Tips For Coaching Youth Baseball Pitching

By Steven Ellis, former Chicago Cubs pitching pro

It's easy to get bogged down with youth baseball pitching instruction at the little league level. Most kids are very new to pitching, uncoordinated, and generally just learning the fundamentals of pitching a baseball. As a coach, your number one priority should be to keep it simple, keep it fun and keep it relaxed.

Youth baseball pitching is all about getting strikes -- as fast and often as possible. Let's face it, anyone can wind himself up and uncork a fastball in the general direction of the batter's box. But the objective is to wing that ball into the strike zone; specifically that part of the strike zone where the pitch should be.

In general, youth baseball pitchers should throw their fastballs and change ups low through the center, high on the outside corner, past the belt inside, or wherever the catcher sets up his glove.

It no doubt takes skill to get good at youth baseball pitching, as well as years and years of practice, a lot of losing (and winning!) to prefect!

Youth Baseball Pitching Mechanics

In an effort to keep things simple, remember, pitching is, essentially broken down into four parts:

1. Windup

2. Delivery

3. Follow-through

4. Defense

The pitcher starts with his right foot touching the rubber. The windup begins. The right foot moves in front of the rubber as the left leg comes up and braces against the back leg. This is where the first weight shift occurs. Then the left leg kicks to increase momentum. The pitch comes over the top. Be sure upper arm and forearm are at right angles to each other and to the ground. Ball release begins at this point. Once the ball release is complete, the follow through begins and the pitcher gets into an infielder position.

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