What are your pitching philosophies?

Tough question. To put it bluntly, we believe in developing safe and effective pitching mechanics – not one or the other. Most players come to us looking for better fastball velocity, more control/command of their pitches, and increased durability – so we tailor our program around all of those facets. We understand that each pitcher is going to have his own set of unique characteristics, and we make the programming fit the individual – not the other way around.

Our overall philosophy is to teach you to become your own pitching coach – after all, it’s you that has to get the batters out, not us!

The goal of the Driveline Baseball Pitching Program is not to meet with clients every week for two years. We train our clients hard and get them on the right path, giving them the tools and programming they need to succeed in the future. We want to see you put forth maximum effort and give us your undivided attention for a month or two – and after that, we want you to succeed on your own. We don’t believe in making you subscribe to a long-term program just to enrich our pocketbooks.

What is your introductory session like?

We put all of our clients through an initial evaluation process to examine what movement deficits exist. Typically clients who have been pitching or throwing for many years have asymmetries in their shoulders due to humeral retroversion and the body’s natural process of creating laxity in the throwing shoulder and stability in the glove shoulder. This imbalance can cause injuries down the road and is just one of many things we check in our initial assessment of the client.

We frequently use a goniometer to test for ranges of motion in various bodyparts – specifically the hip and the shoulder.

What do your clients do after their initial assessment?

Depending on the client’s individual goals, they’ll often choose to work out a long-term solution with us for further training. We recommend getting on a strength and conditioning program, and while we think highly of our own program, we’re willing to work with our clients to design a program for them to do outside of our facilities on their own time.

How much do you charge?

How can I pay?

We accept cash or check at the time of the lesson, and we accept credit cards through Paypal. No Paypal account is required to pay via credit card!

Training Packages

Initial Assessment $25.00 Single Pitching Lesson $65.00 High-Speed Session $65.00 Basic Kinematic Analysis $199.00 Introductory Pitching Package $240.00 Gold Pitching Package $399.00

The focus of this training is increasing biomechanical efficiency of the pitching motion, increasing strength, and improving range of motion through various exercises. Effects of this training typically involve better release velocities, better control, and better durability and resistance to injury.

If the client wants to add Strength and Conditioning programming to the month-long program, we can offer further package discounts. Contact us for more details.

How do your costs compare to other instructors in the area?

You also get basic strength and conditioning advice with any package you purchase from Driveline Baseball, including your initial assessment ($25). Other instructors do not screen their clients for movement or postural deficits and often have no training in exercise science.

Can we see an example of your video analysis?

Absolutely. Here’s a sample high-speed clip that was looking at the player’s “arm cocking” phase:

A full sample report is reviewed with all first-time clients. (Regrettably, we cannot make any of our reports public due to the fear of divulging personal information or proprietary training methods.)

Without high-speed (200+ FPS) video and a solid understanding of the underlying biomechanics of the throw, a coach is severely limited by the advice he can give. Make sure you select a coach that has the equipment available to train you properly and understands the exercise science behind the baseball throw.

What are some exercises you have your pitchers do?

Our pitchers train in a myriad of ways to help improve both velocity and arm health. They include, but are not limited to:

• Barbell training for strength and power
• Medicine ball training for rate of force development and balance
• SPRI band training for stability and flexibility
• Jumpstretch band training for power and explosiveness
• Wrist weight and weighted baseball training for sport-specific ballistic exercises

More examples (with video!) can be found on our Strength and Conditioning training page.

Can we see an example workout?

Sure! A sample pitching workout could look like this:

• Dynamic Warmup (10 minutes): Same as the strength training dynamic warmup – we use foam rollers for myofascial release, dynamic stretching to prepare the body for ballistic activities, and light calisthenics to get the core body temperature up.
• Throwing Warmup (15 minutes): Drills will be introduced to warm up properly – these may include standing forearm throws, high guard drills, long toss, kneeling toss, and other sequences tailored to fit the individual.
• Bullpen Session (20-30 minutes): A full bullpen session will be progressed through, focusing on individual goals (velocity, control, command, introduction of a new pitch, mechanics changes) and high-speed or regular video may be taken for later analysis.
• Active Cooldown (5 minutes): Static stretching and light work is used to cool down the body and improve flexibility.
• Theory Session (10-15 minutes): This section will contain discussion and analysis of previous high-speed or regular video or discussing how to set up hitters and other mental aspects of the game.

I’m ready to get started! Where do I sign up?

Great! Check out our general training page and fill out the contact form at the bottom of it for more information!