If you want your kid to throw farther and faster – and pitching is the thing all kids want to do we need
- CORE MUSCLES
- Shoulder muscles
- LEG muscles
Most people think throwing is with your arms. It isn’t – if you throw right you are building all the force and momentum with your legs. High school coaches make all their pitchers RUN 10 MILES A DAY. Running is at the center of most pitchers’ lives – if you look at them , they have massive legs – massive thighs.
So how about 10 minutes of the following
- 30 seconds high knees run in place
- 30 seconds kick yourself in the posterior
- 30 seconds Karaoke – right leg over left, right leg behind left –go back and forth 30 feet
- 30 seconds side shuffle again back and forth as needed. Go in a straight line.
- 60 second sprint—see how far you can go in 60 seconds at full tilt and see if you go farther each day
- Grab a sip of water as you are at 3 of my ten minutes. Take a one minute water break.
Now we’ll do some squats
- 30 seconds squat down and push back up with your left, up and down – 30 seconds, keep chest lifted, arms behind back
- Now finish with some single leg
Get a baseball and put it in front of you on the ground, standing with your left leg, bring your right leg back and behind you and then reach down with your left arm and pick up the baseball. Do not touch your right leg to the ground or do that as little as possible. Now switch legs. See if you can get to 5 reps. It’ll take a couple of minutes.
Grab a water break and be happy. This one is really good, as pitching and hitting all involve a one-legged squat at some point.