4 Simple Yet Productive Youth Pitching Drills

By Steven Ellis, former Chicago Cubs pitching pro

I generally encourage youth baseball coaches to have practices for your pitchers and catchers without the rest of the team there. This can be done in pre-season practices and during the season. Since pitching is so important, the time taken to develop pitching skills in practice is always well spent.

The key to having quality pitching mechanics that will allow a youth baseball pitcher to throw strikes and be effective comes from being able to repeat his delivery. There are a number of youth pitching drills that coaches can have their pitchers do in proactive to help them achieve that.

Here are four youth pitching drills to help younger pitchers and kids learn proper pitching technique and good form.

One Knee Drill - Start with hands in glove rotate shoulders, hand out of glove point elbow (power T), fingers to sky, lead with heel, tuck elbow/glove follow through thumb to thigh.

Straddle Throw Drill - Feet parallel outside of shoulders, shoulder facing target, hands in glove, hand out of glove point elbow (power T), fingers to sky, lead with heel, tuck elbow/glove follow through thumb to thigh.

Cement Throw Drill - Feet slightly outside shoulders, chest facing target, hands in glove rotate shoulders, hand out of glove point elbow (power T), fingers to sky, lead with heel, tuck elbow/glove follow through thumb to thigh. Keep feet planted.

Balance Position Drill - Start from balance position (Step 3) hands in glove shoulder facing target, hand out of glove point elbow (power T), fingers to sky, tuck elbow/glove follow through thumb to thigh.

* Stay balanced and smooth.
* Don’t rush delivery.
* Keep eye on target.

One final note: When throwing the fastball, hold the baseball with two fingers with horseshoe facing first base side so four seams will rotate when ball is released.

Related Pitching Materials

Want to learn more about youth baseball pitching? Arm yourself with the most innovative and up-to-date baseball pitching training available. These related pitching materials from former Chicago Cubs pitching pro Steven Ellis are guaranteed to help you or the players you coach pitch better and reach the next level faster!

A complete training guide for youth pitchers ages 8-13 Title: TUFFCUFF Jr Author: Steven Ellis and Chris McCoy Spiral bound, 90 pages Price: $64.95 Avg rating: (156 reviews)

 

Learn essential baseball pitching tips for young players Title: Baseball Pitching Tips [NEW!] Author: Steven Ellis Ebook, 105 pages Price: $24.95 Avg rating: (143 reviews)

»  Discuss this baseball pitching article  »  Read more baseball pitching articles  »  See today's post on my pitching tips blog want a more explosive fastball? click here