Evolving our Softball Pitcher S&C Training: Part 1
Six months ago, we set out to better understand what might be contributing to some of our softball pitchers’ pain and strain during the high school season.
There are no league-enforced pitch count guidelines for youth, high school, or travel ball, which can allow some coaches to make bad decisions in how they use their pitchers. Many of our pitchers were pitching well into the triple digits (like, 400-500+ during a week of multiple games, even 200+ in a single game) with little to no rest days in between.
Cover photo athlete: Lily Cash (Twitter) pitches and trains one of our new movements
Photographer: Sherri O’Neal Jenkins
Overuse injury was often the culprit.
This led us on a path of discovery through the latest published research on joint distraction forces, seasonal strength measurements in muscle groups, and studying how power transfers in the windmill pitch.
Did you know that the baseball pitch is just has hard on the body as the windmill pitch? Learn about how the windmill pitch rates against it’s more well-studied overhand counterpart and how we are starting to track recovery and strain to better prepare our pitchers.
We’ve compiled the latest movement additions to our pitcher’s programs in order to contribute to this conversation in the strength and conditioning industry.
Just remember that advocating for common sense pitch counts and rest days is the best way that we better protect our pitchers against overuse injury. Strength and performance training can only do so much.
Tessa Kramer (Twitter) starts her pitching motion.
How we’re evolving our pitcher training program
Each athlete’s training program varies on an individual basis. We factor in…
How the athlete’s body bends and moves via our movement assessments
The athlete’s training experience and age
The athlete’s sport and position
Where they are at in their season
Their reported strain/soreness levels on specific training days
Together with the above approach, we’ve applied the learnings from our research review to our athletes’ programs as-needed.
Let’s get into it!
Pistol Squat (Single Leg Squat)
Key Area of Focus:
Lumbopelvic-hip complex (LPHC) stability and Core strength/stability
The Pistol Squat is NOT new to our program, but we have renewed our focus on it in our programs. It’s an excellent screen for LPHC stability. A lack of this stability can result in altered pitching mechanics, which can lead to pain and injury (1). When an athlete performs this movement, we can identify stability issues based on how the knee and trunk move.
It’s also a great builder of core strength and stability, which we all know is crucial to effective power transfer during the windmill pitch.
We’ve got the basic pistol squat demo here as well as progressions and regressions.
Single Leg Heel Touchdowns
Single Leg Squat to a Bench
Weighted Single Leg Squat to a Bench
Pistol Squat with Band Assistance
Pistol Squat with Counterbalance
Pistol Squat with Dumbbells
Single Leg RDL with Banded Sling and Ipsilateral Reach
Key Area of Focus:
General Stability and Ipsilateral Anti-rotation
Inspired from Coach Vernon Griffith, this movement challenges the body’s ability to stay balanced and resist rotation. Ipsilateral means the same side of the body, so the athlete reaches with the same-side arm of the leg that’s down on the floor.
We set this movement up as a way to hypothetically mimic the forces expressed through the body during in the windmill pitch. We aren’t trying to replicate game speed — but we are teaching the body how to resist force. Ipsilateral anti-rotation is important to softball pitchers, but we train BOTH sides with these movements so we don’t develop chinks in the athlete’s ‘armor.’
The athlete has to actively focus on keeping their opposite side down since there is no counterbalance and resist the rotation against the band and weight.
Keep reading for this movement’s regressions.
Single Leg RDL with Ipsilateral Reach
Single Leg RDL with Banded Sling
Bicep Drop Curls
Key Area of Focus:
Bicep & Anterior Shoulder Deceleration
We first saw these implemented by Garage Strength, and realized that this would be an excellent way to help our pitchers train quick deceleration with the bicep.
Why? Research shows that the bicep is more active in the windmill pitch than in the overhand throw, and the pain patterns we saw in our athletes anecdotally verified it (2). It might be why some pitchers report front-side shoulder pain.
The researchers assert that treatment mechanisms should focus on the phases with the highest muscle activity, so here we are!
Additional Bicep Curl Variations
Key Area of Focus:
Bicep and Anterior Shoulder Strength
These are more ways to slice the pie on treating a main muscle activation (bicep) during the pitch to reduce chance of arm and shoulder injury. We have our overhand throwers doing some of these as well.
Eccentric Bicep Curls
Isometric Bicep Hold
Isometric Band-resisted Bicep Hold
Wrapping up “Part 1”
Six months ago, we started on a journey to better prepare our pitchers for the (sometimes unreasonable) demands of their sport. We’re still pouring over research and our own athlete-submitted data.
We’ve implemented more than what we shared here, but it was too much information to include in one post. Check out Part 2!
While this evolution in our programming is helpful, ultimately advocating for common sense pitch counts and rest will stop performance coaches like us from fighting an uphill battle against overuse injuries.
If you’re interested in getting your athlete in for an evaluation, reach out to us. We’re located in Indianapolis and do both in-person and remote training.
References
Friesen KB, Shaw RE, Shannon DM, Dugas JR, Andrews JR, Oliver GD. Single-Leg Squat Compensations Are Associated With Softball Pitching Pathomechanics in Adolescent Softball Pitchers. Orthop J Sports Med. 2021 Mar 23;9(3):2325967121990920. doi: 10.1177/2325967121990920. PMID: 34250163; PMCID: PMC8237211.
Rojas IL, Provencher MT, Bhatia S, Foucher KC, Bach BR Jr, Romeo AA, Wimmer MA, Verma NN. Biceps activity during windmill softball pitching: injury implications and comparison with overhand throwing. Am J Sports Med. 2009 Mar;37(3):558-65. doi: 10.1177/0363546508328105. Epub 2009 Jan 27. PMID: 19174551.