Weighted Balls

do u think they help kids throw the ball farther? Ive talked to coaches who say it ruins the kids arm and some say they are great.. what do u think?

It basically is a war between two camps(Dick Mills-Pitching.com and Ron wolforth-Pitching Central. Have both there stuff. both seem valid. Probably somewhere in the middle. .. Who knows.. I don't like the risk. Don't have the depth to hurt my #1 or #2's arms.

The dispute between those who advocate the use of weighted balls and those who oppose their use goes far beyond any imagined ‘war” between "heavyweight" Ron Wolforth and "lightweight" Dick Mills. People like Paul *****, Dr. Mike Marshall, and Danny Litwhiler, who I believe authored one of the articles mentioned above, have been strong proponents of their use for years. It has been my experience that those who are most opposed to weighted-ball training are those that were adamantly opposed to any kind of weight training for all baseball players and especially pitchers just a few years ago. I also find it interesting that those who are most opposed to the use of weighted balls or are reluctant to try them ( “I’m not gonna try them; let Mikey …..) are those people who have no first-hand experience with them. I wish someone would point me to a reputable study that shows that weighted-ball training is harmful in any way. Those studies that I am familiar with like Coup de Renne’s at the University of Hawaii, the one Dr. John Bagonzi’s did for his doctorate, and the ASMI study to name a few all conclude that there are no deleterious effects from using weighted balls. As a matter of fact the studies that I have seen show a significant gain in velocity for most of those using weighted balls as opposed to control groups without them. As for anecdotal evidence, we have been using weighted balls in our high-school program in one form or another since 1992, and I’ll match success stories attributed to their use against stories of catastrophic results from any of the naysayers.

I will let a player that shows good mechanics, use them. The ones that have poor mechanics risk injury for the obvious reasons.

Pitchers with bad mechanics risk injury from 5.5oz balls as well.

Yea you don't know where it is gonna go, next thing you know you got Calvin 'Nuke' LaLoosh onyour hands. LOL

Maybe so... Good points, but will say Mills is not really a lightweight..He has coached many big time kids including of course Zito and his son. I believe they may have benefits, but was at a place before that used them and we had many ailing arms..I'm not saying it was all because of them or because of them at all.. We were in the State Tourney last year without them though and hopefully will be again..Can't use my kids as guinea pigs at this time. we do lift weights...not that old school.

I don’t have a dog in the race so I’ll offer this for thought.

If the official weight of a baseball were a couple of ounces less, would you think training with today’s official weight baseball would be helpful for throwing the lighter one?

Do you think it would cause injury? Do you think it would be detrimental to form?

Not certain..I know what you are saying. Don't know if it would or not..I play slow-pitch softball. It's heavier.. I throw it hard. Never seems to be a variable that increases velocity. whether in high school or college i prescribed to the throw hard if you want to throw harder.. I knew it was important to air it out to gain velocity.

Roy Hobbs

While I sit on the other side of the fence from you with regard to weighted balls, I absolutely agree that if you want to throw hard, you must throw harder. The "intent" to throw the ball faster will increase velocity. It also holds true for hitting. JMO.

R.

it does..Believe me i have a set of weighted balls that i really have wanted to try..Just haven't just yet..Glad i found this board..Fun talking baseball.

SBK, I think you are asking if underload training, AKA a lighter ball/bat, will increase speed. I recall reading some early research by Dr. Tom House that supported training with a slightly heavier bat in combo with a slightly lighter in order to increase bat speed. If that works with bat speed then perhaps it also works with arm speed.

I would think that throwing a heavier/lighter ball could mess up your mechanics. I would just keep working with the standard ball and work on mechanics and location. jmo...

goMO

I found that the lighter balls actually amplified the flaws in my older sons mechanics and allowed us to more easily identify and correct them, particularly for more efficient deceleration of his arm. We experienced only positives from both over and under training.

Overload/Underload training is nothing new. There is a lot of information available. I'd recommend researching it and then decide if it is right for you. It does increase throwing velocity and bat speed. But, you are right, proper mechanics are essential regardless of pitching or hitting.

R.

Flintoide,

Actually I was trying to make the point that people are concerned about using a ball a little heavier to workout because they are worried that it might cause injury or hurt form yet if the official ball we played with right now was an ounce lighter, would they still have the same concerns if we used the current official ball as a “weighted” ball for training purposes.

What I was getting to is that I doubt that a ball weighing just a little more would cause as much damage as some people are quick to bring up. Now obviously you wouldn't want to throw a shot put so there is a point of too much there somewhere.

I like what Callaway added.

well, I have plenty of water-logged balls lying around the backyard. But then again, they may be heavier than shotputs!!!

Callaway's first post says it all for me. A regulation baseball could be viewed as "weighted" for younger, weaker kids. The overweight balls help with strengthening the joints as much as velocity IMO.

i don't think an ounce either way makes a difference...We have some water logged ones too.

I'm not a big fan personally, but I can understand why some coaches and players like the idea. I guess I'm old school....through the real ball long-toss and with good mechanics and you can get added power, too.

With respect to weighted baseballs, I've never
heard of ANY major league pitcher who used
weighted baseballs to increase velocity.
If the best in the world don't use them, what
makes you think that it will work for anybody
else?

The best in the world do not need them. They are already getting the most out of their physical ability.

If weighted ball are supposed to help a pitcher's velocity, does this suggest that velocity is making a comeback as being important... or ...will velocity remain as a NON-factor in determining a pitcher's ability?

Weighted Balls are NOT the endall.
And Wolforth says that. If you read ALL of his material and follow the regiment = You/or your sons velocity IMPROVES remarkably. And with NO arm injury to date. It works and the Heavy Balls are just one aspect of it!!

have you guys found weighted balls to increase arm strenght also.. i heard it does from some people... of course only if you use it rite but from others i heard it wrecks ur arm even if you use it right... what do u guys think or have heard??????

thanks

Ever met a quarterback that also pitches.....several of them out there.

What do you think throwing a football 30-40 times a day is?

It's throwing a weighted ball.

I know HS pitchers who throw a football as part of their regimen and they are not football players---they just feel that it works for them

quote:

With respect to weighted baseballs, I've never
heard of ANY major league pitcher who used
weighted baseballs to increase velocity.
If the best in the world don't use them, what
makes you think that it will work for anybody
else?

Mariano Riveria uses a weighted baseball.

Hi All,

I am finally taking a break from sump pump monitoring and running my shop vac over the wet basement floor.....

My personal opinion on the weighted balls as a training aid is that if used correctly and supervised (remember we are taking about HS and pre HS players here) they can be beneficial.

My son and I use one as part of his warm-ups for pitching workouts. I keep it im my possesion though, because I dont want any of his high school teammates at getting it and "horseing around" with it. I have seen far too many incidents over the years with otherwise bright young men getting hurt while playing around with thngs like this. (IE... ever see what happens to a bat when you try to hit one of those weighted balls?)

They are a tool and that is all. Proper utilized they can certainly help a player develop. like all tools though, if used in a fashion other than intended, they could cause major problems to equipment and personel.