Pitching and Pitchers Discussion Pitching question

I am starting a 9U travel team next year with basically a rec league all-star team. Some will be playing kid pitch for the first time. I have an extensive baseball background, but mostly at the college level - the young ones are new to me. Any recommendations on how much practice time to spend on pitching? We have three good 9U pitchers, but I am thinking of working with all of the kids. We will practice once a week this fall for two hours each week. I know there is a ton to teach them in all phases of the game, but I also know that if we can't throw strikes, we will have some long games. After the fall, we get one hour and a half practice a week through the winter. As with most kids this age, I have boys playing other sports so practice time is limited and I want to use it to our best advantage.

Any suggestions from those who have coached at this level?

As far as pitching mechanics at 9u here are some suggestions.
We practiced pitching extensively in the off season. How to address the pitchers plate, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd balance points. Windup and stretch. Start them from the stretch, it is easier to teach and kills two birds with one stone. Meaning they can pitch from the stretch any time. You have to work on holding runners. A lot of time is needed here. Video the kids now, that saves time fixing things and the parents can see what you are talking about.
Mechanics:
1. Correct grips for 4 seam and 2 seam fastballs. Change ups also if you are playing an advanced level.
2. Stride leg going up then down, then towards the target on the target line. Most kids have a "swinging gate" and open the hips way to early.
3. Correct hand break
4. Pulling the glove to the heart for efficiency and protection.
5. Print everything out so the moms and dads work with the kids at home correctly and do things how you want it done.
6. Teach all kids on team, they will sort themselves out and you will need them all to win tournaments.
7. Take your short stop and put him behind the plate. The ss will get 3 plays a game at his position, maybe affect a run or two, but the catcher will affect 5-6 runs a game with his recieving skills blocking balls and the confidence he gives the pitcher.

There is much much more but that s a good start.

Thanks for your input. I am not concerned with the teaching part - I was a college pitching coach for nine years. What I am concerned with is how much practice time I should devote to pitching versus the other aspects of the game. I have a couple of dads to help, but their knowledge is limited.

Some good ideas with the catcher and putting everything in writing for the parents. I will definitely do that.

My son played 8U kid pitch in Maryland before we moved to Ohio. I think you're right on track with teaching every kid to pitch. If you have a few that really don't want to do it, make them catch for the others. If I recall, we would use one third to one half of our off season practices for nothing but pitching.

The first year of kid pitch really demands a lot of time to get the boys to throw strikes. Half of your practices devoted to nothing but pitching for the entire team is not unreasonable.

bpm is correct. Devote at least %50 to develop your pitchers and catchers.At the age of nine, velocity is not nearly as important as location. If you force the other 9 years olds to beat you with the bat vs the walk, you will win 80-90% of your games. A bp fastball is a great pitch for 9 year olds if their hands are not big enough for a changeup.
Also, do not hesitate to employ your college drills with your players, the sooner you do it the sooner they do it CORRECTLY and get better. Plus it changes up practice when you do some different drills. Then have competitions, you will learn a lot there also.

Suggestion is to get 3 or 4 families that are ready to invest in their kids future and have a desire to pitch, and get with a local pitching instuctor and work out a group rate. There is no subsitute for a good pitching coach. As a kicker get 3 or 4 others to take up catching those girls will get some free pointers from the pitching instructor and these girls will become great teams. This will also allow the parents or even yourself to listen to what the instuctor is saying and be able to reinforce it in between lessons.

kned44 said:

Thanks for your input. I am not concerned with the teaching part - I was a college pitching coach for nine years. What I am concerned with is how much practice time I should devote to pitching versus the other aspects of the game. I have a couple of dads to help, but their knowledge is limited.

Some good ideas with the catcher and putting everything in writing for the parents. I will definitely do that.

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If you run each practice as stations with one station dedicated to pitching, then you will be able to maintain a small attentive audience, while working on other aspects of the game with the lesser experienced dad's. With your pitching experience should allow you 30 minutes each practice with every kid. While the other dad's work on hitting and fielding. Then you can instruct the parents to buy a throw down mound to put in the basement and have the kids go through the motions at least 2 times a week using a tennis ball to throw against the wall, unless they have enough room to throw live, and i'm sure you know the max reps for a 9 yr old. Good Luck!!

There is a difference in pitching baseball and softball.A BIG one.Let your pitchers get pitching coaches.Someone who is qualified in fastpitch.Let them lay a good foundation and go from there.Bad habits are hard to break so starting with a clean slate with the proper instruction will eleveate alot of those bad habits.From the start.
jmho

Um Toledoted, this is a thread on baseball, not softball.

But they're still good points...

And we need more visitors to the baseball section.