When James first came to the Armyard, I could see the core reason to his shoulder pain.
At stride foot contact, James was in a excessive internal shoulder rotation. The internally rotated position itself is not that dangerous, the concern is that the speed of forearm layback significantly increases peak eccentric loading force at the shoulder and torque at the elbow.
James wasn't keeping ground connection and didn't understand how to drive through the ground. He would lose all of the force he created in the ground by coming off his back foot heel. This was causing him to stride across his body. A cue that's been working for James is stay on your heel a little longer. Working with James, we've made impressive progress and he is continuing to improve.
James has gone from topping 68 sitting low 60s to currently topping 76mph and sitting 74-75!
Over the span of just three months, Nate has undergone an impressive transformation.
Starting at 58 mph, he now consistently hits 68+ mph. Working with Nate, we guided him to transition from sidearm to a high 3/4 arm slot. We built a focus on driving his pelvis and back leg, which significantly contributed to his increase in velocity and control.
I'm excited about his continued growth and the bright future that awaits him on the mound.
When Josh came to us he was sitting 45-47, topping in at 48 mph. After only a few months, he is now sitting 54-56mph and topping 58mph.
Josh used to load into his quad and stride across his body. I taught him how to get into a hinge and ride it down the mound. By reverse engineering his mechanics, (starting from the root of the problem and working backwards), we made significant improvements in his velocity, control, and agility.
I'm thrilled to see how Josh continues to progress, and I expect big things to come for him.
