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Here’s
Your First Step In Developing a More Consistent
Delivery
In my last article on
how to become more consistent with your pitching
delivery, I outlined an approach for you to build a
better and more consistent delivery.
Where do I start?
Let’s start with the
elements of a great practice plan. Yes a plan….I
know, you are probably thinking that I just want to
go to the park and play some catch, throw the ball
around a little. That’s all well and good and can be
fun. You should do that occasionally. I’m all for
fun. But at some point, you need to work on getting
better, that’s where the plan comes in.
First off, what is
your warm up routine? Tug on your arm a few times,
do three arm circles and then start throwing the
ball?
Not a great idea for
the serious pitcher.
First, start
by getting the blood flowing a little. A quick jog,
a stationary bike, treadmill, riding your bike to
the park…are a few ideas. Get your body moving,
breathing faster and work up a little sweat.
Second, work
on waking up your balance ability. How? Here’s one
idea. Some short one-hop, one-leg drills is a great
place to start. Start by balancing on one leg and
then take a short hop forward and stick the landing.
Try not to bunny hop when you land. Go as far as you
can and still be able to stick the landing. Do that
10 to 15 times and then switch feet. Try it forward,
backward, and sideways.
Third, work on
your flexibility and range of motion. Some people do
a short band routine, but you can effectively use
your own body weight with a few exercises to get the
shoulders going, the legs, and of course the core.
More on all this in future articles.
After you’ve properly
warmed up to throw, and not thrown to warm up, you
can begin your warm up tosses.
I suggest getting to
know how many throws it takes you to feel totally
warmed up and feeling loose. Ask yourself and write
down how far you typically throw, at what effort? At
the very least, how long does it take you to getting
completely loose?
Now That I’m
Completely Warm, Now What?
You should know what
you are planning on working on today.
And throwing a
bullpen is not a great answer in my book.
What’s your purpose?
Are you working on
building endurance today? How about improving your
timing? Working on a consistent tempo.
Developing more consistency with your off-speed
pitches? Improving arm speed and velocity
is another great focus. And of course, working on
your control specifically is a great focus.
The pitchers we train
focus on all of these at different times. There are
also times we work on situational pitching as well.
Working on situations and how to get hitters out can
be a fun and productive. How would you pitch a
left-handed hitter with a runner on third, bottom of
the ninth, and one out? Oh yeah, the game is tied
and your opponent is home team? Tough situation.
Don’t want a slow grounder to the right side of the
infield huh? Not a deep fly ball. You need a
grounder to the left side, a strike out maybe? Can
you execute these pitches?
Just food for
thought. Those are the types of situations you
should practice. Tough ones. Then when you get into
the game and face it, you should know what you need
to do....it’s another thing to be able to execute.
But for the sake of
improving your consistency, I would focus on each of
the disciplines I’ve mentioned separately during the
course of at least three weeks and then repeat
them…and repeat them.
Now that doesn’t mean
you need to get up on the mound throw bullpens
several days a week. You can take any one of these
disciplines and work on them with the drills you may
use during your training.
We have a whole slew
of drills, or teaches that help the pitcher develop
a feel for a certain movement. The thing to remember
about drills, don’t get too hung up on the drill or
program itself.
The drill is only a
drill or a teach. It may help you, and it may not
help you. Focus on your throwing principles, or
fundamentals as some people call it.
If You Want To
Get Better At Something Measure Your Results
The last thing in
your plan for building consistency is to track your
progress. It’s the best way to know if you are
getting better.
How many pitches or
drills did I do today? What was my ball-to-strike
ratio with all my drills? How was my velocity on the
drills (if you have a way to track it)?
Not the most fun
thing to do, but it can be if you are showing
progress.
Next time, let’s talk
more about what part your body plays into the whole
consistency equation. Those weaknesses with get you
every time.
Train like a champion
today!
Bill Mooney
About the Author
Bill Mooney is the
owner and lead instructor at the BioForce Baseball
Academy in Beaverton Oregon. Bill has authored and
developed several books and DVD’s on pitching
including “How to Become a More Explosive and
Athletic Pitcher” as well as the “12-Minute Shoulder
and Elbow Endurance Solution”. Here’s what former
Major League Pitcher and Pitching Coach has to say
about Bill Mooney and BioForce Baseball.
“As a former major
league pitcher, pitching coach and former
coordinator of pitching for the Montreal
Expos/Washington Nationals, I am always searching
for information and instruction that can help me
improve. Most would guess that the best, most
informative teachings come out of the professional
game, but it has been my experience that the
instructors who have dealt with hundreds of kids
from all ages really have seen what works and
doesn’t work. Such is the case for Bill Mooney and
BioForce Baseball Academy. Having watched him
interact and teach what we know today to be right, I
would not hesitate to allow him to work with our
pitchers. To place that trust in someone is the
highest compliment I can pay to a fellow pitching
coach. Without question, Bill Mooney is an
outstanding coach and one worth learning from and
training with.” Brent Strom Former major league
pitching coach for the Houston Astros and Kansas
City Royals and currently the Minor League pitching
coordinator of the Washington Nationals
To find out more
about Bill and BioForce, go to the website
www.bioforcebaseball.com. To contact Bill, you can
email him at support@bioforcebaseball.com.
About the
Author
Bill Mooney
is the owner and lead instructor at the BioForce
Baseball Academy in Beaverton Oregon. Here’s what a
couple of former Major League Pitchers and Pitching
Coaches say about Bill Mooney and BioForce Baseball.
“Bill Mooney is one of few
pitching coaches in the nation who has been
Certified by The National Pitching Association and
Functional Fitness, Inc. I have found that Bill is
one of the finest young pitching coaches in the
country today. His knowledge and instruction are
the most up-to-date and progressive you’ll find.
With his knowledge, teaching skills and background
Bill does an outstanding job helping pitchers
perform at their peak and remain healthy.”
~ Dr. Tom House
Dr. Tom
House is a performance expert, Former Major League Pitcher,
and
Former Major League pitching coach. Current coach
and mentor to many star major league pitchers such
as Randy Johnson. Co-founder of the National
Pitching Association
“As
a former major league pitcher, pitching coach and
former coordinator of pitching for the Montreal
Expos/Washington Nationals, I am always searching
for information and instruction that can help me
improve. Most would guess that the best, most
informative teachings come out of the professional
game, but it has been my experience that the
instructors who have dealt with hundreds of kids
from all ages really have seen what works and
doesn’t work.
Such is the case for Bill Mooney and
BioForce Baseball Academy. Having watched him
interact and teach what we know today to be right, I
would not hesitate to allow him to work with our
pitchers. To place that trust in someone is the
highest compliment I can pay to a fellow pitching
coach. Without question, Bill Mooney is an
outstanding coach and one worth learning from and
training with.”
~ Brent Strom
Brent Strom
is a
former major league pitcher and former pitching
coach for the Houston Astros and Kansas City Royals
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