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Blog Saturday, July 20 2013
When Scott Hovey of Boston, a rising senior at the Salisbury School in Connecticut arrived at the INVINCIBLE VELOCITY BOOT CAMP in Richmond in late June he was concerned that the D1 baseball scholarship he had worked so hard, for so long, to earn was slipping away. His velocity reached the mid-80's by the time he was junior but had plateaued in the mid 80's and his dream of playing D1 baseball was in doubt. "Let's face it, Scott and his dad traveled all the way from New England to see us because they were feeling a little anxious. Scott was sitting with a velo that was just below D1 desirable and they knew the clock was ticking," observes INVINCIBLE VELO Coach Jeff Roberts. Upon his return to Boston following the boot camp, Scott went straight to work. Armed with the three part assessment he received from the camp, for the first time he had a clear idea of where to find the velocity he needed to get a D1 offer. "Scott had one physical issue that we thought was hiding a few mph's. He didn't have many flaws in his movement pattern, but one area was a concern. He wasted no time attacking the culprits with the drills and exercises we prescribed," adds Coach Roberts. Then one night in mid July just as Scott and his dad Neal reached the parking lot following a summer league game near his home, a gentleman approached them. It was the baseball coach from the University of Massachusetts. He liked what he saw on the radar gun and on the mound from the young hurler and was ready to offer him a D1 baseball scholarship on the spot. It was a great offer and playing close to home meant Scott's mom and dad would get to see him pitch in college. He accepted. The dream came true for Scott Hovey. INVINCIBLE helped him identify some hidden mph's and Scott did the rest to turn them into a scholarship. We have three brand new 2 day INVINCIBLE VELOCITY boot camps coming up in the next month. There is one fewer NCAA Division 1 scholarship available because Scott Hovey has it. What are you waiting for? July 30-31, 2013 - James River High School NEW DATE ADDED! August 20-21, 2013 James River High School All INVINCIBLE VELO BOOT CAMPS come with our NO RISK, 100% REFUND PROMISE: At the end of Day 1 of the Boot Camp, if you are not absolutely convinced the INVINCIBLE VELOCITY Training system can help you throw harder, just tell us you will not be back for Day 2 and we will happily give you a full refund of your entry fee, no questions asked. Sunday, July 14 2013
As I head out the door to meet a few of my Invincible Velocity Young Guns* for a long toss training session, the memory of another hot summer afternoon returns to me. It is mid-July in 2007 and I am sweltering in the 3rd base dugout at Walton High School just north of Atlanta. The start of our game is delayed and my team is getting restless. It doesn't take long for them to decide the time has come to determine once and for all who can throw a baseball the farthest. Jackie Bradley, Jr. (Boston Red Sox) instantly jumps up and declares his participation and the field of competitors dwindles quickly. At the time Jackie B. owned the PG National record for hardest throw by an outfielder at 101 mph. A few of his Richmond Braves National teammates rise to the challenge though. Among them, Danny Hultzen (Seattle Mariners), Tim Melville ( Kansas City Royals), Jacob Mayers ( Arizona Diamondbacks) and Will Roberts (Cleveland Indians). These five love to throw hard and far. It is a spectacle to watch them warm up before games. By the end of warm ups they will be standing against the fence in the opposite outfield throwing over the opposing team. On this day the goal is to stand at home plate and throw the ball over the centerfield fence. One by one, Jackie B., Danny, Timmy, Jake and Willie take turns peppering the warning track and then the batters eye with missiles. Finally a ball sails out of sight and the dugout erupts. Jackie B. has left the yard! To this day, whenever I see an article bashing long toss as a component of velocity training, I easily dismiss it as the work of someone who has never witnessed the majesty of a baseball flying straight and true for the better part of 400 feet. *We call our Invincible Velocity trainees age 14 and younger "Invincible Young Guns". Our 15-17 year old Invincible Velocity trainees are known as "Invincible Phenoms" and our Pro and College guys are just referred to as Invincible Studs . I watched and marveled as Jackie B., Danny, Timmy, Jake and Willie grew from Young Guns to Phenoms to Studs. Their love for throwing a baseball hard and far and their relentless pursuit of velocity inspired the creation of Coach Jeff Roberts' Invincible Velocity Program and continue to shape its principles. Friday, July 12 2013
While waiting out another rain delay, I did a quick analysis on some pitching velocity data I found online that was produced in a recently held individual showcase called "Best of the East." The event featured mostly 2014, 2015, 2016 grads and one hard throwing 2017 graduate. The data included name, grad year and high school of each participant. Seventy participants pitched and had their fastball velocity recorded. Using the high end of their recorded fastball velocity range, I compared each player to our Battle Up! Arm Strength Chart and came up with the following data of my own.
--- Only 2 of the 70 "Best" pitchers at this event are on a professional development track Combining the last two observations together suggests 65% of all the pitchers showcasing in an event billed as the "Best" in the region don't yet have the velocity to presently qualify as a legitimate collegiate pitching prospect. The remaining one-third who did show collegiate potential threw just barely hard enough to qualify for the collegiate track but with another passing year would likely fall below those standards.. What do these results suggest to me? Two things. The first thing the data shows me is that the door to college scholarships and professional contracts is WIDE OPEN to anyone willing to get after it with velocity training! And I mean WIDE OPEN! If this event showcased the "Best" in this region then how softly must the other bazillion pitchers showcasing themselves all summer long be throwing? Secondly, if you add an extra 5 mph to the fastball velocity of the kids at this event, the percentages associated with each developmental track increase geometrically. The number on pace to develop into pro prospects quadruples. The number on track to become collegiate prospects doubles. The door's open. Our INVINCIBLE Boot Camps and Mini-Camps can put you on track to reap the rewards! Are you ready to get after it? Next time: Pitching is where the money is in baseball! |
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