Teaching Youth Pitching
As a youth baseball coach, I am constantly asked by young players to let them
pitch or play catcher. Apparently, the catcher spot is a "cool" position,
since they get to wear all that "cool" catchers gear. Once they have had
some time behind the plate though (in July), the idea doesn't seem so "cool".
The pitcher spot is more difficult to discourage. In looking for
candidates to become pitchers, we first look for players with good arm strength.
You may notice during the early part of the practice season, we place all our
players at third base. We watch them, as they field grounders, and make the
throw to first base. Often the players think they are trying out for a
third base position. The drill actually evaluates their arm strength,
primarily, but also assesses their ability to field grounders. A third
evaluation is arm accuracy on the throw to first base.
We look at velocity. How quickly the ball gets to first base from
third base. Throwing accuracy can be taught, arm strength cannot.
 Once we identify the players with acceptable arm strength, we group them into
"now" pitchers (accuracy) and "future" pitchers in which accuracy can be
polished. The current Cubs roster has three "now" pitchers and three
'future" pitchers. Once these "future" pitchers develop accuracy, the Cubs will
become one of the most dominant teams in the county.
Recently, I asked our boys to tell me the two best pitches in baseball.
I heard the curve ball, the sinker, the fast ball, but all of these were the
wrong answer. The best pitch in baseball is the strike and the second best
pitch in baseball is the first strike. At this age, if a player can throw
a strike on the first pitch, the young batter will swing at bad pitches and help
the pitcher. If the first two pitches are outside the strike zone, the
young batter may not swing at any pitches, even if they are down the middle of
the strike zone.
Teaching youth to pitch is simply a matter of repetition and practice.
A player that truly wants to succeed at pitching will put the X-Box aside and
work on playing catch.
 I
still believe the "pitch-back" net remains the best tool for young players.
It helps them improve both their arm accuracy and their fielding skills. I
can remember many imaginary ball games I played with my pitch-back net as a
young ballplayer. These imaginary games enabled me to play every position on the
field, and I always had one of the most accurate arms in the league. When
I was 9 and made the 12 year-old "try-out" team, I was able to throw out
numerous players at third base from right-field. As I became older in this 12
yr. old league, I transitioned to second base, third base, then shortstop, but
the pitch back net (and my father hitting me thousands of ground balls) was the
primary reason, I was able to play and compete with these older boys.
I recommend every parent invest in a pitch-back net. Logan's net is a
permanent fixture in our front yard. In fact, when we give directions to
our house, the directions usually include "look for the house with the
pitch-back net in the front yard".
Take ribbon and weave through the netting to simulate the strike zone (Home
plate Five-sided, 17 inches by 8 1/2 inches by 8 1/2
 inches
by 12 inches by 12 inches, cut to a point at rear). The ribbon should be a
rectangle, that is 17" wide and extends about 12" from the ground to about 48"
from the ground to simulate a youth's strike zone.
Footwork
The first thing that should be taught to your young pitcher is proper footwork.
Footwork is the foundation for every 90 M.P.H. fastball. The table
below shows the placement of the feet. While proper technique is to step
behind the rubber with the landing foot, it is sometimes easier for a beginning
pitcher to step back, parallel to the rubber rather to step behind the rubber.
|
Start with
feet
beside one
another |
Rock back with
the landing
foot |
|
Lift the
landing foot
and bring the
landing foot
behind the
plant knee |
Step directly
toward
the plate with
the toes
pointing
toward the target. |
Here is the proper
footwork for players with advanced skills. This wind-up utilizes a step
behind the rubber rather than a step to the side of the rubber.
|
Start with
both feet on the
pitchers plate
(rubber) |
Rock back (behind rubber)
with the landing foot |
|
Turn plant
foot so that
it contacts
rubber |
Lift landing
foot and
bring behind
plant knee |
|
Step toward
the plant
with the toes
pointing at target |
Plant foot
should follow
through and
land in a catch
ready position
|
The wind-up will feel awkward at first. The two most important aspects
of the wind-up is the "push" or leverage a player gets with the plant foot (much
or the players power is generated with the "push" from the plant foot) and the
landing position of the landing foot. The landing foot should stride
toward the plate and the toes and heel should line up toward the target. The
plant foot should leave contact with the rubber as the landing foot contacts the
ground and the soles of the plant shoe should be skyward as the player follows
through with his throw. Often the plant foot will be in front of the
landing foot and the player should "hop" to align the feet (parallel). The
glove hand and throwing hand should be brought up in the "push" position to be
prepared to field balls hit back to the pitcher.
According to baseball rules their are two acceptable pitching deliveries
(positions); the Wind-up and the Stretch. For more complete descriptions
of these positions, visit
The Official Rules of Baseball Section 8.01
Having spent most of my playing days at shortstop, I never really had a grasp
of the subtleties of pitching. Several of my old Little League teammates
went on to pitch for the Mets, Cardinals, and Phillies and they have given me
hints in working with Logan to perfect his pitching effectiveness.
While I have always understood the importance of proper wind-up and other
mechanical skills, I had no idea that the grip of the ball could increase
velocity, enhance ball movement, and create better accuracy.
The first rule that each professional player instructs is NO CURVE BALLS
UNTIL THEIR SENIOR YEAR OF HIGH SCHOOL or after. Many professional
pitchers never develop a curve ball and most of the pitchers who manage to play
baseball into their late 30's are players that never though a curve ball.
They insist that (with proper grip) movement can be created without
throwing a curve ball and very, very few players who throw curve balls at a
young age advance past high school baseball. The way the ball is gripped
in relation to the threads and even the amount of pressure applied by each
finger can even have an influence on movement. Most also insist that the value
of the curve ball is it's change in speed in keeping batters off-balance, not
it's breaking action. This change in speed can be achieved with other
pitches that place less stress on the pitchers arm.
 The
four seam fastball (left) is the first
pitch a young player should develop. With the four finger fastball, the fingers should be closer together. The
wider the split between the fingers, the more velocity is lost. For
younger players with small hands, the index finger (pointer finger-shorter) should be
placed on the open (narrower) end of the threaded horseshoe (threads). The thumb
should be placed underneath the ball at the 6 o'clock position. A common mistake is to allow the
thumb to slide up on the side of the ball. The
four seam fast ball is a
pitch that is designed to go straight - little or no movement, but it is a very
accurate. Throw this pitch when you need a strike
The two-seam fast ball is designed to produce movement. Again the wider
the fingers, the more velocity is lost. A better description of each pitch
can be found below, but as you may be able to see from the picture (at left),
the two seam fastball places the thumb
in a five o'clock position (as opposed to a 6 o'clock position on the
four-seam fastball). This slightly
off-center grip produces the movement of the two
seam fastball.
With both fastballs, the less "skin" you have on the ball the more velocity
you will attain. This creates less friction or drag. The change-up,
on other hand, is attained by sinking the ball deep in the palm and putting more
skin on the ball. With the fastball, you want your fingers and calloused
part of your palm (top) gripping the ball. With both fastballs, a youth player
should learn to grip the ball softly (like an egg). Later, as they develop
more skill, they can apply pressure to change speed or apply more pressure to
one finger to create right or left movement.
The Four seam fastball is thrown by every Major league pitcher and is the 
staple pitch. It is the easiest pitch to throw for accuracy. The four
seam fastball is thrown at maximum velocity. The tips of the fingers
should lay in the valley of the threads. Notice that the thumb is in
the 6 o'clock position, as opposed to the two-seam fast ball (below) in
which the ball is held in more of a five o'clock position. Your middle 
finger should be nearest the "horseshoe". The four seam
fastball is not a breaking pitch, but some pitchers can get a rising motion
with this pitch. Change speeds by tightening and loosening the grip
and narrowing or widening the split between the fingers. A cut fast ball
uses the 4-seam thread placement but narrows the gap between the fingers
with more pressure on the index or middle finger which creates movement
(right or left) and the ball is gripped slightly off-center, depending on
which break you want.
The two seam fast ball provides more movement than the four seam fast
ball. While it is not a curve ball, it is the maximum velocity
pitch that will generate breaking action. The two fingers lay in the
valley of the two narrow seams and the ball is released in the same manner
in which the four seam fastball is released, However, you may notice a
slightly different fingergrip.png)
positioning if you look closely at the two finger versus the four finger
grip. While the thumb is located in the 6 o'clock position on the four
seam, the thumb is slightly to the 5 o'clock position on the two seam.
The different grip gives the ball a slightly off center spin, which creates a breaking
action. Some pitchers have even discovered that
applying slight pressure
on one finger or the other can create right or left ball movement. The
two seam fast ball produces more of a sinking motion, as opposed to the four
seam which can produce more of a rising motion. The two seam is
slightly more difficult to control than the four seam. The different spin
gives the batter at slightly different look at the ball as well.
The two seam fastball and the cut fastball do not have to be strikeout
pitches. You want to create just enough movement to make the batter
hit the ball slightly off-center. This produces ground balls or
non-solid contact. Both of these pitches (all pitches for that matter)
are much more effective once the pitcher is able to throw the 4-seam
fastball for strikes. The batter will not expect the ball to move or
change speed if the pitcher has complete control of the 4 seam fastball.
See video for cut fastball.
The change-up is the best pitch in baseball. You don't need curve
balls or knuckle balls, if you mix in a good change-up and change speeds on
your fastball. The batter will be so confused, his timing will never
be the same.
Timing is everything to a hitter and most hitting slumps are a matter of timing
distortions-not mechanics.
The guys who throw 95 m.p.h. on every pitch can get rocked, but the pitcher
that can go from 90 to 70 to 85 to 75 on successive pitches will keep
batters off balance and in the dugout. A few years ago, the Braves had
a pitcher who could throw 101 m.p.h. of which there were probably 2 people
that could this. He only could be used in short relief and never made
it because he could never develop a change-up to change speeds. He
eventually got rocked. (Tracy Rocker). Throwing a fastball after a
change up makes the fastball appear twice as fast. Add a high high
fastball, which youth can rarely catch up to (even without a change up), and
you develop an unhittable fastball.
For a Youth pitcher, the change up must be thrown often in order to
develop it. However, once perfected it must be used sparingly, at the right
time, to fool the hitter. The important component of the
changeup is it MUST look like a fastball during the windup and delivery.
Where the fastball exerts ball pressure on a narrow area, the circle change uses
spread fingers and a tighter grip to reduce the force coming from the hand.
This spreading of pressure across a larger ball area sufficiently reduces
velocity enough to encourage batters to move forward into their launch
position earlier. They may still make contact with the ball, but
without (having already committed) hip and leg action, they typically
produce power with arms swings only. While some pitchers with a good
fastball may use the change-up as a strike-out pitch, many use it to set up
another pitch such as a high fastball, a slider, or split finger.
Changing speeds helps prevent batters from making good solid contact because
they must "hold back" their swing (launch) in order to judge pitch speed.
Batters that do make solid contact against pitchers who change speeds often
will tell you they were "looking for a pitch" (guessing). A pitcher must be
smart about not falling into a pitch order routine. This is part of
the unseen "cat and mouse" game of baseball and why it is the
greatest game ever played.
Avg. Change-up Speed - 7-10 m.p.h. slower than fast ball
The spilt finger fastball has become the hottest pitch in baseball and
one of the most difficult to learn effectively. It's characteristic is that
it dives down at the last moment and misses the players bat and usually
dives into the dirt. It is
thrown the same as a fast
ball, but is held with the two fingers outside the two narrow seams. Thumb
position is the same as the two seam fast ball in the 5 o'clock position and
the thumb is usually placed on the threads.
Bruce Sutter (Cubs) was one of the first players that I can remember to
master the Split-finger fastball and he became so good at it that he would
throw it on every pitch. He would throw fastballs at the knees and
players would not swing because they thought it was the splitter and the
ball was going to dive off the table into the dirt.
Like the change-up, the split finger fastball drops in velocity from the
fastball (4-6 m.p.h.), but not nearly as much as the change-up (7-10
m.p.h.). Any pitcher could survive with a good fastball, a change-up,
and a split finger fastball without the arm difficulties typically
associated with a curve ball. Learning a good hard slider complements
this repertoire and complicates the guessing game.
Avg. Speed - 4-6 m.p.h. slower than fast ball
The slider is NOT the same as a curve ball and is much less damaging to
the arm and elbow. It DOES NOT use a twisting motion of the wrist or
elbow and relies on wind resistance and downward finger roll at the release
to obtain breaking action. Youth should NEVER throw curve balls.
Adults should never throw curve balls for that matter. 90% of
pitchers who throw curve balls with regularity will either require elbow
surgery or have shortened careers. Kids who throw curve balls will
rarely make it into or past High School ball. Coaches will use them,
burn them up, burn them out, and move on. However, at some point kids
won't listen. If a parent has no influence, a coach can only
advise. It is startling that most kids in the Little League World
Series throw curve balls, but none of these phenoms have ever made it to the
major leagues!
The slider is the second fastest pitch that most pitchers throw. It
relies on a tight spin like a fast ball that breaks down and away (rightie
vs. rightie) at the very last moment. Like the split finger, the later
the break, the better the pitch. While the curve ball provides a
sweeping action, the slider is more abrupt down and away. With the
slider, the pitcher uses the leverage of the seam against his fingers and
downward motion of his release. The ball is gripped along the seam and
slightly off-center, almost as if trying to pinch off 30-40% of the ball
rather than 50-50. This uneven grip creates an irregular rotation
using the fastball release.
Avg. Speed - 4-6 m.p.h. slower than fast ball
The knuckle ball is probably the most difficult pitch to master, but
those old enough to remember Hoyt Wilhelm and Phil Niekro, when they pitched
for the Braves, (or Tim Wakefield of today) will remember alot of silly looking batters
 and
two pitchers who pitched to near 50 years old. Both of these pitchers
threw 80-85% knuckle balls and their fast balls were thrown simply as a
change of speed like many pitchers use their change-up today. However, On
some
nights the knuckler would "knuckle" and other nights it would not. On
some nights it would "knuckle" so much that three catchers could not have
fielded the ball and other nights it was a thing of sheer beauty. The
knuckle ball is known for erratic movement and will move up, down, right,
left, sideways, and sometimes all on the same pitch. On some nights
the only hope to hit it was to stand in bunt position and take a half swing
to try to poke the ball over the infielders head. In most cases, MLB
players would say, with a knuckle ball, you should take your three swings
and sit down. If you hit it you had to stand on the bases, and hope the
catcher missed the ball so you could advance to the next base, because the
next batter probably would not move you up.
The knuckle ball is held by the finger nails and finger tips in the
valley of the horseshoe thread and anchored by the thumb in the 4 o'clock
position. The knuckleball is pushed straight out on release with no
wrist action or no downward motion. This creates little or no
spin and air resistance will create movement. The knuckle ball is
thrown anywhere from 50-70 m.p.h. Even an old batting practice coach
could extend his career with this pitch.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, more than 4.8 million
kids will play youth baseball this year. 162,000 will end up in
emergency rooms. As a result of overuse, curve balls, and other
inappropriate techniques the requirement for Tommy John surgery (collateral
ligament reconstruction) has grown six-fold among 12 year olds. This
procedure involves taking a ligament or tendon from another limb (forearm,
hamstring, knee, foot) . The procedure requires drilling holes through
the two bones where the new ligament will be attached and weaving the
harvested ligament through these bones. It is a very painful procedure
which requires months of therapy. It requires about 12 months of rehab
for pitchers and 6 months of rehab for position players (top notch, highly
conditioned athletes) to recover from this surgery.
Due to bone growth plate development in youth, young pitchers are much
more susceptible to these types of injury. Every Orthopedic Surgeon has
detailed information on how to throw a curve ball for youth. I'm sure
your Pediatric or Orthopedic Surgeon would be happy to show your child how
this can be done and the consequences of a parent allowing their child to
throw this pitch. However, "Someone has to be the parent and provide
guidance". After a season of Travel Ball I have seen many coaches who
simply burn up the kids they have and recruit more. It's one thing for
a coach to allow a player to throw a curve ball- we have limited control of
a child and parents actions. However, I have seen many coaches who
give the pitching signs to the pitcher and catcher for the next pitch that
is to be thrown. I have witnessed some coaches give the curve ball
sign 3-4 pitches in a row. The best part about the curve ball is it's
change of speed, which can be accomplished without twisting the elbow and
wrist. The worst part about the curve ball is if a 10-12 year old child
throws it with regularity, he has an 70% chance of never pitching past his
16th birthday. For a list of players who have required
Tommy John Surgery, see the list at
the bottom of the page.
When you get on the mound, have you thought through how you are going to
pitch to the opposing team?
You may have a plan for certain hitter, but you must also have an overall
plan that you can use throughout the game. You need to think through your
strategy and have a basic philosophy that you can modify for each game. In
youth baseball the first strike is the most important pitch. Most runs
score from runners who reach base through walks.
The main purpose of a pitching plan is to keep the opposing team off balance.
They shouldn't step into the box and know that the first pitch is going to
be a fastball, or if you get ahead in the count you usually throw an
off-speed pitch. You want them to off balance and not sure what you are
going to throw in any given situation.
So what are some things you can add to your basic pitching strategy?
- Get ahead of the hitters!!! Hitters start drooling when they step in
the box with a 2-0, 3-0, or 3-1 count. They know you are limited with
what you can do and you have to throw a strike. They will often shrink
their zone and if you throw it in that zone, look out. Your pitching
strategy should always be to get ahead of the hitters. In every
league, at every age, a player will swing at bad pitches when they have
two strikes on them. Even if they make contact with a pitch out of
the strike zone, it rarely goes anywhere. A lot of younger hitters
will not swing until the first strike has been called. If the
first pitch is a strike, it changes their entire hitting strategy.
They will usually take a swing at the second pitch if it's close to the
strike zone and swing at just about everything on an 0-2 count.
- Change speeds often, but don't fall into a pattern. Your goal
shouldn't be to change speeds on every pitch, but to keep the hitters
guessing. If you always follow a fastball with an off-speed pitch, then
the hitters will learn that pattern and be expecting an off-speed pitch
after each fastball. Changing speeds is one of the most important
pitches from youth baseball through major league baseball. A curve
ball is not necessary if you can keep batters off-balance with a good
change-up. The change-up will prevent batters from timing your
pitches and limit solid contact.
- Vary pitch location. In addition to varying the pitches you throw,
you'll also want to vary the location. It's nice if you have the control
to throw the ball at the knees on a consistent basis, but being able to
run the ball up in the strike zone can be effective and keep the hitters
off guard. In youth baseball, a batter with two strikes will swing at
pitches at his shoulders, if it is across the plate, and these players
can rarely catch up to a high fastball. The same can be said for pitching on the inside or outside
part of the plate. If you consistently throw the ball over the same half
of the plate, the hitters will adjust and look for the ball in that
location.
- Pitch inside with your fastball. See if the hitters can handle the
inside heat. This is a difficult pitch for most hitters to handle and it
is the pitch they will be forced to look for on every pitch if you
establish it. As you can imagine, if the hitter is looking for the
inside fastball, all other pitches and locations will have a better
chance of keeping the hitter off balance.
- Throw your fastball with different grips. Come in sometimes with a
4-seam fastball and sometimes throw a 2-seam fastball to get some
movement. Hitters can adjust to a pitcher that always throw a 2-seam
fastball that breaks the same way each time. Give them different looks
to your fastball and they'll think your fastball is jumping.
Once you have a basic pitching strategy, then you can adapt that for each
game. Why would it change from game to game? The primary reason will be the
type of stuff you have on a particular day? Each day is different and you
need to be prepared to battle on days when you don't feel like you're
throwing the ball very well. One day you may have all your pitches and you
can throw them all for strikes. On another day your fastball may be average
and your having trouble throwing your off-speed pitch for a strike. Days
like that are going to test your mental toughness. Can you battle on those
days and still be successful and give your team a chance to win? Mentally
tough pitchers will. Fielding The Pitcher Position
After each pitch is thrown, the pitcher becomes a plain old infielder and
he must learn to field the position. Like the third baseman, whose
primary duty is to not allow the shortstop to catch anything (by cutting off
everything he can), the pitcher should make every play he can make.
The throw to every base is shorter from the mound and typically (you would
hope), your pitcher has the most accurate arm on your team. Also, by
cutting off ground balls at the mound, you cut 5-6 steps from the runner
heading to the base. If you look above at the proper footwork diagram for
the wind-up, Step 6 shows the pitcher ending the wind up with both feet
side-by-side. This doesn't happen naturally and not by accident.
The trailing follow through leg will typically end up ahead (toward the
plate) of the landing foot at the finish of the wind up. In order to
prepare to field the ball, the pitcher must perform a bounce hop to square
his feet. The pitcher should then be in a palms out position and be
ready to catch line drives that come back. An especially important
position if the youth has lost his baby teeth. While youth ball is
typically played a little differently than older baseball, the Youth pitcher
may or may not be asked to cover first base, so he must be ready.
Usually in youth ball, the second baseman covers the bag due to the short
distance between home and first base. However, as youth get older and
base path distance is extended, the pitcher will be expected to cover first.
When a runner is on third base, the pitcher must cover the plate on passed
balls and he must get there quickly. In youth ball, this is the most
important fielding duty a pitcher can perform because this is where the
majority of runs are scored. Depending on your catcher and the situation,
you may want your pitcher to field most bunts. A sharp catcher will be
off with the crack of the bat, but any delay in youth ball will create a
base runner or wild throw from the catcher. Common sense tells you that
since the catchers momentum is moving forward, he is the best fielder to
make the play, but common sense is not always applicable in youth ball due
to a variety of skill levels The catcher should be the signal caller
in bunt fielding situations.
Professional Baseball Players who Required Tommy John Surgery
All are
pitchers unless otherwise noted.
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