Understanding Pitching Grips and Knowing What to Throw

Understanding Pitching Grips and Knowing What to Throw
By Dave Rosene

In youth baseball all grips are straight ball grips. I hesitate to say fastball because the pitches don't travel that fast. Let's just say the grips are preliminarily fastball. The standard way to grip the ball to throw is with the index and middle fingers on top of the ball with the thumb underneath the ball and the ring and little finger bent and supporting the ball on the side. It is allowable if you have players with small hands to let them throw with the ring finger on top. To pitch you can throw the ball with the seam (2-seam) or against the seam (4-seam), and you can hold the ball in a variety of ways depending on the accuracy and velocity of your pitches. With the 2-seam grip you can hold the ball in the neck at the seam's narrowest point, at the horseshoe on the top of the 2-seam, or you can place your fingers across both seams which could cause the ball to sink. With the 4-seam grip you can hold the ball in the middle of the 4-seams, with the horseshoe closest to the middle finger, or with the horseshoe closest to the index finger. Again the grip which you get the best action on the ball is the grip you should use. You can also put your ring and little fingers on top of the ball for a natural changeup. Never on the youth level teach any advanced pitches like the circle changeup, palmball, fork ball, split-finger fast ball, or cut fast ball. Concentrate on having your players master the eventual fast ball and natural changeup grips, the two best pitches in baseball.

Practicing what pitches to throw in different counts is imperative in the growth of young pitchers. The areas of concentration should be pitches to use when pitchers are behind or ahead in the count. Pitchers must work to develop and master a 'go-to' pitch, a pitch you can throw anytime for a strike. When you get behind in the count 2-0, 2-1 or 3-1, you must have that type of pitch to prevent big innings and give your team a chance to win. The hitters will know that you have a strike pitch and will be ready to hit, but if you include great location you will give yourself and the 8 players behind you an opportunity to make a play. When pitchers are ahead in the count 0-2 or 1-2, they should have developed a pitch or control a location that more often than not will put hitters away. You practice that pitch by experimenting with grips, arm angles, spin and hand speed to come up with an 'out' pitch that will control hitters' bat speed, making them more likely to strike out or hit the ball weakly.

Dave Rosene - Co-Founder, DNA Sports

DNA Sports specializes in personalized baseball and softball skill programs, college recruiting education and preparation, and coaching clinics. Learn more: http://www.dnasportsonline.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dave_Rosene

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Baseball Pitching and Warming-Up Properly

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By Nate Barnett

Many baseball players warm-up the wrong way before they start playing catch. They tend to throw to warm-up and not to warm-up before they throw. Warming up the wrong way can cause injury to your throwing arm or any part of your body. Many injuries occur during spring training games or just before big super league tournaments when multiple consecutive games are played. Players often think they already warmed up enough from a previous game earlier in the day and they aren't as loose as they think.

Before a pitcher or any position player begins to play catch they need to warm up their entire body. Why? Players with good mechanics understand that you don't just throw with you arm, you throw with your entire body. Warm up the entire body to throw not just your arm.

What I like to do is start warming up my legs, hips, core, shoulders, arms and then fingers; yes fingers. I am not about to share with you all warm up exercises you should do because there are many. I just want to share some with you so you can get a fairly good idea how you should be warming up to play catch.

I will start with a light jog around the field followed by high knees forward and backward for about 30 yards each way. This gets the blood flowing. I will continue warming up much like football players do. Karaoke forward and back, jumping jacks, high knee skips, form running etc.

Warming up your core is also important before you play catch. I won't do old school sit ups anymore like I used to throughout High School and College. Prone holds serve the purpose, side prone holds with one leg in the air and so on. There are literally hundreds of core warm ups you could do, but I prefer the prone holds to simply activate the core and get it warm.

To get your shoulders and arm simply do arm circles forward and back; thumbs up for a set, thumbs down for another and then palms down. This ensures you warm up each of the three shoulder muscles. Front and forward claps are great and then fence shakes palms out, palms in and palms down.

When you feel loose you can start playing catch with your teammates. Again it is imperative that you warm up to throw and not throw to warm-up. Don't just start playing catch right away, you will increase the risk of injury.

Nate Barnett is co-owner of The Pitching Academy.

You can find The Pitching Academy's articles, blog, and videos on baseball pitching, and hitting mechanics when you visit the website.

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

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Youth Baseball Digest - Pitcher Having Control Problems - 3 Pitching Delivery Flaws I Check First

You are a youth baseball coach. One of your pitchers is having trouble throwing strikes. When a pitcher is having a bad day on the mound, there has to be a reason. In most cases bad days are caused by simple pitcher delivery flaws. Often times these flaws can be quickly identified and corrected. What are the first three things that a coach should check in the pitchers delivery? Here I discuss the first three things that I always check first.

1) Target Focus and Concentration
2) Front Leg and Landing Foot Action
3) Release Point Consistency.

These three elements of a pitcher's delivery are extremely important when it comes to becoming a good pitcher with good control.

Target Focus and Concentration - Many pitchers let their eyes wonder during their delivery. They get their sign from the catcher and start their motion. At some point they may look away from the target. They do not keep their eyes zeroed in on the catcher's mitt. When a young pitcher takes his eyes off the target, even briefly, the results can be poor concentration and inconsistent control. Coaches should always watch the eyes of the pitcher. Make sure that the younger pitchers keep their eyes on the target throughout the pitcher's pitching motion.

Front Leg and Landing Foot Action - The second element of the pitchers delivery encompasses the action of the stride leg and stride foot. The lead or stride leg should can be locked or stiff during the final stages of the delivery. There must be some give or a slight bend in the stride leg knee. A stiff front leg tends to "pole vault" the player's body upward causing the pitch location to be altered. The stride foot should land flat. Many times a pitcher will get the bad habit of pointing the toes upward and landing on the stride foot's heel. Landing on the heel will in most cases cause control problems. Make sure that the stride foot is landing on the ball of the foot with the entire foot landing flat.

Release Point Consistency - I first check to see if the pitcher is properly releasing the baseball out front and in the same spot pitch after pitch. I want to make sure that the pitcher is consistently releasing the ball in the same location. It is impossible to have good pitching control without perfect release point execution. Stress to your pitchers to get the ball out front. The pitcher should practice enough to master a consistent release point that never varies.

I hope that these tips are helpful to you. The main thing you need to remember as a youth coach is that if strikes are not being thrown, there is a reason for the problem. Every pitcher is to have his great days and bad days. But, the key is to make sure that the bad days are not caused by a simple pitching flaw that can be quickly identified and corrected.

Thanks for taking the time to read this article. For more articles like it, you can visit the Baseball Coaching Digest, Youth Baseball Digest, and Little League Digest. Good luck to you and your team. Thanks for taking the time to read my articles. Have a great day, Nick

The CoachesBest Baseball Store has a great selection of 1400 Baseball Products. 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.

Nick Dixon is the President and founder of Nedco Sports, a sports training company established in 1999. Dixon is also an active and full time high school baseball coach with over 25 years experience. Coach Dixon is better known as the inventor of the BatAction Hitting Machine, the SKLZ Derek Jeter Hurricane Hitting Machine, the SKLZ Target Trainer, the SKLZ Derek Jeter ZipnHit Pro, and the SKLZ Strikeback Trainer. Dixon is also a contributing writer for BaseballCoachingDigest, the Youth Baseball Digest, the Baseball Parent Guide, the Baseball 2Day Coaches Journal, and Blog4Coaches.

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

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The Categories they have are: Baseball Training Equipment, Youth Baseball Training Equipment, Training Bats, Pitching & Throwing Trainers, Defensive Trainers, Batting Cages, Pitching Machines, Jugs Equipment, Game and Practice Baseballs, Protective Practice Screens and Nets, Portable Pitching Mounds, Baseball DVDs & Books, Clearance Items on Sales, BatAction Hitting Machines, Hurricane Hitting Machines, NEDCO Bataction Replacement Parts, SKLZ Hurricane Replacement Parts and Much Much More! Visit Baseball2U.com today!
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