I agree this is a good routine, but I'd also put a plug in for working on barreling the ball as well (which actually may take slowing down your swing a bit at first). Adding another 30 vertical feet to a pop fly isn't going to make anyone happy.

https://joshheenan.com/qualities-needed-to-throw-90mph/

Tools and training aids are all useful and have their place. This is the best advice I think you can receive.

The reality is, it does come down to having real functional strength. Don’t let this formula highlighting throwing 90mph trick you. It’s relevant to swing speed too.

Now… don’t go crazy to reach these numbers. However, working towards them will transfer greatly.

Momentum Potential Height in Inches x 2.5 = Minimum Ideal BW

Force Production Deadlift 400lbs for 1 rep

Stable Power Position Barbell Reverse Lunge: Ideal BW on bar for 10 reps/side

Force Transfer Chin-up: 250lb for 1 rep (BW+ added weight)

Arm Power Throw 300+ Feet Long Toss Optimal Authentic Mechanics

Online softball rehab and physical performance coach here.

Obviously will speak to my bias here but bat speed is mainly improved via neurological improvements in muscle firing (rate coding).

The program you cited does well with that.. The caveat is that you'll likely plateau - maybe after a few years if you haven't built general physical qualities such as muscle size and strength.

Another thing I think about is how improving bat speed without an appropriate strength base could lead to increased risk of injury.

For many slowpitch softball players (as most of us are recreational in nature), the lower hanging fruit and better use of that same time is a well structured strength training program.

There isn't much scientific evidence on recreational slowpitch players other than anecdotal and my experience with tracking improvements using a bat sensor (bat and hand speed) with clients I've had.

We use what is described in my work as "overspeed/underspeed" (the program you linked) only during peaking phases (near playoffs/end of season) which give us another small boost in bat speed.

Get a Camwood trainer, Marucci On-deck bat, or a Smash Stick. They call can handle tee work and batting practice

I recommend forearm curls with a weighted rope. go in both directions to really work your wrists and forearms. the extra *snap* that you get with stronger forearms is so helpful

Macenko bat speed drill

Incorporate this into whatever other training regiment you are doing.

https://bigcat844.com/bat_speed.html

It's the Macenko bat drill.

I spent an entire offseason this summer and added about 15-20’ of distance.

1. Hit a ton of bp. I hit the cages for like 400 balls per week. If your cage has hit trax, use it. Nothing better than getting instant feedback if you’re hitting the ball at the proper launch angle and you get to see how your swing effects exit velocity.

2. Rotational med ball slams, and horizontal axe chops. On the horizontal axe chops I rip that thing like I’m swinging a bat vigorously. Working on fast twitch muscle fibers. Add a flat bench in there, work on low reps high weight.

3. Know how pull the inside pitch, the inside pitch is most players favorite pitch to send deep.

4. I switched to an overlap grip, and this was probably the most important factor that added speed to my swing. However it take time to learn and you will lose some bat control. Mathematically it makes sense, allows you to add more length to your lever arm thus adding exit velocity. From hit trax I can confidently say I added ~10-15% exit velocity from the grip change. Which matches up when you consider the distance you gain is roughly 4” in lever arm increasing from 20-24” which is roughly 25% longer. Matching up to a similar exit velocity increase.

Over the offseason to this year I went from 1HR per year to probably hitting 6 or so this year in 12 games. Already got 1 in the first 2 games and hit 3 balls off the top of the fence.

Rotational med ball throws. Build the forearms up with weightlifting exercises. Overload/under load bat training. Lots of BP. Just get in the gym and pump some iron.. that usually helps with most everything

Hey I’m a coach who has trained some pro athletes and youth athletes—which does not mean my answer will be better, already some good advice here.

Med-ball tosses are great for someone who is relatively deconditioned, but the problem I’ve found is that there is virtually no way to “progressively overload it.” Not discouraging it at all. Focus on extensive first with a lighter med ball (sets of 15-20) and 2-3 weeks after, focus on a heavier med ball for less reps (5-8 each side) and throwing the ball harder. This gets your connecting tissues a little more prepped. We do tosses like a sit up (spinal flexion) as well as rotorary tosses (bonus points - pick a spot on the wall and hit that exact spot every time, this makes the exercise more “neurological” in nature.”

Honestly, for most people any program that focuses on range of motion and basic lifts will do you some good if you are a beginner. Pushing, pulling, squatting, deadlift and rotation are important.

The reason med balls are low in my list for sport specific rotation improvement is that they are actually quite slow. It’s hard to mimic the demands of rapid rotation, but if you have ever heard of lower body plyometrics? Like jumping, bounding, max effort broad jumps etc., these exist for the upper body and they are money. Look up variations of push up plyometrics, you’ll find plenty. Only if you’re ready.

The only other thing I would say is: don’t down play basic strength and conditioning. Just do the basics and you’ll get stronger in a lot of avenues. If you do med ball tosses, don’t expect improvements to last long, but do them anyways.

Work plyometrics into your program. Super set them with strength exercises: bench press + plyometric lateral push up.

Bend your spine: strength train your spine. Not everything has to be fast. Do side bends, windshield wipers for your obliques, and my favorite—the side oblique bend. It won’t make you slow.

The only mimic that is close: getting loaded ball with a rope. This is spot on for helic movements. They are on Amazon. Look up some rotary throws and some helical throws. This trumps med balls completely. Be warned, start off slower and less reps. It’s not a beginner exercise and requires ample amounts of body awareness.

All in all have fun with training, throw a few specific things in there like tosses, push up plyometrics, maybe even some rope ball throws or some “collision” based exercises like loaded rebound catches, ballistic Pails (you can look all of this up). Go up to the plate confident that you can pull a pitch

Have him fire his hips. That’s what generates power. Have him take 8-10 swings then take a break. He’s 8.

Also overload / underload training. Have him take 6 swings with a heavier bat. Then 6 swings with a lighter bat. Then his game bat.

Have him focus on launch quickness and being ready to launch the moment the pitcher releases the ball. Bat speed will follow, but it won't mean anything if he doesn't have launch quickness (basically his launch sequence needs to happen very fast or he'll get stuck trying to time things perfectly, which is an uphill battle any hitter wants to avoid).

At 11 years old ... Sprinting + Plyometric jumping + Long tossing.  Doing these things 3-4 times per week is the recipe.

You don't have to have the perfect routine or exercises, but you have to be consistent.

Does he play other sports? A season or two of soccer will do a lot more at his age than targeted drills.

The way for him to get faster is to build up his core strength and legs. Everything you do in baseball starts with your legs and winds up through your core. Your legs are the base and your core provides the torque. He's only 11 so I would not recommend heavy weights. But medicine balls. Body weight squats and lunges. Box jumps. Train for explosiveness not brute strength.

Make it fun. Set up mini challenges. If it's a chore he won't want to do it.

My 11u son took a huge jump athletically in the last year. And honestly it was because we just got him outside more. Got rid of Roblox and got him a new bike. He rides everyday with his friends, they jump on our trampoline for hours, and they just play normal kid stuff. He also did flag football for the first time this year which helped a ton.

He needs to learn to be explosive.

Legs and core. Strange as it is, your arms are the least important aspect when it comes to bat speed.

If you're swinging right, it should use the whole body but I'd say core is best for bat speed but legs for power. Someone else may know more.

Core, butt and legs are most important. Biceps and back are important for bat control. Basically just get in there and do overall strength training with an emphasis on lower body and core. Singling out specific muscles is a good way to get yourself injured. Try to stay away from machines, and steer towards compound exercises and free weights.

don't think about it too much. Just get in there and do work. Then reward yourself with a big meal. you'll get strong quickly.

Exactly, power is speed and weight. The muscles to prioritise to improve speed are your glutes, quads, hammys, abs, obliques and lower back (which you probably do enough of on leg exercises). Then eat a lot but not dirty and don't overthink it.

I was always told that the forearms are important for bat speed/control. They’re probably a bit different to work out than the rest of your muscles but you can find good exercise online.

Your bat speed is plenty fast, what is the result you are looking for?

An easy solution is balanced bat that is juiced, also known as a voodoo 1. Or you do rotational exercises with Medball and explosive stuff like box jumps

Med ball routines, over/under load….full coil drills (both feet pointed toward center field with 99% of ur weight on ur right leg if ur right handed)

Are you over/under loading? Swing a lighter bat as hard as you can, then swing your gamer. There are a bunch of programs out there that walk you through it.

Type in bat speed study into google- there has been plenty of studies done-

The short answer always seems to come back to some form of classic overweight/underweight training-

We would assume a hitter uses a 33/30 bat

Overweight was from Phoenix Bats at 33/35

Underweight was from anywhere we could find a drop 8 at 33/25

Drills would include 3 swings each under-game bat-overweight

Plenty of tee, flips, toss, machine, and any drill that hitter needed- we aim for 75 swings in total

If you follow the Astro ball/Driveline/etc the common rule of thinking is every team/college/academy can build bat speed just like they can with arm speed-what they struggle to develop is barreling as much as they struggle to teach command

We do not suggest this until have hair under their armpits-hitting puberty and have good mechanics- the overweight bat will recruit other muscles and mechanics will have subtle changes

Once we were in transition to season we would not allow this at our workouts- about 2/3 weeks before opening day-

The cam bats are great. Or you could just use a heavy wood bat.

I’d also do a lot of core and lower body explosion stuff. Burpies, squat jumps, medicine ball work is all good.

Also, if you have access to a hitting stall, I start pitching from further back and then incrementally move the L-Screen closer. So I’m pitching the same speed but from a closer distance.

The opposite works as well, when adjusting to off speed/changeups.

Heavier bats generally, Driveline has a program using differently loaded heavier bats with a variety of drills.

General athleticism, med ball tosses, heavy bat, light ball. 

Underweight, overweight training - meaning use a heavy bat / cam wood / just anything a few ounces up and an inch or 2 longer, and also train with a light bat that he can 100% rip with (like 5 ounces lighter). Then go back to his game bat. Like 15-20 hacks with each, then repeat 2-3 times.

Get stronger so

Crawls Med ball throws Weighted/ unweighted jumps Resisted and regular sprints Pushups Chin ups Lunges/reverse lunges Carry heavy objects ISO holds

Combine the above with overload&underload bat training and you will be surprised the improvement you can get

Sprints. Sprints are good for everything. They program your body to use energy in explosive ways. People will do the goofiest stuff with medicine balls but will never think to go run 10 60m sprints 2-3 times a week.

If you want to run fast, go run fast.

Hill sprints are great and don’t require buying any equipment.

Might be worth looking into to speed clinics in your area. My daughter goes to one that has helped a lot with track and that has translated to her outfield and baserunning speed.

Plyometrics, hill runs, and bands.

https://www.amazon.com/SPEEDSTER-Resistance-Trainer-Strength-Training/dp/B0C82TB2F2

https://www.amazon.com/Agility-Speed-Training-Equipment-Set/dp/B0DGGBVYJP

Unless someone is over weight or very out of shape, being slow equals not being strong enough. 

He must be able to generate more force to the ground to run faster. Some technique work may help quickly but likely only if his firm is really bad.

He needs to get stronger and he’s old enough to begin training. A solid beginner program with compound lifts will do the trick.  He can start tomorrow with body weight exercises if you don’t have weights. 

When I was that age a jump rope changed everything for me one summer.

Get John Petrucci’s Rock Discipline and don’t stop utilizing it until you’re where you want. Seriously, everything you need to know about playing fast is on there. https://youtu.be/6VApk-vvhp8?si=nPLA-BZ1WrMj9fvm Buy the DVD, it comes with the tab book. It’s cheap and worth it.

The biggest thing that doesn’t get discussed a lot when the metronome discussion starts up is going ABOVE your level of speed. At a certain point, the muscles in your arm/wrist/hand/fingers move differently when playing fast and practicing things slowly will not hit on those muscles or put them through the same paces. (This is also in Rock Discipline)

So if you’re comfortable playing 16th notes at 140bpm, crank it up to 160bpm and just try going for it. You’re going to bomb it, but you’re going to start utilizing the muscles you need to in order to break through to that next level.

And most importantly- stay actively aware of how much tension is in your hands and fingers. It wasn’t until I was able to stop tensing up that I could start flying around and it was holding me back for a couple years. Literally, the day I realized I had to relax was the first day I was hitting the tempos I was aiming for for the prior 2 years, it was quite immediate like “Oh! DUH! I can’t tighten up!”

Use a metronome.

Do some warm up exercises - whatever you like is fine.

Play the riff at a speed you can play it cleanly to a metronome. Increase speed while using metronome until you can play it at speed.

I don't write down my progress like I'm going to the gym or something, that's just not fun for me, but you NEED a metronome.

I signed up to Bernth's patreon for metronome practice for each area I struggle with.

You'll also need to to identify what parts of your technique you need to improve to improve your accuracy and speed.

https://youtu.be/PJyj0tGQ4q8?si=CaqX9B7GYB2bespP

The blueprint for decades.

You also need to practice what fast playing feels like. The technique will vary between player but slow vs fast is always a different approach.

I love Rafael Trujillos speed exercises.