With slight variations in order to keep them on their toes, Warm-ups should be the most consistent part of practice which within a couple weeks players should be able to lead on their own.
RULE #1 - Don't throw to warm-up, Warm-Up to Throw.
We are all guilty of throwing out a bucket of balls and telling the kids to play catch. In actuality they should be warming up by jogging and doing dynamic stretches like;
- Butt Kicks
- High Knees
- Shuffle-Shuffle
- Shuffle-Turn-Run
- Karaoke
Next Static Stretches like;
Pinch the Shoulder - Take the right arm across the chest and
grab it, concentrating on stretching the rotators. Another great stretch
similar to this one is to take the arm behind the back, pull the elbow
down, and try to stretch as far down as you can. Then switch to the left
side and do the same thing.
Pretzel stretch – Sit down and put your right leg over your left.
Now hook your right foot under your left leg and pull your body the
opposite way, to the left, while looking behind you. You’ll get a great
twist, which will help you to stretch out your back. Be sure to do the
pretzel stretch on both sides.
Groin stretch – Pull your feet up under you, and pull your feet
together. Grab your ankles and push down on the inner thigh in order to
really stretch out the groin.Arm Circles - Arms straight out to the side at shoulder height with a slight bend at the elbows. Palms of the hands facing down for 16 forward circles at 9 different checkpoints: 16 small circles, 16 quarter circles, 16 half circles, 16 three quarter circles, 16 full circles, 16 three quarter, 16 half, 16 quarter, and 16 small. Keep the circles symmetrical: as high as you are low and reach backward as far as you are forward. Eventually add one baseball in each hand for weight when ready, then two in each hand when ready, and at some point.
Start throwing with form throwing drills, if possible with taped balls. Tape Balls provide clear guidance on grip and immediate visual feedback on spin/rotation. There are commercially available products that include (2)colored balls, striped balls, etc but nothing works any better than electrical tape across the seams.
Begin with a discussion on grip - teach them to hold the baseball in a 4 seam grip. The “correct” way to hold a ball to throw in the infield is a 4 seam
fastball. This can lead to greater velocity, and less unwanted movement. We
don’t want to be throwing curves to our first base. Get the kids to
hold a ball and show you the 4 seam grip. Some of their hands
might be too small to handle the ball with 2 fingers, so that third
finger is not a problem at this point.Examples of throwing form drills, include:
- Out-Front/Wrist flip drill/sideways-knee drill/sideways on feet
- Thumbs down-palms away
- Glove side action
- Regular Toss > Long Toss
Here is a great 10 minute video of a solid throwing progression program: CLICK HERE
