Quality Coaching Baseball provides baseball instruction, baseball drills, coaching philosophy, and other information for youth baseball coaches, players, and parents who want to learn more about playing and coaching baseball.
Follow the links below to find useful tools for coaches as well as players:
Statement from QCBaseball.com regarding pitch count: This is a common question of a youth coach or parent of a young pitcher. The question is really pretty straight forward, but the answer actually involves many variables that need to be considered. The first thing you must realize is that it's an important issue. We see kids falling and bouncing back up, they rarely seem to pull a muscle or have other aches and pains that we, as adults, have become used to. Kids seem to bounce back quickly from most everything, so does it really matter if their arm is a little sore from pitching? Yes, it does matter! The pitching motion puts a large amount of strain on the throwing arm, particularly on the shoulder and elbow. I personally remember that 3 of the best pitchers from my little league never pitched in high school because they had hurt their arms before they ever reached that level. Now I don't know if it had anything to do with how many pitches they were allowed to throw or not, but the point is that young arms are developing and fragile and need to be taken care of. Kids will do pretty much what they are told, so it's up to parents and coaches to make sure that a pitcher's arm is taken care of.
Here are some helpful links specific to coaching t-ball.
Great PDF with 10 very detailed practice plans. Provides pictures/diagrams for each practice plan. Also includes Talking Points for Coaches with each plan.
Great information with goals for t-ball players, skills to focus on, and lots of drills.
A great article with 5 fun drills young players will be sure to enjoy!
A 33-page PDF from www.tee-ball-drills.com with t-ball specific hitting, throwing, fielding, and game play drills, as well as FIVE Sample Practice Plans!
Pitchball, Pee Wee, and Minors Coaches - Here are some great links for you:
A 12 week program developed by Little League for coach pitch teams. Specific practice goals are given for each of the 12 weeks, along with detailed practice plans for each week. Great how-to pictures, too!
Several practice plans and information about Progression of Teaching.
Good article about how to create great practice plans.
Below are some links related to teaching players to pitch and pitching-specific drills:
10 Little League Pitching Drills from Steve Ellis at www.thecompletepitcher.com
This article from coachingyouthbaseball.com gives pitching drills and breaks down proper pitching technique - great pictures!
Proper pitching mechanics broken down step-by-step with pictures.
4-Step Approach to Teaching Proper Throwing Technique from www.theseason.gc.com.