This isn't meant to be a which one's best thread as all three of these places are obviously very good and have helped tons of pitchers. My question is if someone has been to 2 or 3 of these what do you think the differences are.
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I think there are more similarities than differences between those three.
When my son was having elbow issues in spring of his freshman year, Kyle from Driveline referred us to the Armory. (We live in Florida) Randy from the Armory is also an instructor at TBR.
I think Kyle and Randy approach the concept of training pitchers differently than most because neither came to this point through a traditional path. They aren't restricted by traditional methods and beliefs. They don't proceed as if the way things have always been done, means that's the way they should be done. They are constantly testing and improving their training methods.
Kyle's got a technical background and it shows in the way he is comfortable in using high end technology to challenge traditional beliefs. I'm interested to see what he comes up with once he has his new facility going full speed.
Randy is a physical therapist by trade, and that experience really shows when you discuss with him the causes of arm pain and ways to eliminate it.
Prior to meeting Randy, my son had worked with numerous pitching coaches. All of them were experienced. A couple were even former MLB pitchers. None of them were able to teach my son how to throw without pain.
After analyzing my son's mechanics on video, Randy was able to point out several issues. He gave my son a written plan with exercises and drills to perform to address Randy's concerns. From that day on, my son hasn't had a single issue with arm pain.
You can't go wrong with either...
But Randy is a friend, so I'd go to him! LOL!
Originally Posted by Rob T:
I think there are more similarities than differences between those three.
When my son was having elbow issues in spring of his freshman year, Kyle from Driveline referred us to the Armory. (We live in Florida) Randy from the Armory is also an instructor at TBR.
I think Kyle and Randy approach the concept of training pitchers differently than most because neither came to this point through a traditional path. They aren't restricted by traditional methods and beliefs. They don't proceed as if the way things have always been done, means that's the way they should be done. They are constantly testing and improving their training methods.
Kyle's got a technical background and it shows in the way he is comfortable in using high end technology to challenge traditional beliefs. I'm interested to see what he comes up with once he has his new facility going full speed.
Randy is a physical therapist by trade, and that experience really shows when you discuss with him the causes of arm pain and ways to eliminate it.
Prior to meeting Randy, my son had worked with numerous pitching coaches. All of them were experienced. A couple were even former MLB pitchers. None of them were able to teach my son how to throw without pain.
After analyzing my son's mechanics on video, Randy was able to point out several issues. He gave my son a written plan with exercises and drills to perform to address Randy's concerns. From that day on, my son hasn't had a single issue with arm pain.
Very good point about a these guys not being tied to traditional pitching lessons/mechanics approach.
My son has worked with Kyle. Driveline is great and I would recommend it to anyone. The interesting thing is when we were searching for a place/approach Kyle mentioned both Wolforth and Randy. I spoke to Randy briefly (we are more west coast) and he recommended Driveline.
There seems to be mutual respect between these guys....probably for good reason.
Driveline's new facility in Kent, Washington opens today.
The thing that sealed the deal for us is the ability to train remotely with Driveline staff. Although we only live a couple hundred miles away, making that trip on a regular basis was not feasible. I'm sure in-person training has a ton of benefits over remote training, but remote is definitely better than nothing. My son is in his 6th month of their training program and he is throwing harder, getting stronger and has no pain in his arm.
My son just returned from his first TBR camp, a 3-day camp over Labor Day. It was a tremendous experience for him, not only because of the instruction, but also because he got to share an environment with players from around the country with an intense desire to improve. In addition to Ron Wolforth, Randy was at this camp instructing as well, and I found each to share a very common philosophy about pitching, velocity training, and injury prevention. Randy is a PT as well as pitching coach, and I think this has brought a slightly different perspective to TBR that Wolforth seems to embrace but fully incorporate into his program. Randy was a major part of the TBR camp.
I casually asked Randy about the Armory while there, and he said it was very similar philosophically to the TBR, with some slight variation in a few exercises. He also told everyone there that the way he got involved with the TBR was by bringing his own son there some 8 years ago and was hooked By what he saw. So, IMO, you can probably assume that Randy and the TBR are very close to one another. He announced at the camp that they wold be starting a Florida Baseball Ranch soon (the post above references the link), so that probably solidifies the similarity even further.
My son has not had the pleasure of working with Kyle, but I read a lot of his stuff, and while I am sure there are subtle differences, he seems to share similar philosophies as well and I don't think you would go wrong with any of the three.