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We first learned how to throw, understanding that the best pitchers must master the art of throwing first. (The old walk before you run analogy)

I) *****THROWING SKILLS

1. Square up or close the door and grip- (Getting body into position to throw, whether starting in stretch or windup.) The feet should be lined up so there is a straight line from the back toe to the front toe all the way to the intended target. (TOE-TOE-TARGET). The shoulders should make this same line.

The grips we learned are the two seam, four seam, and changeup grips. (Circle Change) With players 13 and younger, it is important that we continue to stress to throw hard and fast and not rely on too much deception. To advance to the next level, coaches are looking for players who can throw hard. Just think about major league scouts. They are looking for mainly fireballers. Players should be able to demonstrate proper grips.

2. STEP-BREAK-PEEK A BOO - First and most importantly, when a pitcher steps to the target (catcher), it is very important that they know that even though you are striding in a linear direction towards target, the weight must stay back (about 60%) in order to explode or drive off the back leg. {A great drill for this is to place the players on a wall and have them place their throwing hand on the wall fully extended with their feet together and have them step directly towards target keeping the hand on the wall. They are forced to keep their weight back. This will help them be aware of what weight back means.}

2a. Break the Zipper - This refers to the action of the hands and arms as the body initiates step toward target. The hands should start around the chest, or zipper, area of the body. (referring to the zipper of a jacket to help explain how to unzip the jacket in first motion) As the body starts to step toward target, hands will separate downwards to initiate the throw. Key points here are thumbs down and elbows up.

2b. Peek-a-boo- This refers to the action of showing the inside of the glove to the target so the arm is in a sideways letter L and showing the ball behind them so that the center feilder can see the ball. This is also called staying on top of the ball. The throwing arm should be in an upward letter L.

3. SWIM-FLIP-THROW

3a. Swim the Glove- The first action after pitcher is in the power position is to swim the glove into the hip in order to promote increased velocity with the throwing arm. Swim the glove is called so because it is a swimming action of the front glove side arm. Remind the players that throwing is actually with two arms. This will help not only increase velocity, but also help keep the front side closed when pitching.

3b. Flip the Laces - In order to use the lower half and create torque by snapping the hips when pitching, players are taught to flip the laces of the back shoe from up to down fast and strong as they push off their back side. If the weight stays back when they step, this will be seen; however, if the player jumps forward while pitching or throwing, they will demonstrate what we call the dog peeing on the fire hydrant where the back leg just kicks up and maximal power is not created by driving off the back leg. This is called jumping towards the plate versus driving to and through the catcher.

3c. Throw - As the player throws from the power position initiating the movement from the legs driving and the glove swimming, the arm will naturally begin to throw. As the player throws, there are a couple of leverage points the arm should meet.

As the player releases the ball letting the ball roll off the two fingers, the release point should be out in front of the body and the arm should be creating the letter "J". This means the elbow should be above the shoulder and hand should be outside the elbow. Telling players to throw over the top is actually counter productive and slightly dangerous to the player's arm. Throwing in a semi three quarter position is actually placing less stress on the elbow and shoulder muscles; moreover, it will actually create more movement and velocity on the ball.

Finishing the throw is also important. When finishing the throw, players were taught to reach across to the opposite knee and shake it out to eliminate the stiff finish that places stress on the elbow. This is called reach and shake. It is the deceleration of the throwing arm. It is important that they do not come a sudden halt.

Also, the shoulders should replace themselves after throwing, meaning that for righties, the left shoulder will start in front of the right, and after the throw, the right shoulder will be in front of the left, or replacing each other.

******There is a rundown on the most important fundamentals they learned throughout the sessions. The beginning of the throw is as important as the finish. If they do not start correctly with a good step break and peek a boo, chances are they will not have a good release point. It is also important that they maintain a still head focused on the target as they are performing these motions. These is why we started each workout with a quick, 5 minute stretch and flex workout stressing to keep the head still throughout each movement.

II) ***Pitching Discussions:

*****As stated before, throwing at a young age is the most important skill to teach players. There are some pitching leverage points that should be done in order to promote even more velocity and deception in the pitch. Criteria that we went over in our mound discussions were as follows:

LIFT, LOAD, FLEX and GO: (UP-UP, DOWN-DOWN, OUT-OUT, and THROW as it relates to the front leg and hand movements).

LIFT to LOAD (Up-Up): If the player were to throw from the stretch, which is where we teach our young pitchers to pitch from to keep the consistency and to prepare for the future, the pitcher will gain power and rhythm by getting to what is commonly known as the “balance point”. The player will lift his front leg so that the knee is brought up to the hip. This is called the lift. As the player lifts his front leg high and fast to generate maximum momentum, the back leg is obviously absorbing the weight and is loaded up to drive off of. Also, the hands should be moving slightly upwards from the chest to around the chin as the front leg initiates the lift. This is what Up-Up means. As the front leg comes up, the hands come slightly up. This creates continuity in the pitching motion.

Flex (Down-Down): After the lift to load, the flex action takes place. This is the downward action of the leg and the hands as the pitcher readies to pitch. The back leg will flex slightly as well as the front leg retreats downwards. This is again loading up the back leg to drive off of. Also, the hands should be breaking the zipper right as the player initiates his flex.

GO (Out-Out and Throw): After the player is flexed and ready to pitch, it is time to get to the power position and throw. The front leg will lead out with the hip leading the sequence. We had the boys do the Wall Drill where they got to their balance position and let the front hip hit the wall instead of their shoulder. This will create a slight tilt in the shoulders that will again increase torque on the throw. Players were also taught how to step forward, but keep the weight back. This must happen in order to drive off the back leg and Flip the laces properly. He is also peek a booing the ball and the glove at this point. The power position is when the player has landed his front foot and the ball and glove are in opposite directions. Now the player is ready to throw. Throwing simply reverts back to the steps in throwing learned in the first week.

III) THROWING PROGRESSION:

*** In order to properly learn the throwing and pitching mechanics, we ran the boys through a specific throwing progression each week in order to work on the mechanics. Each set of throws serves a specific function to throwing the right way. The throwing progression was as follows. Players would start 10 feet away and move back 5 big steps in between each progression. When outside, it is encouraged to end the players as far as possible with a long toss to maximize effort and velocity to reach the intended distance.

One knee Wrist Flips – Teaches wave goodbye and release point letting the ball roll off of the finger tips.

One knee Throws – Helps the players isolate the upper body and close the shoulder and go through throwing steps.

“J”akes – This is when the player learns how to throw in the J-Up position instead of the L, V, or sidearm position. The player will stand facing the partner and get the throwing arm in the J, and the glove tucked into the hip. The player will perform the throwing motion 5 times from this position leading the throw with the elbow and then release and follow through from the J-Up position. This is used to reinforce proper arm angles when throwing. Remind the player to hold the ball like and egg and have rag-loose forearms when throwing. Tight pitchers equal injured pitchers.

Face Offs- Players would stand stationary and face partners. They would have to close all three hinges on the door (Foot, Hip and Shoulder) and then go through proper throwing motions making sure that they replaced the shoulders by following through after their throw.

Striders – The players would now square up to each other and get wide enough so that they can not step forward, but can still transfer weight. (A pitcher’s stride length should be 75% of their height!!) The players would rock the weight back and without stepping, transfer the weight forward after breaking the zipper and beginning the throw. Again, there should be no step with the front foot and maximum drive with the back foot by flipping the laces.

Three Steps and Throw – This just helps put the pieces together. If you are a righty, it is left-right-left then throw making sure the same mechanics are being performed.

Hop, Hop Throw – This is a progression used to maximize staying back on the throw and driving off of the back leg.

Step and Throw with audio Cues from Coach - Players would be told to focus on one part of the throw at a time, whether it is break the zipper or J-Up or any other throwing cue. Now they would perform the motion in real time and have to think as doing.

Shuffle, Step, Throw – Again to gain momentum using the legs in the throw

10.

Crow Hop and Throw – Exaggerates use of legs in throw. I recommend that when the pitcher warms up before a game, this is done at all levels with a catcher two to three times further than the distance of the regular mound. It is a source of overload training and makes the mound seem a lot shorter in the game.

IV) SHOWTIME SKILLS LEARNED:

**Throughout the course of the sessions, the coaches taught the players some of the mental and emotional skills needed for success on the mound. Most of the time, these are more important than the actual pitching mechanics they have. We all know the player, who can be his worse enemy, and there is a way to teach players how to change this, but it does take much patience. Telling a player to calm down more than likely will not work unless it is not your kid!!!! We, as a staff, attempted to teach the boys some of the following skills to help them through tough times on the mound and give them the confidence you need to excel.

1. CONTROL – What can a player control? A player can control his actions, his reactions, his thoughts, his behaviors, and his play. A player, especially a pitcher as the leader of a team, cannot control the actions of his team behind him, the actions of other teams taunting him, the action of coaches, whether his or the opponents, the actions and words of parents, and most importantly, the actions of an umpire. A pitcher must have superior composure to deal with adversity. Always ask your players if they can control it, and if they cannot, explain to work on what you can control – his mechanics and positive outlook.

2. FEEDBACK FROM FAILURE – There are two roads a player can go down after failure, whether it be walking a guy, giving up a hit, striking out, etc. There is Frustration/Frown Drive where the player gets discouraged and upset and there is no improvement; or there is Feedback Lane. Feedback Lane will provide answers to the failure. When failure presents itself, it is the player’s job to learn from why he failed, and make adjustments to eliminate it. The clinical definition of insanity is to do the same wrong thing over and over again, and expecting a different result. As coaches, we are to give our players presents (how to pitch, how to throw, etc.) and let the players know that when things aren’t going well, open up a present and remember what makes him good to reduce the failure.

3. WIN EVERY BATTLE – Each pitch in a game is a battle. In order to win the war, the pitcher must bring his best stuff each battle. Never take a pitch off is the key here.

4. YOU NEVER KNOW WHO IS WATCHING – For older players especially. This ties in with control as well. The things you can control do not only apply to how you treat your teammates, coaches, opponents and parents, or how well you pitch in the game. It is your preparation as well. When taking warm up pitches or warming up for a game, it is important to warm up with the same intensity you intend to bring when you pitch. When you warm up to go into a game or when you are on the mound warming up before you pitch, take them seriously because you never know if the high school coach that you plan on attending happens to be strolling around the park for a run, or the college coach that you want to go is recruiting. For the younger players, all coaches want the player who is coachable and loves the game. This is will ensure the coach that you are worthy of making that next elite travel team and so forth.

5. QUALITY vs. QUANTITY – Remember that is not necessarily how many reps you take, but how good the reps you take.

6. GOAL SETTING – Set goals for yourselves so you have motivation to work harder towards achieving them.

7. PRACTICE with an OPEN MIND – When coaches are speaking, especially ones who know what they are talking about, listen with an open mind to learning new ways to play the game of baseball. It just might help you reach the next level.

8. CONFIDENCE – Confidence is not given or simply handed out, it has to be earned through hard work and preparation. Prepare a game plan and more than likely, you will attain success. Once repeated success occurs, confidence will set in.

9. VISUALIZATION – Use your imagination sometimes and actually picture yourself succeeding in a game situation. This will help you feel more relaxed and confident.

Michael Ferriggi

Head Instructor

Frozen Ropes Garden City