The Characteristics of Throwing a Ball

Grip

• The ball is held with the pads of your fingertips, not in the palm of your hand. A very young thrower holds the ball with his index, middle and ring fingers on top of the ball and the thumb under the ball. Throwers with larger hands grip the ball with the index and middle finger on top and the thumb underneath.

Stance

• Your body is sideways with your chest and hips perpendicular to the target. If you are right-handed, your left shoulder points toward the target. The right shoulder points toward the target if you are left-handed. The feet are a slightly wider than shoulder width apart. The back foot is square to the target; the instep of the foot faces the target.

Weight Shift

• At the start of the throw your weight is evenly balanced on both feet. The thrower takes his arm back and his weight shifts to the back foot. As the back leg pushes the body forward, the left foot steps forward with the toe pointing straight ahead at the target. All of your weight transfers to this front foot as the ball is released. For left-handers, the right leg steps forward.

Arm Motion

• The throw starts with both arms relaxed in front of your body while holding the ball. The throwing arm moves down and back and continues to where it is shoulder high with a 90 degree bend at the elbow. The arm looks like the letter "L" with the ball and hand pointing toward the sky. The arm is in alignment with the target, not wrapped around the back. As the hips start to rotate toward the target the arm moves forward. After the front foot has landed, the arm extends fully and releases the ball.

The Finish

• As the ball is released from the hand, keep your head up and keep your weight over the front foot. The front leg is bent to where the knee is positioned over the foot. The throwing arm follows through, down and across the body. The back leg comes forward as your weight becomes more evenly balanced on both feet.