Pitching - 11 Essential Pitching Tips
These tips are geared toward little league players and coaches. They provide an excellent foundation from which a youth player can become a better pitcher.
1. To develop arm strength you need to throw — and throw often. Play catch during the season, and continue the program in the off-season. I cannot emphasize this enough: Nothing will develop and strengthen a youngster's arm more than just plain-old throwing! If you want to play "long toss," go ahead. But keep it to once or twice a week, and keep the distance to no more than 120 feet and for no more than 5 to 8 minutes. Once a youngster starts throwing greater distance (i.e., beyond 120 feet), his throwing mechanics begin to change and there is the risk of causing arm problems, if you are not careful. Many old-time major league pitchers didn't do long toss as a kid, like Nolan Ryan. My point is to err on the side of caution. Playing catch with dad at 60 feet is pretty safe and will go a long way in strengthening a young arm. Besides, it's a lot of fun!
2. Analyze your pitching mechanics carefully with someone who is competent to help you. The videotaping is crucial.
3. Develop good arm action and a good throwing motion. Practice in front of a mirror. Videotape yourself. Analyze carefully with someone who is competent to help you. The videotaping is crucial. You will learn much about your pitching by doing so. Trying to "eyeball" your pitching mechanics is a no-no. You don't always see what you see and many times you see what you don't see!
4. Maintain your own "style" but learn good mechanics and stick with it. You need not develop the same style as every other kid. "Cloning" is not the answer. Respect and work with your body type. Just make sure that you are following those areas that are a must for good mechanics. These are the absolutes!
5. Have a desire to pitch! Pitch because you love to do so and not because of pressure from others. You cannot be a good pitcher if your heart is not in it.
6. Stay in shape. Do other forms of athletic activities. A pitcher must be in good condition year round. Youngsters under 12 years of age should not be "pumping iron". Yet, exercises with a pair of very light dumbbells (under 3 lbs.) in conjunction with "Jobe" exercises can be very helpful. But make sure you can do at least 10 reps and limit it to 2 to 3 sets. Do 4 to 6 exercises at most. Don't go bonkers ... a 20 to 30 minute conditioning program is plenty at this age. Also do some running, stretching, etc. Always be careful and think about "growth plates". We don't want to cause damage to young players developing muscular and skeletal structures.
7. Create good habits to help your overall throwing motion and your mechanics. It is imperative that you learn the proper motions early on. Developing “bad” habits makes it all the more difficult to learn the correct ones, because first you have to undo the wrong ones before you can proceed to burning in the muscle memory of the correct way.
8. Always maintain your poise and keep a positive attitude. Learn to keep “cool" in the face of adversity. Working on your mental skills is as important as your physical skills. Understand that when you are thinking negative or emotionally you are working against yourself. This cannot help your game. Good mental mechanics is crucial to succeed.
9. Stay focused on becoming a better pitcher and work hard on it every day that you can. Work on one aspect at a time with your pitching mechanics. Always work from the ground up. In other words, no sense working on your release if your foot work is incorrect. Take a step-by-step approach. New skills take time to learn and pitching is mainly skill. Be patient but diligent. Always work on technique when the body and mind are alert and fresh. Never work on new skills when you are tired or fatigued. Set short and attainable goals. Be happy with your progress but continue to challenge yourself.
10. Learn to eat well. Good nutrition plays a fundamentally important role in your overall health and will aid you in making good and steady progress. Don't expect the body and mind to develop and respond the way you want without the proper nourishment that it takes to get there.
11. From a coach and/or parent standpoint, make a lasting and positive impression on your players, do your coaching in practice, and let them play the game! Understand that in the middle of the last inning with the bases loaded, and the game on the line, is not the time to teach your pitcher mental mechanics or how to stride.
To summarize: A physically complete pitcher needs to be involved in a good flexibility and conditioning program in order to develop arm strength. It is this combination of strength and flexibility — along with proper pitching mechanics — that equates to pitching velocity.
Coach Joe Hernandez played double-A baseball and has been a youth baseball coach for 25 years. He has written numerous articles covering all aspects of baseball on his forthcoming website, www.seetheball.org.