Soft-Shell Weighted Ball Tips and Drills
Training Overview
Welcome to our training page. We hope to share information and resources about how we use the soft-shell weighted ball set at our facility. This page does not provide a specific throwing program. We do share of best practices, tips, and examples of how we use them in our facility.
First, any pitching drill can be done with the training balls. Since all pitchers need is a hard flat surface to throw into, there is always an opportunity to get daily throwing work in.
The weight of the ball you choose depends on the player's age and the specific drill. We caution players not to throw balls that are too heavy as it can cause a change in the arm action (mainly pushing). If the ball feels too heavy, it probably is. Other tips we recommend are:
Use the 32oz ball mainly for reverse throws and recovery.
The 21 and 14oz balls are best used for constraint drills where the pitcher is isolating arm and trying to cause a change in arm action.
When throwing the 7oz, 5oz, and 3.5oz balls, we recommend always starting with the heaviest ball and working to the lightest ball. Most drills are done with 3 to 5 throws at each weight before moving to the lighter weight.
If you plan to use the set as a part of a throwing velocity program, we recommend you conduct research about the effectiveness of various weighted ball throwing programs. We recommend starting with the study here.
We believe using the set as both a warm-up, movement prep, and recovery tool for pitchers effective as a part of an overall throwing program.