How to Train the Lead Leg Block

What is a lead leg block?

The lead leg block is the entity in the delivery that redirects the force generated from the back leg, up the kinetic chain to the upper body. The “block” happens when the lead foot has contacted the ground and sends the lead knee from a flexed position to an extended position.  To do this, the pelvis rotating into the lead hip requires lead leg to stabilize and extend to a certain degree. Ideally, a good lead leg block is timed up before and into ball release, not after.

Flexion to extension is a big contributor to throwing velocity, thus is why we will be discussing topics on how to identify, and how to prescribe based on what tools you have to fix the lead leg block.

Can a good lead leg block improve command? Yes. The ability to stop forward and rotational energy in the lead leg sends more energy to the trunk, shoulder, hand. The more efficient the lead leg, the increased ability for the thrower to maintain direction of the trunk and the hand to deliver the ball where it’s intended to be.

HOW TO KNOW IF A LEAD LEG BLOCK IS “GOOD”

Although not all lead leg blocks are created equal there are ways to tell if a block is great versus poor. We realize not everyone has a pitching lab to identify precisely what velocity your knee is moving to extension at, however looking at side video of the delivery and provide decent context to if you are timing up the lead leg block well or not.

For most hard throwers, the lead leg is stable and extending before ball release. Stability in the lead leg may be visually different when evaluating pitchers but the keys to look for are:

1. Foot/ankle stability — The foot lands and stays glued to the ground without changing direction or rolling over during the throw. (ex: lead foot lands then turns more to glove side as throw is being made (bad).

2. Lead knee stability — The foot lands and the lead knee stacks on top of the foot and stays there. Lacking lead knee stability would show the lead knee gets outside of the foot or continues moving forward as the throw is being made. A good lead knee would visually show the knee stop moving forward or east-west after lead foot hits the ground.

3. Lead hip stability — When the left foot and knee have began stabilizing after foot plant, the lead hip should also stop moving laterally and stack over the front foot during lead leg extension.

Below is an Ohtani video from side view to show the amount of force and quickness in his lead leg bracing. Does your lead leg do this? If it does, we ultimately want to reach max extension as fast as possible once our foot gets in the ground. The ability to send energy up the trunk into the arm requires a quality lead leg block prior to to ball release.

HOW TO KNOW A LEAD LEG IS BAD

On the opposite side of this discussion is how to determine if a lead leg block is bad. If your knee flexion stays the same at foot plant, or even continues to gain flexion (you sink even more into your leg as you move down the mound), this move typically does not correlate to strong velocity numbers, due to the negative correlation to redirect force at all, let alone with any sort of speed.

If you continue to go into flexion after foot plant, there is an opportunity for improvement. There are several factors that lead to a poor lead leg. The lowest hanging opportunities lie within prep work on the hips, mobility, single leg strength, rotational power, and ground force production.

Where does the energy go after the throw? Are the spinning off glove side? Typically, lead leg needs to improve if so.

Is the rear leg folding underneath? Typically, lead leg is falling more into flexion and needs improved.

Is the lead foot spinning while the throw is still being made? Typically, lead leg needs to improved by attacking foot and ankle stability.

Correlation of lead leg block to velocity

Here is where we dive into the math side of this discussion. Driveline Baseball has done many studies with their motion capture lab, both to prove and disprove how the lead leg block correlates to velocity. 

When comparing lead leg reaction forces at the arm cocking stage, and arm acceleration stage, they found that the r^2 was strongly correlated with ball velocity at values from .45-.61. They had concluded that peak lead leg ground reaction force during the arm cocking phase was the best predictor of ball velocity.

This study was done for comparing the strongest correlator to velocity between the lead leg and drive leg, but that is a discussion for another day. 

How we approach fixing issue

Now since we know the data is on our side, how do we go about fixing the issue here at PRP? From a mobility standpoint, we help you achieve those end ranges of motion by prescribing a movement assessment to find out why you move the way you move, and how we can make it better. 

From there, our strength director will see how the athlete moves and produces force in the weight room (testing with Hawkin Dynamics). These numbers are an indicator of how much force the athlete may create on the mound.  Then, we include patterning, single leg, and rotational work in the weight room.

The rest of our typical day plan is where all of the patterning of the delivery gets done, with the Core Velocity Belt, medicine balls, plyo ball drills, and actual throwing, which I will go into detail there. All drills being discussed will be linked at the end of this article.

How we prescribe with the Core Velocity Belt

For the lead leg, we have many different drills to offer that can be worked on with the Core Velocity Belt (CVB). One of the many great things that this tool has to offer, it can challenge and assist an athlete to get in virtually any position within the delivery. 

Using another stimulus to challenge the athlete’s upper half (A PVC pipe, water bag, water ball), we will set up with the band on our lead hip, band behind, working away from the tension. Allowing the CVB pull the lead hip, creating an exaggerated amount of extension, over time with different variations of these drills will create a more natural lead leg block.

How we prescribe with Medicine Balls

The medicine ball is a tool that allows us again to pattern our lower half, without stressing the arm with throws, so we utilize them as often as we see fit. 

A great way to challenge the lead leg block with med balls is actually by throwing up the mound instead of down the mound.  An over the shoulder uphill slam with a medicine ball is one great drill we utilize in order to effectively pattern a better lead leg block.

How we prescribe with plyo drills 

At this stage of the patterning workout is where we truly incorporate the upper half with the timing of the blocking that we have been working on in pre-throw skill work.

An example of one of our exercises that we utilize to get an easy feeling with arm timing and the lead leg would be a rocker throw. This drill focuses strictly on the lead leg plant. Making an emphasis on solely the lead leg creates a more controlled output when trying to pattern arm timing to the block. 

Another variation for plyo throws in more constrained position in the split stance throw. This challenges lead leg stability and trunk rotation in prep work.

Higher level throws are often prescribed drop steps with med balls and plyo throws to improve the lead leg.

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Summary

Ultimately, the lead leg is the stabilizer for the lower body to send energy to the upper body to rotate quickly. There is a strong correlation to ball velocity from lead leg flexion to extension velocity.  It also improves strike throwing. The more force you can put in the ground, stabilize, and efficiently redirect the flow of energy from the ground up, likely will create a higher ball velocity. 

The drills and methods outlined are only a few that we have to offer an athlete. There are several drills and weight room exercises that you can provide athletes to improve their lead leg patterns. There is no one singular way in how to train a certain movement pattern. At PRP, we challenge the athlete accordingly to receive the output we want. 

Written by Max McKee

References
Boddy, K. (2022, August 30). Efficient front leg mechanics that lead to high velocity. Driveline Baseball. https://www.drivelinebaseball.com/2015/12/efficient-front-leg-mechanics-that-lead-to-high-velocity/

How to Get Recruited in 2020

by Greg Vogt

Modern Day Recruiting:

Short version: Get good enough and they will find you.

Old version: Get in front of scouts by playing on select teams (still works)

New version: Get good enough and tag @flatgroundapp on Twitter and/or share video’s directly to college coaches.

It isn't this simple, but the process of getting “exposure" is no where close to what it used to be.

Yes, tagging @flatgroundapp is a great way to get people to see your skill sets, but it doesn’t mean you will get recruited. If the content doesn’t appeal to the college coaches, it will only do more harm than good.

Read below for some important information on the recruiting process and some things to consider while going through it!

Reality:

There are very few hidden talents in 2020. With the power of social media and major tournament companies, any coach can find players they believe have enough talent to play on their roster. Coaches are able to get their eyes on your abilities much easier than 10 years ago. You can get exposure wherever you play.

The tournaments, showcases, recruiting websites, and competition level of your team will still always have an impact on your ability to get recruited. That being said, it is not as needed as it was 2010 as coaches can find you much easier and data more readily available. Playing with high-level travel organizations and high school teams will also get you in front of more recruiters because of the talent around you. They may come for one player and recognize you having a great game.

Modern scouting:

• Giving more first opinions on player skill sets via video before live

• Pursuing athlete’s in-game abilities after seeing showcase abilities (or video highlights)

• Evaluating quality of character and assessing the person via social media sources

• Finding players throughout all of the new travel organizations playing all across the country with tournaments and showcases everywhere.

• Recruiting players at younger ages and projecting what they will end up being by time they end up on campus

• More quality options for players to choose for school. More programs across the country at all levels have ways to gain player interest.

Modern player recruitment:

• Earlier start to the recruiting process, pressure to commit early for top prospects

• Wanting the “D1 Dream” because what they see on social media, TV, etc.

• Constantly being evaluated with all of the sources of information given to recruiters

• Ranking systems that help/hurt their process

• Tons of facilities and organizations to play and train with

• Recruiting services that are constantly advertising players to schools

• Longer seasons - 5-day tournaments throughout summer, fall baseball, tryout for teams being 5 months apart

Personal opinion —

Players are “competing” too often and not training enough. There is a big difference between working on your craft in game setting (practice/structured/controlled games) to playing in a 3 game guarantee tournament that costs $1,000 in October on a Saturday/Sunday. During the summer, players are playing 5 days a week (Wed-Sun) and staying in hotels half the summer with little opportunities to keep the body in shape. While the baseball calendar year for high school player is not going to get any lighter, I would strongly push that you find ways to keep developing in-season. Lift consistently, rest, take care of your arm.

If you are not able to be in high-level playing shape, then stop playing. Get the focus back to developing your skill set and body stronger instead of trying to compete at 80% (or less). Fully understand the need to get in front of different coaches throughout the year, but if you are underperforming because the body is not in shape then are you doing yourself a disservice? Injuries peak, performance suffers when then body is not prepared. Be careful!

This will be touched on more below, but please consider counting the hours you spend training compared to playing. Competing is a must for growth and real feedback on preparation. But, because you are competing doesn’t mean you stop developing!

Be Careful:

Talent requirements continue to rise to play collegiate baseball. College Baseball is at an all time high when it comes to followers, views, and interest from younger generations. More players are training harder now than ever. So please read below:

This should be understood by every single parent/athlete…

Paying for exposure via showcases, competition, and recruiting services will not get you to collegiate baseball.

Being good enough to play college baseball will get you to collegiate baseball.

Sure, these services can help expedite the process once you are good enough, but they do not single handedly make a college coaching staff interest in you. You need to get your abilities in front of coaches by playing, showcasing, sending video, etc. But, if that video does not show the coach you have the skill set and personality they want then they will find someone else who does.

The talent is going to keep getting better every year at the college and professional level due to the player development companies and organizations. If you show average qualities to a college coach it is going to get you crossed off, not circled, on their list. Getting experience both on the field and at showcases has benefits, even if the talent is not there. Get to understand what a showcase atmosphere is like, see other players show their skills, and learn what you can do to improve. Same with games. Learn from the best players evaluate your performance compared to the best players. The biggest takeaways should be that you should commit more time to the practicing and development than you should playing.

Coach Hobbs (Arkansas Pitching Coach) said it best on Eric Cressey’s Elite Baseball Podcast (Episode 10) - “Spend your money on training. If you’re not able to go out there and show the best version of yourself, I think you’d be better off training.”

Guidance:

Sit down with family and set realistic goals both for college and your development.

• Find your likes and dislikes

• Watch college baseball at all levels to get a realistic opinion on where you can play

• Train hard, assess yourself constantly

• Find a place to play that focuses on development, not just winning

• Find a training facility that can help — and commit to it!

• Research for yourself — both for training and colleges

• Visit different schools for multiple reasons - evaluates campuses, athletic facilities, baseball programs, and more.

• Attend camps of schools that you really like. Getting an “invite” to a camp is not a reason to go. Go because you like that school and you can impress them with your performance.

Do not worry about showcases and major tournaments until you are ready. Everybody develops at different paces and times. Prioritize your training over games.

Attend showcases once you are ready!

Showcase write ups are built to please the consumer, not college coaches. This doesn’t mean they have no value. Write ups can give you a breakdown of strengths and areas to improve, but they are always going to be built upon the model of getting customers to return. Telling an athlete they have no chance of playing college baseball because they throw 75mph is not a good way to get that person back to another showcase!

Player Example:

Player sits 80-82, T84 in Winter 2019. Big, lanky frame with plenty of room to fill in. Invested in training. Got an assessment and a plan. Worked hard, consistently, and committed to putting on weight. Winter 2020 sits 90-91, T94 and is the #1 rated RHP in the state. Received multiple scholarship offers and chose a competitive division 1 school to attend in fall 2020. He gained 25LBs and 10MPH in 1 year of training while playing a long competitive season (spring-fall).

Training can be done during season, but most neglect the development side in trade for “conserving” for games. This is sacrificing development for performance. Not a bright idea for your long-term success!

Have what it takes?

The average fastball for right-handed pitchers in division 1 who used Trackman in 2019-2020 (200,000 pitches) was 89.08mph. For left-handed pitchers (96,000 pitches), the average was 87.60mph. Again, these are averages across division 1 baseball. The majority of pitchers in the power 5 conference schools will be above these numbers.

Velocity is not the only thing that college recruiters look for in pitchers. I am not a college recruiter, nor have I been one, but with enough conversations between recruiters and athletes they are interested in I feel comfortable saying that velocity gets you invited to the table. Whether or not you can stay at the table comes down to your make-up, command, breaking ball, then the other pitches.

Top priorities for recruiting HS pitchers:

• Velocity

• Command

• Make-Up

• Frame

• Breaking Ball

• Other off-speed

This is not intended to speak for college coaches and their recruiting process, but to provide parents with some important information that needs to be understood to have realistic expectations of the recruiting process.

I have yet to come across a college recruiter ask for a pitcher’s stats (innings, era, etc.). They may be in contact with HS and Travel coaches on in-game performance and consistency, but they want to evaluate skill, movement quality (swing, throw), and project to how they could perform at their level with their abilities. Predicting how a kid can hit a Friday starter at Michigan isn’t real fair when he’s currently facing 78 from the left-side on a Thursday night pool play game.

Just about every single case begins with “What does he sit (velo) in game?” then trickles to “Can he spin it?” and “What kind of kid is he?”.

Here is a list of common questions I see:

• What has his velocity been up to?

• What type of kid is he?

• How is his breaking ball? Know his spin rates?

• How well does he command it?

• What’s he like on the mound? Is he a bulldog?

• Is he a worker?

• How are his grades and test scores?

• What is his family like?

• Does he love the game?

• Good teammate?

How do you answer these questions for yourself? Would it make you stand out in a good or bad way to your dream school?

The Process:

Recruiting begins with an interest from the college. You cannot change that. You can show them what you are, what you can do, and your progress but it doesn’t mean anything until their interest has them contacting or responding to you.

There are specific rules for when you can talk to coaches directly, visit campus, etc. Nowadays, camps are a great way for colleges to get kids on campus and talk with you. I’ve attached some important links with key dates and rules at the bottom.

Recruiting is starting earlier and earlier for high-level prospects. This does not mean others should panic. The top prospects in the country will most likely verbally commit first. Division 1 schools are often recruiting HS prospects well into their junior seasons. Some late bloomers can find division one scholarships or preferred walk-on spots in their senior season. Division 2 and 3 schools often start their process later than division 1 schools. They usually begin their true process during the junior season.

Phone calls from Divsion 1 coaches begin your junior year (September 1st). There are other ways to get in touch with them via phone calls but they cannot call you directly until this date.

Verbal commitments are non-binding but often gives away all power from the athlete to the college. Until you sign a NLI (National Letter of Intent), this offer is a verbal. Both sides can retract, but it is often the school who will either change or remove their offer if things change. Other schools will not be recruiting you anymore.

Every level besides Division 3 can offer you athletic scholarship money. There are several differences between the levels and how each school manages it so I won’t go into detail here. Division 3 can find ways to get different academic scholarships and grants to offset costs.

One piece of advise — Be sold on more than the coaching staff and baseball program. Coaches leave. Programs change. You need to like much more than just the staff and program. Could you attend this school if baseball didn’t exist? If the coaches were gone, would you still go? Be sure to answer that truthfully before announcing any commitments!

All levels can be good or bad!

While most don’t like to admit this.. but there are SEVERAL JuCo/D3/D2/NAIA schools that can beat D1’s on any given day. There are also several D1 programs who would demolish other levels most days. Each level has a top level of schools that can compete with just about anybody. Each level also has a bottom level who would struggle vs the level “below” them.

Do not be turned away or sold on the level of baseball you are committing to play at. Yes, certain schools and levels get more benefits than others.

College World Series 2019

Do your research on program history, expected competition and opponent types, and the depth chart.

Key questions I would ask (baseball side):

• How many commitments at your position do they have?

• How many returners at your position?

• How do they develop players?

• How many players have been drafted or played professionally after?

• What separates them from other schools?

• What academic help do they provide to players?

• What is their graduation rate? Do players transfer out often? Why?

Also, talk to the players. They know the ins/outs of how program truly operates. Do they like it? If so, why? Get a read on what they say and what specifics about the program they like!

Junior College World Series

Need more time to develop? Junior college is probably your best route. Again, there are different levels of JuCo, but the best JuCo’s can give you a great opportunity to get to a better school than what you had interest from in HS.

Personally, I went to a Divison 3. There were several positives and some negatives just like at all schools. What was important to me was that I would play for a competitive program, had the academics that I wanted, and still close to home. I was able to play all 4 years with a big role and enjoyed my opportunity to consistently put on the cleats and give the program a chance to win on the mound. That’s what mattered to me at the time.

What is important is that you find out what is important to you and you find the best fit for you!

In summary

While PRP believes in running showcases, getting our players exposure through social media, and evaluating players on a constant basis… we want our families and athletes to understand the importance of skill development and being the best athlete they can be.

To get exposure, you do need to partake in some of the avenues mentioned above (showcases, tournaments, etc). Just understand that the best players on the field and overall athletes will get the most recruitment out of these events!

Just to be clear…. this is not meant to speak for specific colleges or the coaches recruiting you. This is a run down of basic information and experiences that I have had throughout the years. The goal of this is to give parents and families a view on recruiting from an outside source with no play for any specific schools or levels.

As always, email us with any questions on your recruiting process!

Valuable Links

2020 Baseball Recruiting Calendar -https://ncaaorg.s3.amazonaws.com/compliance/recruiting/calendar/2019-20D1REC_MBARecruitingCalendar.pdf

D1 Baseball - Top prospects - https://d1baseball.com/prospects/2020-high-school-top-100-prospects/

PBR - Recruiting Essentials - https://www.prepbaseballreport.com/recruiting-essentials

Process Built Training

Process Built Training

Every young athlete dreams of playing on the big stage and succeeding.  Every parent dreams that their kid achieve the highest level of playing while being the happiest kid on the field.  Nobody wants an athlete to have their feelings hurt on or off the field. Point being, we see scoreboards, stat lines, and trophies as the ultimatum.  Our society believes in trophies solving our self-esteem issues. We often blame the youth for this issue, but who is giving out the trophies?  Who sets leagues and tournaments up to provide participation medals for all players? Our youth athletes are victims of poorly organized reward systems in our development.

We are missing the point.  Big time.

If you have worked hard for something in your life, you understand that the process of building that end result was where the real reward is.  You can work hard at something and not get the results you want or expect. This doesn’t mean it wasn’t worth it. The process of learning and experiencing the work at hand is the reward.  We are supposed to fail at things. Without failure, our learning process becomes flawed. Every result, decision, and life choice has positives and negatives. Risks and rewards. When we reward mediocrity, don’t expect to get something else in return.

Trust the Process

2019 Winter PRP Velocity Development

When we make decisions about training, playing, rewarding, criticizing, or blaming others, we must prioritize the end goal as the result of daily work.  The commitment to daily work is what separate athletes of all levels and sports. How athletes get rewarded from that process is never in direct correlation of immediate results.   We could go into countless stories of hall of fame athletes who were cut, billionaires that were fired, etc. At some point, those that continually trust and work at a high level will be rewarded in some shape or form.  It may not be with that sport and it may not be for years to come.

Back to the main point, buying into the process of long-term development instead of short-term results such as games or stat lines.  Best way to do it? Track everything that you care about. Body weight, lifting measurables, sleep, calories, velocity, K:BB ratio, quality at-bats, etc.  Things that you focus on and track will continue to improve. Worry much less about W/L, batting average, or any other stat lines, and start developing for the long-term.  Kids that train consistently, take care of their bodies, and see the ultimate goal will greatly improve their chances on developing the important things it takes to play at the next level.  

As a coach/trainer, we enjoy any athlete that is willing to work.  The good ones worry less about the results and more about the experience.  Little details that lead to long-term development is what separates the good from the great.  One of my favorite quotes has always been “Good is the enemy of Great” for the simple fact that it doesn’t take much to separate the elite from non-elite players.  The elite simply do the little things better.

What does the Process look like?

The process is complicated. It’s never linear. There are ups and downs throughout. The process requires trust and belief that continuous dedication and passionate work will pay off in the end. Results will come. No matter how poor performance can be, bouncing back and continuing to work will build you back up.

Mound velocity is one of the several things that is never a linear process. Below is a chart of mound velocity progression for a post-collegiate athlete. While part of it was for on-ramping, the velocity continued to fluctuate for 4 months. Over time, the results continued to climb but there were several days and weeks that were frustrating. Why? Because of training workload, sleep management, nutrition, and getting comfortable with new mechanics and intent.

The focus being on the process for a 13 year old baseball player compared to a collegiate player should be similar with different goals at hand. The goal-oriented mindset should be keyed in on developing a tool or skill to impact their performance. For example, a 13 year old could be focused on improving their pro agility or 30yd dash time to develop their overall quickness and speed. A collegiate player could be focused on developing more thoracic mobility due to having chronic soreness or tightness come mid/late season. These things both require daily work and should have a detailed program.

The process looks like a daily commitment to improving your game. It is challenging, frustrating, and rewarding throughout. It pays off with more than just performance results. It shapes a better person who earns their results. The process isn’t fair at times, but will continue to push and motivate those who are willing to get their hands dirty.

Summary

No draft pick, college scholarship, or job opportunity of any sort was earned overnight.  There is no overnight success. The reward at the so-called end is simply a bonus. The enjoyment will come from understanding all of the work put in to earn that end goal rather than the end goal itself.  Align your priorities and discussions with the process, not the results.  As parents, coaches, mentors, and educators we must understand that celebrating the small wins throughout development and training is more important than any trophy.  

Without the proper development, trophies will fade away and careers will be shortened in today's game.  Those that invest their time in research, assessments, and constantly are evaluating progress will continue to see improvements.  Invest your time wisely!

For more information, contact PRPBaseball101@gmail.com.