Throwing during practice

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Apr 5, 2013
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Back on the dirt...
Since we were a 10u team, we throw early and often. (Now a first year 14u team). We always start close 10-15’ working on mechanics and location. Then move back to 35-40’ increasing the velocity. I cue them I want to hear the catch, make it pop. We back up to 60-70’ for about 10-15 then 100’ for a 5 throws then I try To max them out to see how they are holding on to their mechanics. I usually only do max’s 1 time a week.

I also will do a drill for time on quick exchanges during this warm up. Somewhere between 20 and 40’, I will have them count how many throws they can get in one min. 1 player counts the throws and 1 player counts the drops. I like to change the distance of this workout because it changes how they are throwing to each other. Typically this is 18-22 throws at 35 feet per player.

So sometimes we are near 70-100 throws before we actually start fielding work. We have been fortunate to not have any arm issues thus far. Even when I was coaching rec or younger teams we would get at least 50+ throws in. Nothing else matters if you cant catch and throw!

I follow Austin Wasserman and really try to teach the girls his mechanics when I can. I am a big believer in getting loose to avoid injury. I hurt my arm in HS throwing to hard before getting loose and I still feel it.


Looking forward to seeing more replies.
 
Last edited:

marriard

Not lost - just no idea where I am
Oct 2, 2011
4,312
113
Florida
How much do you throw (overhand) during practice? What age group do you coach? Do you try and limit the amount of times they throw?

A lot... first ball skill we do after warmups is getting their arms loose and throwing. Also pretty much all our drills in the field will have a throwing component to them.

That said, any one with any sort of injury or pain is excused or just wont do the throw in the drill (in many drills they end up receiving throws at various bases.

Thinking about it, the amount really hasn't changed that much since 10U. The drills have changed and evolved of course.

Note: Very similar to @4 girls' dad - we do a lot of Wasserman drills at the start
 

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