DREAM Team Baseball

In the game of baseball, resilience is an invaluable trait that separates the good from the great. It is the ability to bounce back from failure, overcome challenges, and persevere through adversity. Resilience is not only a key component of success on the diamond but also an essential quality that shapes players' character and influences their lives beyond the game. In this blog post, we will delve into how resilience ties into the game of baseball and why it is a fundamental attribute for players aiming for greatness.

As a part of our continuous efforts to provide our athletes with top-tier training and development resources, we are thrilled to introduce our new initiative, the "Pitch Lab". Designed with the specific needs of young pitchers in mind, the Pitch Lab offers targeted workouts and in-house training to improve pitch mechanics and enhance performance on the field.

Pitching is a physically and mentally demanding position in baseball. Whether you are a high school pitcher or pitching at any other level, it's important to be well-prepared physically and mentally. Here are some tips on how to prepare for your next game:

Youth Pitchers often experiment with pitch grips by what they see on YouTube, TV, or just what "looks cool." Despite their best intentions, youth pitchers that play around with their pitch grips can significantly hurt their chances of throwing strikes or possibly their arms by not utilizing the correct grips and delivery.

These are the five most common pitch grips that youth pitchers (with pitch grips 4-5 below being more for advanced, mature pitchers) should master (both from how they throw the pitch to the spin direction of the pitch when it's released per diagram below) before taking the mound.

A youth pitcher should be always looking for ways to increase velocity, but it should be done under the guidance of good coaching and instruction geared around the pitcher increasing their throwing efficiency. Chasing higher velocity isn't the end-all-be-all, but when a youth pitcher naturally builds a better delivery they will in turn gain velocity. Yes, strength has something to do with it, but gaining separation and rotational efficiency does even more to build sustainable, effortless velocity. Throughout baseball history and even today, pitchers with higher velocity are revered, but faster is only better when it's sustainable and controllable. That being said, here are some ways that youth pitchers can naturally increase their pitching velocity.

1. Changing Locations. Pitchers need to be able to change the location of their pitches. They can't win an at-bat by throwing to the same spot every time. They need to be able to throw to different zones and eye levels. The more variety a pitcher has in their pitch location the harder it will be for a batter to assume where the ball will be thrown.

1.) Be an athlete and GFF (Go Forward Fast!). Ask yourself this simple question, “When does a player throw harder; pitching or with a crow hop from the outfield?” The obvious answer is with a crow hop from the outfield because you are more athletic and are able to create more momentum. The key to maximizing your velocity on the mound is creating a similar momentum while keeping your direction moving towards the target (the catcher). Dr. Tom House says, “When the whole body gets moving forward and the front foot hits, that weight transfer turns into energy translation, and that energy is going to travel up the body, into the arm and into the baseball,” House also says, “The arm is just along for the ride. But if you don’t get moving forward as quickly as possible, you’ll recruit strength out of sequence, or have movement out of sequence, the energy is not going to be efficiently transferred from your body into the baseball.”

Looking for a Baseball Winter Offseason program to join? These programs typically run for about 6 weeks and offer a wide range of benefits for pitchers aiming to improve their arm strength. The program begins with light throwing exercises and core strength training to warm up the muscles and establish a strong foundation. It also includes arm band or plyo ball training to enhance shoulder stability and increase arm strength.

Crucial to the art of shutting down hitters is the ability to locate pitches in the zone and make balls look like strikes (and vice versa). At the advanced level of baseball, control is more than just throwing strikes. Control means being able to pitch to a scouting report and locate pitches. Pitch location is the most important. No matter how a pitcher feels any certain day, location will win more times than not in the battle against the hitter. Most of the time, a pitcher will not be able to improve velocity or “life” during a game, but he can always fix the location on his pitches with a good mental approach and sound mechanics. As former big leaguer Mike Sweeney said, “God blessed each pitcher with a certain amount of ability to throw a ball." Locating pitches however is the most effective means of getting hitters out.