9 yr old pitching

Question
Hello Michael,

My son who is 9 years old is playing kid pitch baseball this year.  He's tall and thin weighing 75 pounds.  He's got a few years playing coach pitch under his belt and is a realitively accurate thrower (from short stop to first).  His current team is very inexperienced and he therefore was a natural selection for the team's pitching rotation.  The coaches have him pitching from the stretch, which is fine.  I'm just looking for pointers on how I can help him at home.  Any help or advice you can give would be much appreciated.  Many thanks.

Regards,
James  

Answer
James,

Thanks for the question and the desire to help your son improve.

I use a great bullpen session with my older kids that works great at any level.  Just adjust the number of pitches thrown per session down to about 25-30. In games, I would recommend keeping him below 40 pitches per outing.

Send your email address to [email protected] and I will send you that information in a word document.

Mechanics are the key to any good pitcher.  I started working my son's mechanics at age 9.  He pitched from the stretch until he was 12. It is easier to stay balanced and use good mechanics. I recommend finding a good book or video to use for you to learn the right mechanics so that you can become his personal coach.  I also recommend private lessons, but he is a bit young maybe.  

If he pitches now with bad mechanics, he will engrain them into his muscle memory and they can be hard to change later.  There are some great resources out there to help with great illustrations.  Find one and study it and pass it on to him.

Send me your address and I will email you the info.

Good luck and have fun.  Enjoy your time with him.  Don't get too frustrated!! Remember, he is your son and will likely listen to someone else a bit better than you, but it is worth it. The time you spend together will never leave your, or your son's memories.

Mike