Throwing vs. Pitching

Often I receive emails from prospective clients who have children that are 8 and 9 years of age asking what they can do to help their kids become pitchers.  The answer I always give them is, "don't make them pitchers, make them throwers."

If you have a young athlete at home (ages 6-9) who wants to become a major league pitcher someday,  enable your athlete to be a thrower first and a pitcher second.

It is very important to develop the athlete's throwing ability before ever thinking about the actual pitching process.  The most important activity to practice with a young athlete is how to properly throw a baseball.  Here are a few key components to becoming an effective thrower:

• Being athletic and using your body
• Rhythm, tempo and timing
• Grip
• Long toss
  

Being Athletic and Using Your Body

Being athletic and using your body to throw a baseball is very important when learning how to throw a baseball.  'All the body, all the time' is a great phrase to explain throwing.  Always moving your feet to throw and not just taking one step, being aggressive with your steps towards the target, and remaining sideways as you move towards your target are simple ways to explain this process.  A lot of the time pitchers make themselves into robots, thinking they need to look a certain way and be very controlled while on the mound.  But when you are young, if you learn to throw the baseball with aggression and with your whole body moving with you, it will be easier to make that a part of your pitching process later on.

Any young athlete should be able to notice the freedom they have when throwing with a friend and using all of their body.  Guide them toward feeling that same type of freedom when they get on the mound and see what they can come up with.  Most times the kids will be able to figure out what is best for them all by themselves.

Rhythm, Tempo and Timing
Rhythm, tempo and timing are three very important parts to the throw and can be learned at very young ages.  Try doing any type of drill but make sure the athlete is focusing on the fluidity of their movement––their rhythm––and how easy they can make the movement.

Running or skipping is a great way to illustrate tempo.  Show them examples of moving too slow, too fast and then a happy medium.  Let them figure out the right tempo while they throw a baseball.  If they move too slow or too fast they should be able to recognize that and feel what that is like.  Then help guide them towards that happy medium and ask them how their body and arm feel when they are throwing; they will be able to tell you exactly what worked and didn't work in each instance.

Timing refers to the process of taking the ball out of the glove and the time the athlete actually commits to the throw.  Taking the ball out of the glove too soon is a big problem young throwers seem to experience often.  Most people would think that taking the ball out of the glove early is better for young athletes to throw; they feel it helps get their arms into position to throw the baseball on time.

Watch your child throw and see what happens.  If you are looking at rhythm, tempo and timing, you will be able to determine the right time for the athlete to take the ball out of the glove.  The athletes will also be able to tell you whether they are on time for the throw.  Too early will feel slow and heavy, too late will feel rushed and out of control, but on time will feel just that.  It will feel smooth, easy and fluid and be very easy to notice.  

Grip

Always work with a traditional four-seam grip when developing a young athlete's arm strength.  If the athletes hand is too small you can always try a three finger grip.  Just make sure the thumb is underneath the baseball and cuts right through the middle of the ball.

If the athlete can do a traditional grip and has a big enough hand, make sure the thumb is directly in between the index and middle finger on the bottom part of the baseball.  Simply point the baseball at yourself to check and see if your grip is correct.  Rotation is the key when using the four-seam grip.  Your throwing partner should see nothing but white coming at them if you are throwing the ball correctly with proper spin and rotation.

Long Toss

Long toss is one of the most important components to becoming an effective thrower. Long toss is also the key to creating the arm endurance and strength that every pitcher needs.  Some people would say that long toss creates arm endurance but not arm strength.  Long toss creates arm endurance AND it can also increase arm strength.  However, if an athlete never increases the distance of their throws through long toss, they may never have the opportunity to throw with quality velocity on the mound.

In addition to getting the arm in shape, long toss can also be used to steadily increase the distance a thrower can actually throw a baseball.  If an athlete can throw a ball farther and farther as they use the long toss process, and is also able to use the athletic components in long toss and transfer that type of freedom to the mound, then the long toss will convert and the athlete will be able to throw the baseball harder when on the mound.  This explains why athletes can gain plenty of distance on a long toss throw but for some reason are not able to throw with any type of real velocity on the mound (they are not able to maintain the athletic movement and freedom they have in a long toss throw on the mound).

In other words, if an athlete never learns the ability to throw a ball far (master long toss), they most likely will never be able to throw a ball with significant velocity on the mound.  But if we can assist the athlete in creating as athletic of a throw on the mound as they use in long toss, it will transfer to the mound and the young athlete will be grateful for their long toss work.

Long toss is the most important technique that a young thrower can have.  The ability to throw the ball far and understand the importance of long toss is invaluable.  Avoid going too far into explaining the process;  help them to understand the importance of using the entire body aggressively to throw the baseball and throwing the ball as far as you can when doing long toss.  There is a complete art to long toss and it is a very satisfying and fun workout once the young athlete truly understands what long toss is all about.

Learning to be a Thrower
No matter the age, athleticism rules when you are an athlete and learning any type of sport.  The most athletic kids will almost always be the best players at a young age, but that won't always be the case. Provide your young athlete with the proper knowledge and time in order to learn how to be a thrower. Young athletes at ages 6-9 have plenty of time but also need to start throwing and developing their craft at an early age.  Remind your athlete that they don't need be in any rush to be the strongest, biggest, fastest kid on the field of play.  No need to be discouraged; just have fun and start the process to success.