Should Pitchers Push Off The Rubber 

This is hard to watch.

I stumbled upon this video and I'm so thankful. I'm a high school pitcher who throws pretty hard for a kid my age. This year we had a coach who told me over and over to push off. The games I tried to listen to him I was very inconsistent and got very fatigued very early. I wish I could have seen this video before I started having arm problems.

This is great however, what about the hit back coach?

Message me anytime, push is great. Your theory is great for anything for safety

I like this video, except one thing. It presents a strong point and supports it in regards to "pushing off" the rubber. I prefer the term "leg drive" also. The only thing I have trouble with is when kids are pitching off "dug in" (or even slightly enough "dug in") pitching holes adjacent to the front of the rubber where they cannot "hook" into it properly, which is very common in youth, travel ball, and high school baseball. I think only on a perfect or almost perfectly maintained mound and properly designed and installed rubber, will this work. Otherwise, it won't at all or the ankle, lower leg, knee, hip, and back will become too stressed in a short period of time.

we still teach leg strength and creating force with the legs. but the major thing i love about this video is leading with the hips. if kids can stay balanced throughout this move it adds a ton of power and momentum to the plate. then compliment with strong leg drive (without the jump) and that will translate to controllable power.

the pressure in your ball of foot and rear inward heel is the"PUSH" agreed push with young kids makes them rush

If pushing isnt important, why do outfielders Crow hop to throw the ball with force?

Justin, at 3:30 you state that by 'pushing" off the rubber for a young player it creates major problems. What major problems does this create? I ask because I've taught my son to drop his back leg two inches and push or drive toward the plate not jump towards the plate. So...as you teach the lean and drive, I teach the drop, push and drive and get the same result. I'm just wondering what problems having players do this creates. Thanks in advance.

Great explanation. Everyone wants to push because they think they have to. I teach our kids to let your self fall, and if it feels weird, then I know you're doing it right. When they push they have more control, but they are just causing issues.

wow

I guess no one has heard of 3X pitching? pushing off at "at the right time" adds velocity, and lots of it. i've taught youth fastball pitchers for the last 5 years, and i see results every time....and no hurt arms!

I like your explaination, and how saying the word "push" could cause hangups, but you are still leading with your front hip, and gaining tons of ground. So call it fall, get down the rubber, push, gaining ground, it's all the same thing. Shift just sounds better.

anybody who refuses to use ground force OR the RUBBER to gain velocity is missing the advantage,,

I'm not trying to argue.....I'm trying to discuss.

This video is why there is no kids practicing in the background Bc they all left when he starting explaining this video to them

I see the majority of 90mph pitchers in the pros with their back leg at 135 degrees or less when they are moving forward and when the foot lands the back leg is straight....? What is triple extension?

He's not saying that you don't generate power with the back leg. It's a matter of emphasis. He's trying to teach leading with the hip to generate power...makes sense. If you've got a young player and you teach them "push" they will be all leg. If you teach them "fall" they will be hip-leg...some kids seem to naturally use their hips ...my son does not...so this would work for my son. I think that's the idea. In the video, he's still generating power from the back leg - he's just "loading" with his hip.

aroldis chapman is 6-12" of the rubber when he lands front foot....he doesn't get that just magically...

This is exactly right. Pitchers should not be pushing off the rubber, they should be falling, and they are pretty much pulling the rear foot off the rubber. The only issue with hooking into a mound is that at most levels of baseball, you rarely have a perfect mound in order to be able to do that. If you can, then you should. If not, then you are forced to have to put the side of your back foot against the front of the rubber. This idea is much like a hitter when they lift their leg. They dont push forward off their back leg, they fall forward. You will notice a much deeper bend of the back knee upon front foot landing in amateur pitcher's, as opposed to professional pitchers, and this is the main reason why. Amateur pitcher's tend to want to drive off the mound.

What he is explaining is called the "power angle" style of pitching. Pushing off the rubber after a high leg kick and windup is how my generation was taught to pitch. I'm nearly 50. The power angle style is how my 13 year old pitches and how he has been taught. Things change over the years as the science of kinesiology and breakthroughs in specialized training are discovered.

This is crazy. The one video I actually agree with pretty much completely everyone has a problem with. I would argue as well that everyone pushes off to some degree. The gentleman who mentions 3x. Just because someone has a system doesn't make them correct even if that is possible. 3x seems to claim Trevor Bauer as a protege and if that is the best they can do they have problems. A load of talent but has absolutely no control. Can look like a million bucks one game then like a bad high school pitcher the next.

I see that your back leg is basically locked.....is this correct?

"Major, major problems" Can you name them?

Everyone who's studied high velocity pitchers knows the more force they can generate by pushing their bodies forwards with their legs, the more ball speed you will see depending on your mechanics and explosiveness. Watch any major league pitcher's mechanics and you can clearly see they sit back on their back leg, bend their knee slightly, and push off the rubber towards home plate to gain ground and momentum. Good luck trying to coach anyone on how to pitch with more velocity if you tell them not to use their legs in their delivery by pushing off the rubber towards home plate.

Tall and fall?

There are so many actions that have to come together for a pitcher to mature into a power pitcher, focussing on one, wouldn't help. But agreed, don't "push".

Never teach your kids these mechanics. I don't care if it's just a training exercise. There is no way to repeat this horribly flawed and overly complicated windup. Every major league dude has an extremely balanced windup. Name your favorite pitcher, they all keep their balance over the mound, drop, and push off. This guy is just being contrarian.

Isn't the way he's pushing off a balk?in his demonstration he would've left the rubber without releasing the ball...... and he looks vulnerable to having bases stolen

I wonder why softball pitchers are still leaping toward home plate.

I know old thread, but it's still out here.....This is why layman shouldn't teach trying to use evidence based science, the blatant misinterpretation of academic studies on ground force applied to and in support of their own predetermined philosophy is poor science. It doesn't work that way. You can spout all you want about studies but the study only support the purpose for which it was done. it might open a question for which a new study using scientific method needs to be conducted to test that specific question. This explanation is purely speculative and is not supported... So let's all just squish the bug on the mound and rely entirely on momentum of falling to create force at foot down and throw hard using only our arms and upper body..hope you weigh a ton. Ps your spouts about TJ surgury in guys who push,,, well we aren't all gifted with being 6'4 and 220 lbs that we can use low energy and high strength to produce high speeds at low risk.

20 years from now we will be discussing the amount of tommy John surgeries that occurred because of pushing. Smh. If I had a penny for every parent or coach that told me pushing was needed to create power. 🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️

If you're not pushing of the rubber, you're not finishing properly.