ahem
"For those of you who are looking for an instructor for your son you had better be very, very careful even if the instructor is a former professional or even major league pitcher. Steve Ellis is a former low A minor league pitcher who wants you to believe, knows what he is talking about. His website is TheCompletePitcher. He has a huge website of information however, most of it is like every other belief based coach…mostly based only the beliefs of that coach. And if you follow it you will find it to be not only counterproductive but possibly dangerous. Steve Ellis apparently got what he knows from his pitching coaches. Steve’s knowledge level, even though he pitched professionally, is far below most of our experienced clients. His knowledge is almost amateurish…especially on mechanics. He also supports all the poplular activities such as long toss, short bullpens, less than game intensity and low volume bullpens, weight lifting, flat ground pitching, drills of course and anything else that is popular with most coaches. One way to find out fast if a pitching instructor knows what he is talking about is to ask him how pitchers develop velocity. Then sit back and listen. Steve Ellis has not done his homework and yet he is out there promoting himself as an expert. Unfortunately people believe that former pro pitchers, even low A minor leaguers, are experts. You can also ask instructors like Steve Ellis other questions such as why arm strength is important? Ask about weight lifting. Flat ground pitching. Drills. Low volume and low intensity bullpens. Stride length…etc. Here is an article that Steve Ellis wrote about Detroit’s Zumaya’s mechanics and how he produces 100 mph velocity. Again, unfortunately, Steve Ellis is way off the mark in how these pitchers produce velocity. Steve Ellis believes pitchers should stride 77-87% of their height. However, he does not qualify how he determines stride length. Dr. Glenn Fleisig measures it from the rubber to the mid-ankle which may be in the 80% range or a bit more. I personally measure from rubber to big toe. It will then be about the same. But you must qualify that. A pitcher who is 6’3″ and strides 60 inches by measuring to mid-ankle will be similar to 90% to the front toe. But you must qualify that. Most people do not measure to mid-ankle so they end up with too short a stride. If a growing pitcher has an exceptionally large foot then his stride will seem longer. His analysis is disturbing because fathers and kids are going to employ what he says and will actually lose velocity. What he is proposing will slow down every pitcher. I have watched Zumaya pitch many times and what Steve is describing does not happen. Can you see why Steve Ellis doesn’t get it and exactly what he is saying is the exact opposite of what his happening. When you find someone like Steve Ellis who is wrong on something like this, you had better realize that any other advice he is giving out may also be way off the mark. Dick “Zumaya’s mechanics are fluid, smooth, effortless. They’re repeatable. His power? It comes from stride, which is about 80 percent of his height. (Zumaya is 6-foot-3, his stride foot lands about 5 feet in front of the rubber.) Stride length is a major contributor to pitching velocity. According to ASMI, a sport research facility in Birmingham, Ala., a baseball pitcher should stride out about 77 to 87 percent of his height. Zumaya’s right in the middle of that distance. When his lift leg raises into the “apex position,” he loads all his weight – 210 pounds – onto his back leg. His next movement is where he gets his power: His leg drops straight down. His body stays still. He doesn’t move forward toward the plate until his left foot is about 4 to 6 inches off of the ground. Then he strides out laterally. His lateral movement isn’t led by his hip, it’s lead by his left foot – and his head stays at the center of his body, forming a pyramid. That’s how most hard-throwing pitchers achieve optimal pitching velocity. They stride right. Their lead foot drops down and then out before their weight starts moving forward.”
That was written by Dick Mills who was one of the best pitching coaches on the planet before he died.
Keep taking the anecdotal personal experience based advice of people that want to sell you ****.
