I’ve spent many years coaching small children in baseball and softball, and the hardest skill to master is pitching. Not for the kids — for the grownups.
In the early years of kidball, after removing the tee but before teaching a 9-year-old an arm-busting curveball, the coaches are responsible for pitching to the batters, under the theory that the coaches will consistently give them good pitches to hit, thus helping them become better batters. That theory is often wrong. I’ve seen coaches who pitched too fast, too slow, too high, too low, and too parabolic. I did that myself, before I mastered the art of coach-pitching.
So in advance of my inevitable formation of the Your Kid’s Not Going Pro School of Coach-Pitching, and the scads of cash it’s sure to bring me, here is some advice for you kid baseball and softball coaches out there on how to make your coach-pitching is effective. Through my Tom Emanski-like techniques (though, sad to say, they are not endorsed by Fred McGriff), you won’t kill the confidence of the batter, but most of all you will not kill your own confidence by feeling like you have suddenly forgotten how to throw a ball.
First, how to stand. Or not stand. For baseball, it’s advisable to keep one knee on the ground and throw. One big problem in coach-pitching is the size difference between pitcher and hitter. You’re like Randy Johnson pitching to Eddie Gaedel. So getting closer to the ground gets you closer to the height of the batter, and thus gives you a better chance of throwing a straight ball across the middle. The risk is that if the ball is hit straight back at you, you’re at risk of getting hammered, so be ready to field your position! (Yes, as coach-pitcher, I actually caught a boy’s line drive as an instinctual move to protect my pretty face, even though technically the kids were supposed to be the fielders. I then collapsed in a shivering heap like the old man I am.)
In softball, kneeling is not necessary, because of the underhand pitching. So you can stand.
Next, delivering the ball. Most coaches already know not to fire it in like Aroldis Chapman. But you can’t throw a ball that’s too slow, either. Going too slow ends up giving a pitched ball that comes in on a parabola. What you want to do is make sure, whether it’s baseball or softball, that the ball comes in straight and flat. It’ll take some fiddling to get the right speed. But what you want is a ball that consistently comes in at the same speed, and can reach the catcher (or the coach standing behind the batter). Too many times, I see coaches pitch slow, rising-then-sinking balls that hit home plate, especially in softball. Just because it’s softball doesn’t mean the pitch has to touch a cloud on the way to the plate.
Another tip for delivering the ball: Watch where the batter is swinging. Often, small children new to baseball or softball aren’t adjusting their swing to where the ball is. They’re just hacking away at the same spot. That’s OK. What you can do as a coach-pitcher is not only get that flat, straight ball there for the taking, but also try to pitch the ball to where they’re swinging.
So, for example, say one girl keeps swinging at shoulder height. Don’t pitch the ball at her knees — pitch it where she’s swinging the bat. That way, she develops some confidence, and it will make it easier to teach her later how to adjust to the pitch. Now, adjusting your pitch to where the batter swings is a difficult skill, equal, in my mind, to being able to place your 3-2 slider in the right place every time against the Yankees. It’ll take a few times around the lineup before you figure out where the ball should go and how to time the player’s swing, before you figure out how to throw such a pitch and not aim it. But if you’re coach-pitching with any regularity, you’ll figure out the peculiarities of your batters, and you can adjust your pitches accordingly.
Remember: straight, flat pitch that isn’t too slow and can reach the catcher, located where the batter is likely to swing.
If you need to practice these coach-pitching skills, make sure to grab a small child (which you probably have if you’re coaching a team that needs a coach-pitcher) for practice. Your child might not feel like playing ball with you, but if you nag the child and make him or her feel guilty enough, you’ll get the practice you need!
Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/bobcook/2011/05/17/how-to-coach-pitch-to-small-children/
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