8U Pitching

[Three A's baseball]

I am in the position to teach 8U's to pitch from 40 feet.

I can say without reservation this has got me a little nervous.

Is there a link, photos, video anything that make this a simple to follow/teach process?

Your help is greatly appreciated.

[TG Coach]

I will refrain from commenting by saying the only thing I could add to this thread is an editorial on the value (or lack) of eight year olds pitching.

[Three A's baseball]

Not pitching in a game.

Need to teach them the mechanics of it all.

They start pitching at 9 and they want to have an intro at 8.

[Lady_Knights]

I am in the position to teach 8U's to pitch from 40 feet.

I could understand your apprehension to teach 8 years olds to pitch in games from 40 feet, but from what you stated in a later post, this is not true, because you stated they won't be pitching till next year at 9U.

First throw that 40 foot measurement out of your head, because if they are just learning to pitch, it shouldn't even be a factor. I'm not going to instruct you on mechanics and such, because I'm sure you have a basic understanding, but you need to have them working on their mechanis at short throwing distances, or even better into a net, at close range. This will allow them to focus on there mechanics and fundamentals without worrying about throwing to a target. As there confidence and mechanics become better, start having them throw farther distances. If they start to struggle them back them down again, and continue this till your at full distance. Me personally, I wouldn't have them throwing full distance till late fall of this year. Make sure the mechanics are in place for them to be successful.

[BallCoach06]

they want to have an intro at 8.

Is "they" the kids or the parents/coaches? At that age, I always stop and wonder.

[Baseball gLove]

I never really cared if my kids pitched or not. I would prefer that they were not the closest to a hot liner off of a bat. You should see the looks on the kids' faces when they ask to pitch and the coach says "No."

[Jake Patterson]

I never really cared if my kids pitched or not. I would prefer that they were not the closest to a hot liner off of a bat. You should see the looks on the kids' faces when they ask to pitch and the coach says "No."

We are talking about first and second graders here, aren't we?

[TL_Dad]

In our league our Rookies/Minors Division the kids pitch using modified Little League rules. We had all of our 8yo kids, some 9yo kids, and four 7yo kids on the 6 teams in the division.
There are no walks, after 4 balls the coach comes out and finishes the count. Umpire calls balls and strikes from behind the plate. The kids are only allowed to pitch 2 innings per game and all pitch counts and rest rules are in effect. The kids also must pitch from 46 feet.
I think I will be in the minority on this but I didn't think it was a bad thing. On my team I had 7 kids pitch in games throughout the season. In a 6 inning game you had to pitch at least 3 different kids.
The most important thing is to teach them to finish in a position to field the ball after the pitch. For their protection.