I recently had a training session with a 10 year old who I have been working with since he was 7. He is a very talented young pitcher with a bright future on the mound. Over the last few years he has developed a healthy/repeatable delivery. If used correctly, he should be able to stay away from any major injuries.
At this point with a young athlete like this, his one purpose is, and should be, to continue to repeat his delivery, learn who he is and what makes his delivery good or bad and develop his Fastball/Straight Changeup mix the best he can. He needs to spend the next 1-2 years PERFECTING these which are his strengths.
This will be his first year with the 11-12 year old group (as he turns 11 in a couple months) and will get hit around a little. We have talked about this and how best to handle this mentally. This will be his first real big test as a young pitcher.
In our last session, it was brought to my attention that he had a coach trying to teach him a curveball.
There are MANY opinions on this and here is mine…
First and for most in a young pitcher’s life, they need to learn a healthy/repeatable delivery. While doing that, they should be developing a STRAIGHT fastball that has true backspin. It shouldn’t have sinker rotation or slider spin. Once a player has shown the ability to do both of these things, we can now learn a Straight Changeup.
If the player continues to develop these, especially the healthy delivery, and we get to the 12 year old mark (maybe a little sooner or a little later depending on the child’s body maturity) we can now introduce a breaking ball.
The most important thing when getting to this stage is getting your Dude in front of someone who is a true baseball person. Someone who knows what to look for and what is right and wrong. PLEASE NOTE, watching a video on YouTube or attending a pitching clinic where this is discussed, by no means, means you know how to teach this or what to look for.
It’s all about the development of that young player. Helping him achieve his LONG term goals. Him learning a breaking ball at this young of an age will take focus off what it should be on. If a player needs something else at this age to help him get by, we are just delaying the inevitable. Once that player gets to the big field, it may be hard to watch.
Parents, please be smart and when your Dude gets to this stage in their baseball life, get them with someone who has experience in this area and can give you proper guidance. Ask around, do some research and make sure they are learning the right/smart thing.
Founder of Baseball Dudes. Blessed with three beautiful children and an amazing wife. Baseball is my life, after my family, and I love sharing what I have learned from it. Thanks for taking the time to view what we offer here at Baseball Dudes.
