“[Tom House] is a guru of throwing…Whether you’re throwing a baseball or football or you have that motion, he probably has a better understanding than anybody else.” — Nolan Ryan, MLB Hall of Fame pitcher

“[Ron Wolforth] promotes arm health, control, command. He combines all of these different aspects of pitching, trying to overcome a lot of mis-teachings by uninformed coaches.” — Brent Strom, World Series champion Houston Astros pitching coach

I work with beginning and intermediate pitchers with a focus on basic mechanics as they relate to control problems and increasing velocity. I teach a combination of the systems developed by Tom House (National Pitching Association) and Ron Wolforth (Texas Baseball Ranch). They are widely recognized as two of the leading pitching instructors in baseball. I do not teach or ask players to do anything related to strength training such as long toss, weighted balls, resistance bands, etc.

I use Tom House’s system to help pitchers with control issues and to improve velocity. It involves simplifying the delivery, stabilizing the head, aligning vectors, maximizing stride length, and controlling the glove-side arm.  I use Ron Wolforth’s system to improve mechanics, correct timing issues, and increase velocity. Wolforth identifies a series of “disconnections” and “inefficiencies” in the delivery. These disconnected and inefficient body movements can disrupt the kinematic sequence, cause elbow and shoulder pain, and force the pitcher to release the ball too soon.  Poor sequencing, pain, and early release limit velocity and affect command.

There is significant disagreement about the best and even safest way to pitch. Studying elite pitchers does not necessarily help because they use a variety of different mechanics. I have taken from House and Wolforth what I think makes the best sense for improving command, increasing velocity, and reducing strain.

Lessons will rely on slow-motion video analysis to identify disconnections and inefficiencies. Drills will be used to teach and reinforce more effective body movements.

For information about setting up a pitching lesson, click here.