one after a few months. Explosiveness is obviously a key part of it, but how is an elite pitcher SO explosive in the pitching motion? Often the young kids with velocity aren't explosive in anything else they do, including other sports.
Agree with this. It's a gift from God mostly. It encompasses strength, balance, flexibility (huge), explosiveness and probably a whole bunch of other things. The more you have of oneaybe the less you need of another. So the skinny weak kids who still buggy whip it at 90 are making be ultra flexible or explosive. My son is living proof that squat and deadlift do NOT guarantee velocity. He is hige 16u who will probably be around 80 and he squats about 415-420 and deadlifts 500. Got to look for another magic bullet cause this ain't it lol.
IMO...you are correct in that some players are born with certain physiological traits that give them an advantage. However, in my experience, if all things are equal (meaning great mechanics and timing), then getting stronger and adding mass is going to add velocity.
I obviously have never seen your son throw but I am going to guess (especially with those kind of strength numbers) that his mechanics and timing need improvement...which as you noted...can be as simple as poor flexibility/mobility.
Also...if you look at your prerequisites (gifts from God) to throw hard...strength, balance, flexibility, explosiveness...those are all things that can be trained.
Coach believe me when I tell you I want to believe that. Can all those things be improved I suppose so. Improved enough? I doubt it. My son is very very inflexible. If I thought that could change I would do whatever we I could. He does some yoga - poorly. But I just think those things are many more parts gift than development. If someone has a magic bullet for me to make him suddenly or even eventually flexible I would be very interested. Til then football will still be plan A
I understand what you are saying and agree that there are some who are just not built to pitch. However, I have seen far more who just needed daily soft-tissue/flexibility/mobility work to see enough of an improvement to improve pitching performance. As I told A Daug...thoracic spine mobility plays a big role in separation. Look at slow-motion videos of MLB pitchers and they almost all have great separation. An easy to way to check separation is to pause a video of player pitching at foot strike. Pay attention to direction of hips relative to upper body. Higher velocity are going to have belt buckle pointing towards home plate while the shoulders are square to 3B. If that is not happening, then there is definitely velo in the tank. This can sometimes be corrected using specific pitching drills but for many it requires improved thoracic mobility.
Not trying to convince you that your son is a pitcher at the next level but think it is important that parents understand that many of the flexibility/mobility deficits in young athletes can be improved or corrected all together.