Baseball pitching advice

[cm3504jm]

There is a lot of baseball pitchers on this board.

I need some advice.

My 9 y.o. son wants to pitch real bad. Good accuracy but could stand to throw a little harder.

What can he/I do to help him out?

Videos, websites, drills, excersises, etc.

Thank you for any advice. (He's in Fall league now)

 

[M.O.D]

when in doubt ask the goat slayer

 

[HamHock]

Good mechanics is key at that age. Leg drive, 90 degree angle in arm, overhand delivery, fingers down & through the ball at release. Good examples to follow: Roger Clemens, Curt Shilling.

Videos are good, but most of them are on fielding/hitting. Long toss is a good way to develop arm strength without resistance training.

 

[TxCollegeguy]

mechanics, teach him to start stretching really good. At his age overall fitness would do him more good.

just practice some pitching every so often. dont let him get overly wrapped up into it just yet

 

[ciscokid1]

I agree with Tantric, tell him if he really wants to be a pitcher hold off until high school. Save his arm. Tell not to throw curveballs 'til he is older. I learned to throw one around 10 and it was real good so I used it alot, by the time I was a senior in HS my arm constantly hurt and my fastball was topping out around 80 mph where teh previuos two years is was ussually around 85 mph. Then I played in college for 3 years but my arm hurt so bad I couldn't play my final year. So tell him to wait.

Look at the #9 pick in this years draft, Colt Griffin started pitching just this year and his fastball is around 100 mph

 

[manny78]

why dont you make him a knuckle ball expert ? accuracy and technique is everything needed.....

 

[rudedawg]

Rotator cuff exercises for a 9 year old?

I know your son wants to pitch now and that's cool, but almost every guy I played ball with who started pitching that young, had an elbow or shoulder injury before they were out of high school. If you want a long term (high school, college and beyond) career for your son as a pitcher, the best advice I can give is to keep him off the mound until he gets into high school.

The best advice for strengthening a throwing arm is to long toss. I don't know what impact it will have on him at the age of 9, but that's how you strengthen your arm.

When he is ready to pitch, teach him a changeup. A good changeup is more effective than a good breaking ball. Randy Johnson is a dominating pitcher, but over the long term Pedro Martinez and Greg Maddux have been far more effective. Why? They both have superior changeups. Plus, it's far easier on the arm.

I had Tommy John surgery in '99 due to years of throwing curveballs and sliders with no changeup to go with it. This was my first year back after my surgery and I had my best season in years. In our playoff game, I held the best team in the league to 2 earned runs. I threw 110 pitches: 64 fastballs, 34 changeups, 12 breaking balls. I wish I had developed a change when I was in high school.

Your arm is like everything else...... if ya don't use it you lose it. DOT is right on the money about long toss. At age 9 tho I am not sure how much arm strength he is going to be able to build. For the most part I believe being able to throw hard is God given. Of course you can add some strength to that but it is arm "speed" that makes it happen. Mechanics play a huge part in a healthy arm... if mechanics are bad it will be a lifelong pain in the arm..... I know I had bad mechanics..... herky, jerky type. My son is 8 and wants to throw all that bullshit too... curves, sliders, etc..... I told him fastballs and change-ups is all ya need..... hell he isn't even out of coach pitch yet.

Pitching is like real estate... Location, Location, Location!!!!!! Hitting is all timing so if you screw up a hitters timing he is screwed..... that's why you hear people talking about getting a hitter out on his front foot. Best pitch in baseball????



Strike ONE!!! Believe it or not when I was playing ('88 - '95) the average fastball in the big leagues was 85mph.

I don't agree with the not having him pitch philosophy..... that is how he will learn mechanics, game situations, what to throw and were in certain counts etc.....

 

[WarriorPL]

The kid should just keep practicing his pitch, and stick to the fastball. He should practice pitching year round.

I can reach the mid-high 80s one my fastball but my accuracy is just horrible, i can throw strikes but i throw wild pitches way too often, but i am only 16, im sure itll improve, i just recently started learning how to throw curve balls and sinkers,
I hope weight training will give me a faster pitch.

 

[Natymike]

cm-----long toss is the best way to increase velocity IMO. This is what my pitching coach did with us. By the way knew his shit--(Ray Knoblauch, Chucks dad)

Long toss = playing catch from FAR AWAY, start off 10 feet from each other, then back it up 10 feet, keep throwing, 10 more feet.....ect. Back it up as far as you can until he can't get the ball to you. Move it farther back week after week. Pretty soon he should be able to throw the ball a lot farther than he originally did. This is also how the outfielders strengthen their arms

This is the main drill that I was taught in high school. And we were ranked #1 in the Nation for 5A schools, they still are actually.

 

[TxCollegeguy]

Naty That was true until Klein won state back in 98