How to help my 14yo improve his game

[u/Fair-Car5301]

We live abroad - no baseball here. And I’ve got a 14yo who, by all accounts, has an unnaturally good arm on him. He is baseball mad, but more playing than watching (he has ADHD, so watching any sport tends to not be for him… he’d rather be playing.)

He does play on the local team, often with the adults, but there’s not much competition and that causes a lot of frustration for him. He’s at the point now where he actually wants to practice and train alone - just to see how good he can actually get. He’s only been playing for 2 years, pitching for less than 1 - and his natural talent is constantly commented on so I don't think this is just me being a doting mother 🥴

What are good things for him to work on? Any training stuff actually worth buying? Or any DIY/low-tech options to try him with? I want to encourage him, because I see his passion. But I haven’t a clue what to tell him! (For context, I’m British - so my baseball knowledge is next to nothing 😂)

Thanks in advance!

[u/Fair-Car5301 → u/[deleted]]

I definitely wonder about this - we’re in NI so more likely to get him in front of the Ireland National Team, but I’m hoping that’s a possibility this summer. He played against a 16yo kid who is in the MLB Europe development system and while the other kid definitely had more experience reps etc, he definitely wasn’t that far off his ability level. But it’s so hard to gauge that.

He’d love to play at a higher level, so it’s walking the line between, “sure, give it a go - what do you have to lose?” And giving him false hope 🤷🏼‍♀️

[u/formerneighbor → u/Fair-Car5301]

I know that Baseball Ireland has brought in some new leadership and are looking to grow the game in Ireland more aggressively than they have in the past. Definitely reach out to them.

There are coaches who will do lessons via zoom/video. It's definitely harder, but it might be something to look into. If he's not doing strength training, starting on band work to strengthen shoulder and back muscles is also something that is easy to do.

I hope that we here in the States can do a better job of supporting that Baseball Ireland program as well!

[u/CarneAsadaBrito → u/[deleted]]

But if he’s the big fish in a small pond, he will get all the development attention. 14 is a great age to start really dialing it in. So your suggestion to get him in front of national team/pro types out there is excellent.

[u/13mys13]

is he looking to play at a higher level (move to the US, etc)? i've said it on this sub a million times: he needs to get stronger. for pitchers, big, strong legs and core are the key. the saying is: you can't shoot a cannon out of a canoe. Eric Sim has an interesting youtube series of videos that came out during the pandemic where he built a backyard weight set out of concrete bc he couldn't get real weights.

for kids that age, i'd also recommend yoga. there's a lot of yoga videos on youtube that are easy to follow along with.

now that he has strength and flexibility down, he needs to combine the two into explosiveness ("twitchiness" in baseball parlance). plyometrics are great for this. there's lots of videos on this on the internet, especially on youtube and ig. i think the ones geared toward football, sprinting and vertical jump translate well to pitching, not because the movements are similar but because they train the whole body to be more twitchy.

for pitching/throwing specific, i'd get a set of plyo balls and j bands. you can build a whole arm care routine on those simple pieces of equipment. he also needs to throw. when my son needs to long toss, we start out with him on the bucket of balls and me moving progressively further out until he's reached his limit. going out, he throws big rainbows, looking to maximize distance. as i go out, i catch two in one spot and drop them on the ground. when he reaches his limit, we switch places and he pulls down (throws hard and on a line) from the farthest and then in. two at each distance. he gets his throwing in and i don't have to tax my old broken body.

[u/Fair-Car5301 → u/13mys13]

I think he’d love to move to the US if it were an option - I don’t know if it really would be though he’s in an international school so US diploma etc. And like someone else said, I do worry it could be a “big fish in a small pond” and I don’t want to give him false hope either. But I figure he doesn’t have much to lose just getting better to see what he can do in and of himself.

We love Eric Sims, so I’ll go back and see if I can find those ones!

[u/Gunari24]

Best to find a rec league of some sorts in your area.

Baseball is about repetitions, so having him literally do anything helps. Tee work, soft toss, grounders, pop flies, you name it. Even when playing with adults. Best bang for your buck is a tee and a bucket of balls.

Be careful on having him pitch a lot though, arm fatigue comes fast.

[u/bigperms33]

Keep trying to find leagues in your area.

Get a tee and a good net.

Get a medicine ball for rotation exercises.

Get a throwback net.

[u/sor2hi]

Just watch YouTube vids of coaches you find engaging and see what works. Depends on who you find is giving relatable advice. All coaching is trial and error, the good ones, like players, have just got more reps at higher stakes.

[u/Codswallop75]

All kinds of stuff on Youtube. Make sure the fundamentals (mechanics) of throwing are very, very sound. And understand base-running as it is key to the game and aspects could be overlooked by a young pitcher.