Arm strength vs Arm action

I believe the hardest thing to fix/change about a baseball player is the way he throws.  Young players who have poor arm action rarely are able to change that.  It can be done but it usually takes some extensive intervention.

When I watch young teams play, there is almost always a player/pitcher who stands out due to his arm strength.  He throws hard and usually dominates early on.  He is usually bigger in size as well.  And that’s the key.  Often, it isn’t his smooth arm action and mechanics that is causing the velocity.  It’s the fact the kid is just bigger than the other kids.   

On those same teams, there usually is a kid who has good action where the ball seems to come out of his hand very easily.  His velocity may not be great but that is more a case of a small body.  Very often when these two kids grow up, the smaller kid catches up in body strength and usually surpasses the bigger kid in velocity.  It’s not uncommon for the bigger player to never really take his success past the little league level if he continues to play at all.

The point is, pay close attention to the arm action of young players and don’t be fooled by early success (arm strength) due to differences in growth rates among young players.  Good early arm action is very indicative of the player’s likelihood of being able to play into his high school years.  Larger fields are not kind to kids with bad throwing mechanics and poor arm action.

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