Wednesday, February 22, 2017

How to change your motion without changing your motion.

Your worst outcomes come from your working release point being different from your most competitive release point.

Physically, the motions where you experience a difference between these two release points means you used your throwing arm for balance.

Visually, with a disconnect between these two release point, means you see your pitch finish way away from your intended.

The way your body works, there's only one spot that causes you to use your throwing arm for balance... your initial foot placements.

By changing your foot placements, we eliminate you using your throwing arm for balance as much as you do, make your working release come through your most competitive release point more often and do all of the above without changing your motion.

By adjusting your foot placements, we make your worst pitches finish closer to your target, reduce the times your working release misses your most competitive release and do all of the above without changing the motion that got you where you are today.

When you change your initial foot placements for the better, you become competitive at the next-level right now!!!

L.A. "Skip" Fast
Independent Major League Consultant
Pro Pitching Institute
skip@propitchinginstitute.com
856-524-3248

Monday, February 20, 2017

Is your working release point the same as your most competitive release point?

Everyone has a release point where, when your hand passes through this point, you get the most competitive results.

If, on every pitch, you could get your hand to move through this space all the time, you won't need any coaching.

The fact is that no one supporting you journey to pitching greatness knows how to get your hand to consistently move through this space.

Your Coaches have tried and I don’t want you to forget what they told you, but I do want you to stop trying to do what they told you to do and let me show you how to do what they asked you.

When you work with me, I accept full full responsibility for your results. That means, when you miss your target by a lot, it’s my fault, not yours.

First, I’ll show you how to use very little effort to ­­place every pitch into your target area and then I’ll show you how to use late ball movement, a deceptive arm action and superior command to challenge every hitter to make solid contact with your pitch.

“So how about we get started?”

L.A. "Skip" Fast
Major League Pitching Consultant
Pro Pitching Institute
skip@propitchinginstitute.com


Monday, January 30, 2017

How does your balance impact your results?



"Balance" means your shoulders and hips are directly one another and your hips are level to the ground.
- When in "balance", your upper body is free to move any way you want.
- With an "imbalance", you lose control of your movements until you get your body back into "balance". 
(Your "balance" response is called a "righting reflex".) 

You want to create ONE late "imbalance" - You generate ONE "imbalance" by coming into your front leg lift with your body in "balance" and then produce a planned "imbalance" that forces you to land your foot plant with your chest facing your target and your front hip lower than your back hip.
By doing this, you get back in "balance" by ...  
1. Your shoulders rotate to match your hips. (You engage your lower body.)
2. To satisfy your mind's urge to get your body back in "balance", without any effort you make totally spontaneous and naturally productive throwing action. 
No matter the pitch called, your consistent fastball arm speed, late ball movement and pinpoint command challenges your opponent to make solid contact with your pitch.

An early "imbalance" isn't nearly as effective - By ending your front leg lift with your hips tilted, you lose your lower body and end up throwing all upper body.
By ending your front leg lift with a hip tilt... 
1. You come out of your front leg lift with an "imbalance".  (With only one foot touching the ground, it becomes a physical impossibility to get your body back in "balance".)
2. Only after your front foot gets back on the ground and you get your hips back to level do you regain use of your upper body. 
3. In the process, your "balance" gives your body nothing to react to and you're forced to delivery each pitch with your shoulders whirling around your neck.
You never really know where your pitch is going to end up or whether your opponent picked on your throwing arm angle tipping your pitch. 

Now you know that the best way to have "balance" impact your results comes from your "balance" into the top of your front leg lift allowing you to generate ONE late "imbalance".

In fact, when you do this, you can use your results to measure your front leg lift.  (When you miss your target by an unacceptable distance, you merely revisit and refine your movements into your front leg lift.)

L.A. “Skip” Fast
Pro Pitching Institute
Independent Major League Pitching Coach
skip@propitchinginstitute.com

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



Tuesday, January 3, 2017

Are you an “A” or “B” rated pitcher?

The difference between an "A" and "B" rated pitcher is like day and night.
  • An "A" Pitcher's foot placements keep their throwing arm uninvolved with their balance.
  • A "B" Pitcher's foot placements force them to use their throwing arm for balance.  
There's no middle ground. 
Either your body uses your throwing arm for balance or not!!!

“A” Pitchers
Overview - You’re an “A” pitcher when you know the movements to make that'll deliver every pitch directly to your target with different velocities and various movements.

There's ONE way to produce “A” performances!

Your focus – You focus on your foot placements, your front leg lift and your upper body throwing trigger.
Your foot placement choice – Your foot placements keep your hips level into the top of your front leg lift.
Your upper body – Your upper body remains uninvolved with your balance and free to move any way you want.
Your throwing trigger – You land your foot plant with a hip tilt to your glove hand side by rotating your chest toward your target out of your front leg lift.
Your throwing action – Your hip tilt forces a totally spontaneous and naturally productive throwing (re)action.

“B” Pitchers

Overview You’re a “B” pitcher when you do well against hitters with a flaw you can exploit and/or hitters who don’t recognize and fail to drive the pitches missing over the plate.

No matter what, everyone else is a “B” Pitcher!

Your focus – You’re more focused on what you see yourself do, not the actions causing you to do what you see yourself do!
Your foot placement choice – Your foot placements cause your hips to tilt into the top of your front leg lift.
Your upper body – You need your throwing arm to offset your hip tile at the top of your front leg lift.
Your throwing trigger – Before you can complete your delivery, you need to get your front foot back on the ground and get your hips back to level.
Your throwing action – Your throwing arm works independently to bring your throwing arm through your release window.

Contact us to find out how to transform your “B” foot placements into “A” performances.

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

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


Tuesday, December 27, 2016

Manage your mind's “built-in response mechanism”.

Your mind's “built-in response mechanism” continually monitors your hip orientation. 

To give you a better understanding of how your mind's “built-in response mechanism” impacts your pitching, let's address your actions/reactions strictly in terms of how your body works.

In fact, the way your body reacts when you're perched atop a balance beam doesn't stop just because you're pitching!!!

How your body works on a balance beam.
1. You control the way your mind's “built-in response mechanism” reacts.
Situation- When you take a step on the balance beam, you hips have to tilt.
Your reaction - The instant your mind's “built-in response mechanism” senses your hip tilt, your mind elevates the arm opposite the lowest hip.
Controlling 
your mind's “built-in response mechanism” - With the proper training, you can adjust your legs to walk the beam without tilting your hips.

2. You need not lose control of your body.
Situation- When you take one foot off the beam, your mind's “built-in response mechanism” takes control of your body.
Your reaction - With only one foot on the beam, you lose your other leg's stabilizing influence on your mind's “built-in response mechanism” 
and, until you find a way to balance your weight over the beam, even the slightest movement changes your hip orientation. 
Controlling your mind's “built-in response mechanism” - With the proper training, there's a way to use your off leg (your front leg) to keep your hips level and stop your mind's “built-in response mechanism” from taking control of your body.

3. Making a spontaneous throwing (re)actions.
Situation - Place both feet on and perpendicular to a balance beam or line on the floor.  Once you've done this, lift one foot and then, as a separate action, take a step. 
Your reaction - As your foot lifts up and comes back on the beam (line), your mind's “built-in response mechanism” senses the subtle change to your hip elevations and demands you use your arms to get your hips back to level.  In order to complete a throwing action, you'd have to bring your back arm forward and swivel your front foot on the beam.
Using 
your mind's “built-in response mechanism” to make a throwing (re)action - When you lift your foot off the beam, instead of stepping forward, quickly move the same shoulder (the shoulder on the side of the front foot that's off the beam) away from the beam. 
Your mind's “built-in response mechanism”... 
1. Senses your misaligned shoulders and, to realign your hips, moves your back hip forward.  
2. As this is happening, to stop you from falling off the beam, your mind's “built-in response mechanism” places your front foot back on the beam. (It needs to be noted that your stride is a "reaction" to your front shoulder movement and not an "action".)
3. Your front foot contact with the beam instantly sends your mind's “built-in response mechanism” a signal that you landed with your front hip lower than your back.
4. To get your hips back to level, your mind's “built-in response mechanism” immediately rotates your throwing shoulder around your head and brings your throwing arm forward and across your body.  
5. Your spontaneous throwing (re)action relies upon your mind's “built-in response mechanism” predictable reaction patterns to consistently bring your throwing hand through the same tiny release window on every pitch. (Your spontaneous throwing (re)action is the source of your sustainable fastball command.)
Controlling your mind's “built-in response mechanism” - Without someone training you to finish your front leg lift with your hips level, getting mind's “built-in response mechanism” to generate a spontaneous throwing (re)action becomes a physical impossibility.

Trying to figure out how to do everything that's presented takes years or you can ask me to teach you sustainable fastball command in a matter of weeks... the choice is yours!!! 

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

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


Monday, December 26, 2016

One position determines your success.

Throwing arm balance 
makes sustainable fastball command a physical impossibility!

Your success hinges upon the collective baseball community addressing your hip orientation at the top of your front leg lift. 

When you complete your front leg lift with your hips off your target line and/or tilted, your mind's “built-in response mechanism” uses your throwing arm for balance.

When this happens, the throwing arm path you want your throwing arm to take conflicts with the throwing arm path your mind's “built-in response mechanism” wants your arm to take.

No matter how hard you try, the common sense thought that you can control your throwing arm path can't overpower your mind's “built-in response mechanism”.

Ask me to show you how to control your throwing arm path.


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!”

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Discover your only path to success!

There's a huge difference between "seeing", "thinking" and "knowing" your hips are in an optimal position.
Sustainable fastball command comes from "knowing" your hips are level at the top of your front leg lift.
Seeing - You look at your hip orientation as you complete your front leg lift and see your hips level.
  • You ignore the signs, as you come out of your front leg lift, that your hips really aren't level.
Thinking - You look at your hip orientation, see your hips level and use your last pitch result as confirmation.
  • When you last result isn't acceptable, you do something to try and make your hips more level on your next pitch.
  • You ignore the cues your “built-in response mechanism” presents that tell you exactly how to address your movements.
Knowing - You use your predictable “built-in response mechanism” reactions to tell you that your hips are level.
  • You use your predictable “built-in response mechanism” reactions to take away any excuses for your hips not being level at the top of your front leg lift.
  • You use your sustainable fastball command to confirmation your hip orientations.
Ask us to help you "know" how to produce sustainable fastball command.

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!”