Six Things To Improve Little League Pitching Mechanics, Velocity And Control Problems

Six Things That Quickly Fix Little League Pitcher’s Mechanics And Control Problems

Let’s face it…we all want our sons, who are Little League pitchers to succeed. We know that their success will be dependent on their ability to have good control so they are able to throw strikes.

If Little League pitchers can’t throw strikes they will not get much of an opportunity to pitch. Plus it’s not much fun pitching when you are walking everybody.

But, besides having decent control, we want Little League pitchers to be able to throw with good velocity without risking an arm injury. If they can accomplish these three things…pitching velocity, control without risking injury then they will have a fun experience as pitchers.

What is it then that creates all these problems for Little League pitchers who can’t throw strikes, who don’t have good velocity or who are constantly complaining of a sore arm?

“Over-coaching” Has Ruined Thousands Of Pitchers

The biggest problem is “over-coaching”. Over-coaching is simply instructing aspects of pitching that make pitching much too complicated. After all, isn’t throwing supposed to be a natural activity. If you tell your son to pick up a rock and throw it at a mailbox, won’t he do that naturally. Will you actually have to coach him in how to do that. Not likely. He will pick up the rock, look at the target (the mailbox) and will throw the rock without thinking about anything else except hitting the darn mailbox.

If he misses the mailbox there are things we can do to help him improve on the next try…such as step right toward the mailbox or even step further out as he are getting ready to throw. We can even tell him to “see” himself hitting the mailbox with this next throw by playing a little mental movie in his head or hearing and seeing that rock go right square in the center of that mailbox…all before he even attempts the throw.

What if he is not able to even reach the mailbox with his throw. We could tell him to step out faster and further using a longer step while directing his body right at the mailbox. Notice we have not told him anything to do with his arms.

Why? Because it’s the body that delivers the arm that delivers the rock. And the body is almost totally responsible for producing the energy to let the arm throw the rock to hit the mailbox.

Now if we apply this line of thinking to help Little League pitchers improve their control and velocity…we will be able to improve many pitcher’s performances very quickly…all without wasting time with foolish pitching drills.

Why Pitching Drills Kill Natural Throwing Actions

Pitching drills produce slow, robotic and over-thinking Little League pitchers who end up worrying so much about all the parts of their body that they are never able to throw naturally..as they would if they picked up a rock to hit that mailbox. Pitching drills which are a big part of “over-coaching” and actually disrupt natural throwing actions.

In 2004 I stopped recommending the use of pitching drills to all our clients because the sports science research was overwhelmingly against them. At that point I believe we had close to 12,000 who were on our program. Since 2004 the additional 8,000 plus who have used our program also have had success without doing one pitching drill.

OK, so what can you do right now if your son is having control problems or is aiming the ball or needs to improve his velocity or get rid of a constant sore arm.

First of all stop all pitching drills. Get out your camcorder and if you don’t have one…invest in one immediately.

Interestingly, velocity and control problems are the result of similar mechanical faults. Aiming occurs when the pitcher believes that throwing is all about what the arm is doing instead of focusing on what the entire body should be doing. Once a pitcher gets his body moving faster and fully understands simple pitching mechanics…he will not aim the ball.

Move Faster Into A Longer Stride For Better Control And Velocity

If I hear parents complaining to me about their son’s velocity whether he is in Little League (or college)…I know two things without even seeing him pitch. He is moving his body too slow (because of foolish drills or over-coaching) and his stride is too short.

I spoke to a client yesterday who has a 12 year old. By simply improving those two things his son picked up 5 mph on his fastball in one week. One week. I have seen many add over 10 mph in just a couple of weeks.

The other important aspect for immediate improvement is to step in a direct like toward the target.

Step Directly Toward The Target

So have the pitcher do the final thing I suggested for hitting that mailbox. Step and direct your entire body directly at the target. In fact, anytime I do lessons, I always draw what is called the “mid-line”. It’s a line from the ball of the pitcher’s support foot (back foot) right toward the middle of home plate. You want your son or your pitchers to land on that line of slightly to the open side of the line…but never across that line. The foot should be either pointed at the plate or at a slight angle

And let me add one more important thing. Make sure that the pitcher strides out far enough to land on a flexed front leg. If he lands on a stiff or straight front leg that will not only reduce velocity but will really interfere with control while adding stress to the arm.

How do you get him to stride further out? Just have him move his body faster. Yes…have him drive his body away from the rubber.

Now here is a little advanced tip. When you have him drive his body away from the rubber (yes push-off the rubber) make sure his front hip moves out ahead of his front shoulder. So in other words you want him to lead with his front hip. In order to drive away from the rubber make sure he gets enough bend in his back leg.

OK…that’s it. I just helped you solve three Little League pitching problems fast…velocity, control and reducing arm injuries.

Again…here is what you want them to do to improve their velocity and control:

1. Move their body faster
2. Drive away from the rubber leading with the front hip
3. Stride out longer
4. Land on a flexed front leg
5. Direct the body right at the target
6. Land on the mid-line

There is more to help create more long term improvement…once you learn correct upper and lower body mechanics and get used to regular videotaping. But you will find that improving pitching performance for every pitcher is far easier than you have been led to believe. Remember what is the biggest cause of pitching problems – “over-coaching.” And over-coaching usually means lots of slow actions from pitching drills.

To throw with better velocity and control…the pitcher must move his body faster.