Pitching Is a Skill and a Force Transfer Event

Pitching is one of the most precise and complex skills in all of sports. It demands rhythm, coordination, proprioception, and the ability to stabilize and sequence through the entire body under high load. But it's not just a skill expression. It is one of the most extreme acts of force transfer in athletics.

The kinetic chain, from the ground up, is responsible for redirecting thousands of newtons of force through the body and into the baseball. If you cannot produce force or manage how it moves through your body, you will break down or plateau. As Dan Cleather writes in Force: The Biomechanics of Training, the foundational principle of athletic movement is force. Skill does not happen in a vacuum. It is constrained by what your body is physically prepared to handle.

This is why I believe pitching is unique. It is both a high-skill movement and a high-force movement. You cannot fully separate the two. And you cannot express skill efficiently if the body cannot first absorb and redirect the force that pitching requires.

Why General Capacity Is Non-Negotiable

At the bottom of the Bondarchuk pyramid is general physical preparation. That base supports everything else. Without it, anything you layer on top, mechanics, drills, weighted balls, becomes fragile.

Hans Selye's General Adaptation Syndrome and Verkhoshansky's work on supercompensation show that capacity must be built through stress and recovered from systematically. Adaptation does not happen just because you do something "specific." It happens because the body has the ability to respond to the training it is given.

A weighted ball is not dangerous because it is a weighted ball. It becomes dangerous when the athlete does not have the force tolerance, tissue quality, or technical organization to handle it. Without sufficient mobility, strength, tendon capacity, and joint integrity, the specificity of throwing becomes a liability.

Throwing is asymmetrical, rotational, violent, and it requires full-body sequencing. That level of complexity breaks down if the athlete does not have the physical foundation to support it. So before you ask how specific your training is, ask whether your system is ready for the stress that the specific skill demands.

The Problem With "Pitching-Specific"

Throwing is the most specific way to get better at throwing. That much is true. But not everything that looks like throwing actually develops the skill of pitching.

As Rob Gray explains in How We Learn to Move, motor learning improves through exposure to meaningful variability. This is the foundation of differential learning. The athlete becomes more skillful by solving different versions of the same problem under changing constraints. That is what builds robust movement patterns that hold up under pressure.

If a drill mimics the delivery but does not challenge the system to adapt, it may look specific but accomplish nothing. Specificity is not about resemblance. It is about transfer.

This is where the concept of affordances, originally introduced by James Gibson, becomes relevant. Athletes learn to move through interaction with their environment. Their perception and action evolve together. If the environment does not create real decisions and demands, it is not specific. No matter how much it looks like pitching.

"Repetition without repetition" is the phrase Gray uses to describe real motor learning. You are not trying to groove one pattern. You are trying to build the capacity to adapt within a pattern.

That is why physical capacity matters so much. Without it, you cannot execute the skill under fatigue, stress, or constraint. No drill will fix that.

Mechanics Emerge From Constraints

Mechanics are not installed. They emerge.

Every pitcher comes into the game with their own structure, their own movement history, and their own constraints. Trying to force an athlete into a pre-determined model ignores the reality that movement is an emergent property. Even when outcomes are consistent, the exact pattern used to achieve them is never identical.

As Bernstein famously showed in his study of blacksmiths, there is always variability. That variability is not a flaw. It is part of how movement solves problems.

Our job as coaches is not to impose mechanics. It is to influence them. To guide them. To create the conditions for the athlete to self-organize more efficient solutions based on who they are and what they need.

When you improve force tolerance, you expand movement options. When you build joint control, you clean up sequencing. When you design good constraints, the body starts to figure out better answers. You are not chasing a look. You are chasing an outcome.

So, Should Pitchers Train Differently?

Yes, but probably not in the way it's often presented.

Pitchers should train differently because the demands placed on them are unique. Throwing a baseball at game speeds, with precision and intent, over and over again, is one of the most physically and neurologically demanding actions in all of sport. It's not just about throwing more. It's about preparing the body to handle what the skill actually requires.

Training differently is not about adding more drills or tools. It's about making better decisions, doing less with more intention. It is building a foundation that allows skill to emerge.

It means:

• Building general physical qualities first
• Developing the capacity to tolerate and transfer force
• Using constraints and variability to shape movement, not force it
• Respecting that mechanics are the result of individual structure

The question shouldn't be what's specific, but instead: what transfers?

Because at the end of the day, if it doesn't transfer, it doesn't matter.

References and Recommended Reading

• Cleather, D. (2021). Force: The Biomechanics of Training
• Gray, R. (2021). How We Learn to Move
• Siff, M.C., & Verkhoshansky, Y. V. (2009). Supertraining
• Selye H. (1950). Stress and the general adaptation syndrome. British Medical Journal, 1(4667), 1383-1392.
• Crider, B. (2024). Constraint-Based Learning Heuristics for Throwers
• Gibson, J. J. (1979). The Ecological Approach to Visual Perception

This blog isn't about chasing the next new thing. It's about stripping away the excess, getting back to what actually transfers, and building pitchers who get on-field results, not just test well in a facility.

I'm relaunching this blog because I want to challenge myself to think more deeply, write more clearly, and sharpen what I believe.

What's Changed

Two years ago, I started writing publicly because I wanted to explore ideas and share what I was learning as a coach.

Since then, I've coached more athletes, asked better questions, learned from coaches I respect, and refined the way I think about performance. The biggest shift has been internal. I'm more confident in how I view development, and much more focused on building systems that actually improve results where it counts.

I don't care as much about what looks good in a vacuum. I care whether it shows up on the field. That mindset will guide everything I write here moving forward.

Who This Blog Is For

This is for serious pitchers who want to train in a way that reflects the actual demands of the game.

It's also for coaches and performance staff who care about building systems that work over time. Systems that respect the individuality of each athlete, that scale, that evolve, and that don't rely on gimmicks or shallow methods.

And honestly, I'm writing this for myself. I want to push my own thinking, hold myself accountable to my ideas, and keep asking better questions.

What You Can Expect

This isn't going to be a blog full of drills, mechanics screenshots, or oversimplified "keys" to velocity.

I'm going to write about the things I believe actually matter:

• Force production, skill acquisition, and how movement emerges under constraint
• The role of physical capacity and why general prep still underpins high performance
• How to integrate strength, throwing, and athlete individuality into a cohesive model
• How to design development systems that are based in principles, not hype

I'll over-explain. I'll cite ideas from outside of baseball. I'll contradict myself at times. And I'll write like someone who cares more about understanding the truth than winning an argument.

Why This Matters

I'm tired of seeing young athletes get pulled into systems that chase complexity instead of building the fundamentals. I'm tired of seeing coaches prioritize drills that look specific over training that actually transfers. And I'm tired of seeing people confuse information with insight.

What we need is clarity. What we need are systems built on first principles: force, adaptation, skill, and context, not on marketing.

Pitching is hard. Coaching it well is harder. But if we're going to do this the right way, it starts by being more honest about what works and what doesn't.

What Comes Next

I'll post when I have something worth saying. This is meant to be a place for depth, not frequency.

The first full post coming soon is titled "Should Pitchers Train Differently?" and it's about rethinking what "specificity" actually means for the throwing athlete.

If you want to read about the deeper side of performance, and if you're not afraid to challenge your own thinking, then I think you'll get a lot out of what's coming.

Let's build something better.

Current State of Ohio High School Baseball

To get started the first thing I needed to do was get the facts. Where exactly are the top high school baseball players in Ohio going to high school? For the 2023 class, 12 of the top 25 according to Prep Baseball Report reside in the southwestern part of Ohio. This proved what I had already known: the top talent is concentrated in three major areas, with Cincinnati having the most, followed by the Akron/Canton/Cleveland area, and then Columbus, with very few outside those areas. This discovery raises questions about why certain regions excel in producing high-level athletes and whether it is a result of talent or other factors.

Having grown up in Northwest Ohio and having played summer ball in Cincinnati, I can attest that the talent pool across Ohio is not inherently imbalanced. The difference lies in how Cincinnati taps into talent more effectively, and Northeast Ohio is following suit. Although youth programs may play a role, one significant distinction is the prevalence of training facilities, whether it be lifting or baseball-specific work.

Training Facilities as Game-Changers

This is, in my opinion, the single biggest reason for the success in the areas mentioned above. If you look at where the top 25 class of 2023 high school baseball players attend school, and then overlay the location of training facilities, it does not take a genius to see the correlation. The same pattern holds for the classes of 2022 and 2024. I have taken into consideration that maybe some of these players may not even train at these facilities. That may be true, and I just want to be clear: nothing will ever be 100% certain. But I think the evidence is enough to speak on.

The Impact of Training Facilities

I am a huge supporter of training facilities. I went to school for Exercise Science and my goal is to help as many athletes as I can reach their goals. I am such a fan of them because I know how beneficial they can be to athletes in general. The game of baseball has been rapidly transforming over the past 10 years or so and it has become increasingly more competitive. One of the reasons for this is the rise of baseball training facilities and the advancement of technologies and knowledge of the different aspects of improving performance. If you are a baseball fan you have most likely heard of Cressey Sports Performance, Driveline Baseball, and Tread Athletics. These are just a couple that are leading the way in baseball development.

Addressing the Disparity: Northwest Ohio

The biggest reason I went down this rabbit hole is because of being from Northwest Ohio and not having any type of training facility around to train at. There is so much talent and drive in athletes that love baseball. Unfortunately, they are unable to access the same type of high-level resources as other areas of Ohio, and with this they fall behind.

Many people may say there is good baseball, just look at teams that go to the state tournament and even win it. To that I say it is still baseball and a great coach's team always has a chance on any given day. This post is not about teams. It is about young athletes whose goals are to play collegiate and professional baseball. I think this is where some problems lie. Coaches have jobs and that job is to win baseball games, but their underlying job in my opinion should be to put that kid in the best position possible to accomplish whatever they want. And this goes for all of Ohio, all of the country.

Concluding Thoughts

I honestly had so much more to say and talk about but I did not want to split off into things that were only partially correlated. My main goal of this post was to educate the coaches, parents, and players of Ohio that if your son or your athlete wants to play baseball at a high level, the best place to start is by looking at what the best players are doing and building off that.

I wanted to also speak on how Ohio stacks up compared to other states across the country but I will save that for another post. (1 school in the top 50 teams across the country according to Perfect Game and 1 in the top 25 according to PBR.) If you have any questions, comments, concerns, or other thoughts please feel free to send me a DM on any of my socials. If you enjoyed reading this and thought it was beneficial or thought provoking, please share it with others who may enjoy it as well.

Brock Nartker, Baseball Performance Coach

What Is the Problem?

Most high school and college coaches push for their athletes to play summer baseball, and a lot of the time those same athletes are wondering whether or not that is the best plan of action for themselves. The goals of players and coaches are usually vastly different. Most high school and college players faced with this dilemma are pursuing the goal of reaching the next level, whether that be college or professional baseball. On the other hand, coaches have a primary goal of winning games, which in turn helps them keep their jobs. Having their athletes playing summer baseball allows those athletes an abundance of extra reps to refine their skills in game-like environments with the abilities they currently possess.

Advantages of Summer Baseball

Playing summer baseball can be extremely beneficial, first and foremost. Summer baseball is a great time to compete and rack up innings to gain confidence and get experience facing adversity. It is also a great opportunity to face tougher competition than you might see in the spring. One of my favorite things about summer baseball was all the relationships I was able to form, and that is one of the many reasons why I feel baseball is such a special game. Now, one of the most talked about reasons why summer baseball is so advantageous is that you can and will be seen by college coaches or scouts. But this comes with a caveat that will be discussed later on in this post.

Advantages of Focused Training During the Summer

Although summer ball has its benefits, focused training throughout the summer has its place and it should be utilized more than it currently is. Focused training allows the athlete to truly develop the skills they may lack to perform at the level they desire. This focused training can allow the athlete to make huge gains as they develop strengths and improve upon their weaknesses. An important aspect of training in the summer is the use of advanced technologies to offer insight and facilitate targeted skill development.

Drawbacks of Playing Summer Baseball

While playing summer baseball has its benefits, there are a number of potential drawbacks. Summer baseball is extremely demanding, time and energy wise. Most of these athletes are playing almost daily and could be heading toward overuse injuries from lack of recovery, as well as just mental exhaustion from baseball. Especially in high school athletes, I feel it is important to allow time to take breaks and enjoy being a kid. Go on vacation with your family.

One of the advantages of playing summer baseball is exposure to college coaches and scouts. That is true for the most part, but it does not mean that is always a good thing. If you are not good enough to play at that level, it does not matter if those coaches or scouts see you, because you simply cannot compete at that level.

Limitations of Focused Training During the Summer

Training during the summer does limit the availability of playing in the summer, which leads to a lack of game-like experiences as well as diminished opportunities for building relationships and interactions. Not playing during the summer may mean that the next time you are in a game-like situation you do not perform as well because of the unfamiliarity of the environment.

One or the Other... or Both?

Truthfully, the context of your skill level and goals are what should guide your decision on whether or not you should be playing summer ball or training. We have looked at each separately. Why can you not do both? The simple answer is you can, and it can be extremely valuable for your playing career. The problem lies usually with the schedule of summer baseball and coaches are usually not all for limited participation. In an ideal world you could work on improving your abilities throughout the week and compete once a week, crushing two birds with one stone.

What Should I Do?

These are personal recommendations I would suggest to an athlete depending on their situation.

High School Athlete

Athlete 1: Extremely advanced skill set, has the tools to play in college but is extremely raw (lacks command), threw a good amount of innings. Play Summer Baseball

Athlete 2: Threw a good amount of innings but is still 4-5 mph away from playing at their desired competition level. Focus on Training

Athlete 3: Did not throw many innings and lacks the stuff to play at their desired competition level. Focus on Training

College Athlete

Athlete 1: You did not throw many innings but have average college stuff. Look at your overall goal. If it is to play pro ball, I lean toward Focusing on Training and developing. If your goal is to be a better college pitcher, I lean toward Playing Summer Baseball.

Athlete 2: Above average stuff and did not throw many innings. Play Summer Baseball, but focus on the area that caused you not to throw many innings (most likely command).

Athlete 3: Threw a lot of innings but have average college stuff. Focus on Training. You already have the competition piece down; developing better stuff may push you over the edge to becoming elite and getting to pro ball.

Athlete 4: Below average stuff and did not throw many innings. Focus on Training. If you do not have the stuff to pitch currently and you do not develop it, what makes you think you are going to pitch the following year?

Conclusion

There are many pros and cons of playing summer baseball or focusing on training and it ultimately comes down to what is your current skill level and what are your aspirations.

My take is this: more than likely you are not good enough to get drafted or play professionally at your current abilities. If your dream is to be able to play ball, the first step is realizing where you are at and that you need to develop the skills necessary to reach your goal.

Good luck on your continued journey. I believe if you read this whole blog post you have the will and determination to become the best pitcher you can possibly be. Please feel free to leave a note if you have comments or questions. If you found this to be good, valuable information, I ask that you share it with someone else who may also feel that way.

Chop Wood, Carry Water

Justin displays an incredible work ethic and is continuously trying to learn as much as he can so that he can become the best pitcher he can possibly be. After years getting to know and be around him it is clear to see he truly enjoys doing the work necessary to achieve his goals. This includes all the small details, whether it be sleep or dietary habits, soft-tissue and mobility work, or throwing and lifting.

The Beginning of College Ball

Justin came into the fall of 2020 at Wright State throwing 91 to 93 mph and immediately the entire pitching staff was impressed. After the fall he looked like the best pitcher on our entire staff. When coming back from winter break it was clear he had continued to put in work, as he was throwing 91 to 94 touching 95 mph. But as with the game of baseball, there are always setbacks. Going into one of the first weekends of the year he had started to experience some discomfort throwing that limited him throughout most of the spring season, limiting him to just 7.2 innings.

Entering the Transfer Portal

Following the 2022 spring season Justin decided to enter the transfer portal in hopes of finding a new home that would help him accomplish his goals in his baseball career. He decided to take the summer off of baseball and focus on training. In doing so, jumping right back into high-intent throwing following limited reps in season, he had another injury setback. Unable to find a good fit before the start of the school year and dealing with the setback, he decided to take a year off from school and fully invest in his training to get back to where he could compete at an extremely high level.

Elite Athleticism

What makes Justin such an elite athlete? For starters, he is 6'5 240 pounds with a 34+ inch vertical and a sub 4.8 forty-yard dash. This would be on par for most high-level tight ends. He makes squatting 405 lbs look as easy as getting up from a chair. It is easy to see why he is able to throw so hard given the physical makeup and through his ability to generate total force as well as how fast he can generate that force.

This leads to one of the first things we focused on in his training: upper body strength and power. Justin had an already elite level of strength and rate of force development in his lower body but lacked in his upper body. Over the course of over a year he increased his bench press from struggling with 225 to being able to bench 285 for two reps. The key was never to just increase his max bench, but to increase the total force his upper body could produce and then work on producing a high amount of force as quickly as possible.

Other strength adjustments included focusing on increasing overhead stability as well as continuing to work in the strength-speed and speed-strength ranges. Beyond those we have continued to gain strength in the frontal plane as well as doing specific hamstring and adductor work.

Mechanical Adjustments

Obviously throwing 92 to 95 touching 96 you have to move somewhat efficiently. One of the things I noticed straight away was that the upper half was working way too quickly and the arm was bouncing out of max horizontal abduction too soon. The goal was not to worry too much about external rotation at foot plant and instead to hold horizontal abduction until front foot strike, enabling the upper and lower half to separate and better transfer energy through the chain.

One of the other big mechanical adjustments we were working on was lead knee extension velocity. When looking at old video, the lead leg was landing and spinning off and there was no blocking. Initially I felt this was because the hips and front foot at landing were too open and his cue was too focused on getting the hips open and creating separation that way. The thought behind that is good, though for the lead leg to block effectively, some internal rotation of the foot is required. Otherwise being too open results in valgus torque being created before the rotation phase is over. The goal is not necessarily to see the lead leg fully extend but to see the difference in knee flexion and extension between foot plant and ball release.

There are more minor mechanical adjustments we are currently working toward but it is best that we keep most of our focus on the two major components that correlate to velocity for now.

How Is His Stuff?

Right now Justin is planning on going off the mound twice a week, with one of those mound sessions being more high-intent and game-like, as well as getting Trackman and Edgertronic feedback to continue to refine his pitch types. In his first bullpen back throwing to a catcher he topped at 96 and averaged 94.1. Obviously the velocity is there and back to where it needs to be. But taking a deeper dive into the actual pitch metrics is an important aspect we needed to address.

The fastball movement profile is just plain and simple not good, which we had an idea of going into it. That is why we began to work on a newly added sinker. The potential for this pitch from his arm slot is extremely high. He is already able to kill a good amount of break (under 5 inches of induced vertical break) and generate an average amount of horizontal movement. Looking strictly at the averages is deceiving because some pitches had 18 inches of horizontal break and some only had 10. The goal moving forward is to go exclusively to the sinker and work on getting a consistent movement profile on it.

The cutter is also somewhat new and since this bullpen has already been improved on. Justin had gotten into a mindset that every offspeed pitch needs to be thrown as hard as possible to be good. That mindset is valuable to a degree, but it was hurting the actual movement profile. A cue that has helped is thinking more slider on it. He was still able to keep relatively high velocity on it (87 to 90 mph).

Lastly, the slider was getting similar results to the cutter. At that movement profile it is playable but is closer to what the cutter should be with a tiny bit more horizontal break. This has already been drastically improved on. He threw one most recently with -20 inches of horizontal break at 83 mph. The goal moving forward for all of these pitches, now that we have seen and felt the movements we are trying to accomplish, is to translate that to consistent movement in and around the zone.

Concluding Thoughts

Justin is a tireless worker and has an extremely gifted makeup. He has put himself in a really good position to find success in this game as long as he can stay healthy and get the valuable innings in. With three plus pitches, it will be fun watching him dominate hitters. As this summer continues to roll on and he begins to throw live to hitters, he is only going to get better. I am super excited to see him back in action. Whichever school or pro organization that gets him is getting an absolute steal of a pitcher and person.

By Brock Nartker, Baseball Performance Coach

In this blog, we will be exploring the various aspects of baseball performance. Including but not limited to the mental and physical conditioning, strategic pitching, mechanics, nutrition, baseball advanced technologies, and the mindset required to excel in the sport. I will share invaluable insights, tips, and techniques that I have acquired through years of experience as a player, and my unwavering love for the game.

About Me

Before we delve deeper into the world of baseball performance, allow me to introduce myself. Baseball has been an integral part of my life for as long as I can remember. From my early days on a Little League field to my collegiate career and beyond, I have had the privilege of experiencing the game from various angles. As a pitcher, I faced countless challenges, honed my skills, and discovered the importance of mental fortitude in achieving success.

I have always had a passion to coach even during my playing days. Over the years, I have worked with athletes of all skill levels, from young beginners to high level collegiate pitchers, and witnessed the transformative power of personalized coaching firsthand. My mission is to empower every pitcher I work with, instilling a sense of belief and providing them with the tools they need to thrive on and off the diamond.

What to Expect

In this blog we will explore a wide range of topics that cover the fundamental aspects of pitching, including:

1. Mechanics and Technique
2. Conditioning and Strength Training
3. Mental Game
4. Pitch Selection and Strategy
5. Injury Prevention and Recovery
6. Plus More!!

Closing

As a baseball performance coach, I am dedicated to supporting you on your journey to greatness. Wherever your starting point is, this blog will serve as a trusted resource for all things related to pitching performance.

I encourage you to actively engage with the content, ask questions, and share your thoughts and experiences. Together, we will foster a community of aspiring pitchers, united by a common goal: to get better and leave our mark on the game we love.

Get ready to take your pitching skills to the next level. Stay tuned for our upcoming posts, as we embark on an adventure towards becoming the best pitchers we can be.

Thank you for visiting!

Brock Nartker Baseball Performance Coach