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justwin1
14 Posts |
 Posted - 05/25/2011 : 14:04:51
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| Does good pitching velocity at the younger age groups transfer into older ages and vice versa? In other words if a pitcher at 9 or 10 throws (say upper 50's) does that mean he will likely be above average when he gets older. Likewise, does average velocity at younger ages mean they won't be a power pitcher as they get older? |
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oldmanmj
191 Posts |
Posted - 05/25/2011 : 14:33:00
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| That is a great question. Each individual physical makeup will dictate along with mechanics etc. Generally speaking power pitching at 9-11 does not always equal to power pitching at 15-18. Also, just because you are larger than everyone as you get older does not equate to greater velocity. Most of the time it does not. I know young men at 11-12 that were dominating and now are getting dominated at 15 thrun18. Even with all the private lessons and growth they can not get over XX speed. Remember, pitching is not just velocity, are you changing speeds, hitting spots etc. Everyone is looking for the next 100 mph guy, put I would take a great pitcher against a hard thrower. It about getting outs and the last I saw, ground balls and flyouts were just as good. |
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rippit
667 Posts |
Posted - 05/25/2011 : 14:34:52
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There are tons of guys here better equipped to answer that question that me, but speaking as a parent who has seen a number of boys in our area screw up their arms by the age of 13-14...
Work on mechanics, balance, core strength, leg strength and forget the speed thing for now. There are only so many pitches in that arm. Why wear it out now?? |
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in_the_know
985 Posts |
Posted - 05/25/2011 : 14:43:14
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quote:
Originally posted by justwin1
Does good pitching velocity at the younger age groups transfer into older ages and vice versa? In other words if a pitcher at 9 or 10 throws (say upper 50's) does that mean he will likely be above average when he gets older. Likewise, does average velocity at younger ages mean they won't be a power pitcher as they get older?
Not consistently in my observation. Your assumption seems based in a model where a kid will increase velocity per year at a fixed rate, therefore (and these are purely hypothetical numbers), if Kid A throws 50 mph at 9u and increases 8 mph every year, then he would be at 90 at age 14 whereas Kid B throwing 40 mph at 9u would hit 80 at the same age. You're more likely to see that kids growth and development have a greater impact. Case in point is that I know a kid who was a flamethrower at age 9, but at age 13 hasn't grown significantly and isn't throwing much harder today than he was then. Likewise, kids who have hit some serious growth spurts were considered light throwers at the 9-10 age and are throwing bullets today. I think that there are too many changes from the 9-10 age through puberty to draw any real conclusion of what a kid's ability or velocity will be when he's 16. |
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UGA12
29 Posts |
Posted - 05/25/2011 : 15:48:38
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| @rippit- You are absolutely correct. At 10U my son's velocity has jumped 8 mph through lessons that focussed on the 4 things you mentioned above. Mechanics, balance, core strength and leg strength. Not once has he been taught or told to throw hard Throwing correctly and enhancing his leg excercises and core strength has worked great. |
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bballman
1432 Posts |
Posted - 05/25/2011 : 18:55:40
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First of all, no, velocity does not necessarily transfer. My son and a teammate at 14u threw close to the same. I think the one kid threw 75-76 and my son was at 77-78. Two years later at a PG showcase that both went to, the other kid was still at 76 and my son was at 86. Neither has grown a whole lot. I also don't think size matters a whole lot either. My son is right around 5'9", 170 lbs and hits 89 right now (17, just fininshing Jr. year). There are plenty of guys a lot bigger than him that don't throw that hard. Just trying to give some hope to the little guys out there :)
I agree with rippit that you should focus on mechanics and change of speed. If you take care of that, you will be more likely to get the most out of your god given ability. I don't really agree that there are so many throws in an arm. If your mechanics are bad and you throw while fatigued without enough rest between outings, you are asking for trouble. If your mechanics are sound, you don't over throw in individual games and make sure you get plenty of rest between outings, you are more likely to last longer. Bottom line is, take care of yourself. Don't throw past the point of fatigue, make sure you get enough rest between outings, stay in shape, develope a solid throwing program and you will be more likely to last a longer time as well as improve your velocity. I think everyone has a built in limit on velocity. That varies from individual to individual. However, develop good mechanics with a good pitching coach and you will help yourself reach that maximum. Hope I didn't ramble too much. |
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coachdan06
433 Posts |
Posted - 05/26/2011 : 10:42:47
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no correlation at all that you can predict or count on !
way too many varriables some not being physical like toughness, will to suceed , true interest in even being on the m ound , that kind of thing.
ma and pa - be careful with the young pitcher especialy if hes a young "fireballer" cause that could change real fast one year to the next
he can at the tender ages of pre teen become injured whilst being pushed to be the next Nolan Ryan if only I had a silver dollar for every time Ive seen it.
It just doesnt happen thataway and no one should expect it of him
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Nitro56
30 Posts |
Posted - 05/26/2011 : 11:14:23
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quote:
Originally posted by UGA12
@rippit- You are absolutely correct. At 10U my son's velocity has jumped 8 mph through lessons that focussed on the 4 things you mentioned above. Mechanics, balance, core strength and leg strength. Not once has he been taught or told to throw hard Throwing correctly and enhancing his leg excercises and core strength has worked great.
I guess somebody was paying attention during all those pitching lessons.Unfortunately, it wasn't my son!! |
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Pitching Velocity
