The Inverted Iron Pyramid
One of the key indicators of efficiency and power in a pitcher’s delivery is his use of his lower half.
At The ARMory and The Ranch, we’ve been studying this for a long time, and our understanding is constantly evolving. An efficient and powerful lower half definitely isn’t seen in the old “stay tall and fall” idea.
It’s amazing to me how many coaches I hear say something like “stay tall on the back side”, and then turn right around and tell a pitcher “you gotta use...
How Long? Yes!!
Good Morning,
Later today The ARMory will board a jet to Atlanta, GA for a two-day Road Show with 54 aspiring young rocket launchers and their families. Once we land we’ll load up 5 suitcases of equipment and 7 staff members into a rented Suburban and head off to our hotel. Tomorrow morning we’ll wake up, slam down a continental breakfast, and it then it will be...
Ty Sullivan, Matt Abramson, Josh Wagner, Amy Marsh, Lisa Church, Austin Bergner, and I will be laying down the knowledge...
Thoracic Outlet Syndrome: A Case Study
In August of 2015,Brandon D., a 15 year old left handed pitcher, came to a Rocket Launchers Training Camp all the way from Queens, NY . According to his father, Brandon had already seen 4 different orthopedists for recurring, debilitating left biceps pain. He had struggled with it for over a year and had been shut down from throwing for 6 weeks on two separate occasions. Per his report, after throwing 1-2 innings, he would notice a distinct loss of velocity, and he would experience gnawing,...
This Is What It’s All About.
If being a baseball coach and instructor was only about teaching baseball, I wouldn't do it.
Recently, I was totally blind-sided by something I truly didn’t see coming.
Let me tell you the story of Danny Muniz.
Danny is a rising college sophomore from the Miami area. He’s a right-handed pitcher who upon graduation from high school was topping at a whopping 82 mph. Not willing to give up on his dream of playing college baseball, he accepted a scholarship to an NAIA school in...
The Dangers Of Training Corruption
More Is Just More:
Last weekend I flew to Houston to help Coach Ron Wolforth at The Texas Baseball Ranch with a 3 day Elite Pitchers Boot Camp. I am honored to be a member of the staff at a place where instructors and students are free to innovate and experiment to find better ways to learn and to teach throwing. They pay me to help them, but I would do it for free just to experience my favorite part of every camp – Julio’s Mexican Grill (Formerly Rico's Hacienda)!
The camps begin at...
How To Become a First Round Draft Pick
And with the 20th pick in the first round, the Oakland Athletics select… Richie Martin, shortstop, University of Florida.
Want to know what it takes to be a first round draft pick?
I’ll tell you what I know about Richie Martin.
I have known Richie and his father for about 12 years. He grew up right here in Valrico, FL in the suburbs of Tampa.
When my 3 boys were growing up, we were Little League park rats.
Every free minute of our time was spent at the local Little League...
Welcome to Pitching Coaches Anonymous
My name is Randy Sullivan.
I’m pitching coach.
And I am a confirmed talkaholic.
I’ve wasted too many coaching years telling kids how to do things, then telling them how to do them better. I have coached some amazing kids over the years and, thank goodness, many of them have survived, and even thrived, despite my “assistance”.
You see, in the past 5-7 years, I have come to learn that in the science of motor learning and human performance, the words get in the way. Very few...
Tonight I Cried
In the spring of 2004 I was a member of the Board of Directors at Bloomingdale Little League, when my youngest of 3 sons, Jake signed up to play in the machine pitch league. He was 6 years old. I was already coaching my oldest son, Ty, and my middle son, Ryan’s little league teams, so I decided not to be the head coach of Jake’s team.
But on the morning of the tryout, I attended and stood against the fence down the right field line, clipboard in hand, and watched. Why would a non-coach...
Can You Train Spin Rate?
Last week I sent out an email called “Your Ticket To Opportunity”. The response I got was exactly as I thought it would be.
The number one question that came across my desk was:
“How do you teach spin rate?”
Well, the short answer (for now anyway) is this:
No one knows… yet.
I have spoken to Trevor Bauer (who owns a personal TrackMan), Wes Johnson, and Flint Wallace. Like me, they are all looking for ways to increase spin rate.
Spin rate is a measure of how...
Have You Ever Seen The Rain?
Two mornings ago it rained in Tampa Bay.
Yeah...
I can hear everyone who's ever been to Fort Myers or Disney for tournaments during the summer:
“Rain in Tampa Bay? Shocker.”
I agree, but to have a rainstorm in the morning, especially this time of year is unusual. In the summer, I check the forecast every day. In the spring, not so much.
So this time I was totally caught off guard.
I woke up at 7:30 am to the sound of raindrops on the bedroom window and suddenly...
