How to Teach a Kid to Pitch Baseball
To teach kids and young players baseball pitching more efficiently, you need to start with the fundamental throwing techniques. Since pitching is an advanced baseball throwing method, the best way of teaching it is by concentrating on the fundamentals instead of directly jumping into the technique. If you want to know how to teach a kid to pitch baseball, this post is for you!
The main focus of teaching kids how to pitch baseball is by making them learn the necessity of using the entire body to throw with the stress on the lower body to produce strength. Here are some tips for doing it right:
1. Start with the Basics
Young baseball players are around 8-9 years old, and they must know the basics of throwing and catching down. If you work with kids with good arms, place them on the mound and begin tossing. Instead of teaching a new pitcher a complete windup, let them start from the beginning, take small leg kicks, step with lead legs and push off from the back. You must control the mechanics slowly and seek good arm slots. Moreover, concentrate on their landing and follow-through.
2. Strikes Are More Essential Than Strikeouts
Kid players seek to throw heat on the mound. So, they may lose control by overthrowing the ball. However, they can avoid it by repeatedly reinforcing by focusing on strikes and no strikeouts. The most regular pitchers get the sure success.
3. Focus on Posture
Every coach sees some common mistakes in kid players. Pitching posture is one of them. Sometimes, young pitchers don’t bend their bodies in the follow-through; hence, the ball rises. Coaches should get them to emphasize a regular arm motion and complete follow-through. It will help keep them in the strike zone and the ball down. More significantly, concentrating on using the lower half will help kids from hurting their arms.
4. Observe the Pitch Count Minutely
Pitching is a repetitive process. Hence, if you want to teach young baseball players, they will need to throw many pitches. However, throwing a lot can undoubtedly exhaust their arms, regardless of how much they wish to return to the mound. Most young leagues have the maximum pitch count for the players in a game: for 10 to 12 years old (upper divisions) kids, it is 85, and for 8 to 9 year-olds, it is 65. In the major leagues, beginning pitchers hardly pitch more than once every five days. So, remember the same for minor leagues also.
Conclusion
The biggest obstacle for kids to learn is throwing the baseball directly from the ground and working on the arm actions. If you know how to teach a kid to pitch baseball, you can ease their learning process while setting them on the correct path. If you want to teach young players using pitching devices, it’s high time to check ProBatter’s professional pitching machines. These devices are ideal for experts and beginners. Feel free to check their website to know more about these devices.
