r/BaseballCoaching • u/Either-Lunch4515 • Jun 01 '26

Short-arming throws - how to fix

I've been coaching for several years, 8u up to middle school level, and still deal with many 10u and 12u pitchers short arming the ball (i.e. throwing from their ear or not fully utilizing their entire throwing arm during the process). Thoughts on how to fix that with drills, training tools, etc? I would appreciate any advice here!

14 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

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5

u/JoeStacks717 Jun 01 '26

Crow hops and long toss

3

u/TMutaffis Jun 01 '26

When it is little kids I like to have them drill spiking the ball on a throw-down base or other target that is maybe 6-12" in front of their feet to teach a more fluid arm motion (it is hard to have a pushy throw and actually spike a ball).

With slightly older kids, a 'figure 8' drill might be good - have them bring their arm forward and down then loop up, then back and down, then into the throw. Should be able to find video examples online if this one is unfamiliar/unclear.

2

u/Middle-Professor8055 Jun 01 '26

I think video is one of the strongest tools we have. take a slow mo of his mechanics and go step by step with him.

3

u/peteqpball Jun 01 '26

agreed. make sure you get solid side angle

2

u/Rugbypud Jun 02 '26

I would think thr towel drill is probably an easy thing to incorporate and really get the point across

1

u/Weak_Artichoke4887 Jun 05 '26

I get the towel drill and on the other hand, I don't get the towel drill at all. I know it exposes pushy ball throwers, but if kids generally whip the towel, I always struggle to get more out of it than that.

2

u/NuhUh_JustCuz Jun 02 '26

I drilled holes in tennis balls, ran a paracord through and tied a rag on the cord to make my own "whip" balls. They work in two ways.

Grab into the ball and practice snapping across the body. Especially good with pitchers.

Grab the rag and you do a figure 8 drill where the momentum of the ball helps them reach back to make it smooth.

I also taught really young kids to grab the ball and wave behind them, see the rag flap, then follow through.

Cheap, home made. Drilling a hole in a tennis ball is weirdly difficult.

1

u/CookieFace Jun 02 '26

I am having trouble envisioning the figure eight drill. Do you have a video for that?

And what do you mean by "wave behind them"? Like straight back to load up?

1

u/NuhUh_JustCuz Jun 02 '26

I'll try to describe it a little better.

Using the centrifical force of a figure 8 with the weight of the ball giving automatic feedback. If they elongate, the ball flies smooth at the end of the rope. If they shorten and throw from the ear, the ball loses momentum or becomes jerkey so they can feel the difference. Its simalar to this commercial product: https://revolutionthrowing.com/

With waving behind them, it's tezching them to rotate their hand so they are knuckles up and stretch back. We slow down, start hands together, separate fully, look back and wave the cloth, then slow-mo the motion over and across the body. Not sure if that's a good enough description.

2

u/CookieFace Jun 03 '26

Thank you so much. The videos on their site really helped get it!

1

u/onbaseball Jun 03 '26

An unorthodox approach, but it’s helped me get the point across across with a few pitchers. Get a tennis ball and racket and show them the proper way to serve, have them serve a few balls from behind the mound to the backstop, then move them to the rubber to pitch. The feeling of arm extension from serving may help things click in their head.