When to teach a proprer infield throw

[rkbenn]

My son and a couple of the infielders throw like pitchers/outfielders. What is the proper age, or time to teach how to throw like an infielder? What if they pitch and play infield? Teach them two ways to throw?

[TG Coach]

You can teach what you believe to be age appropriate baseball or you can teach baseball. As soon as a kid has the strength to make a snap throw, teach him.

[halfguard]

i asked this question a while back and got no response. im confused as well. right now my son (9yo) just brings the ball straight back, ball facing 3rd base.

[rkbenn]

i asked this question a while back and got no response. im confused as well. right now my son (9yo) just brings the ball straight back, ball facing 3rd base.

The typical pitching throw doesn't work, too slow for the short field of LL. I've taught both throws, but not all can deliver both throws accurately. I've heard the whip throw is a little harder on the youth arm.

[collegeStar]

whip throw???

[BGriff34]

If your kid is in that 9-12 age range then I wouldn't worry too much about it just yet. When they move to the 90' base paths (or if they are already there) I would make it a point to teach them the proper way to throw on the infield.

[korp]

You can teach what you believe to be age appropriate baseball or you can teach baseball. As soon as a kid has the strength to make a snap throw, teach him.
Yep ... as you go up in levels the speed of the game will naturally get quicker but realistically I've seen people in high school still have the longer arm circles in the infield. Thats something that should definitely be eliminated for college though or most of the runners will eat you up.

[scorekeeper]

Yep ... as you go up in levels the speed of the game will naturally get quicker but realistically I've seen people in high school still have the longer arm circles in the infield. Thats something that should definitely be eliminated for college though or most of the runners will eat you up.

I don’t know about MOST college runners eating up fielders who have longer arm actions, but I agree that the longer arm actions won’t work in as many cases. ;)

But it sure seems to me that this is one of those problems that pretty much is self-policing. I don’t know of many coaches who’ll keep putting IFrs at positions where they often get beat because of throwing technique.

[StraightGrain11]

Here's a thought: is an "infield throw":noidea something you teach [as a coach] or something you learn/figure out on your own [as an athlete]. Do you think most infielders we see today (pro level) were TAUGHT to throw that way or do you think, as superior athletes, their bodies figured it out?

Throwing is throwing. "Throwing like a pitcher/outfielder" is still THROWING.

So where do they differ? The amount of body action used (infielders = more arm, less body). Pitchers are trying to deliver a baseball as fast as possible - so they use a motion which allows them to derive the maximum amount of energy from their bodies to do so. Outfielders are usually making throws with there bodies moving at full speed - this elongates everything the body does (try running full speed and taking the same size crow hop an infielder takes...). The body realizes the arm motion must match and sync itself to these elongated movements, so it does . Infielders are focused on quickness. They need to get the ball from point A (fielding it) to point B (throwing it) as quicklyas possible. So everything is shortend - crow hop, upper body movement, arm action. These athletes have simply let their bodies figure out how to sync a shorter arm action with shorter, quicker body movements.
In Little League, I remember my coach always trying to get me to stop "short-arming the ball" when he had me pitch. It took me a couple years to figure out what he meant and how to stop. Why? Because I was a catcher, first!! I had figured out that it was much quicker to throw with a "short arm" motion when trying to throw out runners or throwing the ball back to the pitcher.

If you want your son to LEARN how to "throw like an infielder", then have him learn to move his body like one. Make him quicken/shorten up everything he does, and I'm sure his arm will soon follow suit.

[scorekeeper]

Nice post Grain.

The most dramatic improvement I’ve seen, as far as IFrs goes, was a couple years back when the IF coach did this. He had each IFr on the team take 5 balls at 3rd, 5 at short, and 5 at 2nd, twice every practice for 3 weeks, then again once every week during the season. So they could hit balls fairly quickly, two of us would sit there with stop watches and get a time from the time the ball hit the glove until it hit the 1st baseman’s mitt. Then we tracked what every player was doing at every position as far as time and accuracy of throws went.

The improvement in pop2pop and accuracy from the beginning of the season to the end was amazing! And what was even more amazing was, no one was telling them dinky doo. They had to figure out how to improve themselves, and they did.

Now this was a group of older kids, 13-14, but I don’t know why it wouldn’t work with kids of any age. All it is is giving opportunities to improve a motor skill.

[rkbenn]

Nice post Grain.

The most dramatic improvement I’ve seen, as far as IFrs goes, was a couple years back when the IF coach did this. He had each IFr on the team take 5 balls at 3rd, 5 at short, and 5 at 2nd, twice every practice for 3 weeks, then again once every week during the season. So they could hit balls fairly quickly, two of us would sit there with stop watches and get a time from the time the ball hit the glove until it hit the 1st baseman’s mitt. Then we tracked what every player was doing at every position as far as time and accuracy of throws went.

The improvement in pop2pop and accuracy from the beginning of the season to the end was amazing! And what was even more amazing was, no one was telling them dinky doo. They had to figure out how to improve themselves, and they did.

Now this was a group of older kids, 13-14, but I don’t know why it wouldn’t work with kids of any age. All it is is giving opportunities to improve a motor skill.

I've recommended to our head coach pop2pop contest for Infielders. It's a great way to have fun and teach a quick release with good footwork.

[rkbenn]

whip throw???

It is when you bring the ball to your ear after you field it and whip the throw from there in a circular motion.

[RobV]

Here's a thought: is an "infield throw":noidea something you teach [as a coach] or something you learn/figure out on your own [as an athlete]. Do you think most infielders we see today (pro level) were TAUGHT to throw that way or do you think, as superior athletes, their bodies figured it out?

Throwing is throwing. "Throwing like a pitcher/outfielder" is still THROWING.

So where do they differ? The amount of body action used (infielders = more arm, less body). Pitchers are trying to deliver a baseball as fast as possible - so they use a motion which allows them to derive the maximum amount of energy from their bodies to do so. Outfielders are usually making throws with there bodies moving at full speed - this elongates everything the body does (try running full speed and taking the same size crow hop an infielder takes...). The body realizes the arm motion must match and sync itself to these elongated movements, so it does . Infielders are focused on quickness. They need to get the ball from point A (fielding it) to point B (throwing it) as quicklyas possible. So everything is shortend - crow hop, upper body movement, arm action. These athletes have simply let their bodies figure out how to sync a shorter arm action with shorter, quicker body movements.
In Little League, I remember my coach always trying to get me to stop "short-arming the ball" when he had me pitch. It took me a couple years to figure out what he meant and how to stop. Why? Because I was a catcher, first!! I had figured out that it was much quicker to throw with a "short arm" motion when trying to throw out runners or throwing the ball back to the pitcher.

If you want your son to LEARN how to "throw like an infielder", then have him learn to move his body like one. Make him quicken/shorten up everything he does, and I'm sure his arm will soon follow suit.


..... :nod: :clapping

[korp]

I don’t know about MOST college runners eating up fielders who have longer arm actions, but I agree that the longer arm actions won’t work in as many cases. ;)

But it sure seems to me that this is one of those problems that pretty much is self-policing. I don’t know of many coaches who’ll keep putting IFrs at positions where they often get beat because of throwing technique.

Well the average speed and above in college are able to beat out the longer arms at times ... obviously other factors like speed of throw, speed of the ball hit to them play a factor as well. Its more common in highschool for long arms to still exist but thats what seperates them for the next level ... and for sure not 'everybody' in highschool has a long arm.

[Twitch5]

If your kid is in that 9-12 age range then I wouldn't worry too much about it just yet. When they move to the 90' base paths (or if they are already there) I would make it a point to teach them the proper way to throw on the infield.

I have never understood the reason for teaching "different" mechanics based on the field dimensions or the level of competition. Baseball is all about the fundamentals, and a 11-12 y.o. is definitely old enough and mature enough to learn proper mechanics.

Twitch5

[Twitch5]

It is when you bring the ball to your ear after you field it and whip the throw from there in a circular motion.

Not sure I completely understand... Is this similar to a catcher's throw when a runner is stealing?


Twitch5

[scorekeeper]

Well the average speed and above in college are able to beat out the longer arms at times ... obviously other factors like speed of throw, speed of the ball hit to them play a factor as well. Its more common in highschool for long arms to still exist but thats what seperates them for the next level ... and for sure not 'everybody' in highschool has a long arm.

My point was, it isn’t just the speed of the runners that improves. The quickness and the average arm of a college IFr has improved a whole lot too. But more than that, the average college runner isn’t a 4.1/40 guy.

The Skills of the entire pool at every level increases.

[wogdoggy]

My point was, it isn’t just the speed of the runners that improves. The quickness and the average arm of a college IFr has improved a whole lot too. But more than that, the average college runner isn’t a 4.1/40 guy.

The Skills of the entire pool at every level increases.

agreed score,,, you got sstops who throw 90 plus that makes the field level again,, and thats the beauty of the 90 feet...:clapping

[Ursa Major]

Straightgrain said: If you want your son to LEARN how to "throw like an infielder", then have him learn to move his body like one. Make him quicken/shorten up everything he does, and I'm sure his arm will soon follow suit.Exactly. I would worry first about getting the footwork right. And, you will have 12 year olds who are still trying to get the overhand throwing motion right, so you can't rush them into .... uh, rushing their throws. One size may not fit all.

And many, many kids end their competitive careers at age 12 or 13 and just don't have the tools to do a whip throw. Why force 'em to if they'll suffer a final year's worth of inaccurate throws?

Another problem in that age bracket is that many kids also gain the arm action and hand strength sufficient to cause the ball to start tailing on long sidearm or 3/4 throws. So, they've got to compensate for that problem now too.

What you can do is to work on quick, short throw drills akin to a shortstop's sidearm feed to the second baseman on a DP. As they get comfortable throwing short distances with that arm slot, you can work that slot into their regular infielding repertoire.

[BGriff34]

Like what was said above, its all about footwork and not so much arm motion. I would start with just fielding grounders and working on the transition into the throw by staying low and getting the feet moving in the right direction. When you say they throw like pitchers it probably means they stand straight up after fielding the ball. Keeping him from popping up after fielding the ball is key.

[rkbenn]

Not sure I completely understand... Is this similar to a catcher's throw when a runner is stealing?


Twitch5

I teach the same throw to catchers. I would say they are very similiar. I have to admit, when it comes to the catchers, I'm a little behind. This is a postion that many coaches need to better understand.