Pitching Begins at What Age?

[Three A's baseball]

I know there is always alot of stomach churning when people talk about young kids pitching.

At what age does your town Little League and Travel begin having kids pitch.

My town little league starts kids pitching in 3rd grade with 1st and 2nd grade being coach pitch.

Our town travel program starts kids pitching at 8u level. The 8's are kept to a 40 pitch max per game and can pitch twice in one week with a 3 day rest.

What are your thoughts.

[TG Coach]

My son started in Ripken and finished in LL. Both programs allowed kids to pitch up to six innings a week starting at age nine. I pitched nine year olds one inning a week and ten year olds two innings a week in 9/10's. In 11/12's my eleven year olds pitched three innings a week. Twelve year olds pitched up to six innings a week depending on arm strength.

We didn't have pitch counts when I coached through these age groups. But I had a good idea of the number and pulled kids if I felt they had thrown enough.

[siritchy]

I know there is always alot of stomach churning when people talk about young kids pitching.

At what age does your town Little League and Travel begin having kids pitch.

My town little league starts kids pitching in 3rd grade with 1st and 2nd grade being coach pitch.

Our town travel program starts kids pitching at 8u level. The 8's are kept to a 40 pitch max per game and can pitch twice in one week with a 3 day rest.

What are your thoughts.

I think our park is too young. They have a mix of kid/coach pitch at pee-wee 7-8 year old range. The max pitch count is 60. I won't let my kids pitch at that level.
They follow Dixie Youth not LL.

[callyjr]

our league starts at 7 half way through the season. They 7 yr olds pitch from 35 feet. its basically useless for the batters and the pitchers. The next year the 8's start pitching at the beggining of the year from 40 feet. Both 7 and 8's are limited to 2 innings or 50 pitches, I would prefer about 30 pitches. Both divisions after 4 thrown balls have the coach come in and give 3 good pitches.

[jamesh23]

first time I pitched was in little leage I was 10, and I had to beg the coach for 2 years prior to let me pitch. I soon became the workhorse of my team pitching at least 3 innings per game and about 6 a week. im not braggin cuz they prolly robbed me of some velocity cuz I always threw slow.

[Jake Patterson]

We coach pitch at 7-8 and are looking at a mixture of coach pitch/player pitch at 9-10. Watching 9-10 kid pitch last season I am uncertain what they are really learning.

[jamesh23]

We coach pitch at 7-8 and are looking at a mixture of coach pitch/player pitch at 9-10. Watching 9-10 kid pitch last season I am uncertain what they are really learning.

a lot of coaches teach pushing off and showing the ball to CF/2B.

[TG Coach]

a lot of coaches teach pushing off and showing the ball to CF/2B.

Most 9/10 coaches put the kid on the mound and point him towards the plate.

[jamesh23]

Most 9/10 coaches put the kid on the mound and point him towards the plate.

well I meant once they actually get some coaching, not when they say go throw.

[TG Coach]

well I meant once they actually get some coaching, not when they say go throw.

I meant a lot of them don't get coaching.

[Three A's baseball]

I think the lack of coaching stems from the lack of knowledge and you are afraid to teach something incorrectly. This dosen't happen on the travel level in our town but the rec season is mostly dads who volunteer their time and there isn't enough of them at that.

I coach Travel Baseball, Rec Baseball, Basketball and Football. In the sports I feel I am not the strongest I try to enlist enough assistants that know the sport well. I am very good at handling the parents, making the logistical changes and such.

I am asking because we start 8u travel ball this year and they pitch from 40 feet and I am not sure if I am totally on board.

[jneas]

We introduce kid pitch half way thru 8's rec season with kids pitching last 2-3 innings. Main reason was to 'develop pitchers for travel season'. Tail waggin' dog, IMO. Funny thing is that another area league is planning to expand its machine pitch in the 8's this year in order to 'develop fielding and hitting'. Smarter option, again IMO.

Kid pitch at the 8u level is about as much fun as watching paint dry.

[ralanprod]

As I have had to live this level of baseball with my son who turned 9 in October, I can say that pitching kids under 10 is often a great waste of time.

Perhaps you could put together a "travel" team of "young studs" who could pitch well at this age. However, I would say that a majority of the kids have trouble getting the ball over the plate a majority of the time.

In my son's league (pony-mustang) I typically see a team have 2 pitchers that do a decent job, and then there is the rest of the staff that generally throws the ball somewhere in the direction of home plate. Put this together with catchers who are just learning the position and it can get messy. There were games last season that by the end of the game the plate ump was calling anything that didn't hit the batter a strike. If not we would have been there till midnight.

At this age, I think you really need to go with a pitch count, not an inning count. I've seen coaches let kids throw way too many pitches in a single inning for my tastes.

[Sammy]

The local rec. league near me uses t-ball at 8, coach pitch at 9, then I think they move into kid pitch at 10. It's the same story with kids coming out of this league. Good intentions, but short on teaching/learning fundamental baseball skills. But there's more to the story.

I think t-ball is the start of bad swing habits, but at least it gives the fielders something to chase. I am more a proponent of "coach toss" starting from the very beginning. Leave PROPER t-work for learning swing mechanics. The sooner kids are exposed to actual pitching, the sooner they learn to hit. Most of the problem in rec. ball, as previously stated, is lack of qualified instruction.

For lack of a really good solution all around, I would propose using coach pitch, or machine pitch, until at minimum 10 yr. olds. You want kids to get interested in pitching - AND be successful - but face it, accurate throws do not come without LOTS of quality practice. At the rec. level, I just don't see enough parents putting in the kind of time needed to develop three or four pitchers for each team.

The successful rec. program finds a way to keep it FUN for as many kids as possible, without turning it into a pseudo-professional league. Youth sports at that age are supposed to be about having fun. Take the fun away, and you lose your audience - the kids. Our local rec. baseball/softball program is far from perfect, but they've done a pretty decent job of keeping it fun for the kids. The better athletes eventually gravitate to travel ball around 12, so the program has served it's purpose.

[bluefan89]

Well here in small town USA (Tenn.) they just started last year with 4-6 yr. olds playing t-ball. Previously it was 4-7 year olds.

Then as my son this year starts out in minor league coach pitch, where 7-11 year olds play together, last year it was 7-12 year olds. Some just turning 7 year old. Is that crazy or what. There were some players nearing 200 lbs. and could smash the ball then some maybe 60 lbs. soaking wet.

Where I grew up in Ky. it was broken down a lot better than that.

Kids can try out for little league at 9yrs. but it is so political (not how good you are but who's ya daddy) a lot of kids get thrown back in with the little guys.

You ought to see how they select their all-stars at the end of the season...terrible.

Maybe this is why the High School team has never gone to the state contest versus where I grew up and it seemed more about developing the player the high school there has won 4 state championships, and seem to always be good.


Enough of my preaching appreciate any thoughts on our youth baseball program.....is it just me?

[Jake Patterson]

Well here in small town USA (Tenn.) they just started last year with 4-6 yr. olds playing t-ball. Previously it was 4-7 year olds.

Then as my son this year starts out in minor league coach pitch, where 7-11 year olds play together, last year it was 7-12 year olds. Some just turning 7 year old. Is that crazy or what. There were some players nearing 200 lbs. and could smash the ball then some maybe 60 lbs. soaking wet.

Where I grew up in Ky. it was broken down a lot better than that.

Kids can try out for little league at 9yrs. but it is so political (not how good you are but who's ya daddy) a lot of kids get thrown back in with the little guys.

You ought to see how they select their all-stars at the end of the season...terrible.

Maybe this is why the High School team has never gone to the state contest versus where I grew up and it seemed more about developing the player the high school there has won 4 state championships, and seem to always be good.


Enough of my preaching appreciate any thoughts on our youth baseball program.....is it just me?

Blue,
LL has new age requirements. I do not believe 12 y/o's are allowed to play in the Minors any longer. You should check their site for help.

7 and 12's on the same field is crazy and unsafe. One of the 14 basic legal rules of coaching is matching and equating. The rule basically states the coach is responsible to insure the players are playing with players of like skills, size and ability.

Too many leagues are pushing the pitching start age lower and lower. It doesn't help the game or the players. 4-7 y/o pitching just slows the game down and makes the process painful. The benefit they obtain from getting frustrated on the mound throwing beach balls means little when they get to the big field.

[bluefan89]

yeah...they changed and are making the 12 yr old move up to little league for 9-13 yr olds. The, I think 6-8 little league team coaches are pitching a fit that the 12 yr. olds have to move up this year and they have to draft at least one of them....which some are pretty good.

There are still going to be probably 10-15, 11 year olds playing with many new to the coach pitch division 7 year olds.

Wish they had a 7-9 yr division.

Thanks for the input

[Ursa Major]

11 year olds playing coach pitch? That's absurd, unless you're talking Challenger Division (i.e., kids with disabilities). Sounds like you've got some inexperienced types running the asylum ... er, league.

Our league has an older guy whose son has graduated out of the league, but he still is available to help out. He's excrutiatingly fair and very wise, and they bring him in as an uber-elder when controversy erupts and coaches are at loggerheads. He nods, says, "This is the way it should be done," and everyone grumbles but goes along without question. Sounds like you need someone like that.

[Jake Patterson]

Our board has three guys who's children have passed through the league many years ago. Keeping the old guys around keeps it reasonable.

11 year olds playing coach pitch? That's absurd, unless you're talking Challenger Division (i.e., kids with disabilities). Sounds like you've got some inexperienced types running the asylum ... er, league.

Our league has an older guy whose son has graduated out of the league, but he still is available to help out. He's excrutiatingly fair and very wise, and they bring him in as an uber-elder when controversy erupts and coaches are at loggerheads. He nods, says, "This is the way it should be done," and everyone grumbles but goes along without question. Sounds like you need someone like that.

[bluefan89]

Sounds like we need to move to your area. It actually has gotten a little better over the last 2 years. New president and they are trying but the ones that think they are the gift to the County are the problem.

I think the age break (7-11) coach pitch is going to get some of the inexperienced younger kids hurt. They are playing 12-14 games this season with 8 teams.

The draft is coming up so it ought to be a lot of fun....not!


How does the political card play out in your areas where you have youth baseball leagues?

It even runs up thru the school system here, as in basketball there might be full roster team....but the coach plays the 6 person rotation....not much development here for the kids......seems like a lot of burnout.

See Ya