how to gain more velocity

What are your 5 pitches you throw for strikes?

i am 6"2 young sophmore and play short and pitch. I throw 75-79. I am no where done growing and have not really lifted weights intensely. Will my contunuing of growing height wise make any more of a difference. Also i am rather thin but tall and lenghty. When I fill out will that increase my pitching speed.

i throw 2-seam fastball,circle change,curve,screw ball, and a split

I am not a pitching expert, but I can tell you that if you don't lay off the curves, splitters and screwballs, you will be hurt before your velocity increases.
JMO

a split is a fastball that dies out before it gets to the plate you throw it like a fastball

Not only could my son throw those 5 pitches, he was able to disguise them SO well they all looked exactly the same!(If you get my drift)

Gilbert,
Ok don't lay off the splitters,keep throwing those curve balls and screwballs on a regular basis and you might as well forget it. My son is in college and does not throw a screwball and throws curves on occassion.
Work on you off speed pitch, my son's change up appears as if it is 5 different pitches, he only throws 3 pitches for strikes.
Get into a good long toss program, work on your mechanics, rotator cuff excercises, ask your coach.

i was talking to my pitching coach and he said that if you do lots of long toss during the off season it helps. supposedly they did a new study that if you do long toss with an 11'' softball it will also help.

hey baseballfanatic,

where at do u live in new orleans? i live in Destrehan which is about 20 minutes from new orleans. i pitch for Destrehan High School, maybe you have heard of our baseball team. what school do u play for? i am a freshman and i am 15 years old.

...you know its not all about the velocity on your fastball...if you don't throw hard learn to locate your pitches and learn to throw a slider or change up...those pitches are good pitches to have and won't hurt your arm as much...i'm 16 years old and about 6'2 230lbs...i throw about 71-76 consistently and get people out...not bragging but i average about 6-10 strikeouts a game and about 7-10 groundouts a game...if you locate your stuff and let your fielders do their job...you will be a better pitcher...

#31 at ur size u should be throwing much harder than 71-76....also, i gained about 5 mph last summer by just doing long toss, that is the best thing anyone can recomend. i've also heard of some stretches, but i dunno about them, maybe something u could look into. also, u really do not need that many pitches, if u can locate ur changeup and ur fastball and change grips and mix in an occasional change u will b very succesful.

curve*** occasional curve, not change

First off, no freshman throws a splitter or a screwball. Only a seasoned pitcher with a very strong forearm can even attempt to throw either or those pitchers effectively. With that said, there is probably a reason you are not gaining velocity. It is because you are spending too much time on secondary pitches that are, most likey, very ineffective. Granted, a 2-seam fastball and a circle change are extraordinary pitches to learn for young pitchers, you should probably scrap the rest of your arsenal and stick with a 4-seam for the rest of your high school career. I'm not bashing your selection or your choice to pitch these pitches, it's just that they probably don't do you much good and will only lead to arm problems in the future (splitters are tough on a pitcher's mechanics, and screwballs are murder on your arm).

By the way, SFC you said it all. I'm glad someone brought it up; doing longtoss in a normal throwing routine is very helpful in gaining velocity and regulating your arm motion.

Throw long toss from 60' on out to as far as you can but make sure you keep the ball online to the catcher......then work your way back to regulation distance with accuacy in the strike zone,...work on your pitches

Stay away from weighted balls.....

There a waste of time and dangerous!!!!!

Tiger paw mom I don't want to be offensive or anything but all the information you are gving is wrong and is going to mess up all the arms of these pitchers,you don't gain velocity by pushing-off the rubber thats all wrong you are supposed to load all your weight on your posting leg and do a sideways motion, and one of the guys that was posting here said "im doing alot of weight room work" look your a pitcher not a 300 pound lineman you have to be functionall trained not weightroomed trained, a long toss program wo'nt help to gain velocity pitching is throwing downhill from a mound how would longtoss help? Explain this if you long toss you will start having problems with command, and velocity is not about arm strength but arm speed and how do you get arm speed by having a fast trunk, another you should not be throwing screwballs that will mess up ypur arm have a good fastball with command and a change-up and a breaking pitch like a 2-seam fastball and an occasional curveball. Remember the most important things are command movement changing speeds then velocity,all in order Velocity last.

I hope this all helps.

Some of you have correct information and some of you don't i am currently in the Dick Mills program you should all look it up, I am 15 now entering as a sophmore in highschool i am 5'8 and weigh 135 pounds and I throw 80mph sometimes a little harder, so if your mechanically sound you will have success.

quote:

i am currently in the Dick Mills program

.....This explains a LOT. And not to be offensive or anything, but you have many false notions about pitching. Pipe down, read up, and learn.

Krakatoa sorry if I got you mad, but do you not agree with me that some of the information they are giving here is incorrect, and could damage the pitchers.

Hey Krakatoa have you joined the customer forum in Dick Mill's program.

cp, I'm not mad, just having a little fun with you. Here's what I think: NO ONE is absolutely right. That's the crazy thing. People don't get that. What works here may not work there. This may work for that kid, but not for that kid. Whatever. I just think it's ridiculous when people start saying someone is WRONG -- agree to disagree then move on, do your own thing, and the chips will fall where they may.

cp-

I did Dick Mill's strength and conditioning program last fall and didnt seem much results from it. are you doing the pitching mastery program? and if so, is it worth the money?

I read a lot of his articles about how it will add 10 mph to your fastball, but i dont know if it will work or not.

I have been waiting for someone to start talking about his program.

quote:

a long toss program wo'nt help to gain velocity pitching is throwing downhill from a mound how would longtoss help?

Maybe because you are exercising the same arm you pitch with.

Long Toss helps overall condition of a pitcher, while Mills program does not credit long toss for increased velocity it does promote it for overall condition of a healthy pitcher. Proper mechanics, good conditioning, strong explosive power in hips and abs (core strength), and a well conditioned strong arm are the keys to velocity. Keep in mind velocity is not the end all to beat all. Being able to locate the fastball, change speeds, use different grips to apply pressure and gain movement on your pitches is very important. I would say lay off the Screw ball and slider stuff. Condition your whole body like a sprinter rather than for a marathon. When practicing pitching throw from a mound and focus on four seam and two seam fastballs, develop a good change-up and then a curve. The rest will come. Improving velocity will come as part of the package as you grow, mature and improve your delivery mechanics.

There isn't a single pitching program that has all the answers. Balance and understanding how the body works when trowing are key. Not even Bill Thurston and Tom House agree on everything. Be sure that when you read information provided about pitching you use the same definitions as the author or your reading will be a waste of time, you won't understand what is being said.

Young pitchers are way to focused on trying to throw hard. The only objective is to get batters out. That can be done in any number of ways. Pitch location, speed variations, are equally if not more important than throwing 90 plus.

Superman, How long ago did you get it because now he has a an "Explosion DVD" which teaches you how to use you lowerbody etc. Before he used to have these old DVD's that did not work much, I ordered the "Explosive Pitching DVD" for my birthday this Feb. it's helped but I have to buy the materials for the conditioning dvd, it's really good It has helped me out.

Hope this helps-cppitcher

cp

sorry to burst your bubble but it is pretty much known in the advansed world of pitching instruction that Dick Mills theory on mechanics can do more to hindr you than if you had no instruction at all!

Marco Scutaro

Sorry to burst your bubble! but I don't know where you have been in the last few years because Dick Mills has a new program called "Explosive Pitching" DVD which has new information on pitching then he had before.

for all of those people saying that movement and location are better than speed than u may be right....for the short run. however, if this kid wants to pitch past freshmen baseball, then he better possess something better than a 60 mph fastball with "movement." i personally would rather throw high 80s, walk a bunch of people, and have a chance to pitch beyond high school than be an all conference 70 mph soft tosser.

that being said, i just played catch with my brother every day, long tossing and weighted balls, and my velocity has jumped from 65 to 84 since i was a freshmen. that, plus puberty also helped quite a bit

cp25...how can you say longtoss doesn't help a pitcher? Considering that it regulates his motion and teaches him to throw "through a target" and not at one, I'd have to say it is very valuable. It is all about conditioning your mechanics to throw the right way, which will in turn allow you to gain velocity.

To throw harder you need a combination of factor to work together. Mechanics, core strength (legs strength, abs rotation strength, arm strength) and long toss. Obviously to get strength you need to do weight and perform exercises that estimulate the above mention part of your body. None would work alone by itself. Because all the above interact together in the pitching motion. By the way, sorry if somebody get upset.

Thriller

you can use long toss as a general type of training to be done in the offseason or preseason, and warming up the entire body, but to practice pitching to gain velocity it isn't because pitching you throwing downhill to a specific location on the glove, when your long tossing it's the complete opposite.

im a small ball player looking to be the best. I ;ift i eat a lo. Nothing works to gain wieght. Does wieght have the biggest impact on how hard you throw???

Krakatoa,

You OBVIOUSLY don't have any ideal about the Dick Mill's Pitching Program, otherwise you wouldn't make such a snide remark.

Dick Mill's teaches the fundamental's of Pitching mechanics very well. My son is one of the better pitcher's on his H.S. team and I contribute his success to what he learned and practiced from Dick Mill's.

Don't knock it until you try it is all I'm saying.

Dick Mills really seems to know what hes talking about when it comes to pitching and gaining velocity and being able to spot your pitches. If you have the money you should do his program. http://www.pitching.com