4 Baseball Pitching Drills For Little League Players

Baseball Dealz Ebay Store

4 Baseball Pitching Drills For Little League Players
By Nick Dixon
Teaching, training and developing young baseball pitchers takes a lot of time, patience, and practice repetition. Many young pitchers need to practice pitching skills daily. To keep the interest level high, it is best to use a variety of drills on alternate days to prevent boredom. Here are 4 baseball pitching drills that can be used to train youth and beginner pitchers.

Drill #1 - Up & Out Foot Drill Objective - To help pitchers perfect the proper back leg action. The purpose of this drill is to stop foot drag and prevent over striding.

Equipment Needed - A brick, block or wood or other suitable object. The object will be placed at a location just in front of the pivot foot of the pitcher. The pitcher will be working out of the stretch. The pitcher should be reminded to roll and pick his back foot up so that it clears the object.

Procedure - The pitcher throws using his normal motion and delivery. If the pitcher fails to clear the object, then his back foot is "dragging" or he is over striding. Young pitchers should be coached to step out of the "hold" and up and over the block.

Drill #2 - Dot Spot Drill Objective - The purpose of this drill is to build confidence, to teach young pitchers to hit their spots and to teach young pitchers to have great control.

Equipment Needed - Good balls, Catching equipment, and glove.

Procedure - The catcher has 4 dots on his gear. The 4 dots or spots are different colors or they each have a number on them. The dots are taped to each knee on the shin guards and one to the left shoulder and right shoulder. The catcher or coach calls a color or a number. The pitcher must hit the dot called. The pitcher has 6 pitches to hit all 4 of the dots. All dots should be called in different orders each time. If the pitcher fails to hit 4 dots correctly, the pitcher must do 10 push ups. Two pitchers can compete to see which finishes first. The dots may be placed lower on the catcher to stress keeping the ball low or down in the zone.

Drill #3 Long Toss - Power Building Drill - Pitchers should long toss several times a week to build strength and endurance. The two players should warm-up as usual and then move back a few steps after each 4 throws. Pitchers should be able to increase their strength and extend their distances within weeks. Pitchers of all ages should work out to a distance at least 3 times their normal pitching distance. Some coaches allow players to "crow hop" at the farthest distances. That is up to you.

Drill #4 - Front Side Drill Objective - This drill is used to teach and reinforce the proper front shoulder action during delivery.

The drill is performed as the pitcher kneels on the pivot-leg knee. The pitcher will begin the drill with the throwing arm in the "T -position" and the stride foot aimed at the plate. The pitcher begins the throwing motion by pulling and tucking his front arm and glove. At the same time he is bringing his throwing arm and shoulder around and toward the plate. The drill should be performed many times to give the pitcher the feel of proper mechanics and front shoulder movement. The front elbow should be used as the guide for the front side. The glove should be extended out and tucked as the pitcher rolls his lead shoulder and pulls it in. This deceptive move is used to distract and deceive batters. The drill should be finished with the throwing arm in proper finish position outside the stride leg knee.

Check out the Bat Action Hitting Machine baseball pitching simulator. This high speed training machine is 100% Guaranteed to raise Batting Averages and has a full year warranty.

Visit the Baseball Coaching Digest Blog for daily post and articles on every aspect of coaching baseball. The Baseball Coaching Digest Blog.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nick_Dixon

Baseball Dealz Ebay Store
Visit the Baseball Coaching Digest for daily post and articles on every aspect of coaching baseball. The Baseball Coaching Digest Blog. Check out the Bat Action Hitting Machine baseball pitching simulator. This high speed training machine is 100% Guaranteed to raise Batting Averages and has a full year warranty. Check out Baseball2u.com/Coachesbest.com for all of your coaching and training equipment needs. Visit the Baseball Dealz Ebay Super Store to purchase top quality baseball training equipment at discount prices.

Coaching Youth Baseball Pitchers - 4 Common Pitching Flaws That Should Be Corrected Immediately

By Nick Dixon


Young pitchers need frequent practice. I recommend that they throw to a catcher or at a pitching target daily. The number of throws should be limited to prevent "overuse" or fatigue, but the daily practice allows young pitchers to develop muscle memory, confidence, and pitch control. A throwing session may be only 15 to 20 pitches at ¾ speeds. The point is that daily practice allows players to improve daily and it also allows the coach to observe and see any bad habits or flaws that a young pitcher may have "picked up".

There are 4 Common Pitching Flaws of Young baseball Pitchers that a coach should identify quickly and correct. The 4 flaws that are the most common are (1)Not Seeing The Target, (2)Landing on the Heel, (3)Throwing Across the Body, and (4)Poor Follow-Through and Finish. Here is a brief description of each of these flaws and a coaching point related to each.

1. NOT SEEING THE TARGET -Many beginning pitchers have tendency to look down and pick up the target to late in the delivery. Their eyes wander and they often have trouble hitting their spots. Young pitchers should see the target or "mitt" from the start of the delivery until they finish their delivery. Young pitchers often do not concentrate on the specific pitch target during delivery.

Coaching Point - Make sure that the young pitcher always looks at the catcher's mitt. It is equally important that the catcher give the pitcher a "low target". It is important to keep the ball done in the strike zone. The more the pitcher gets the ball up, the more chances the opponents will have of hitting the ball with power.

2. LANDING ON THE HEEL - The stride foot of the pitcher should land softly and with onto the "ball" of the foot. Many young pitchers tend to "over-stride" which requires them to land on the heel of the front foot. Landing on the heel of the stride foot will cause control problems and accelerate fatigue. The pitcher should land softly on the "ball" of the stride foot. Landing on the front half of the stride foot reduces the "landing impact" on body thus helping to improve body control and pitch control. Control the body; control the pitch! Landing on the front heel with a stiff front leg tends to "pole vault" the pitcher onto the front leg. This action can cause serious control problems. The pitchers front leg must bend to prevent this problem from occurring.

Coaching Point - Consistency is the number one friend of the pitcher. It is important that the pitcher uses the same stride length, the same arm slot, the same lower body motion, and the same stride foot action. If a pitcher normally has great control, the first thing a coach should always check is the front foot landing action. If the front foot is landing properly, look for other problems that may be causing the lack of control.

3. THROWING ACROSS THE BODY - This is caused when the pitcher strides too "closed" to allow a smooth delivery and follow through. The pitcher must throw across the body causing a "front hip lock" that prevents proper and adequate front hip movement and rotation. The pitcher should stride into "center zone" toward the plate to prevent this flaw.

Coaching Point - It is important that coaches closely observe where the pitchers stride foot is landing. The foot should land on or close to what would be a straight line directly from where the pitchers foot lifts from to target. The front foot's toe should be slightly closed.

4. POOR FOLLOW-THROUGH - The pitcher should finish low with a bent back and slightly bent front leg. The pitcher should strive to finish with the throwing arm outside of the knee and chest over thigh. The emphasis should be on achieving a smooth and proper follow through on every pitch.

Coaching Point - The proper finish is a low finish with the back foot lifting higher than the pitcher's head. The pitcher's throwing arm elbow should finish the pitch outside and below the knee on the pitcher's stride leg. The common saying that you hear coaches say is "bend your back" and "follow through". These two actions are simultaneous and they are both correct.

Visit BaseballCoachingDigest.com for a great selection of Baseball Coaching and Training Articles. Check out the BatAction Hitting Machine baseball pitching simulator. This high speed training machine is 100% Guaranteed to raise Batting Averages and has a full year warranty.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nick_Dixon
=========================
BatAction Links


---BatAction Machine at CoachesBest.com
---BatActionMachine on Ebay.com
---BatAction Machine Video Clips
---BatAction Trainer - 15 Reasons Why You Must Own This Machine
---Message to Parents From Coach Nick
---If you are looking for BatAction Replacement Balls or Power Bands Click Here

BatAction Demo Videos on Youtube