Our goal is for every athlete to advance to the next level, whether that be the high school varsity team, Community College, Division-1, Division-III, or MLB affiliated professional baseball. In order to do this, we must focus our programs around what professional scouts & college coaches look for in a prospect: Velocity, Pitch-ability, and Mound Presence. All of these aspects are based around the correct mechanics & strength/conditioning improvements that will lead to the greatest improvements in velocity, pitch-ability, and mound presence. That means creating mechanical improvements that will develop a consistent delivery that puts each athlete in the greatest position to deliver the baseball with the most power potential and the least amount of strain on the joints. It also includes improving shoulder stability/joint health, increasing flexibility, postural stability/balance, and overall functional strength. There is a lot out there that can hinder improvements and even set athletes up for a greater risk of injury. For more information on each area scouts/coaches look for, please see our recruiting page.
Keaton with the Yankees 2007
First, forget what you know about mechanics! It is probably completely wrong. No two pitchers are the same and there is not one single way to pitch. Mechanics vary from person to person and what works for one may not work for another. Most pitching instruction is based off of a “one-fits-all” approach forcing athletes to throw one way, when their body or genetic makeup is looking for a better way. ”Hold your hands here”, “load your weight here”, “release the ball here”, “land here”, “scap load”,”drop and drive”, “opposite equal”, “fixed glove”, “land on your toes”, ”come set higher to create more arm speed”, “point your thumb to second base”, and the list goest on and becomes even more humorous to hear. You can’t help but shake your head in disbelief at what is being taught.
Looking around the major leagues, you’ll see pitchers with “fundamentally” bad mechanics who pitch for 20 years and you’ll see pitchers with ”perfect” mechanics who can’t make it a full season. Many instructors are trying to get their athlete to pitch like someone else or with a set rules instead of letting the athlete’s natural delivery and arm action show them how to optimize and enhance their mechanics. Most lessons do not allow the athlete to reach their full potential and compete to the best of their abilities.
Successfully teaching and instructing mechanics is the ability to recognize each individual pitchers mechanics and determine what areas are to be built upon and optimized and what areas could use improvement. Mechanics are based on and built around one fundamental imperative: timing and consistency. Pitchers need to be able to repeat the exact same arm path and deliver the ball in the exact same way every pitch.
Keaton with UW 2005
Everitt Athletics strives to provide the most comprehensive and pitching specific training programs available today to all age groups. It’s more than just lessons. Just as no two pitchers are the same, no two of our programs are the same. We not only work on mechanics, but also on strength & conditioning, nutrition, and mental side of the game. Our goal for each athlete is to develop a complete all around pitcher and prepare them for the next level whether that be on or off the field.
Ask your current pitching coach about your son’s postural stability, how it affects his delivery, and how it can be improved. Ask him to help improve your son’s shoulder health by incorporating integrated flexibility work. He may not know what you are talking about. Without posture and without a strong foundation of functional strength, mechanics are not even worth teaching. Every athlete must be able to control his body through a full range of motion before mechanics and be successfully taught and before velocity can increase. We start with the foundation of each athlete, develop postural stability, incorporate integrated flexibility, and once that is established, then you can move on to advancing mechanics. Without this base, it is impossible to deliver the ball consistently, with power, and putting a low amount of strain on the elbow/shoulder. Most programs around do not make this a major focus when it is one of the most common areas in need of improvement in young athletes. We all want that extra velocity, but if you can’t control your body and stay dynamic throughout your delivery, you can’t get it.
Along with mechanics, we are one of the few programs to stress video analysis and offer insight and guidance on the mental side of the game. We want to prepare each and every athlete for success and give them the ability to achieve all their goals. Please take a look around Everitt Athletics to learn more about what we are about, what we offer, and how we can improve your child’s performance both on and off the mound! We’ll show you first hand at no cost, what our programs are about, and how they can improve your son.
We cater to all areas of the Eastside and Puget Sound. We have worked in Seattle, Lynnwood, Shoreline, Edmonds, Kenmore, Kirkland, Bellevue, Mercer Island, Redmond, Sammamish, Issaquah, Marysville, Duvall, and Kent. We prefer to travel to you and work outside to incorporate a long toss program and facilitate conditioning, but we also have access to indoor facilities in Lynnwood, Redmond, Kirkland, Sammamish, Woodinville, Everett, and Bellevue as weather or time of day may need it. We ask you to try to find someone else with lower prices, offering the same comprehensive training and instruction that we are!
