My experience in baseball has encompassed many areas and reached great heights. I played the game professionally, I coached for three decades from the rookie leagues to the major leagues. After a near eight year run as a major league coach, I climbed back on the busses to coach in the minors once again last season. The little league fields have not escaped my coaching journey, my son played baseball from age seven to age twenty three. I have coached girls Fastpitch softball, my daughter was one bad ass Division I softball pitcher. My point of sharing these experiences is that the author of this article knows a lot about throwing a baseball or a softball for that matter. This article is not about me, it is about teaching kids how to throw properly it just happens to be written by a man who broadly smiles when his students improve.

Kids come in different sizes and shapes. They do come in varying measures of athleticism, These boys and girls have unique personalities and, this is an important and, they come with their own learning abilities and style. The hardest thing in coaching is finding ten different ways to say the same thing. A great coach establishes some kind of relationship with the athlete to where The coach has some idea of what makes the student tick. What other activities do they have in their lives? Another question that is important is, where has your young student been in their baseball classrooms. What I mean is, have they had a prior pitching or throwing coach. What did the coach teach? What is extremely common today is what have you learned on the internet about pitching or throwing a ball. There is so much information available, it is simply confusing. Many folks are capable of gathering data and information but few are capable of breaking it down to the student standing in front them, speaking that child’s language, creating drills that are individual for his or her needs.

When it comes to throwing, consider this lesson one. An assessment of a players skill level and athleticism can come from observing a simple dynamic warmup and by playing catch. Some youngsters can move on to the pitching portion of instruction. However, many children need help learning to fly ( throwing a ball with force and a smile). Throwing is a toe nail to finger nail movement. Each of the body parts in between play a key role. The way each of those body parts move is important , when they move, how much range of motion , how strong is each muscle or body part is crucial, as well.

I gain a lot of information by playing coach with the pitchers. And I have played catch with many little leaguers, major leaguers, softballers, major league all stars, and even a baseball Hall of Famer. There is a lot to be learned by paying catch, (please read Playing Catch and The Rhythm of the Universe, an article written by David Laurila on the Fan Graphs web site). I like to see how the pitcher is gripping the ball, this detail is very important. The grips effects the direction the ball spins, the grip can help or hinder the amount of spin and how the thrower commands the ball. Once, we have the correct grip, correcting the athlete from the ground up is the most effective methodology. Footwork is a critical cog in throwing powerfully and accurately. Time spent on developing elite footwork takes time, effort, patience but in the end we need this part of the foundation to be rock solid. The throwing side foot plays a big role. Teaching your thrower how it should work, what it feels like when done correctly is a big teaching moment. The lead leg action falls right in with the other moving parts of the throwing motion and gives the pitchers good direction towards the target and the landing leg will eventually stop the forceful momentum creating by the pitcher’s back side as the ball is delivered. Sounds complicated but it isn’t. The glove arm has a purpose and this is often taught incorrectly Think of this, the catcher has a hundred dollar bill in his mitt and as you begin your move towards home plate, the ball out f the glove- you are going to teach into that catchers mitt with your glove, get the hundo and put it in your shirt pocket. Simple stuff. The motion of the throwing arm needs some individualism to it. Remember, the length of this lever is always changing if the thrower is still growing. The best arm motions I have seen come from taking the ball from the glove with fingers on top. And think your throwing hand traveling in a circular motion back and then moving the arm forward. The best throws will come from your elbow passing the ear at shoulder height. Having you hand and fingers behind the ball at release is extremely important to a successful toss. Some throwers have found their ideal arm angle or arm slot by throwing balls heavier than baseballs, like a football. When thrown beautifully the football has a spiral. When using heavy balls, remember to use your baseballs at the end of the practice session. Let’s keep throwing fun, let’s have a growth mind set that everyone can improve and let’s teach with simplicity, passion, and facts.