Wednesday, November 2, 2016

Is your lower body really engaged?

Teaching lower body engagement as an "action" makes sustainable fastball command a physical impossibility!


What the collective baseball community wants you to believe!

The collective baseball community abuses your trust in them when they let you believe “you engage your lower body when, 'after' your front foot makes contact with the ground, your throwing arm pulls your back hip forward”.

To experience the sustainable fastball command associated with actual lower body engagement, your lower body rotation occurs 'before' your throwing arm comes into release.

When you see your back hip come forward as a result of your throwing arm pulling your back hip forward, the drag from your back hip naturally expands your release window.

To experience sustainable fastball command, we teach you how to make your ball release a reaction to a predetermined glove side hip tilt at foot plant.

Contact me to discover the simple adjustments that’ll get your hips to pull your throwing hand into release.

L.A. “Skip” Fast
Pro Pitching Institute
skip@propitchinginstitute.com


“My simple, yet extremely powerful, business rule: fix it once and move on!”

Thursday, May 26, 2016

Are you pitching in the "present" or the "future"?

A focus on your foot placements keeps you in the present.

Before we explore your "footwork", let's talk about pitching in the "past" and "future".
Pitching in the Past 
Being in the "past" – You're pitching in the past when you say to yourself “I need to adjust my arm slot.”  Observation and Interpretation - You missed your last pitch high and left.  You need to do something to get your next pitch back to my target. You're pitching in the past, not in the present.
You have as much control over your next pitch as you did your last.  What are you going to do to get your next pitch back to your target?  Are you going to use your last pitch to guide what you’re going to try to do with your next pitch?
You're pitching in the past, not in the present.
The Solution – To pitch in the present, you condition your “subconscious” to generate the consistent movements that make a naturally productive result more likely than not.
Pitching in the Future 
A “future” example – When you say to yourself “This hitter is really good.”, you're pitching in the future.
Observation and interpretation – When you think about adjustments you have to make on your next pitch, you're pitching in the future.
You have no control over your results.  What kind of plan to you have to make a quality next pitch?  What are you going to do get your next pitch to break extremely close to the plate?  No matter your grip or release, how are you going to show the hitter a fastball arm speed? Having no control over you results forces to you pitch in the future.
The Solution - To pitch in the present, you condition your “subconscious” to generate the consistent movements that make a naturally productive result more likely than not.
Lesson learned – Pitching in the “past” or “future” forces you to not only compete with yourself, but compete with your opponent as well? 

Heck, competing against the opposition is hard enough.  Why compound the issue by competing against yourself?

A focus on your foot placement before your lift your front foot off the ground is simple.  Not only does your foot placements keep you in the present, but your foot placements automatically produce Tommy John-resistant, dominant fastball command.

Ask me to help you with your footwork.

L.A. "Skip" Fast
Independent Major League Pitching Coach
Pro Pitching Institute 
856-524-3248



“My simple, yet extremely powerful, business rule: fix it once and move on!”


Sunday, May 22, 2016

Is your current motion a Tommy John risk?

Your current pitching motion makes you a Tommy John risk, but comes with an upside.

What makes me feel you're at risk for a Tommy John procedure?
Your current delivery produces many acceptable results, but even occasionally seeing any one of these 3 warning signs not only make you a Tommy John risk, but point to solutions that'll make you competitive advantage at the highest levels.

  1. You “rush” your deliver.- “Rushing” is your body's unhealthy adjustment to your throwing arm not being available to instantly respond to your “stride”.
  2. You change your arm slot. - Changing your arm slot is the unhealthy conflict between your mind demanding to have your throwing hand move through a healthy arm slot and your drive to make your arm slot produce more acceptable results.
  3. You miss your target outside your catcher's body much too often. – You’re missing your target outside your catcher’s body comes from the unhealthy conflict between your naturally healthy and naturally unhealthy arm slots.

What causes throwing arm injuries?
Throwing arm injuries come from the repetitive actions that cause small throwing arm ligament tears and fraying.

What does a healthy throwing arm action look like?
Every time you make a throwing action without consciously aiming at a target, your energy naturally flows from your lower body, up your core and into/out of your throwing hand.

How does something so simple have such grave consequences?
Simply put, you become a Tommy John risk when your naturally healthy release window fails to consistently find your target.

What do you do to make your command more acceptable?
You simply keep your current pitching motion intact and then change your outcomes by changing your arm slot.

Is changing your arm slot to change your pitching outcomes healthy?
Absolutely not!
 
When you begin your motion in the same way, to make sure you stay healthy and without concern for your results, your body wants to channel your energy from your lower body, up your core and out your throwing hand.
But wait, when you change your arm slot to improve your results, you redirect your natural energy flow away from your throwing hand. When you simply change your arm slot, your energy stops in your throwing elbow and creates the small ligament tears and fraying that typically make you a Tommy John risk.


What's the solution?
Your solution is a win-win proposition
...
your solution is the dominant fastball command that give
s you absolutely no reason to
change your naturally healthy, total spontaneous and extrem
ely effective energy flow.
Your solution is a win-win proposition
...
your solution is the dominant fastball command that give
s you absolutely no reason to
change your naturally healthy, total spontaneous and extrem
ely effective energy flow.
Your solution is a win-win proposition … your solution is the sustainable fastball command that gives you absolutely no reason to change your naturally healthy, total spontaneous and extremely efficient energy flow.

How do you do this?
Without having to change your current throwing action, we spend a few minutes together to address and resolve the disruptive actions creating your naturally unhealthy energy flow.

L.A. "Skip" Fast
Independent Major League Pitching Coach
Pro Pitching Institute 
856-524-3248



“My simple, yet extremely powerful, business rule: fix it once and move on!”


Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Are you using your legs?

When you keep your legs connected to your upper body, you  produce sustainable fastball command.

At foot plant, your "mind's built-in response mechanism" sense a glove side imbalance. 
- To get your body back in balance, demands your "mind's built-in response mechanism" you make a throwing action.
- Your spontaneous throwing (re)action makes your location a non-issue.
- No matter your grip or release, by throwing through your target you opponent see fastball arm speed and late ball movement.
Since you're using your body the way it was built to work, calling upon your  "mind's built-in response mechanism" to produce your results makes your delivery injury resistant.
When you use your throwing arm for balance, your "mind's built-in response mechanism" releases your throwing arm to complete your delivery after your feet are back on the ground and your weight is back in balance.
- Your throwing arm works independently from your lower body. - Your throwing arm having to drag your back hip forward expands your target area.
- Your natural energy stops in your throwing elbow or shoulder.
- The small ligament tears created by your natural energy misdirection makes you extremely injury prone.
Dominance, movement, deception and arm health make keeping your lower body connected to your upper body a must for all driven pitchers.

Ask me to show you how to keep your lower and upper bodies connected.

L.A. "Skip" Fast
Independent Major League Pitching Coach
Pro Pitching Institute 
856-524-3248


“My simple, yet extremely powerful, business rule: fix it once and move on!”

Thursday, August 27, 2015

Do you end with ONE Spontaneous Throwing Reflex?


One spontaneous throwing reflex comes comes from keeping your throwing arm free to react to your lower body activity at foot plant.

You keep your body in balance in one of two ways ...

  1. You use your arms for balance or
  2. You use your lower body for balance.
A coach who teaches you (lets you) use your throwing arm for balance...
  1. Delays your throwing arm from responding to your hips at foot plant, 
  2. Expands your release window and 
  3. Corrupts your results.
 A coach who teaches you to use your lower body for balance...
  1. Keeps your throwing arm free to instantly respond to your hips at foot plant, 
  2. Brings your throwing hand through a consistently tiny release window, 
  3. Produces stellar results and 
  4. Keep your throwing arm structure intact and Tommy John resistant.
Ask me to show you how to use your lower body to drive your dominance.

L.A. "Skip" Fast
Independent Major League Pitching Coach
Pro Pitching Institute
856-524-3248
   
“My simple, yet extremely powerful, business rule: fix it once and move on!”

Saturday, August 22, 2015

Landing in a “Power Position” Blocks Your Progress.

Your “power position” - your front foot makes contact with the ground before your throwing arm moves toward your target.

By landing this position, you...
  1. Force your throwing arm to act by independently from your hips
  2. Turn your throwing action into an independent event.
  3. Expand your release window.
  4. Tip your pitches.
  5. Become a Tommy John risk and 
  6. Struggle to get next level attention.
You land in a "power position" because your mind's "built-in response mechanism" sense your hip misalignment as you come out of your front foot lift.

  • You create a spontaneous throwing action by coming out of your front leg lift with your hips level.
To find out how simple it is to replace your power position with a spontaneous and naturally productive throwing reflex, contact me.
L.A. "Skip" Fast
Independent Major League Pitching Coach
Pro Pitching Institute
856-524-3248


“My simple, yet extremely powerful, business rule: fix it once and move on!”

Friday, August 21, 2015

“Showing No Weakness” Attracts Next Level Attention

Excellence makes you a scout magnet. 

Once your excellence does attract a scout, your stats mean nothing, your velocity doesn’t matter and what you’ve done in the past means nothing. However, what the scout witnesses means everything.

“Showing no weakness” means you know how to compete and you know what repeatable movements make you excellent. 

Competing comes from the evaluator seeing you use your lower body to pull your throwing hand through a consistently tiny release window.

-  The scout sees one fluid pitching motion.
-  The scout sees a repeatable motion.
-  The scout sees pinpoint location.
-  The scout knows you’re able to execute the coach’s pitching strategy.
-  The scout knows you show each hitter a deceptive arm speed.
-  The scout knows your ball will break extremely close to your target.

“Showing no weak” means you demonstrate the ability to consistently discourage hitters from making solid contact with your pitches.

When you have a weakness, you merely participate.

Should a scout be present for one of your dominant outings, you have no way to disguise how inefficient your movements actually appear!

“Showing no weakness” mirrors the Tommy John resistant, dominant fastball command the Pro Pitching Institute teaches.

Want to become a scout magnet, then contact me.
L.A. "Skip" Fast
Independent Major League Pitching Coach
Pro Pitching Institute
856-524-3248



“My simple, yet extremely powerful, business rule: fix it once and move on!”