Coaching Pitching: 3 Tips For Coaching Youth Baseball Pitchers

Tom House has said that the most important role of a baseball coach at any level is to simply make each player want to play baseball next season. Let's build on this idea. Here are three pitching coaching tips for parents and coaches of youth baseball pitchers:

1. Make sure your pitchers are having fun. Seriously. It needs to be enjoyable.

2. Make sure your pitchers are prepared. If they are fatigued they are at-risk of getting injured. If they lack experience they may resist the mound for the rest of their careers because of one miserable outing. Plenty of rest and adequate practice can make all the difference in a young pitcher.

3. Make sure your pitchers are given the freedom to fail. Every pitcher, even the very best of pitchers, will fail. It is part of the game and the reality of it needs to be recognized. Having unrealistic expectations for a perfect inning, outing or season puts unnecessary pressure on a pitcher and can take the enjoyment out of competing.

Guest Post: Helpful Advice For Baseball Players Who Catch And Pitch

Jeff Moree, a senior high school pitcher at Carmel Catholic, in Illinois, submitted this article on catching and pitching. Good advice! As always, I encourage you to submit your articles, details here.

For as far back as I can remember I played both catcher and pitcher. I never really thought anything of it until I became a sophomore in high school. It was at this time that I was moved up to the Varsity level as a pitcher. The coaches decided it would be better for me in the long run if I give up catching.

The catcher and pitcher are the positions that require the most throwing. It was not uncommon for me to pitch the first game in a double header, and then catch the second game. Doing the math, that is well over 200 throws in a day…not exactly good for your arm. When I was moved up to Varsity, I became a pitcher-only player. This was a huge change for me, as I was so used to playing nearly every inning. I was now playing once every 3 or 4 games, sometimes seeing only 3 innings in that game.

I came to the realization that this was to be my future in baseball, and I must accept it for what it is. I told myself that what I was doing was the best decision for my arm’s health, and it would allow me to focus on my talent for pitching. By sacrificing catching, I was able to devote a lot more time on my pitching mechanics, pickoffs, learning a fourth pitch, etc.

From this situation, I have learned that baseball is full of curveballs, and if you don’t learn to hit the junk thrown at you, it will be difficult to succeed. I was thrown a curveball which forced me to give up catching as a second position. However, I saw it as an opportunity and ended up becoming a more successful pitcher.

If you do choose to play both positions, always be sure you are getting enough rest. Never pitch and catch on the same day, and don’t catch the day after you pitch several innings. If you over throw, you will eventually run into arm problems, which will yield you unusable in both positions.

Part 2: Should Coaches Tell Pitchers, "Don't Rush" Or "Stay Back"?

"Don't rush" (or) "Stay back." (Part II)

In yesterday's blog I discussed the importance of timing and the critical role it plays in repeating a delivery. As much as that makes sense, and as much as it seems practical, it is incredibly rare for me to meet any pitching coach, at any level, who has ever actually measured a pitcher's timing.

If I were to take a poll and ask coaches and/or readers of this blog how long a pitcher's delivery typically takes from leg-lift to foot-strike, and how long it should take for maximum athletic efficiency, my guess is most would have rough estimations that are not based on actual data.

I never thought of it either. It was always just something I felt as a pitcher and felt as a coach, but never understood it enough to actually measure it. And if I would have, I wouldn't have understood how to interpret that data. (And my interpretation would have been based on what my eyes saw at approx. 32 frames-per-second rather than state of the art technology measuring 1,000 frames-per-second).

Pitchers filmed at 1,000 frames-per-second reveal that the opposite is true. When a pitcher takes a long time to pause and "load" the arm, the arm has a much greater chance at lagging. When a pitcher lifts and lands at or just under one second, his arm will be right where it needs to be at release.

I took my stopwatch and started measuring pitchers myself. After all, this contradicted what every other pitching coach I have ever had told me. Sure enough, when Randy Johnson lifted his front foot until the time he landed, it took less than a second. Same with Greg Maddux, same with Roger Clemens, the same with Mark Buerhle, John Smoltz, Tom Glavine and big Bobby Jenks. (And many others).

While there are numerous other pitchers at the big league level who take much longer, the most efficient deliveries with the best cases of balance and posture all take at or under one second.

It is interesting that a quarterback takes a second to transfer his weight in football and a golfer takes a second for weight transfer in his swing. A hitter also takes a second when transferring his weight as well.

It is important to mention that certain types of rushing are still inefficient, such as rotating the shoulders before the front foot hits the ground, or artificially creating an arm-path that isn't natural for a given pitcher that, in-turn, quickens the overall timing the torso-rotation. The lift-and-land timing for a pitcher, however, at any age with any body type should ideally be at or under one second.

Part 1: Should Coaches Tell Pitchers, "Don't Rush" Or "Stay Back"?

"Don't rush" (or) "Stay back."

This one deserves a lot of attention, and as I look at it, I may need to spend a few days looking at it from a few a different angles.

I'll start with this. Timing is everything. It even supersedes mechanics in importance. For a pitcher to repeat his delivery, he needs to repeat the timing of his delivery.

More in tomorrow's post...

Who Inspires You? As A Pitching Coach, Who Do You Inspire?

Who inspires you? Who do you inspire? Do you ever think about that when you're coaching or instructing the baseball pitchers you work with? I do. Inspiration is not a small deal, in fact it's quite important. As a baseball coach or parent, the things you do and say make a big difference and can leave a lasting impression on a kid's life far beyond the pitcher's mound or baseball field. This video brings it home...

Coaches Always Tell Pitchers, "Don't Lose Him," But Is That Really Effective?

"Don't lose him."

Imagine yourself coaching a golfer. As he approaches a Par 3, you notice a water hazard directly in front of the tee box. Your golfer sticks his tee into the ground and takes a few practice swings. Then right after he addresses the ball, moments away from swinging, you "help" him by saying "Don't hit it in the lake!"

You certainly would have meant well...you really didn't want him to hit the ball in the water, but did your advice really help matters? Would saying that motivate a golfer to hit a better shot?

It's like telling a person not to think of a pink elephant ... just by mentioning it can cause the opposite result. The application here is obvious. By telling a pitcher not to lose the batter, the pitcher thinks about losing him.

The trick for a pitcher is to be focused on the task, the next pitch, and to turn the mind off. Japanese baseball players call this "Mushin" which loosely translates into "no mind." For a pitcher, it's not just not thinking about losing him but not thinking about anything at all. It is seeing the target and hitting it.

In my opinion, a coach really can't do much to help with this during a game. A pitcher needs to learn how to relax and let himself compete with a clear head. We are all tempted to help, but a pitcher's mind is much more like a golfer's than we all might think. Staying out of it, and keeping the teammates out of it, might be the best thing we coaches can do during competition.

Should We Really Be Teaching Pitchers To "Get On Top"?

"Get on top."

This is one of the most common cues heard from coaches. The problem with this one is the majority of pitchers don't have an over-the-top arm-slot and asking them to "get on top" of the baseball only causes problems.

Take Nolan Ryan, for instance. His release point was from a 3/4 slot and releasing the baseball from the side of his hand allowed him to stay upright with his head over his center-of-gravity (around the belly button). Asking him to "get on top" would have encouraged him to leave his natural arm-slot and sacrifice his posture.

Anytime a pitcher leaves his natural arm-path and arm-slot he runs a higher risk of injury and, less importantly, will lose velocity and natural movement. Biomechanists tell us that each individual has a biomechanical signature that includes the natural path of the arm, and allowing a pitcher to pitch without altering it is the safest way to go.

Somewhere along the line a popular rumor started in baseball that warned of the dangers of throwing sidearm. I can remember hearing people tell me as a kid that throwing sidearm is "dangerous" and had to do the (unfortunately still popular) "showing the baseball to 2nd base" drill over and over again.

The thing is, that arm path, and slot, is artificial for most baseball players and an artificial arm path, and slot, is counterproductive and can often lead to injury.

A look at a few other healthy pitchers reveals the same thing. Here we see three slightly different arm-slots, but none of them are over-the-top and none of them release the baseball "on top" of it. (Another potentially interesting observation is that all four examples are releasing fastballs).

When a pitcher hears a coach instructing him to "get on top" it often ends up looking like the following image of Francisco Liriano. His dramatic change of posture, head leaning glove side, occurs because he is trying to get his hand on top of the baseball. While pitching like this can still be effective, it can often - and did - lead to injury. Liriano spent the '07 season recovering from Tommy John surgery.

Do The Instructional Cues Coaches Use Really Help Pitchers Succeed?

Just casually walking by youth baseball games and you'll hear some pretty typical instructional cues coming from the stands, the dugout and even from the players themselves. Funny thing is, they seem to be the same basic "tips" that I heard way back when I was a kid. But this got me thinking, is it wise to ask ourselves a few questions:

1) Are we sharing this advice because we are certain it will help?

2) Are the instructional cues based on science or on tradition?

3) Do the pitchers even understand what those cues really mean?

4) Is calling out pitching advice during the game all that helpful anyway?

This week I will look at some commonly shouted out instructional cues and share some thoughts on what they mean, and if they are really what the best pitchers in the game do at all.

If Coaches Call Pitches, How Do Pitchers Learn?

As a pitcher, I am no doubt totally biased on this topic. But in my opinion one of the biggest problems in youth baseball is when coaches take the game away from the pitchers by calling pitches from the dugout. I believe wholeheartedly that calling pitches for pitchers is a bad idea. Like helicopter parenting, where parents do everything and kids learn nothing, calling pitches takes the learning out of pitching. It takes the thinking out of pitching.

Pitchers perform much better when treated with respect by a coaching staff. I always did. Give your pitchers the opportunity to make decisions on the mound, on their own. Let them decide what to throw. Then, in between innings, talk about the good pitches and the poor ones. Foster and support an environment in the dugout and in baseball practices where you let your players take ownership of the outcome of the game. Losing hurts. But sometimes letting your pitchers fail and learn is how they'll ultimately succeed at the next levels. And that's what's most important, anyways.

How Much Sleep Does A Baseball Pitcher Need?

I believe one of the more overlooked problems with young baseball pitchers is failing to prepare by getting an adequate amount of sleep. Many experts are now saying young people under 12 should be getting 9 to 11 hours of sleep each night to fully meet their needs, while adolescents should be getting 8.5 to 9.5 hours each night. And, contrary to popular belief, they can't make up for this in one or two 12-hour "crash sessions" on weekends.

Failing to get enough rest can cause some pretty significant challenges for the mind and body, and asking a young baseball pitcher to compete at his best while deprived of sleep might be more than what is realistic. Compound the problem with high pitch count totals and a poor diet, the baseball pitcher realistically competes more with his physiological challenges than the opposing team.

Consider the following:

* From 10 PM to 12 AM the body goes through physical repair (obviously important for purposes of recovery).

* From 2 AM to 6 AM the body goes through mental and emotional repair (explaining why the late-night Guitar Hero sleep-over might not help a pitcher remember to back up 1st base on a right-side ground ball).

* Insulin levels can rise with less sleep.

* Muscles are more likely to ache.

* Decreased concentration and mental awareness can settle in.

* The immune system can be adversely affected.

* Reaction time can be considerably slower.

It is also interesting to know that REM cycles occur in 90 minute intervals. Waking up in the middle of these cycles causes a person to wake up tired, so planning a full night's sleep around 90 minute segments is smart. Studies also show that any sort of stimulus in the room while sleeping, i.e. a light, a radio or TV, can prevent one from sleeping soundly. A dark and quiet cave seems to be best.

Becoming a complete pitcher requires more preparation than just working on skill. It requires careful planning and the right amount of sleep.