Left-Handed Pitching Techniques for Youth

Pitching is one of the most difficult actions to perform in sports. You must throw a baseball through an imaginary target 60 feet 6 inches away with control, movement and velocity. The slightest error in your pitching technique will result in a missed location, a loss of movement and a decrease in velocity.

  1. Balance and Posture

    • Step into the delivery. Place your left foot just in front of the pitching rubber, and raise your right leg while squaring your hips and shoulders to the strike zone; your hips and shoulders should be perpendicular to the front lip of home plate. This stance, just before descending the mound to delivery, is a balance checkpoint. Practice good balance and upright posture; maintain this same posture and core balance through the pitch.

    Tall and Fall

    • Begin to fall toward the plate while maintaining posture and balance. The fall should begin when you raise your right knee to your hips during the balance phase. Simply let your weight shift forward and glide down the mound without pushing off the rubber. Staying tall with good posture and balance throughout the delivery will allow your hips, trunk and shoulders to provide maximum rotational torque to maximize your velocity.

    Thumb to Thigh, Elbow High

    • Separate your glove and throwing hands as you fall. Bring the ball hand down around your left hip. Your left thumb should point toward your left thigh. Place your arm into the throwing position. Raise the ball high above your head behind you with your left arm making an "L" shape. Your left elbow should be at shoulder height. Your arm must to reach the throwing position just as your front foot lands for delivery.

    Equal and Opposite

    • Your glove arm should reflect the motions of your throwing arm involuntarily --- an equal and opposite reflection. Raise your glove-side elbow to shoulder height, but point the glove hand downward. Your glove hand will travel in toward your body as your throw arm projects out toward the plate. Keeping your body's movement, with its posture and balance, independent of your arms' movement will help increase control of the baseball.

    Throw Downhill and Follow Through

    • As your throw arm comes through, be mindful of staying on top of the baseball. Keep the fingers responsible for the leverage on the baseball on top of the ball so that when you release the baseball it will travel down toward the strike zone. The throw arm should finish loose on the right side of the body for proper deceleration. The arm should dangle loosely upon follow-through.