Topic 1: Throwing and Catching

When coaching players ages 9 to 12, it's always a good idea to begin each season by reinforcing a few fundamental skills.

Players will be joining your team with different levels of baseball experience and it's important to make sure each player understands basic skills such as throwing and catching before trying to teach them anything more advanced. Because most kids are playing multiple sports at this age, going to back to the basics will help to re-focus their attention on the upcoming season.

As such, this first topic starts by introducing simple mechanics for throwing a baseball that promote accurate and consistent throws. Remember, when it comes to throwing a baseball, repetition is key. Give each player plenty of repetitions and be sure to continually emphasize balance, direction and follow-through.

As your players practice throwing a baseball, they should simultaneously practice solid fundamentals when catching the ball. By this age, most kids should have overcome any initial fear of getting hit by the ball.

Just in case, we've provided some simple drills that are designed to build each player's confidence while reinforcing proper technique. We recommend starting each drill with tennis balls and switching to hardballs when players are ready.

 Have fun!