age to begin throwing to bases

[OregonDuck]

When I coached T-ball I always had them try to make the play. This was a mixed boys and girls t-ball, most kids were 5 years old. Our league didn't keep score or keep track of outs so what we did on defense didn't really matter. The whole team batted each inning. I decided that I'd make it a team goal to get at least one out per game. We got 5 outs at first on a throw and catch in a 14 game season. They all came in the last 4 games.

So I would say always throw it. Can't get better if you don't practice it.

 

[GOINGDEEP]

When I started with 4-5-6 year olds, we rolled the ball to the bases. ( good hard rolls ) By mid season we progressed to half way throws, across the field distance, to full throws by the playoffs. The league had no "foul territory rules" as many leagues do now, meaning an overthrow to first wasn't a dead ball like today. We got a lot of outs compared to coaches who pushed a full throw at those ages, or we at least kept the runner to one advanced base.

Rolling may sound sissy, I believe it teaches aim, and it's also easier to teach those nervous beginners to get their body behind the ball and learn to scoop. By the next age bracket 7-8, those girls were hands above the other teams defensive and tossing skills. Long story short, if you're asking about a "team" I'd say 6-7 depending on the league age breakup.

 

[Frenchy101010]

Good question, I would encourage any throw if they dont start when will they? My DD played 8u REC coach pitch last year, she played 3B and was encouraged to make the throw from 3B to 1B all game. Maybe they did it because she has the arm.

But this year in 8U Travel Coach pitch, they tell her to make that throw only when there is no one on???????????????????????? She was so mad last weekend when they told her to just hold it when other runners were on. She said Daddy I'm just going to make that throw, I had to tell her if you do that be ready to get taken out of the game. It is a little frustrating knowing she can make that throw and does consistently 8 out of 10 times. Just loading up the bases to get an easy force out is just WRONG IMO!

 

[Rocketech1]

To answer your question, the first game of the season. The goal of 6u is to teach the basics of the game. Throwing, catching, fielding and hitting. If you are not teaching these fundamentals at 6u you shouldn't be coaching, period.

By the way, I have seen a lot of tee ball teams in both softball and baseball over the years and have never seen a team intentionally roll a ball to a base in an attempt to get an out. Teach these kids how to play the game correctly from day one and you would be surprised at what they can achieve with a little practice each week.

 

[soonerfan1966]

glad to see i'm not in the minority on this issue. my son once told me "if you dont want to coach, keep your mouth closed"(he's not the coach either by the way). so i try to keep that in mind but sometimes it gets frustrating.

 

[GOINGDEEP]

I think some are missing the point of the rolls. It's a reverse training aid. Mostly what I've seen with first year players, especially 4 YO's, is a fear of a thrown hard object, thrown by another inexperienced 4-5 YO. A lot of closing the eyes, turning the head, getting the body out of the way and trying to snag the ball with the arm extended to the side.

The rolling seems to eliminate the fear, it's only a temporary building block that ( to me ) allowed me to teach the defensive end first. The ability to throw does little good if there is no one ready ( physically ) to receive it.

Each philosophy is different, this was mine and worked best as a foundation for the other 10+ years my group played, some still playing.

Kinda like choosing to send your kid to pre-k, or straight to kindergarten. Some argue pre-k prepares children better than just kindergarten, you could say that same "idea" is why some roll and then transition into throwing.

 

[Turtle]

I'm with the consensus here. I just finished my 6th season of T-Ball and have 4 seasons of 8U under my belt. I'm about to move my bunch of 6 year olds up to 8U in the fall. We throw to the bases at least 90% of the time. We got outs maybe 10% of the time (we have some decent pitcher/first combinations), but those were great accomplishments with much praise and celebration. I think girls learn by doing and they need to be doing it right. Just like with bigger girls, if they can obviously tag a girl or run to the base for an out, do it. But if you're just running because you're afraid you can't get an out, the motive behind the play is wrong. Practice makes perfect (or at least better) for the fielder and first baseman.

I appreciate Goingdeep's measured approach to rolling and the theory behind it, but I also am on the negative reaction side to those methods. That's mainly because a lot of us have seen coaches at 8U who are still telling their girls to roll the ball to increase the chance of an out. Clearly, at that age, you've got to be playing the game the way it should be played rather than trying tricks in an effort to get the coach a win. I've never been so mad at an opposing coach as I was when a guy stopped his pitcher, who was throwing perfect strikes to first base, from throwing it and made her roll it during a play off game. The mass exodus his team experienced after that was only right.

Go Sooners.

 

[GOINGDEEP]

I'm with the consensus here. I just finished my 6th season of T-Ball and have 4 seasons of 8U under my belt. I'm about to move my bunch of 6 year olds up to 8U in the fall. We throw to the bases at least 90% of the time. We got outs maybe 10% of the time (we have some decent pitcher/first combinations), but those were great accomplishments with much praise and celebration. I think girls learn by doing and they need to be doing it right. Just like with bigger girls, if they can obviously tag a girl or run to the base for an out, do it. But if you're just running because you're afraid you can't get an out, the motive behind the play is wrong. Practice makes perfect (or at least better) for the fielder and first baseman.

I appreciate Goingdeep's measured approach to rolling and the theory behind it, but I also am on the negative reaction side to those methods. That's mainly because a lot of us have seen coaches at 8U who are still telling their girls to roll the ball to increase the chance of an out. Clearly, at that age, you've got to be playing the game the way it should be played rather than trying tricks in an effort to get the coach a win. I've never been so mad at an opposing coach as I was when a guy stopped his pitcher, who was throwing perfect strikes to first base, from throwing it and made her roll it during a play off game. The mass exodus his team experienced after that was only right.

Go Sooners.

Thank you for the kind words, each rec league has it's own rules. Ours at the time had no "foul territory rule", where a dead ball is called for an overthrow. Mass chaos is what I saw from the defense chasing the overthrow, turning a single to a triple or in the park HR.

The roll with 4 to 6 year olds, beginning that long journey, eliminated that chaos. It enabled us to omit the confusion by an overthrow where the whole stands are yelling 100 different opinions.

It's only a tool, for the young to develop. T-ball stops at 6-7, but lots of teens/adults use a tee for practice. Infield, between innings, throw a few fly balls and rollers to each other. It's a basic mechanic, nothing more, nothing less.

One rule I didn't like in rec was the tee option. 4-6 was coach pitch, if a batter got two strikes, they had the option for a tee. My girls never used that option. My first toss out to the parking lot in fastpitch was 6u during the regional playoffs, the opposing coaches were telling their batters to swing twice to get to the tee options. Ahh, the good ole days.