Primal Baseball Throwing Philosophy
Interested in the WHY behind our programming? Look no further. We have created a guide to answer your questions.
You can also Check out our E-Book Here for more details and specifics.
Throwing Philosophy
Unleash Your Instincts
First off, we are unbelievably excited to be working with you. We know from experience that choosing the right coaching and environment is essential to success on and off the field. As we grow together there are a few things we must go over to ensure efficient and successful training. Our throwing program is designed to keep your arm healthy and fresh, allowing time to recover and time to push yourself. We utilize weighted balls, however do not believe they hold the answers to everything. We will use weighted balls if you have access to them if you do not no worries. We have designed this program to be adaptable to the resources you have at hand. If you have any questions on substitutions or adjustments you need to make, simply reach out to your coach for advice and ideas. Our goal is to make programming and performance accessible to anyone.
Arm Health
The goal is for you to be successful in the game. We want you to see results in the actual game. If you are injured, this does very little for your performance. Our programs are complete with recovery and arm-strengthening exercises to help mitigate the risk of throwing. For us to tell you there is no chance of getting hurt would be lying to your face. Throwing is an extremely stressful movement. It puts stress on our all different muscle groups and areas of our body. It is important that throughout our baseball journey together, you update your coach with injuries, soreness, pain, etc.
As a follow-up, I am sure you have heard the terms “Post-Throw” or “Post-Throw Recovery”, or maybe “Arm Care”, the exact terms are not that important, what’s important is that you understand that everything you do, from the mobility and activation to the throwing, to the recovery, lift and rest of your day, affects your arm and body. The food and hydration you choose, the bedtime, and the relaxation time you create are all factors in arm health. If you’re genuinely worried about keeping your arm healthy. Focus on the preparation and the recovery, the things that happen outside of training will affect your training.
Coaching Communication
You must communicate with your coach. As we are a remote service, the best way to get feedback, advice, and coaching is through your mobile device. If there are any questions regarding drills, throwing, etc. this should be addressed with your coach. Communication is key for performance. Your coach will provide you with video feedback, going into depth what they see and how to adjust and improve. If there are any issues with the program, your coach can resolve and update any issues you may have. We also understand things will not be perfect. You will miss days in the gym, you will miss days of throwing, events will come up and you will have to update your schedule. The best way to mitigate issues is to give your coach a list of conflicts for the upcoming week that will interfere with training. This way, your coach can update and adjust your training schedule to fit into your life. This program is never set in stone, it is ever-changing and adjusting. We are here to adapt to your needs. If there is anything you need, please do not hesitate to reach out.
Instinct
You are your own best coach. We cannot feel how your arm feels. We cannot feel if you are tired and fatigued before your high intent day. Pitching performance is not a set in stone type of thing. There is always ways to adjust and make sure you are staying on track and progressing. For example, if your arm is fatigued on a day you are scheduled to throw high intensity, it will do more harm than good to stick to the plan. Reach out and let your coach know, adaptions can always be added to the schedule. If the volume in your programming is too high for you, we can readjust. The program will bend and shape to your needs and interests. Listen to your arm and body, the program is made to be changed. As coaches we can’t predict how you will bounce back the day after, there are too many factors in life that play a role on recovery. You know yourself best. We are here to help and guide, but we must work together to reach your potential.
Stress
We need stress to adapt. Lifting, Mentality, Life. Stress can be good for us. We just need to harness it’s power in the right way.
Too much stress and our body cannot recover and perform as needed. Overstressing the arm and body can put us at a higher chance of injury, clearly not good if we want to stay healthy.
Too little stress and we see no adaptions. If our body is not being challenged, we will not get anywhere. Our body needs to be challenged and prepared for the tasks and patterns we will ask it to carry out on game day, if we do not prepare, this can again lead to an increase in risk of injury.
There needs to be a middle area, where the body is not struggling to recover, yet it is also being tested in order to ensure we are progressing in a forward direction. This is why having a scheduled throwing calendar can be so helpful. Managing our workload can help to optimize our performance. Rotating from high intensity to low intensity days along with gradually increasing volume and distance allows us to stress our arms and bodies in ways to create adaptions while minimizing risk.
Pain Vs Injury
With all that being said, there is a difference between being sore and being injured. It is totally normal to feel sore and fatigued after high intensity workouts and throwing. You may even feel sore for a few days after, however it should never hurt to throw. If throwing is a hard task to accomplish because every throw is painful, you need to stop throwing and go to a doctor. Being sore is something that comes and goes. Generally the advice we give is, after your complete warm-up if you are still feeling enough pain where it is interfering with your throwing, you should see a doctor.
Equipment
(Click on Links to view items)
Required
A baseball : For Throwing
A place to throw (Wall Net, Fence, Indoors, Outdoors) : Generally we would like space to be 15-30 ft. this allows for room to do drill work, pulldowns, etc.
Some way of sending video to your coach : We recommend a Tripod, but anyway that gives us good quality video is fine.
Recommended
Jaeger Bands : Warm-Up and Recovery
Weighted Balls (Driveline Plyocare Balls, Marv Balls, etc.)
Shoulder Tube : For Warm-Up and Recovery, there are more expensive versions as well, but they make little difference.
Football : Throwing and Warm-Up
Softball : Throwing and Warm-Up
Foam Roller : Soft Tissue Work
Lacrosse Ball : Soft Tissue Work
Medicine Ball (6-8 lbs) : Warm-Up
Radar Gun : Pocket Radar is a great gift, the Bushnell Radar Gun is cheaper, but not as accurate.
Access to a Mound : For mound work and Bullpens
Weighted Balls
Plyos. We all love them but don’t know what they do exactly. To keep pitching performance as simple as possible. The heavy balls (overweight) anything over 5 oz. train arm strength and patterning and the light balls (underweight) train arm speed. At Primal Baseball, we understand that not everyone has access to weighted balls. Whether you use Driveline, Marv Balls, Weighted Leather balls, etc. it does not matter. We will find a way to help you. Every pitcher has different preferences. If you do not like weighted balls, we do not have to use them. There is not one specific way that is going to make you a better pitcher. Some MLB pitchers love weighted balls, some don’t. There is no right or wrong. We will find a way to increase your performance regardless.
Overweight Balls
Overweight balls are generally used to train patterning in mechanics. Having a heavier ball in your hand causes your body to become more efficient in its patterns. Ex. If you are trying to pick up a 30 lb weight, you may only need to bend down and use one arm. If the weight increases to 100 lbs. You may have to get your legs involved and move more efficiently to raise the weight. We program our heavier weighted balls on lower-intensity days. This way we can feel our mechanics and our adjustments. It is also harder to throw a heavy object faster (obviously) which is the goal. Low-intensity days should be kept low to recover and prepare for high-intensity days.
Underweight Balls
Underweight balls are used to increase arm speed and relaxation. The light weight allows your body to learn what it feels like to move fast and throw at higher velocities. We utilize these balls during our high-intensity days, because it is fun to let them rip, and on our higher intensity days it is totally fine to push the envelope and allow your body and arm to be stressed.
Throwing Phases
To properly program for you and your needs, we work back from the day you need to be ready on the game mound. We have created four different phases of throwing for you as you grow throughout the year. Each phase serves its own purpose. All phases can be adjusted and changed to fit your timing and specific needs. We like to have phases to have a model and a base to build from, each month of programming will always take into account your history, future, and current throwing information.
Ramp-Up
Our goal here is to get you back up to speed. Whether you took a deload or completely shut down from throwing, this program is how we begin to bring you back up to speed. For every week you take off, we add a week to the ramp-up phase.
ie. 5 Weeks shut down, at least 5 weeks of ramping up. We can add time if needed.
The 8 weeks to ramp up is a lengthened time in comparison to other programs in the baseball world. The reason we do 8 weeks is because we like to take our time, if there is no rush back, allow your arm to rest and recover. Play other sports, be athletic. Of course, everyone has different goals and plans. This is why the Ramp-Up can be condensed into a 4-week Ramp-Up as well.
The biggest common issue with ramping up is going too hard too early. Allow your arm to feel good and refreshed. As you start throwing again make sure to follow the ramp up. I understand your arm will feel good and you think you can push the limits. Pushing your limits before your arm is adapted to volume and intensity can increase your risk of injury. You wouldn’t walk into the gym after not training in a while and put 315 on the bar. You wouldn’t run a marathon without proper training. Don’t leave your arm out to dry.
6-8 Weeks (Can be Lengthened or Shortened depending on personal preference and needs)
3-5 Throwing Days a Week
Return body and throwing
Adding in Drills
Gradually increase volume and distance
Prepare body to throw hard
Building/Velo
The building/velo phase is designed to get you closet closer to game-ready. This 4 week period (can be lengthened) is your time to push the limits. We increase volume and intensity to create adaptions in your body and arm. We add in work from the mound because the mound is where you want to see your performance sky rocket. Throwing on flat ground and throwing on the mound are two separate tasks. Feeling the slope is essential to create changes in your mechanics that will translate to game situations.
Within the building phase, there are two optional days. Day 2 and 5, if you feel like taking those days off will best suit your arm, that is fine to do so.
Day 1 and 4 of Week 1 and 2 are your high intent days high-intent, 100% Long Toss with no pulldowns or Max pulldowns. Mound work is added to be light on these days. We will stick with Fastball only in mound work for the first few weeks to let you readjust to the slope.
Day 2, 5, and 6 of Week 1 and 2 are lower intensity. It is very important to recover during this time and let your arm adjust to the increased volume and intent. If you feel good, we recommend not pushing it and again allowing your arm to feel refreshed. If you want to add in more mound work, connect with your coach and see if it would be a good idea for you.
The only change we make is Week 3 and 4 we take away an extra day of recovery in between high-intensity Days, plus we add bullpens.
Note: Day 1 does not have to start on Monday. If we need to change the days of high or low intensity to fit with your schedule we can.
4 Weeks (Can be Lengthened depending on personal preference and needs)
4-6 Throwing Days a Week (2 Optional)
Reintroduce optimal stress to the arm and body
Adding in Mound Work
Increase volume and distance
Prepare for Game Day
Throw Hard
Mound Blend
The Mound Blend phase is designed to get your performance on the Mound locked in. It doesn’t matter how you perform on flat ground if it is not translating to the mound. Our aim for this 4 - week phase is to add your arsenal into the mix. We will start to add more and more off-speed and different bullpen situations into your training. This is all with game like performance in our mind.
This phase begins approximately 4 weeks prior to the athlete needing to be on the mound in a game. A large emphasis is put on changing the stimulus of each bullpen. We want you ready to excel physically and mentally when challenges arise on the mound. We tend to ramp starting pitchers up to 40-50 pitches prior to their first start, however if you have a different preference we are happy to work that into the program. If you are a reliever or long relief pitcher we adjust your pitch count accordingly.
4 Weeks (Can be Lengthened depending on personal preference and needs)
4-6 Throwing Days a Week (2 Optional)
Introduce Mound
Introduce Game Like Situations
Increase feel for Off-Speed
Increase game control and command
Prepare for Game Day
Dominate
In-Season
The in-season phase of our throwing programs is the trickiest one. The program mainly depends on your role and how many days of rest you will have before your next start. No need to worry, We have designed a 5, 6, and 7 day starter plan. Just like every other one of our throwing programs, the in-season phase is adjustable and can be tailored to your needs and preferences.
You have full control over how you’d like to schedule your week of throwing. Our recommendation is you try our program scheduling for a week and then start to make personal changes if need be.
Reduce Volume
4-6 Throwing Days a Week (2 Optional)
Adapt to In - Season Demands
Improvements game to game
Allow time to recover
Optimal Performance on Game Day
Dominate
Long Toss
Purpose of Long Toss
The purpose of long toss is to develop arm strength, fluidity, rhythm, and athleticism. In order to throw the ball as far as you possibly can, a lot of things need to be synced up and working together. We also understand not everyone loves long toss, this is why it is not a must-do in our programs. If you don’t have a preference on long toss, we generally program it for you to experiment with. We have many different types of long toss that we can implement into your throwing as well.
We normally program Pulldowns (Click Here for a Video Explanation on Pulldowns) into throwing programs on the same day as long toss. This is because when we do high-intent days, we want to keep them high-intent. There are only so many days in a week and spreading out long toss and pulldowns could take away from your recovery days. If you feel like the pulldowns are too much for your arm, or they need to be scheduled on separate days, do not hesitate to reach out to your coach!
Below we give a guide on how to structure your throwing from the moment you pick up a ball, until the last throw of the day.
How to Long Toss
Once you have prepared to warm-up (Hopefully have a little sweat going) it is time to begin your throwing for the day.
Whether you do weighted balls or not does not matter. We recommend you do your drills from a mound when you warm-up, this helps them translate to your mound mechanics. If you do not have a mound accessible, no worries at all, doing them on flatground is fine as well.
Once you have completed your drills for the day you can work yourself further and further from your partner. You don’t have to do the cliche one step back every throw, but we do recommend you pace yourself and allow your arm to adjust to the distance.
If you feel like doing your drills from distance this is fine, we just recommend doing them inside of 90 feet to ensure most throws stay on a line.
As you make your way further and further towards your max distance, try and get the ball to your catch partner as easily as possible. Being effortless is a great way to train your body and arm to relax and get into good positions. The easier you can get it to your partner, the better.
Allow yourself to put an arc on the ball as you stretch the distance out. Not every throw needs to be on a line. Putting arc on the ball allows pitchers to learn how to put carry on the ball and allows them to throw further and further with less effort. For some having the arm angle move up, allows us to learn how to bring it down on the way in.
Once you have reached your maximum distance, we recommend staying here for 2-3 minutes. We don’t want to throw forever, however, we do want to see if you can replicate the distance over and over. We want to see if fatigue is playing a factor as well.
Once you are finished at your max distance, it is time to start bringing it in. If you do not have pulldowns, just move in 15 feet or so every throw until you are around 75 - 90 feet and await the next steps. If you do have pulldowns, now is the time to throw the ball on a line. Use a step-behind, crow hop, or just run and throw the ball as hard as you can on a line to your partner. The further out you are the more arc the ball may need to reach your partner.
As you near 120-150 feet now we start trying to hit our partner in the knees. One of the best cues we use is to aim at their feet or the ground. Over-emphasizing getting our arm angle down allows us to stay behind the ball and drive it through our target. We often leave the ball up by setting our sights too high. Let the ball rise to your partner’s knees.
6-10 Pulldowns should do the trick, if you need a few more or a few less be our guest. Stop as you get to about 75 feet, this way your partner stays safe and you can do some pitch work to end your day.
(Optional) If you do not want to do pitch work, you are free to move on with your day. If you do want to work on some off-speed, now is the time to do so. In a perfect world, we would do our pitch work off the mound, but a flat ground will suffice. Use a step behind or go from the stretch and throw your off-speed. it may be helpful to throw from 75-90 feet because of the added distance. This forces your arm and hand speed to move fast, plus you can see the full movement profile of your pitches from further distance. Experiment with these methods and see how they improve your game.
All done, time to lift and recover for the next day.
Command
Command is a very important piece of the game of baseball. Everyone wants to throw hard, but we need command as well. Throw hard and command it. We can train command similar to how we would train anything else. We consistently work on it daily while adding stressors and challenges do progressively increase our abilities and performance. You can’t expect to hop in the game and throw strikes. It is something that is worked on as soon as you pick up the baseball. The biggest piece is simply having a target to throw through. Being intentional with and having a sight to lock onto is a huge key in increasing command. If you have a plan of where you want the ball to go, you have already increased your chances of commanding the baseball.
Catch Play
The first place to work on command is catch play. Every day as soon as you pick up the ball, it becomes an opportunity to command the ball. Pick a target and throw the ball through it. Alternate spots on your partner. Throw to his left shoulder, then to his right. Back and forth until you cannot miss. Having intent and a focus for each day of throwing can help you move in the right direction. This is why everyday we add a focus for our athletes, what they should focus on for the day. This is individual and may change from week to week. The key to progress is throwing with intention.
Mound Work
Mound work is different than a bullpen. Mound work is hopping on the mound on a light day of throwing and working on your off-speed and relationship with the slope. The mound has a different feel than a flat ground so touching the slope daily can help translate those mechanics to the mound. A short box is another tool you can utilize, a short box is bringing the plate to around 50 feet (instead of 60). This keeps effort low and allows the arm to recover while allowing your body to interact with the slope of the mound. Whichever route you decide to go, we highly suggest touching the mound as often as possible.
Off-Speed
Once your velocity is locked down, it’s time to find other ways to get the hitters out. Blowing gas by everyone is fun, but hitters at higher levels can hit the straight one. We need something to differ from our fastball to get them out. When it comes to off-speed there are a million questions. There are no specific pitches you need to throw. Some have trouble with change-ups but excel with splitters and sliders. Some arm slots work better with different pitches than others. Everyone is different and everyone’s pitch arsenal will be different. With that being said, hopefully the information below can help you in addition to your coach’s guidance.
How do I learn a new pitch?
Your coach will be able to look at your grips now, assess your movements and mechanics, and be able to offer you a recommendation that will fit you best.
Click Below to check out this thread we created to walk you through step by step how to create a new pitch in your arsenal.
Click Here For Step by Step Process on How to Learn A New Pitch
What grip do I use?
Again. No right answers. There are a million different grips that work. There are so many grips out there that can be effective and produce the movement profile you are looking for. What’s important is that the grip is comfortable for you to throw, and that you can be consistent with it over time.
We recommend asking your coach to show you some grips that may work, and then go ahead and experiment, it may take months to find one that works for you. Don’t be afraid to change it up and try something new.
Is it dangerous?
All pitches are dangerous. Throwing a baseball comes at a great risk. The best way to mitigate these risks?
Have a structured throwing program that includes workload management
Properly ramp-up to full intent
Properly add volume, distance and intent
Properly warm-up
Increase Strength
Build strong muscles around the elbow and shoulder
Have good mechanics
Recover (Sleep, Nutrition etc.)
If you throw a curveball the right way, there is no added stress on your arm. Don’t let that myth deter you from throwing a nasty pitch that could provide lots of benefits to your performance and the results you see on the field.
To quote the National Library of Medicine “Despite much debate in the baseball community about the curveball’s safety in youth pitchers, limited biomechanical and most epidemiologic data do not indicate an increased risk of injury when compared with the fastball.”
If you’d like to read more, Click Here
Bullpens
How to Warm - Up for a Bullpen
Bullpens are a tool we utilize to help translate your performance to the mound. We do recommend you touch the mound daily to adjust to the slope, however, bullpens allow you to ramp up intensity higher and higher. We generally schedule 2 bullpens per week once your arm is fully ramped up with volume and strength. These guidelines will bend and break due to your needs, history and timeline. We have a list of bullpens you can utilize in your program and have even strategically placed certain specific bullpens throughout your phases of throwing. Regardless of what type of bullpen you will be executing, you can use the warm-up below to prepare yourself to execute and progress in your bullpen.
Complete your throwing for the day, whether this is long-toss and pulldowns or a stretch toss and shuffle throws.
Once you are 60-75 feet away from your catch partner, begin to mix off speed. We recommend 2 fastballs and then 3-4 of your best off-speed. Then 2 fastballs and 3-4 of your second-best off-speed. Once you are done with this, feel free to work on any pitch that felt awkward or did not move the way you wanted it to. Keep the hand speed high for every pitch you throw.
Once you are ready to get off the mound have the catcher stand up and throw a few fastballs to feel the slope and adjust to the mound.
Once you are on the mound and ready to go, ask the catcher to get into his crouch and throw a few fastballs middle middle.
When you are ready to throw your first pitch follow the sequence below before you start your specific focus for the pen.
2 Fastballs Middle. 2 Fastballs Glove Side. 2 Fastballs Arm Side. 3 Best Off-Speed. 1 Fastball Any Location. 3 Second Best Off-Speed (If you only have one Off-Speed pitch, that is fine).
Now finish with your specific bullpen written in your program. ex. If you have a Change-Up Bullpen, finish the remainder of the bullpen with the focus described in the video link. If you have additional questions, always feel free to reach out to your coach for assistance.
How to Make a Bullpen Game Like
The goal of training is to see the results on the game mound in an actual game. It is our goal to prepare you to be ready to succeed in a game. We do this by putting scenarios in your bullpen to better simulate game-like situations. Whether that is adding in batters, having someone yelling at you, or trying to distract you and blow your focus. These external factors help you feel and experience what a game situation is actually like. When you step on the mound to pitch in a game, it will not be indoors, it will not be you and the catcher, and there will be lots of external factors to block out. It is our mission to prepare you for these factors and tests.
Progressions
Below are some progressions we use. The ones below are ones everyone can use to get better at throwing. We have many other progressions and drills that we program for specific individuals as well. You may not have these progressions programmed in your throwing schedule, feel free to add them in for fun or when you feel bored throwing.
We use our progressions to translate the movements and feels of the throw to a pitching delivery. Each level of the progression gets closer and closer to the actual delivery and adds an additional challenge to the movement.