Something interesting I noticed from WWBA Underclass

roothog66 posted:

While looking at the velocities for this tournament, I couldn't help but notice the large number of pitchers who increased their top velocities by 3+ mph. For many, they had stalled out at a certain level, but added 3 or 4 mph here from performances as recent as late August/early September. Looking back, I saw a similar trend last year. I can't help but speculate why.

Is it perhaps a byproduct of the schedule? There weren't many major events in the 3-4 weeks before the WWBA. Similarly, some of these guys also play football. Could it be that a short break this late in the season allowed just enough rest for a boost?

Agree with your speculation. The rest along with some type of strength training would probably explain the increase. 

Different guns?

JCG posted:

Different guns?

I would hope not.

The got trackman...who needs stinkin Stalkers.

Actually we saw it go both ways, some were down from their previous best.  Some were up and I agree, it wasn't just a MPH or two.

I think it very well could be due to plenty of rest before the event.

We use TrackMan as much as possible, but we also have a stalker at every game.  They (TrackMan and Stalker) are usually the same and nearly always not more than one MPH difference.  The only difference is when the TrackMan gets something like 90.5, the Stalker will read 91.  If the TM reads 90.4 the stalker will read 90. So that tenth can seem like one MPH difference.  TM is accurate and the Stalker rounds off.

I would also think the milder/less humid October weather plays a role as well.

Summer weight Training at the high school?

In the past, I have found that most velocity spikes occur between the ages of 17 and 18 and most 2018's are in that range. Rest may have a little to do with the velocity increases. Just the same, breakdown in strength and too much pitching can decrease velocity.

True that too much pitching can decrease velocity and more importantly create more injuries.

The things that never gets mentioned along with the above is too little pitching while safe is not likely to get a pitcher where he wants to be.

You don't get better at something by not doing it!  Most of the best have pushed to get there.

So the question remains unanswered... How much is too much and how much is not enough?  We only know that the answer is not the same for everyone that pitches.  We only know that risk and reward are involved to some extent. There is a big difference between risk and abuse.  But you can't eliminate risk if the goal is to reach your potential in any type of athletics. You can only eliminate risk by not doing anything.  And there are times when that might be the right thing to do.  Rest can be very beneficial!

Just think how easy this would be to figure out if everyone were exactly the same.

PG,

One can only speculate in regard to "too much vs too little". My son and a few others  were late scratches from WWBA. To simply recharge and work on strength, as HS players simply don't get enough downtime to train specifically for strength. They have to take the time and January is right around the corner! 

 WWBA was an event he really looked forward to but felt the opportunity to make gains was more important for him.  However, he missed a very memorable run by his peers!         

I just couldn't help notice a large number of guys that had plateaued through July and August suddenly spike quite a bit. The common denominator seemed to be they didn't throw in a qualifier the week before. I just wonder if a short rest that late in the season gave them a needed rest and a chance to reset both physically and mentally. 

My own son had to miss WWBA as I mentioned in another thread. He's been stuck topping out at 88. It will be interesting to see if he gets a bump out of a four week layoff this weekend.

Root-I sent you a PM

Usually a stalker and trackman are close. I've seen 2-3 mph differences between stalker and trackman (I've been behind the stalker at multiple games at Lake Point).  And if you go through trackman velos at trackman.com for a game at Ft Myers (looking at max velo by a pitcher for a game or the leaderboard for the event) and look at the velos registered by PG on the daily leaders (presumably with a stalker), you often see a difference of more than 1 mph for each pitcher. It varies.

For example, one pitcher is listed at 92.7 on the trackman leaderboard and shows up in the daily leaders at 95mph. 

Here are some examples of pitcher listed in Trackman vs the Daily Leader MPH (I typed in).  I've excluded names.  This is just a quick sample.  There are other similar differences of 2-3 mph for other pitchers that I noticed (usually they are higher in Daily Leaders than on Trackman for that event, but some lower and some dead on).  I assume there could be some phantom readings or off the bat velos and some just due to calibration or other variations.  

[One of my former pitchers was listed at 91 mph in the Daily Leaders while Trackman had him at 88, which is likely a more accurate reading for him.]  Any way, not saying either is right or wrong, just that differences between trackman and stalkers/daily leaders definitely do exist.

Along the lines of factors affecting velocity readings, will velocity readings be the same for the same kid in an indoor facility with no wind vs outdoors with wind blowing at about 5mph?

In most cases yes if using a radar gun.  However TrackMan will not work inside a metal building.

However, the actual conditions for pitchers could be more favorable either indoors or outdoors depending on many factors.

Hmmm...I would have thought that wind would have affected velocity readings. Good to know.