Coaching youth sports can be an interesting experience. One one hand, you want to make your young athletes the best they can be out on the playing field. However, you don't want to do anything which could risk their health. It is this reason that makes it so important how you treat young pitchers. The last thing you want to do is damage a young arm, after all. You also don't want the young athlete to not know the basics.
Instructions
1. Work on the mechanics from the mound with the young pitcher. Stress just how different it is to throw from a mound than from a flat surface. Teach the pitchers the proper way to wind up and deliver a baseball and do so without the player actually throwing a baseball. Make sure that the pitcher has his mechanics down to a science before he begins throwing from the mound.
2. Force your pitchers to practice placing pitches. A young pitcher isn't going to be able to fake a batter out with a breaking ball. Instead, he must be precise with where he places the ball. Conduct drills where the pitcher must throw the ball in an exact spot on five consecutive attempts. Then, move on to another spot.
3. Have your pitchers play catch as a way to strengthen their arms. Putting a youth pitcher through a vigorous strength training program is dangerous as you could injure the arm of the athlete. Simply playing a light game of catch will strengthen the appropriate muscles in the throwing arm without damaging it.
4. Teach your pitcher to trust the catcher. It is a catcher's job to call the pitches. While a pitcher can shake off his catcher every once in awhile, the pitcher must believe in his catcher's judgment or else there will be definite problems out on the field. Make your pitchers and catchers work with one another so they can get used to each other. In the same way, you should work with your catchers and teach them call an efficient game.
5. Show your young pitchers watch a runner on base. A common mistake that many adolescent pitchers make is forgetting about any batters which make their way onto the base paths. It's important that these young pitchers learn watch these base runners without losing focus on the batter at the plate. While doing this, you should also teach the proper way to attempt a pick-off play.
6. Never teach a breaking ball to your young pitchers. Chances are that your youth pitchers will want to emulate their idols by throwing sliders and curve balls. Emphasize to them that these pitches can severely damage a young arm, maybe even causing the player to need surgery. You should not just avoid teaching breaking balls to your young pitchers. Stop them from throwing these pitches as soon as they begin.
