North Carolina Submarine Pitcher

#1

Hi, I am wondering if anyone has any tips or tricks to push my progress along as a pitcher. The season begins in 6 months or so and I need to add around 10 MPH to my fastball to be a legitimate high school pitcher. I figure you’ll need my specs, so here you go:

Positions: Closer, Outfield, Third Base
Height: 5’10’'
Weight: 125 lbs.
Age: 13
Year: Rising Freshman
Current Speeds: 70-4FB(2 in break), 68-2FB(4 in break), 62-SL(Frisbee type; 15 in break), 64-SNK(8 in break), 65-SPL(9 in break) , 55-CH(4 in break)

My goals are:
-Throw 85-90 by senior year
-Get recruited to play for a D1 school
-Improve slider speed and break
-Hit 175 lbs
-Pitch a no-no

I think that a little more muscle may be in order. Thanks in advance, jayfurr17

#2

Hate to break it too you but if your a true submarine pitcher you’ll never throw 90 mph, they are lucky if they hit 85. Best advice is watch lots of video, this is what I did when I was making the switch to down low.

#3

Check out the site Sidearm Nation it could be useful to you as well as this one.

Also if you want to go DI scrap the KBall.

I’d also focus on developing only 2 more pitches to compliment your FB/Sinker.

Lanky Lefty on here is a sidearmer I’d suggest you read his log it will give you some great advice and insight.

Looking forward to following your progress.

#4

Wow! 5’10" and only 125 pounds? You’re going to have to put on a lot of weight, about 50 pounds, before you can address your pitching concerns. And are you sure you are a true submariner and not more of a sidearm pitcher? Think about that. :o

#5

Unless you’ve ever seen a sidearmer who nearly scrapes his knuckles on the ground whenever he throws his fastball, I’m a submariner. Also, I get the above very, very often; I have gained 10 pounds in the last two months, so imagine me then.

#6

Putting this out there to see if anyone has comments or suggestions on my workout routine.

Monday: Dynamic Warmup, Upper Body, Endurance Run (4 mi)
Tuesday: Dynamic Warmup, Lower Body, Off
Wednesday: Dynamic Warmup, Core, Sprints (10 x 100m)
Thursday: Dynamic Warmup, Upper Body, Off
Friday: Dynamic Warmup, Lower Body, Endurance Run (3.5 mi)
Saturday: Dynamic Warmup, Core, Off
Sunday: Rest

Upper Body Workout
Push-ups (T-style, Medicine Ball, Inclined, Wide)- 4x30
Bicep Curls- 3x25
Dips- 100
Military Press- 3x15
Shoulder Flies- 30 seconds
Pull-ups- 25
Shoulder Blade Retractions- 100

Lower Body Workout
Box Jumps- 3 minutes
Dead Lifts- 4x10
Leg Press- 4x10
Weighted Lunge Jumps- 50
Hamstring Curls- 4x15
Single Leg Squats- 4x10 (Left and Right)

Core Workout
Russian Twists- 5 minutes
Russian Twists w/medicine ball- 2 minutes
Plank- 2:30 minutes
Oblique Sit-ups- 4x125
Power Cleans- 4x20
Roman Chair- 50
Bicycle Crunches- 3x100

Always begin with a dynamic warmup because stretching has been shown to decrease muscle performance.

#7

Those are some pretty hefty workouts. Try to pick your main big lift of the day and plan your workouts around that. Also becoming the best bencher around isn’t going to do much good for you. Check out LankyLefty’s stuff, Eric Cressey, Dan Blewett for ideas.

#8

I took a few days off this week and now I can’t get my slider’s break back. All it does is slow down my fastball. Any suggestions?

#9

Don’t take days off?

#10

Don’t take days off?

#11

It sounds as if you’ve lost, or rather misplaced, the feel for your slider. Okay, let’s go back to square one with that pitch. To begin with, pick up a baseball and just feel it—feel the seams, the surface of the ball, and get the sense of the ball as a whole. Next, the grip. It’s very much off-center, with the index and middle fingers very close together, middle finger just touching one seam, fourth and fifth fingers curled up on the side, and the thumb underneath for support. Get the feel of that grip—this is the one I learned from the major-league pitcher who taught me the slider, by the way. And when you throw it, this is what that pitcher told me: “Throw it like a curve, but roll your wrist, don’t snap it.” Ideally the pitch should have a late break to it. If you can get a catcher, have him set up behind the plate and throw it to him—maybe have him position his mitt in various places so you can work on locating that pitch; otherwise, play catch with the wall. In short order you should get that pitch back. :baseballpitcher:

#12

Clocked fastball at 71 MPH today, 4 inches of inward break on righties. Cut fastball 65, breaking in 6.5 inches on righties.

#13

[quote]ARSENAL
~Overhand: 4FB, 2FB, Slider, Knuckle-curve, Slurve, Sweeping Curve, Palmball, Change-up, Splitter, Sinker
~Submarine: 4FB, 2FB, Slider, Palmball, Change-up, Splitter, Sinker, Cutter[/quote]

So you throw 10 variations, not pitches, overhand and 8 variations submarine.
You are 13, why are you trying to throw so many variations. Cut back on the number and work on the basics, fastball,change, breaker. You might find better results and gains.

#14

Turn is right, I made the transition to sidewinder over a year ago and I still only throw a fastball (2/4 seam) in games and occasionally a change if I’m feeling good.

And I gotta know, how the hell are you measuring how many inches your pitches move exactly? Haha I guess at mine and unless you throw in front of sports science I highly doubt you do too

#15

You take a video from behind the mound and put a yardstick behind the plate to measure your lateral break. I only throw about 4 of those “variations” in games, the others are for when you need that special pitch that they haven’t seen yet or you are winning/losing by a wide margin.

#16

Interesting idea with the broom stick, I’ll have to give that a try. Also why don’t you take some of that video and post it here so we can get a look at your motion.