Clubhouse Gas
Casey: Today on Clubhouse Gas we’re joined once again by friend of the show and pitching coach at the University of Georgia, Brady Wiederhold some more tips for you pitchers and pitching coaches so stay tuned to Clubhouse Gas.
Brady: (Brady Wiederhold, Pitching Coach University of Georgia) I talk a lot about tempo, gentlemen. Once I get down the basics and the fundamentals and doing the break and all that which is part of it I start talking about tempo. You’re body generating power, explosion alright and momentum towards home plate that’s huge, crucial alright. And so what I started finding is you know we always worry about them to stretch, I started looking at guys wind up are there times with the stop watch from the windup alright and this is what I mean by that.
From the moment that I start my kick, when I start my little rocker step up here which we don’t want to be real big, that’s another top of another time alright I don’t have time for that but want to be nice and small but when I start my rocker step until the ball leaves my hand and hits the catchers mitt that’s the time I’m looking at, alright from start to it hits the catcher, alright. I started looking at those types, alright and started noticing some things. Most guys are extremely too slow from the wind up extremely too slow, alright and if that goes back to us coaching too much.
Alright I mean if I was worried about that I have a big s on my chest you know super coach. You know I will make everybody exactly the same we would be robotic alright, but from the moment I start that leg kick until I come through my motion and finish and pop that glove most guys are extremely too slow. I’ll have guys you know you look at it they’ll be like 3, 35, 40 alright and that comes back to the time of us being taught to go here be nice and collective be slow make sure we stay back here. You got to sit back over that pitch and you got to stay here.
And then you got well sooner or later don’t you have to throw the ball. You got to get some momentum or something going towards the plate. We look good. We look dandy you know it’s like a camp. You know how long can you sit in this position. You got kids doing all this out there in the outfield. How long can you sit well that’s what happens with guys you get so mechanical and caught up into staying back here over the rubber. We don’t get powering and stuff generated towards the plate.
Alright, again, go back and watch me, I think you got a couple of slides or something with those guys. If you watch some of those guys and click it over and over again you know their going to get, again if this is the pitcher that I’m going towards there you’re going to see guys as they get going their hips, their load is here guys. They’re behind but their load is more here. I mean stuff is going, right.
They’re not sitting where back here just swap him back here over the pitcher rather. They got stop moving and exploding, alright and so what I did with guys is I started to make them increase their tempo from the wind up. Speed up their steps a little bit. I do this in camp it’s astronomical. You know kid’s 11 right and you know it’s back here whether it’s over his head or not it’s over here to good, oh yeah. And then he tries lunge out there and throw it at the last second.
I say, “Hi Johnny let’s increase our steps. Let’s get a little bit quicker with our steps.” He gets there and starts going. All of a sudden he’s a mechanic and his body start to flow alright, they get, you know, you could call them dancing if you want. I don’t know how you guys go out on dates you know and go dancing from time to time but they get a little bit of movement and rhythm and their body starts to flow.
Alright instead of fighting yourself you are starting to use what you got and I said most guys are too slow. So I start to speed them up now you can go too fast as well now, I mean that’s very rare though but I got a couple of guys that I got going, alright and they start going extremely too quick. You can do the other way but all it takes gentlemen and what you’ll see every one of you has an internal plot alright that is the best tempo for you.
Alright and that’s why I mean you can’t cookie cut people and just like— so what I do is I sit back and watch alright and tie them on a stop watch and just see guys, alright and watch then I look down okay you even chart it and see when they throw the ball down in the zone where they command their pitches the best, alright it’s amazing when you start looking at it that it will be around the same time almost every single time. It’s amazing and I’m just going to stow out a number.
Let’s say you’re 2.5 alright 2.5 seconds from start to popping the glove and you’re 2.5 and I notice when you’re 2.5 boom, boom, boom I want you to elevate a little bit boom and your down in the zone and then I turned around and ask okay, very good Jenny let’s go to what is called the change up alright or breaking ball or something like that and you know what I found when they started doing that when I immediately told them to go to that they slowed back down alright because now you know changing.
You got to slow it down if I just pull my foot a bit here. Pull down always things they told us, alright tempo, keep the same tempo. I noticed with you know grips and all that other stuff again you can go on for years and years and years but if they keep that same if he’s a 2.5 fastball and that’s where his ball works the best alright then you ought to be close to 2.5 and I’m not saying if you go to a 2.6 because that’s not a big frame there I mean you know 2.5 running on the button every time.
You’re 2.5, you’re 2.55, your 2.45, 2.66 you know you’re right in that range the ball is going to work for you a lot better. You’re going to see an amazing thing how the ball jumps out your hand a little bit better whenyou start messing with tempo.
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