The better the hitters the more you have to pitch and not throw. Just because a hitter knows a fb is coming does not mean he will hit it. Or he may hit it but roll over the outside fastball etc. Disruption of timing and location is what pitching is all about. It all starts with a fb that the pitcher can locate. The more velocity the less time the hitter has to make a good decision. The better you locate your pitches the less chance you have of getting balls squared up on you. If a pitcher uses the breaking ball as his primary pitch good hitters will adjust to this approach and take it away. If your fastball is not good enough to keep them honest then it will be absolutely mashed. There are alot of pitchers who have been very successful with a less than dominant fastball. But these guys can throw that fastball for a strike to a location on a consistent basis. And they can throw their breaking stuff in any count for a strike. The less velocity you have the better pitcher you better be. The more velocity you have the more mistakes you can get away with.

The fact is the guys with very good velocity that can locate it and can locate good breaking stuff as well are at the top of the list as pitchers. The next group would be the guys with average fb's that can locate it and locate off speed stuff as well. If your fastball is not good enough to at least speed up the bat in a fastball count then your breaking stuff is going to get hit a long ways.

IMO it all starts with a good fb that can be located. It does not have to be dominant imo. It just has to be good enough to keep hitters honest. When a pitcher has a dominant fastball hitters have to cheat on the fastball. This makes their breaking stuff very effective even if its not great. So if your fastball is average your breaking stuff better be better than average.

Coach May,

RJM: My 14 yo son grew about 6 inches last school year and the Osgood-Schlatters is KILLING him... Have you had any luck with any remedies?

Coach May:
I'm with you on the FB that can be located.
In fact next school year I am going to quit using the word "control" and call it "talent" ... I'm sick of watching guys who can throw hard but can't find a strike zone. I just call that poor pitching. Who needs it?

If you allow your son to throw a football you are allowing him to throw the ball with his hand in a sideward plane to the ball which gives a sideward spin or rotation versus the backward rotation of a fastball rotation.

My son played QB in Pop Warner through JV high school. He suffered no ill effects from either...its in the grip and the finish of the throw that determines efficiency. Throwing the football requires finishing at the hip to keep the elbow slightly bent. It is the same with the curve.

The pressure points on the ball for throwing the football and throwing the curve are the same. The main pressure points are the middle finger and the thumb.

My suggestion for all pitchers is learn to throw the football with a tight spiral and you will have a better curveball as a pitcher.

JMO

quote:

Originally posted by trojan-skipper:
RJM: My 14 yo son grew about 6 inches last school year and the Osgood-Schlatters is KILLING him... Have you had any luck with any remedies?

My son had his problems before he grew. It wasn't a problem during the growth burst. He never felt pain. He only had discomfort after games. He would ice his knees.

You're going to laugh on this one. I'm not sure if it worked or was psychological. My wife is into holistic heeling. She was advised to tape magnets to his knees (I had to stop and laugh while typing this .... still laughing). Whether it was in my son's head or real, the discomfort stopped.

There were a couple of kids on his travel basketball team that had to quit for a year. Their doctor's told them school ball was enough wear and tear on O-S.

Son never had problems like t-s or rjm's sons, but we use a natural product called arnica for relief of muscle aches and pains. It does not have a scent. It relieves swelling - good on those bruises when kids are hit by pitches. Son has used it at the beginning of season on his arm. Husband uses it the first week of umpiring.

Anyway, thought I would recommend it.