RADAR GUNS

Good Evening Fans!

This week I have chosen to share my opinion on radar guns. This is a popular topic that often comes up during my lessons at The Player's Edge from both parents and players alike. I feel the need to share my thoughts on this topic since so many of you have brought it up to me...

Plain and simple - radar guns are a young pitcher's worst nightmare. Anytime a pitcher sees a radar gun pop up from behind home plate, he forgets about mechanics, location, and even helping his team win because all that he focuses on is throwing as hard as he can to light up the gun. What good is this teaching our kids? In my opinion, velocity is by far the most over rated aspect of being a pitcher. Whatever happened to location and movement or the ability to throw 4 pitches for strikes on command? Today, scouts and coaches are so wrapped up in what the radar gun says and its almost as if 90 mph is the benchmark that makes or breaks a prospect. Pitching is an art form... it's what separates pitchers from just being hard throwers. That is why so many young kids have arm injuries today - in my opinion. They go to all these "showcases" and camps where they boast about how many scouts will be in attendance, etc. Well the only thing an athlete cares about is throwing as HARD as he can with no regard to his health.

Shame on you if you're a high school coach, parent, or even COLLEGE coach that uses radar guns during practices or camps. I was recently disgusted when I heard that a college baseball program was hosting a Winter Camp for young baseball players and on the first day of camp, they whipped out the radar guns and tempted the kids to throw as hard as they could after they hadn't picked up a ball for months! WHY?!

It goes without saying that I will NEVER own a radar gun in my facility. Let's focus on control and movement first and then build velocity. Radar guns are one of the worst pieces of equipment a baseball coach can own. Don't fall into the trap of forcing our young players to believe the only thing that matters is flashing the highest MPH on the screen...