The trip was great! I got a lot of good tips from Eric and meeting everyone there was a blast. I didn’t get to meet Nyman unfortunately.
Definitely a legit gym, with a great training atmosphere. I threw from a mound for the first time in a few months to cressey, and he and the pitching coach at CP Matt Blake had some helpful tips (they didn’t try to change everything and acknowledged I had my own arm action and “style” but did identify a potentially problematic area in my delivery).
I’ll just copy and paste some of Eric’s feedback, hopefully he wont mind.
"1. Overall, your flexibility was pretty solid. The only areas where I think you could improve are in lengthening the pec minor and hip adductors. Really, neither was outrageously bad, but they are still things you’ll want to prioritize. I prefer supine pec minor stretching with a partner, but if you don’t have one, use the corner pec minor stretch and no money w/band (both attached). For the adductors, I like split-stance kneeling adductor mobs and stability ball adductor stretches on the wall. All are attached.
- Regarding your actual pitching, you’ve got a super-live arm, and thanks to your flexibility and good athleticism, the force transfer is good. What I think you need more than anything (and I’m sure you’ll agree) is continuity in throwing so that you can realize your potential – and it’s hard to do that when you’re always in pain.
To that end, if I had to pinpoint one thing that I think is causing a lot of your issues, it’s the lumbar rotation you’re in during the early cocking phase – as it’s your way of using your spine to develop power. I think that if you can moderate/eliminate that and instead get more hip rotation, you’ll be golden. You noticed what a difference it made when Matt did the step-behind drill with you – and that’s because it got you going forward without that wasted (and potentially injurious) movement.
I think getting rid of that lumbar rotation also comes down to patience in your delivery. Even the most violent deliveries at the big league level are more “deliberate” early on in their motion. You can have it both ways!
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To help you with that transition to “more hips, less spine,” you definitely need to stay the course with a lot of anti-rotation work (split-stance cable lifts were the drill you did at CP) and plenty of glute activation – particularly on that right side (right-sided low back pain is actually far more common, and poor glute function is one big reason why). One-leg supine bridges are a good start.
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I know you’re really amped up to throw when you get to the field (or wherever else you’re throwing), but you need to take time to prepare your body. Step 1 is your dynamic warm-up and gentle shoulder stretches (sleeper), then you play a little light catch before progressing to your lead-up drills at 80-90%.
These drills won’t just help you to warm-up; they’ll help you to develop a better rhythm to keep you healthy without interfering with your “natural” style of throwing. The drills are: stride, figure 8, balance & break, and step-behinds. Let me know if you’d like videos of these.
- Once you’ve finished up your lead-up drills, you can long toss it out and then get on the mound, gradually working up the intensity. Be consistent with your foot placement on the rubber. You were all over the place the other day."
