*Disclaimer: The content presented in this website reflects the views of William Rouse, Student Physical Therapist and are not considered medical advice or intended to treat musculoskeletal disorders. The views expressed are not representative of the University of Findlay Physical Therapy program or the University of Findlay Athletics.
When I was a redshirt sophomore, I had gone a year without breaking my all-time PR of 90mph. I had gotten stronger and was on a consistent throwing program, but I could not break that barrier. I had been doing most of my training on my own, and I was feeling pretty down and was looking for answers. I was talking about it at practice one day, and my friend and “velo father” Mitch overheard. He suggested we throw a velo day together, and he could give suggestions. I agreed. So, at 4 p.m., after morning practice, we met for a velo day. He topped 94mph. After weeks of topping 87-89mph, I hit 91mph. You want to know what I did differently? I had the fear of being velo-embarrassed. There’s nothing quite as motivating as feeling like your velo will get publicly shamed for being slow, and that cannot be replicated by yourself.
I was being a tad dramatic in the last paragraph with the whole “velo-shaming,” but there is research that backs it. Research was performed on runners, where they competed against other racers they considered “rivals,” having a history with them and being of similar talent1. They found that when competing against someone who was considered a rival, athletes demonstrated increased motivation and performance, with one part of the study showing runners having an increase of speed by 4.92s/km1. Now, this is just one study, so bias and other data proving otherwise is possible, and you should not expect to throw 5mph harder because you throw in a group. But could you throw 1-2mph harder on average when throwing with a group of peers on a consistent basis vs by yourself? Over the course of several weeks, months, and years, do these gains show exponential growth? This is the secret to many facilities like Driveline, Tread Athletics, Velocity Sports, etc. Yes, they have all the gadgets and people with the knowledge, but the biggest benefit for the athlete is throwing every day with like-minded and similarly talented peers, pushing each other to be better. When I was at Driveline, everyone threw harder than me, and you best believe that had an impact on my motivation. Nobody likes being velo-fathered.
https://x.com/grayliebhardt/status/1915917185543032847?s=51
So, next time you are in a training rut, where you just can’t seem to break a plateau, or you’re not making the progress you want to, don’t immediately assume something is wrong with your programming or that you need more preworkout. Maybe start with inviting a friend who throws harder than you.
References:
Kilduff G. J. (2014). Driven to Win: Rivalry, Motivation, and Performance. Social Psychological and Personality Science. DOI: 10.1177/1948550614539770