Expert: John Priest - 3/24/2010

Question
Sir,
My 16 yr old son has a POP time of 2.10, his coach wants it at/or below 2.00 by his senior year (2011). What is the best way to strengthen him arm in hopes of a better throw/time?

Answer
To strengthen your arm it is a combination of long toss, lifting weights, and flexibility.  I stress that flexibility is the most important then it comes to arm speed.  Your son is 16 yeas old so I assume that he is already doing this either on him own or with his team.  One thing that most catchers forget is their speed of their feet.  Having a strong arm is great but having slow feet cancels the strong arm out.  To be a good catcher their needs to be a combination of a strong accurate arm and very quick feet.  Your son should ask the football or track and field coach (if there is one) at his school for help.  Getting your son quicker feet will definitely put him in the 1.95-2.0 release time.

The speed ladder is an excellent tool to develop quick feet.  However these drills would be too hard and complicated to write through an e-mail.  The best thing to do is a search on the Internet for "speed ladder drills".  You will need to buy a speed ladder but they are relatively inexpensive.  The following web site has a good example of the drills: http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/ladder-agility-drills.html

If you need any further help please let me know.
Thank You,
John Priest
http://jpbaseball.blogspot.com/