The Best Ways To Train Command for Pitchers

Feeling stuck in your career? Go here: https://treadathletics.com/connect/co...
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Why is command such a difficult, often-overlooked part of pitching development?

In this episode, Ben Brewster chats with Tread performance coaches Craig Stem and Turner Givens to unpack the layers of command training, from biomechanics to the mental game.

We cover:
🔹Why command is harder to quantify (and train) than velocity
🔹The difference between command vs. control
🔹Key metrics (walk %s, in-zone %, competitive location %, race to 2 strikes)
🔹Case studies of pros, college, and high school arms who transformed shaky command into consistency
🔹Common mistakes when blending velocity work with command training
🔹The mental side: pre-pitch routines, focal points, and handling pressure
🔹Practical drills (bridge pitches, variability training, nine-pocket work)

If you’re struggling to throw consistent strikes, this episode will give you a framework to identify your biggest command issues and actionable strategies to fix them.
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What is Tread? A message from Tread’s Co-Founder, Ben Brewster

If you’re new to this channel, my name is Ben Brewster, and since 2015 my partner Coan and I have run Tread Athletics, a remote pitching development company that has impacted thousands of high school, college and professional pitchers’ careers.

Here's my story: at 15, I was just a driven but naive kid with a dream of playing at the highest level. This took me down a wild path, that included:

-Getting cut from travel teams and throwing low 70s as a 6’3” 155lb freshman.
-Being unrecruited out of high school (seriously, not a single offer to pitch in college).
-Landing a walk-on spot at the University of Maryland & earning a degree in Exercise Science.
-Getting drafted by the Chicago White Sox and throwing 98+ mph from the left side.
-Pushing through 5 surgeries in my late 20’s, despite people telling me to throw in the towel.

Seeing that very few pitchers, like myself, had access to the types of instructors and information locally that would truly make a difference in their careers, Tread’s remote coaching was born.

Today: Tread oversees the development of over 1,500 amateur and 500+ pro pitchers around globe (check out our interactive athlete map it’s pretty cool), and has become home to over 50 of the top Pitching coaches in the world.

Our staff operates out of a 33,000 square foot training facility in Charlotte, NC that includes one of the top private Pitching Labs, a PhD-led biomechanics team, world-class medical staff & more, as we work to lead the charge on building better, healthier pitchers.

While my own playing career has been defined by more setbacks than successes, these personal struggles give me a crystal clear perspective that Tread isn't just about building superior pitchers – it's about fighting towards a shared dream; whether that means making your high school team, landing a college scholarship, signing a pro contract or debuting in the big leagues.

For these players, I’m all in -- let’s continue to pursue the dream together.

-Ben

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Instagram:   / tread_athletics  

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How does remote coaching work: https://treadathletics.com/coaching/
See our athlete results here: https://treadathletics.com/featured-s...
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Timestamps
0:00 – Intro: Why command training is so complex
0:54 – Why command is harder to quantify than velocity
2:15 – Command vs. velocity: blending both in training
6:00 – Key metrics to evaluate command (BB/9, in-zone %, competitive location %)
9:09 – Bridge pitches: cutters & sinkers to stay in the zone
12:04 – Command vs. control (definitions & progression)
17:00 – Conviction, intensity, and the Clayton Kershaw mindset
20:01 – Why velocity and command training should NOT be separate
22:55 – Common mistakes when blending velo & command work
27:11 – Craig Stem’s story: overcoming the yips & developing elite command
38:00 – The mental game: pre-pitch routines, cues, and resets
46:40 – External vs. internal focus (how to regress command training for beginners)
53:00 – Routines, variability, and preparing for game-like environments
58:00 – Case studies: Troy Watson, Daniel Blair, and command transformations
1:07:00 – Final takeaways + where to start if you struggle with command