Proper Techniques and Drills

Proper Throwing Technique

at the bottom, pinky on the side;

b) Use a two-step throw: turn and plant the right foot (if right handed) with instep pointed at target,

then lift left foot (if left handed, reverse);

c) Point left shoulder at target so shoulders are parallel to throw and lock eyes on target;

d) Lift both hands with ball in mitt to chest height in front of chest;

e) Separate arms, swinging throwing arm down and back with thumb behind the ball (away from body), fingers pointed up and away, and elbow above shoulder, glove arm in front of body pointing at target

f) Step towards target with left foot;

g) Rotate throwing arm forward, releasing ball in front of body with wrist snap;

h) Follow through with throwing hand towards target.

• 
  The “two-step” throw will be too complicated to learn all at once. Start them out from step c) above: get them into a T position, lift front foot and then step and throw. Then use a progression to get them to a full two-step motion by the end of the season.
  
• 
  Separate throwing from catching. Lining up 5, 6 and 7 year olds playing in two rows to play catch with each other is counterproductive. Until kids learn to catch, they’ll spend much more time chasing balls than actually throwing. Give them each a bucket of balls and have them throw at a stationary target instead: a carpet square on a fence or a bucket, or – for the youngest kids – a blow up animal or toy works great. Then have all the kids run out with their buckets and pick up all the balls and repeat the drill
  

Suggested Drills

Basic Throwing (All) Line up players in two lines (i.e. throwing partners) 10-15 feet apart

Coach calls out steps as follows (per above throwing instructions)

• 
  Grip
  
• 
  Right Foot
  
• 
  Left Foot
  
• 
  Point Shoulder
  
• 
  Lift
  
• 
  Separate
  
• 
  Step and Throw
  

Additional Suggestions

• 
  Require that the ball is thrown and caught 10 times without dropping before ending drill for all
  
• 
  Competition for most consecutive throws without a drop
  
• 
  Competition to 10 throws without drop, sit down when they have completed 10 consecutive throws without a drop, if they drop they start over, last three teams do 10 pushups
  
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  Have coach doing something funny (wear hat backwards, run the bases etc.) if everyone does 10 without dropping
  
• 
  Have each line step back to make throws longer and harder
  
• 
  Add in base tagging motion to develop kids’ ability to throw low for a tag out (feel free to make it a competition with points for good throws.)
  

Coaching Tips

• 
  To help kids release ahead of their shoulder, challenge them to “see how long you can hold on to it”; have them practice throwing straight down into the ground (“see how high you can get it to bounce”)
  
• 
  To reinforce proper throwing motion, hold their arm in front of them, elbow up, and slowly extend arm;
  
• 
  When watching kids throw, the proper motion should result in backspin;
  
• 
  When a kid misses a throw, instead of going to get the ball, have a coach ready with a bucket of balls to replace it. The assistant coaches can pick up the missed balls during transition.
  

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