Recommended Throwing Exercises for Age 6-7

[catwood2]

Hi All -
Thanks in advance for any pointers. The quick background - the boy and I are out most weekends to play catch, takes some swings, throw at the pitch back. At the beginning of the summer, I started talking to him about throwing form and as he tried to work on it something has gone haywire. He went from fairly strong thrower to more like a shot put action. My instruction has clearly done him no good. We still have fun, but no matter what I try I can't straighten this out. Looking for some age appropriate drills to help me straighten out. I was also drafted to coach his fall ball team and would like some techniques that wont screw up the rest of the kids.
Thanks!
catwood2

[AdamInNY]

In my experience at that age if they are shot putting the ball it's because they are going straight from glove to their ear with their arm (or somewhere around their head). Make sure they come down and around with the ball. Some cues I heard are thumbs to the ground or act if you're throwing the ball to the ground. The kids seem to really get that.

[Megunticook]

At that age my experience is to offer minimal throwing tips--I don't mean ignore bad habits, but keep it really simple unless they're having serious problems.

If they start thinking about throwing when they're throwing, things can unravel quickly, as you're discovering. Sometimes less instruction is more effective.

With my kids, and the kids I've coached, I keep it to a few basics: eyes on the target, the 4-seam grip, turning sideways to the target (or "pointing the glove side shoulder"), and stepping toward the target. I find they throw best if they just trust their bodies to throw and don't think too hard about the mechanics. As they get older you can fine-tune stuff.

As far as getting your son back on track, try playing catch with him on one knee, which can help get the arm action right. But the main thing is to get him to relax and just throw the ball without worrying "are my mechanics right?" Play some fun games, like 21, or let him pretend to pitch or throw out runners. Anything to get him to just focus on his target and just letting it fly, without an muscle tension that comes from thinking about doing it "correctly."

[johnlanza]

Have a throwing contest to see how far he can throw it. Maybe after a few throws, he will change the motion on his own without really thinking about it.
Or, before a throw, have him start with the ball in his hand beside his leg and then make a throw. So now he'll have to lift his arm from the leg-side position to make a throw, and perhaps will help to eliminate the shot-put throw.