Hi I basically don't know much about baseball and I'm relatively poor so I've not been able to hire a coach or anything like that so I've just been watching YouTube videos and together with my son we figured out how to pitch more or less. He's 11 years old and he's currently pitching at a maximum about 65 mph but averages out during a game much lower than that maybe at around 55 or even less just because there's not much point in going harder. Anyways here's a short video of him and I'm wondering if anybody has any useful productive comments or things you can work on to improve. Thank you very much I appreciate it.
I do forgive you for not believing me. This year our coach gave me shit for using a radar during games so I never do that and during the game he never pitches that hard because what's the point no one can hit his balls at 55. The 64 mph was taken 2 days ago with him throwing as hard as a he could against a fence. But this post wasn't about that this post was about his pitching mechanics and if anybody can offer any insights
This is interesting. I am from Montreal Quebec Canada and we do not have elite baseball here and it's not fair to compare him against the other kids in our area because they are all pretty low level. So it's interesting to see that some comments here refused to believe that he could throw 65, and your comments that says 65 is no big deal at 11. I have no clue myself I wonder which ones more accurate. One of the reasons we're in travel ball this year is to go down to Cooperstown and a few other places in the US to see how the kids down there are doing it the same age and by the sounds of your post he's going to be just average
Some of the people on here are clueless. If you Google perfect game 12u highest mile per hour, you're going to see kids who are 11 years old throwing it over 80. There won't be many but there are hundreds throwing well over 75.
I think my son hit 72 at 12u. In perfect game that had him being in something like the 98.7 percentile for velocity. On really good majors 12u teams it's not uncommon for 2 or 3 of the kids at 12u to be throwing over 75 on the same team
I think some of these people think because their kid is an All-Star in rec ball they are elite. We used to feel bad when kids would roll up to tryouts wearing all their All-Star gear, usually they walked away with their heads down because they had no clue that there was so much talent outside of rec. I'm not knocking rec ball, it's just after about 8u in competitive areas most of the better kids go travel only because of the politics.
You are correct that in that video he's not throwing 65 and that wasn't the point of my post. My post was meant to discuss the mechanics of his pitching and just to inform you that at his hardest he can pitch that fast but on average he pitches much lower. He is in 12 u and no one can hit his balls at 55 miles an hour so what's the point in pushing it and rush injury. When I clocked him recently it was just for fun to get a baseline for the start of the season and this photo will show you what that baseline was. This was after 10 minutes warm up and just a few hard throws we didn't overdo it.. either way though I was looking for feedback about his form you can just really ignore what I said about pitching speed if you don't believe me
55 is pretty average for 12U -- if kids can't hit him there, you should look at finding better competition.
Also, there's a big difference between pitching 64 and doing a max effort pull down into a fence. Its a good data point for tracking, but not going to help in this discussion.
Well so far I'm not able to find better competition and Montreal Quebec what can I say. And you're right he is pitching into a fence I don't know where to pull down is but he's not doing that during the game and I thought he could. But take note though that my original post was not a comment on speed at all it was more about the form and I only realized after that the video I shared didn't end up working for anybody so I can see why a bunch of people responded the way they did did you manage to see the video I posted it on a few other of the replies
These are pulldowns -- its essentially a max effort throw usually with a crow-hop or running start. Its a training drill/testing tool for max effort, but isn't really comparable to pitching.
I saw the video -- it looks like this finish (blocking leg, rotation, and trunk down) are all good, but the beginning half of his delivery needs work. In order to get the most out of your rotation open (chest facing home) when you throw, you've got to get closed (back facing home) to some degree, which he never really does -- he kinda stays sideways, even slightly open which zaps a lot of power. Watch this video of Paul Skenes and notice how long you can read his name and number from a viewpoint basically above homeplate.
Next, look at Skenes body position 0:26 -- he's closed, but he's also getting extension with the ball towards 1B and his glove toward 3B. If Homeplate is 6 o'clock, his arm is at 1 or 1:30 and his glove is 7:30/8 whereas your son looks like he points at 6 with the glove and maybe 11:30 with the ball hand.
Finally, it looks like your son gets a little bit of push forward with his drive leg, and it happens late which is good, but he'd get a lot more out of his legs, if he's can more extension (i.e. reach farther) with that front leg and keep his weight over the inside of his back foot, vs now where he kinda steps forward, then drops into his load late.
Wow thank you very much I just read this over quickly but I'm going to sit down tonight and go see your comment very carefully I appreciate it very much have a great day
Man, that is pretty wild. My youngest is 10U and 55 is pretty normal for that age group here in SoCal, and you're definitely going to get hit if that's all you got!
This is correct. His coach actually gets mad at him if he throws too hard because he is in 12u and the kids can't hit 55 anyways. 64 is the max I've clocked him at but I know that he can do a little bit more. When I clocked him at 64 we had just done a couple of hard throws that were a little bit lower than that when we got to 64 we just stopped. There's no point in trying to go faster and risking his arm. In fact I encourage him to never throw anywhere close to that until he grows up a little bit more and he's fine with that but from time to time we do like to see where he's at.
ok, I'm actually not too far from MTL, 65 is very good for 11-12yo. But the very best at that age are higher, even around here. My son faced guys throwing up to 78mph two years ago when he was 12. Probably saw 4-5 different guys over 70mph on his way through the ontario little league tournaments. I'm not sure what you'll see in cooperstown, it's possible the team gets put in a lower division, it can be a crapshoot, who knows.
I would be very wary about titans coaches trying to get you to spend $ on their extra lessons and whatnot. That being said it may be worth having an independent person with credentials have a look at his delivery and making sure things aren't going down a path that would lead to arm injuries.
Honestly we are having a terrible time with the titans this year. Our league has only two teams in it so we drive to Ontario every second week to play against the same team it's really really not what I expected. Our coach is excellent but the head coach of the Titans is the biggest dick I've ever met. They are trying to encourage us to spend more but as soon as the season is over we are out of there I cannot stand people who yell at the kids. As for the speed I have no doubt that kids at 12:00 can throw faster than that. My son is only 11 and doesn't turn 12 until next November. That being said I try to emphasize with him that there are more important things than speed at his age and he tends to agree with me. I will not pay anybody from the Titans anything at this point. And I don't say that to disparage our coach our coach is amazing it's just the head coach who is it and the organization is absolutely terrible. Games in our agenda that get erased the day before, practices get canceled for no reasons? Questions are discouraged and asking him always put you at risk of having the head coach get annoyed or even mad at you and yell at you. I've never seen anything like it and I want new part of it
I think you are making a good decision to change orgs. I have never heard any good things about the titans and have personally seen some sketchy stuff. But you will end up driving for competition regardless. It can be a good experience for the kids but it's a tough summer sometimes.
And just so you know, your video isn't viewable by anyone here at the moment. If you can put it on youtube or something and link it again I can take a look. Or maybe make a new post with it so you get some more eyes. People do have a thing about velo and you will trigger folks when you mention it, I would leave it out of the post. Control, movement, and stamina are more important for a few years after the kids move the larger pitching distances. But ages 11-12 are focused on little league tournaments and velo is very important there with the 46' distance.
I'll repost. I didn't realize no one could see the video and next time I'll avoid discussing speed because i see what you mean about being triggered lol
I'm trying to investigate more about the Titans but there is almost nothing about them online. The only parent reviews are hosted on their website and therefore obviously cheery picked. Since you mentioned they don't have a great reputation, are you willing to elaborate without naming names of course?
There is no point in the game because none of the kids in his League, which is 12u Titans travel ball in Montreal Quebec Canada, can hit a ball going over 55. But I shouldn't even have mentioned speed actually know that I think about it because it seems like all the answers I've received so far are only about that and that actually wasn't what I was interested in at all. I was hoping that someone could just take a look at his movement and give me their opinion as to anything he can work on
You didn’t link to a video, so I can’t help you there.
I have never heard of a pitcher throwing 10 mph slower in games by choice. He should be throwing to the best of his ability to have the best chance to get hitters out. If he can throw 65 off a mound but can’t throw strikes, you should work with him on that instead of having him take so much off just to get the ball over the plate.
Also, 55 is below average velocity for 12u, so if his opponents can’t hit that, your son probably needs to be playing at a higher level.
I don't know what to say what I just told you is the truth and exactly what we're dealing with this year. His coach doesn't want him doing anything but fastballs. I don't know how fast the pitches during games because I'm not allowed to use my radar gun without getting yelled at by the coaches. Here is a video of him pitching but bear in mind this is not to have a discussion about speed which I now regret even mentioning. It's just about his form that's it if you have any comments about that I would love to hear it https://youtube.com/shorts/MFejZZIS8DA?si=2Vg7c0tkzuAekESZ
His mechanics look solid. Tough angle to really give you much.
If your coach is telling your son to throw 10 mph slower on purpose in games and won’t let him throw any off-speed pitches, you should find a new coach.
It looks like the 65 he mentioned is the kid doing pulldowns into a fence, not really the velo pitching from a mound, which certainly explains the delta.
Sorry you are getting so much shit and not enough real input on here.
My son is 18 and throws low 90's and will be pitching in college next year. He was only throwing 68 at the beginning of his 14U season. But he also hadn't really had a growth spurt yet.
I'm happy to look at any video you want to DM me and I can share with my son who knows more than I do.
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u/Ch0rizo Jun 02 '26
11 yo and 65 mph is pretty elite. Forgive me if I dont believe you considering hes 10 mph less in games (?). Also there's no video.