Until pitching instructors and coaches start teaching pitchers to break the hands differently there is ZERO chance of stopping elbow injuries. “Getting on top of the ball” or “breaking the hands thumbs down” leads directly to an inevitable chain of events that is wreaking havoc on elbows. And it’s leaving deep scars on the talent pool.
Although the solution is relatively simple there is a problem that gets in the way: coaches and instructors “think” they know what they’re doing, when in fact what they’re teaching (or not correcting) is wrecking elbows. I think most coaches have good intentions, but the baseball community must lose some of its collective ego that is making meaningful change impossible.
I’ve heard coaches say that you have to get on top of the ball to throw hard. It’s not true. My experience is that players end up throwing harder than ever before once they get their hand break right — and their elbow pain disappears. I’ve taken players who were throwing mid- to low-80’s, with elbow pain, and taken them into the 90’s without elbow pain. I want to teach you how to do the same. It’s fair to say the future of the game and the futures of many of these young men depends on it.
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