Youth Pitching Mechanics: A Guide For Parents & Coaches

Learn the key checkpoints in youth pitching mechanics - things for coaches and players to focus on without getting bogged down in granular details. Enjoy the tutorial? 📣 Watch my free Pitching Webinar 👉 danblewett.com/pitching-webin...
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CHAPTERS
0:00 Intro
0:55 Feet & Stance in Wind up
1:41 Hand Placement in Wind up
2:35 Leg Kick Considerations
3:42 Stretch Position - Coming Set
5:25 Hip Bump during the stride
5:47 Shoulder Tilt
6:38 The Wall-Hip Drill
8:54 Glove arm action
9:50 Does the arm point to home plate?
10:20 How the foot lands during stride
11:19 How to do the slide step
12:24 Glove tuck and front side
13:40 Final acceleration, follow through and more
14:43 Coaching considerations
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🚨 FULL Advanced Mechanics Video: • Complete Pitching Mech...

[@DanBlewett]

✅My online pitching instruction courses (beginner and advanced) are here: danblewett.com/pitching-isnt-complicated-course/

[@coreyabraham8617]

My son is a 1st year catcher at 11 years old. So we're out the every day minus rainy days of course. I'm throwing 60-80 pitches a day and at 52 my arm was hurting daily. UNTIL ! I watched your pitching mechanics videos . My arm has not been sore ever since and I'm throwing 75 mile an hour. It makes me wish I had a real coach when I was a youth. And also a lot of your other advise , such as when your kid has a bad game, find something they did well, and show them you have they're back. Great stuff !!! We really appreciate you Sir.

[@johnkruger7261]

Thanks Dan, I really appreciate the time you take to teach kids the fundamentals.

[@truthlevato]

Best pitching mechanics vid I've watched. Thank you sir.

[@donaldhunt4]

Awesome video, a must watch for a youth dad who is trying to coach their child

[@stevemerril3086]

Thanks Dan... great info and explanation! ⚾️ 👍

[@coachv7520]

Thank you Coach Dan!

[@ThomasMusto]

Thank you for all the content you produce! Really helpful!

[@sped8084]

Great video.. my son played darts while pitching.. we corrected it this season.. but i was just glad you mentioned it.. also that hip leading drills looks good.. gonna try them out see if they work for us.. thank you..

[@jakerichards9133]

Excellent video!

[@CarterLee-ii5yv]

Love your style so much

[@wjlliamclerico1984]

Phenomenal video

[@rob_kasper_4410]

Thanks for the tips, i have no business on a mound but Ive been throwing curveballs around a tree in my backyard for my dogs to chase for years, theyll appreciate this too!

[@mattkatemaybee1979]

Great easy to understand content for us parents trying to help our boys. Thank you.

[@DanBlewett]

Glad it was helpful - easy is my goal.

[@FordTough41510]

Follow through!

[@teriyakiiiii_1685]

Always awesome information just ordered a copy of your book for my son Much love

[@DanBlewett]

Much appreciated!

[@coachprinci]

Very good.

[@MrCctvtech]

Dan, Clean your Cleats was really good. I enjoyed it. Especially chapter 22.

[@DanBlewett]

thanks so much for reading it! Means a lot.

[@awall422]

Thanks! Really appreciate your detailed, well-explained videos.

[@DanBlewett]

Glad it was helpful! And thanks so much for supporting my channel, Andy!

[@Davethesave55]

I couldn’t agree with you anymore I’m a pitching coach here in Nashville and the extraneous moves that the starting position the pitcher makes by stepping away off to the side drives me crazy I told him short and simple. I talk about center of gravity all the time and how to control it best way to controllers don’t move it that far great video!

[@excuseme4960]

Great video, thank you. Would have like to see some pronation talked about. My 8u son has been throwing wide open with lazy mechanics. He has told me his elbow has hurt twice and we stopped each time. So now I am working on strengthening his arm and tendons and teaching him how to throw properly. Pronation isnt talked about much at a youth level so im having problems figuring out ways to teach him besides using a football.

[@DanBlewett]

i dont think pronation is something that needs to be taught - it happens on its own.

[@JoeDisMe]

this is exactly how I used to pitch and then I went to my friends pitching class with him and his dad was one of my coaches..anyways he fed into everthing the pitching coach said and this guy had us doing a style way different then this..long story short I ended up with an arm injury 6 months later after pitching for 4 years without any problems..good video man

[@danrappel4227]

Thanks!

[@DanBlewett]

thank you!

[@Danimal.69]

Have you done a video on the mental side of the game for young players? Gaining confidence, keeping focus and building good game plan?

[@DanBlewett]

yes quite a few, search my channel

[@kyleyargeau5191]

Good explanation and agree that kids don’t need to aim or worry about placement and just throw. Let the hitters hit and fielders field.

[@DanBlewett]

100%

[@dannytetreault]

Awesome! I’m a 50-year man and I loved it! Always dreamed of being a professional MLB knuckleballer.

[@calebmiller3352]

Good stuff Dan! At what age do you think it is safe to start working on and introducing pitches such as the curve ball?

[@DanBlewett]

I have videos on this. Search my channel

[@Randoeditz-Official]

Nice

[@lamarscards]

My son really struggles to stay through the center of his 4-seam. He has a tendency to get around the ball and almost throws an unintentional cutter. We’ve tried the CleanFuego and multiple other tools and devices, but are not really making progress. He throws a bullpen every Wednesday, and if it’s not a tournament weekend he throws one on either Saturday or Sunday. Any advice how how to help him go through the center of the ball?

[@dp-116]

Dan , what about the back (right) leg? After you release the ball, shouldn't the back leg come forward with the momentum of the body?

[@DanBlewett]

as I mentioned, see my longer video on mechanics. I did not cover everything, deliberately, on this one.

[@davidball3461]

I have heard different things about simplicity. Why are we pitching from the wind up? Just would think that pitching from the stretch is the simplest way to make fewer movements. I’m a Dizzy Dean league coach for 11-12 year olds. If you are not familiar with the league. It’s not little league rules it’s 60’6” 90 foot bases. Leads.. Big league rules for the most part. I’m not a pitcher . I played junior college ball. I’m so glad to have access to you through KZbin. I was an outfielder. Thanks sir!

[@DanBlewett]

The reality though, is that the wind up is not a very difficult movement. If a kid really cant throw strikes because he has to take two measley steps? Pitching probably just isnt for him. If you're not athletic enough as a kid to make adjustments and be successful from the wind up, the ability isnt going to be there. I would almost guarantee that the kids who cant throw strikes from the wind up dont play catch / practice / throw nearly enough, and that more practice would fix the problem. It just isnt that hard.

[@tsmiley1341]

@@DanBlewett - Read this response after my question. I'm going to give it a go with my young ones and the windup. My daughter actually plays on my team with the boys and has started learning to pitch the last few months. She is pretty smooth and consistent from the stretch but we are working on increasing her arm strength to up her speed (honestly at this age though 8&9yr olds, the fact that our catchers hardly ever have one of her pitches get away from them is such a blessing I've been hesitant to change anything with her -haha)

[@danacoleman4007]

​@@DanBlewett the real question is, what does a 9-year-old gain by going from the wind up? It's's shamefully dismissive to insult a child's athletic potential at that age. Plenty of kids who trip over their own feet when they're younger wind up being great athletes once they've grown into their bodies. There's so much they have to concentrate on when learning how to pitch. It's perfectly legitimate to eliminate the wind up so a kid who's struggling has a little bit less to deal with.

[@truthlevato]

Dan, my 9U Ace throws heat & tends to miss high in the zone. Is there 1 or 2 mechanic points to look at for this?

[@DanBlewett]

probably opens up his front side too soon, which is addressed in the longer mechanics video I linked to in the description

[@truthlevato]

@@DanBlewett Which chapter should I start with? I started watching it last night and will watch it all, just wondering for opening up, where to start? Appreciate it.

[@DanBlewett]

I think maybe the 6 minute chapter? Looks like I don't have one exactly labeled for that issue but I know i address it. If you find it let me know where it was

[@mgbpmpttdpmg]

🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥👍🏽

[@justme4172]

I was hoping you would show the very last thing after ball release and what the landing leg does

[@DanBlewett]

go watch my more in-depth mechanics video (here👉 kzbin.info/www/bejne/qXLan6Z4npJoaqM). I didn't want this video to be overwhelming so I kept it to the biggest, most important coaching points. You're not really going to coach the landing leg very much in young pitchers, if other things are working well, it will often take care of itself or at least not be too big an issue.

[@justme4172]

@@DanBlewett I totally agree and understand but I’ve got one sophomore that’s landing leg stays severely bent after ball release. Thanks! Great basic video!! I saved it.

[@tsmiley1341]

Do you have a preference on teaching one setup over the other for young young pitchers? I am coaching a Little League team this season with a lot of 8yr olds that are moving up from machine pitch. I am tempted to teach them pitching from the stretch to start out as there will be less moving parts for their bodies to get use to and has a greater chance of keeping their head in line....

[@DanBlewett]

wind up. I really, really, really dislike the trend of removing every moving part - a la teaching the stretch only - as a way of helping kids throw strikes. If kids can't throw strikes with two tiny little steps - which is all the wind up requires - then they're not going to have the ability to make adjustments or be resilient enough as pitchers anyway. We need to stop smoothing the road for kids. Pitching is about making adjustments. If they cant throw strikes, they need to practice more at home.

[@goodmatt78]

@@DanBlewett This is interesting. My son is 8 and first year pitching. He learned from the stretch, but goes back to the windup every so often to regain his tempo and keep from rushing. He will often do this after a wild pitch. It sounds like he figured something out...but others have said to keep him only pitching from the stretch.

[@DanBlewett]

@goodmatt78 good for him. As I mentioned, it's two tiny steps and a leg kick - I dont know where this trend began, but I'm really opposed to it. Kids need to learn to be good throwers, and good throwers are resilient. Pitchers have to throw strikes on tall mounds, low mounds, mounds with holes, mounds that are muddy or hard as concrete, in the rain, in the wind, on turf - they need resilience. If they're too fragile to pitch from the wind up successfully, how will they ever have even a modest career as a pitcher?

[@tsmiley1341]

@@DanBlewett - I wanted to follow-up. My daughter had previously been shown by another coach the stretch only. She did not pitch often but when she did she said she felt jammed up and was having a hard time getting any speed behind her even though her accuracy was good. She is playing on my team this year (Minors 8-10yr olds Little League) and with your advice I convinced her to learn the windup. Within the first practice she was so much more fluid, definitely upping her velocity and after less than 10 pitches of the new routine getting right back dialed in on her accuracy. Still the first week but I know for her, she was missing using her natural athleticism and the windup just clicked for her.

[@deadheadblues]

What benefit is the windup? Seems like a lot of wasted motion. Is it supposed to give them more power?

[@popskull42]

What age are you aiming this at? My son is 8 and they're just starting to player pitch rather than coach pitch this year. Is this more than he should worry about or should we be doing this already?

[@DanBlewett]

Hard to know, every kid is different. I have a webinar that goes into detail about progressions for brand new pitchers. It's here if you have interest: danblewett.com/pitching-webinar-signup/

[@adidas4275]

at a younger age why not just throw out of the stretch and get rid of the extra motions of the wind up completely

[@fishncoach8699]

I personally believe there is a big need with our present day athletes to be able to control dynamic movements. There is a time for keeping everything as simple but I believe we have gone too far with it. Athletes should be able to save dynamic movements or throw from different slots and positions and still throw strikes if we practice it that way. It's all about release point, we need to let them learn instincts

[@FAR.KB24]

Great answer. Never too young to learn fundamentals they’ll still use later in life. A lot of kids grasp things younger than we think.

[@sinhgibbon7745]

That’s my son’s biggest problem is not staying back, thanks for the drills to help him practice staying back! Where did you get the “Strike Out Everyone” shirt?

[@DanBlewett]

all my shirts are found here: shop.danblewett.com/collections/shirts

[@Umaine2007]

Do you have that shirt in youth sizes?

[@DanBlewett]

Check my website

[@deanwhite6225]

Makes no sense to start facing the batter for kids 9-11u. Why not start with the back door already transferred to the parallel position?

[@deanwhite6225]

Less complicated, less movement.

[@deanwhite6225]

(More from the stretch)

[@DanBlewett]

It's not that hard, dude. Two tiny steps. If a kid isn't athletic enough to do those two steps and throw strikes, he doesn't have the athleticism to play any sport.

[@johnkruger7261]

Teach them the full motion now instead of having to relearn it later.

[@DanBlewett]

I agree. And I think stripping all the moving pieces out of any movement makes an athlete less resilient. You pitch on mounds of different heights, in the rain, in the wind, with holes in front of the rubber, etc. Pitchers need to be good adapters - to mound and weather conditions. If they're so fragile that they can't even perform the wind up...not good. Thanks for the comment

[@lawrenceehrbar8667]

Two tall Mets, Noah Syndergard and Jacob deGrom. When Noah tries to emulate Jacob with Jacob's very effective low fastball he doesn't fare so well. Noah's pitch goes downhill while Jacob's seems to defy physics climbing up hill and ending up crossing the battery's knees. Go figure.

[@a23yankee]

Now my son won't suck at pitching 😂😂

[@a23yankee]

Omg my son must have posted that!

[@ryanthomas8955]

Don’t aim as a pitcher isn’t making sense to me. I’m sure you don’t mean throw wild, please make me understand thank you

[@TitanPardy808]

Thanks!

[@DanBlewett]

You bet!