How a Pitcher Overcame His Unique Movement Dysfunctions to Excel on the Field

Pain that “pops” every time you move is more than an annoyance, it’s a warning sign that your movement base may be failing you. I’m Dr. Kevin McGovern, and I sit down with Eric and his son Cameron to tell the full story of a pitcher who didn’t fit the usual mold: unusual movement patterns, hypermobile elbows, and a body that kept finding the wrong path in basic tests like the squat and lunge. What starts as frustration turns into a clear roadmap for baseball pitcher rehab, arm care, and performance built on fundamentals that actually stick.

We get specific about what changed. Cameron explains how pain showed up in real baseball moments: pushing off the back leg, getting into fielding positions, throwing from the outfield, and even stepping into his swing. From there, we break down why we spent so much time rebuilding the squat, how “reps, reps, reps” becomes motor learning instead of mindless volume, and why quality reps beat sloppy grinding every time. We also dig into scapular stability and serratus-focused work on the wall to help stabilize the shoulder blade and protect an elbow that wants to hyperextend.

The payoff is what every player and parent wants to hear: less pain, better movement, stronger throws, and better pitching command. Cameron reports throwing 10 to 15 mph harder than before, plus more comfortable hitting and fielding, while Eric highlights more efficient outings and soreness that feels normal instead of scary. If you’re chasing pitching velocity, cleaner pitching mechanics, or reliable injury prevention, this conversation is a reminder that there’s no immediate fix, only the right work done consistently.

If this helps you, subscribe so you don’t miss what’s next, share it with a pitcher who needs it, and leave a review so more players can find the path back to pain-free throwing.

Transcript

Sponsor: Mound Ready Program

SPEAKER_02 0:01

Hey everybody, this is Dr. Kevin McGovern, and it's time for another Velocity RX podcast. But before we begin, a word from people who have to pay the bills. Attention baseball pitchers. Have you been injured, gone through surgery, or have been off the mound for an extended period of time, tried to go back, and you just can't without pain? I want to introduce you to Mound Ready. Mound Ready is unlike any product in the world. Mound Ready is going to do a complete evaluation of everything you have done from physical therapy notes to training notes to rehab throwing, everything. Plus, we're going to run you through our own battery of tests to find the reason why or reasons why you are not back on the mound. Once we have those reasons why, we're going to correct them and get you back on the mound throwing. If this rings true to you at all, please visit velocityrx.org, click on the mound ready page, sign up to be on our waiting list so that we can help you get back on the mound throwing pain-free. Attention baseball pitcher. All right.

Why Cameron Joined Velocity RX

SPEAKER_02 1:18

Well, today I am joined by Eric and Cameron. Eric Dad, Cameron's son. Gentlemen, welcome. Truth be told, Eric used to work for me a little bit. We'll probably talk about that. But SunCam went through the Velocity RX program and they're on today because Cameron's not like other participants in the Velocity RX program, and I'm sure Dad and Cameron will talk about it. Some, you know, I I learn every day stuff that I do. If I'm not, if you're not learning, you're you're you're dying. And there were definitely some times that Cameron's movement patterns challenged every single piece of knowledge and investigative and assessment tool that I have. So without further ado, gentlemen, welcome. Thank you for doing this. I appreciate it.

SPEAKER_00 2:15

Thank you.

SPEAKER_02 2:16

So, Eric, why don't you give a little history of how you came to getting Cam signed up for Velocity RX?

SPEAKER_00 2:27

Sure. As Kevin alluded to earlier, I worked for Kevin for a few years. We're down in North Gavin Island now, uh, but used to live up in the Boston area. And actually started out with Kevin as a patient for one rotator cuff, and that turned into the other rotator cuff, a torn ligament, actually not a UCL, not Tom and John, but another the outside of my elbow ligament, and a torn bicep up by the shoulder area, not by the elbow. And you know, Kevin was a pretty big help to me and helped me kind of get into the fitness field. I'm a strength coach. And you know, I learned a lot from Kevin uh, you know, on my own, throughout my own rehab, as well as working for Kevin. And I knew that when Cameron, like we'll get into movement patterns, were not the greatest, but I knew where to go.

SPEAKER_02 3:30

I forgot about all those injuries that you had.

SPEAKER_00 3:32

Yeah, uh huh. I did forget.

The Game Test Wake-Up Call

SPEAKER_00 3:35

Like father, like son. I know.

SPEAKER_02 3:37

All right, so we signed Cam up, and the first thing we do is the game test, and that was enlightening. We had a squat that was all over creation. We had a lunge that was all over creation. We had a shoulder coordination test that was all over creation, just moving patterns that were not like others. Like I don't want to say that you know that they were like ET or something, but they were, you know, they were they were different. So why don't you talk about the struggles or or or what you thought or the what the games has kind of uh brought to mind or brought to the forefront for you guys?

SPEAKER_01 4:26

It really just showed me how like, especially like in my tips and stuff, like my movement was just very off from where it really should be, like with the squats. I was more moving forward than I was backwards, how I should have been. Inside and set stuff. Really, just every direction other than the direction it was supposed to be going.

SPEAKER_02 4:47

So, Cam, what was like before we started working together? What was that or how was that your movement patterns of negatively affecting you on the field and at life? Tell me, talk to Amelia about that.

SPEAKER_01 5:02

Really, anytime I was moving my hit, it like pops. It was somewhat painful, and just no matter what it was doing, rather than walking or like squatting and leaning over for a ground ball or pushing off my back leg or pitching, it always popped, and that made it pretty hard to put through it and play well.

SPEAKER_02 5:19

And Eric, what was that doing to his to his pitching, this to his play? You know, you're a dad, you never want to see your kid, you know, not do well.

SPEAKER_00 5:29

Like tell me about that. There are some practices where you know he'd be you know shagging balls in the outfield, throw the ball. I could tell right away, just looking at his face. Oh, you know, grabbing his arm. You know, obviously something was very, very wrong. Uh I know that working for you, I I you know administered several of the game seven tests. So I I I could see where, you know, like like you talk about the building blocks, the Lego blocks, the you know, the electrical box was all screwed up, and you know, everything goes downhill from there. You know, his elbow was bothering him, his hip was bothering him. And you know, but once

Squat Rebuild And Pain Changes

SPEAKER_00 6:15

we started working with you and started to get some of those movement patterns properly uh properly done, I think the pain diminished quite a bit. Yeah, you know, your velocity went up, you felt better.

SPEAKER_01 6:30

Yeah, I was able to play pain-free.

SPEAKER_02 6:33

So we worked a long, long, long time just on the squat. Right. So Kim, talk about that. I know that was frustrating, but I know in the end that it worked, right? We got you to we got you to move better. We just had to be persistent at that and really attack it from many angles to get you to move you know neurologically correct, right? So so talk to me about that.

SPEAKER_01 7:09

It was definitely a struggle at first because it was like I said earlier, I was moving in every direction but the right way. But it over a few months, eventually by the end of it, I was able to squat properly, and it was definitely a big noticeable difference in the pain level and how easy it was able to move. So it was just much easier to play baseball, like squatting and stuff.

SPEAKER_00 7:32

Dozens and dozens and dozens of reps day after day after minute after day, like you put in and work, and you had to consistently keep going with it.

SPEAKER_02 7:41

Yeah. So, you know, obviously we got you to move better. How what was the result in the on the field? What like what what improved? How did it improve? What were some of that things that happened on the field?

SPEAKER_01 7:57

The main improvement was, or the most important to me was it was pain-free instead of being in pain every time. But and I was also able to throw a lot harder than I have been able to, and I was able to just move more and easier, like when I was playing outfield. And yeah, this overall improved my ability to play well and without pain. Oh, yeah, and hitting when I was stepping with my front foot because I've got left team through already. So when I was stepping with my front foot, it was a lot easier to step.

SPEAKER_02 8:29

So now we also

Stabilizing Elbows And Scapula

SPEAKER_02 8:30

had you know some upper extremity stuff, especially with the elbow, shoulder. We had elbows that looked like they were making a right turn and or left turn, one going one way, one going the other. So talk to me about scapular stabilizations and and the scapula depressions and and that. What what were you previous and and what what are you now?

SPEAKER_01 8:55

It's definitely helped over time, like with my shoulder and elbow pain. My elbow's hyper mobile. So but do it.

SPEAKER_02 9:02

Yeah, let's uh can you show can you show that? Hey, and then is it hey? Can you do that with both elbows? This is what I this is what I gotta work with. Let's do it at the same time. Do it, yeah, right. I mean, so that's what I've got to stabilize. So talk talk about what we did to stabilize that thing, those things.

SPEAKER_01 9:28

Oh, yeah. So we're doing almost like kind of like wall push-ups, similar to it, but like alternating hands, like taking one hand off and then the other hand and kind of pushing off the one on the wall. After it'd say a month of those and shoulder squeezes on the foam roller, it definitely started to feel difference when I was throwing it.

SPEAKER_00 9:47

That was terrible to say your traps when I didn't know.

SPEAKER_02 9:52

All right, dad will let jump in. You can so what I noticed is yeah, we had overfacilitated upper traps. We used the wall because we needed to use the serratus muscle and scapegoation. So, Eric, what what did you see as a dad? And talk about that.

SPEAKER_00 10:06

Well, you know, like you were talking about doing a lot of the exercises on the wall with uh you know, the wall push-up single arm. Eventually, we got the single arm, just the general strength overall, just it it wasn't immediate. You know, everybody wants that immediate fix.

SPEAKER_02 10:26

Well, can you say that again? Can you just one more time? Can you say that please for me?

SPEAKER_00 10:30

Everybody wants the immediate fix, but it just doesn't work that way. You know, right, thank you.

SPEAKER_01 10:42

You take it. Everybody wants the immediate fix, but you have to put in the work to get it.

SPEAKER_02 10:47

Thank you. Good. All right, perfect. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 10:52

But no, I mean, you know, after after so his his last fall, he swinging a bat because of his hypermobility and slightly tore his bicep, distal bicep.

SPEAKER_02 11:09

Um guess whose phone rang.

SPEAKER_00 11:14

Um so we went down that road, you know. We started out with some simple exercise, and you know you don't need a lot of weight, you just you know do the exercises, what what what you prescribed. I know it's been a few months. I don't remember all of them. Sorry, I should. But within you know, within a month or so, definitely the pain went away. Obviously, he wasn't a hundred percent, he wasn't able to you know play last fall and he wanted to, but that was a wise choice to just sit. And I know that you hark on it, that uh you'll probably ask me to repeat this again. But if you're doing something wrong in the wrong movement pattern, you're never gonna get better. So we fixed the movement pattern, and we got he got better, not we, he

No Quick Fix: Daily Quality Reps

SPEAKER_00 12:05

got better.

SPEAKER_02 12:06

So you mentioned something there about strength. You know, guys are constantly like, oh my, you know, your program doesn't have any, you know, doesn't have any huge weights, and blah, blah, blah. I'm like, look it. Everything, every exercise in that course, if you do those religiously, you're gonna tenfold your strength. What would you say? Is that is that statement true or false?

SPEAKER_01 12:31

True. You don't it's a lot more about the movement than the amount of weight and the sticking to it consistently.

SPEAKER_02 12:39

Right. I mean, I've got guys doing you know, that were doing crazy things, lift, cleans, lifts, and you know, now I have them doing 250, you know, air squats a day. First of all, they can't they can't get through 250 air squats a day because they're too tired, right? You know, but they're stronger, right? Because they're they're reinforcing the correct movement pattern over and over and over again. And when the bell rings, they're ready to go. Right, Eric, what what would you say? What would you say about that?

SPEAKER_00 13:13

Yeah, I I mean absolutely. I I have clients of mine that we do all all the time, just simple, you know, show you know, shoulder decompression cellar phone roller, you know, 100 every day that they're in here at least. You know, if we are going lightweight, it's high reps. I mean they just get it's there's a there's a thousand ways to skin a cat, and you know, if you can get the movement pattern right early without using a lot of weight, down the road you'll be able to do more weight than you would if you're just trying to go at it cold.

SPEAKER_02 13:52

So what would you say? You know, there's a lot of programs out there. So, you know, everyone knows that. What would you say the biggest takeaway or difference is from what I do comparatively to what you've seen out in the market?

SPEAKER_01 14:10

A lot of times, like when you just look up exercises, it's always just focused on weight and adding more weight, adding more weight and going as fast as you can. But your program like really took the time to focus on movement and getting that done properly. Because if you have the wrong movement, then you're rather A, not gonna get the bullet back, or B, you're gonna hurt yourself, which defeats the whole purpose.

SPEAKER_00 14:30

And you know, to add on top of that, like he was saying, the way that you present it to us uh as well as other people, you know, you make it understandable that hey, like, you know, if you do it this way, then you're gonna get better. And this is why you need to do it this way. A B C D E starting from, you know, like you've said it before, the Lego building blocks. You don't have a foundation, you can't do anything.

SPEAKER_02 14:59

So you guys touched on something I want to go back to that you know, things don't happen overnight. You know, I get some pushback from players and mostly from parents. Shouldn't you be doing that? I mean, I've got a parent, like, I'll watch their kid's video, and I'm like, you know, he's gonna fix this, this, and this. And within nine seconds, they're sending me another video. I'm like, look, it's still exactly the same. No, no, well, what about this? I'm like, look, do this for two weeks, then send me a video. Like, there's nothing going to change in nine seconds, even if you do everything that I'm telling you to do. So what would you say about you know the work that it takes to get your movement to change, and then you know how that how that affects your play and talk or you know, or your performance. Talk talk to me about that.

SPEAKER_01 16:00

It really just takes doing it every single day. Because if you go without three or four days of going it, doing it, you're gonna go back to your original movements, which is never a good thing. You really want to stay consistent and do it, do multiple reps to make sure that you remember the movement. It's muscle memory, really.

SPEAKER_00 16:18

Path law is stuff.

SPEAKER_02 16:21

Yeah, and then what about like you know, the time it actually takes to go from one bad movement to a good movement? I mean, what if someone's getting frustrated or discouraged? What would you tell them about what to do or what or what you know, how would you handle that? Or if you're telling a friend, like, government doing this and it's taking forever, like

Strength Without Heavy Weights

SPEAKER_02 16:45

what would you say?

SPEAKER_01 16:46

It can definitely take a couple months, but once you can do it without paying at the end, it's all worth the effort you have to put in.

SPEAKER_00 16:54

Would you rather take two months now and be healthy, or would you rather try to force something through and miss a you know a six-month season? I'm choosing two months every time.

SPEAKER_02 17:06

Good point. All right, so Cam, we worked on those elbows, this this hip, right? So, where are you today? And oh, and by the way, all while you are growing, I would I will add, right? So, yeah, since we started working together, how much have you grown?

SPEAKER_01 17:27

I don't think it's at least three or four inches, at least.

SPEAKER_02 17:31

Right. You know, so as you grow, you know, your spine angle change, like everything, everything changes. So we're we're battling two weird movement patterns, right? Two hypermobile joints, and we're combating or working against. I shouldn't say, I mean, obviously growth is good, but it obviously changes how you move. So, Eric, what would you say about that? Like, what would you what what did you see? What what did you witness? What what about that aspect of it?

SPEAKER_00 18:05

Well, you know, he he's you know, camera cutters like gunk. You know, he's still he's so tall and lanky, and like you talk about hypermobility with his elbow, and you know, his hip is bothering and his shoulder is bothering. But again, just going back to just getting in the reps, you know, the reps, reps, reps, and you know, it's not always about as many reps as possible, it's really about as many good reps as possible. You know, I'd rather I'd rather see somebody do eight good reps than 50 shitty, 50 crappy reps, you know.

SPEAKER_02 18:42

No, right. I mean, it is I I always say everyone's like, oh, practice makes perfect. I'm like, no, no, practice makes permanent, good practice makes perfect, right? So we always want to move as correct as humanly possible to get the the the most desired effect.

SPEAKER_00 19:01

Yeah, but you know, going back to you know, going through growth spurts and going through everything else that he was going through. You know, he worked hard with me out here every day. Um, I didn't I didn't need the exercises myself, but I did them with him, and it helps me. Uh, you know, I'm just an innocent bystander in all of this. Uh, you know, I'm not throwing like I used to, but you know, I'll tell I'll tell everybody. Uh I really four or five years ago, I wasn't sure if I could throw baseball again with uh with you know, I have an arthritic elve, a bone on the bone, uh missing by my outside, look at that. But you know, just doing all the exercises with Cameron. I think I can throw harder. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 19:50

Well, I love it. So Cameron, tell us about your results on the field.

On-Field Results: Command And Velo

SPEAKER_02 19:55

What what is what has happened to you? Give us give us your positive results.

SPEAKER_01 20:00

Both in the elbow and the hit, the thing has been a lot, a lot better. It's been a lot more manageable. And I've just been able to throw harder and move better, both feeling, pitching, and hitting. Just overall improvements in both my play, my pain, my enjoyment in the game, and how well I'm playing.

SPEAKER_00 20:16

And you know, down here they keep track of pitch count on the scoreboard. He's very efficient. You know, for four innings, he can throw 40-50 pitches and be fine, but there are times where he does get into trouble, and you know, his pitch count gets up around 65-70, but relatively you know, a little sore the next day, as I think is expected, but not like, oh my gosh, I'm in pain, so I need to go to the doctor.

SPEAKER_02 20:47

How is your command?

SPEAKER_00 20:50

A loss, it's excellent. That's why I can get through anything in 10, 15, 15. Economical. He's like Greg Maddox. He doesn't throw he throws harder than he used to after all of this.

SPEAKER_02 21:02

Well, that was my next question. What are the VLO numbers at?

SPEAKER_01 21:07

Uh we don't have a yeah, we don't we don't have a gun. It's definitely 1015 faster than how it was before.

SPEAKER_02 21:15

So you think you're 10 to 15 miles faster than you were before? Wow. Wow. Wow. That's impressive. That's impressive.

SPEAKER_00 21:28

You can swing the back too. I mean, that's been a bit your your strength at the point is improved too. I mean, you're hitting better much, much harder, exit, below, whatever, whatever would be. I mean, he's oh I know he almost killed me one day. Oh yeah, that's right.

SPEAKER_02 21:47

Weren't you hit by something in the face?

SPEAKER_00 21:49

Yeah, yeah. He got me and it was throwing and batting practice, and now I ate and threw a straw for about two months, but that's okay.

SPEAKER_02 21:57

That's what I thought. So, guys, if you if someone asked you, you know, called you up and said, you know, should I do velocity Rx? You know, what what was what you know? I'm thinking about doing some something else,

Advice For Players And Parents

SPEAKER_02 22:10

you know, why velocity RX? We'll start with Eric. Eric, what would you what would you tell them?

SPEAKER_00 22:16

I would say don't wait. Get in topic, Dr. Kevin as soon as you can. It just works. Sometimes you know, our cans raise it. Sometimes it's the simplest solution that works. And if you don't let Kevin work harder than you. If you work just as hard as the effort that Kevin puts in, you're gonna get the results that you're looking for. And I know I said it earlier, don't expect something overnight. You've got to put the work in. You have to. There's there's no other way to no other way to put you've got to put the work in, you've got to get the reps in, you gotta make sure they're great reps, quality reps. But I wouldn't wait. I would just get in touch with Dr. Camlets.

SPEAKER_02 23:01

Oh well. Cam, what would you tell one of your baseball buddies, one of your peers, what would you tell them?

SPEAKER_01 23:07

I doubt there's another program out there that explains everything as well as well as you did in your program does. I think your program helps set up consistency and it can almost guarantee results if you just stay consistent and do it every day and do it properly.

SPEAKER_02 23:25

I actually do guarantee results. I love it. Well, guys, is there anything else you would tell anyone out there before we go? And I I really appreciate you guys coming on and telling your story. This is great. This will help. This will help me with my mission to save one million arms. What would you what would you what would be your last comment to talk about?

SPEAKER_00 23:44

Oh, I think one of my favorite comments that you had for years, and again, I've known you for 20 years. You know, it's a it's amazing what you do to fix the injured. Imagine what you could do with somebody that's healthy.

SPEAKER_02 23:59

Ah, I love that. One of my favorite lines. Cam, what about you? What would you say?

SPEAKER_01 24:05

Just stay consistent. Even if you don't see results within a week, just give it at least a month and you'll you'll start to see results. Give it two months, and it'll be amazing

Final Thoughts And Website

SPEAKER_01 24:15

the different T T.

SPEAKER_02 24:16

I love it. Well, guys, thanks for coming on all the way from down in southern uh sunny North Carolina, and I appreciate it. And guys, for more information, visit velocityrx.org and help me save one million arms. Thanks for listening and check out our next episode.