Softball Pitching Tool: The Rev Fire
As softball pitchers make their way into the upper age levels, they will likely add movement pitches into their arsenal. Not every pitcher is going to have the same movement pitches as others. Just because another pitcher you know is learning the rise ball doesn’t necessarily mean that pitch will work for you. It all depends on the build, arm whip, and wrist snap of the pitcher. It’s okay to be different and it’s okay that some movement pitches will work for you while others won’t. Not one single pitcher in the entire world is the same.
Once pitchers start to develop movement pitches, a good pitching tool to acquire is the Rev Fire. The Rev Fire comes with two softballs which have a small device inside that measures the ball’s spin rate in revolutions per second and the rate of rotation. In simpler terms, the Rev Fire measures the speed the ball is traveling and how many rotations or spins it completes. It comes with a handheld device that looks like a pocket radar gun. This device has a small screen which shows the data being collected from the device inside the ball.
So what is a good range for tracking spins on movement pitches? There have been many high school and college pitching studies done using the Rev Fire to determine the expected spin and speed range on movement pitches. The movement pitches studied were drop, curve, screw, and rise. High school pitchers averaged 10-22 revolutions on the movement pitches they throw. College pitchers, on the other hand, averaged 17-32 revolutions. Out of the four movement pitches, the rise ball requires the most speed and revolutions in order to fight gravity and achieve true upward movement.
GUIDELINE FOR HIGH SCHOOL PITCHERS:
SPIN RATE (RPS)
17.0 – 18.9 Average
19.0 – 21.9 Good
22.0 and up Excellent
GUIDELINE FOR COLLEGE PITCHERS:
SPIN RATE (RPS)
20.0 – 21.9 Average
22.0 – 24.9 Good
25.0 and up Excellent
College pitchers are able to spin the ball more because they are trained to incorporate spins into their routine. If a pitcher isn’t able to get the correct spin from a wrist snap position, how are they ever going to do it correctly when they are throwing full? They won’t. Many high school age pitchers claim to throw a rise ball when in fact, it’s just a high fastball because they don’t produce enough revolutions or speed to fight the ball through gravity.
The Rev Fire is a great tool for tracking softball pitcher’s movement, pitch spins, and velocity. They are commonly used by pitching coaches at the collegiate level and are a great tool to start using at the high school level as well. Spin and speed lead to movement on pitches. The most successful pitchers in our game are the ones who perfect the fastball, have a great off-speed, and can make the ball move in one or two directions. The Rev Fire helps keep track and hold movement pitchers accountable, the more revolutions the merrier!
