As someone who has worked with various ages of little leaguers, I must write about how grossed out I am at the teaching of curveballs to little leaguers. I think that it should be banned from little league baseball and the irresponsible coaches who teach it should be reprimanded.
The curveball is an advanced skill and, if not properly taught with good mechanics, a player risks a serious arm injury.Players below the age of 14 should be working hard at developing good pitching and throwing mechanics. This will provide the player with a solid foundation to advance in the game of baseball as well as longevity at the pitching position. However, this is a simple approach to the problem of the curveball. The bigger problem is with the coaches who allow it, or worse yet, encourage young players to throw breaking balls.
I was in shock when, at a recent ballgame, a 10-year-old pitcher was throwing a curveball. This coach apparently does not have the health or future of this player in mind. He is being mesmerized by the power of the “Win” and therefore is irresponsible. He is not alone. Many coaches are more concerned with “Wins” instead of teaching the basic fundamentals so a player can advance to higher levels.
The new pitches on the block are the power slider and the cutter. These new boys are good, but they are quick fixes — much easier to learn than a curveball and much more likely to be called for strikes. For those good reasons, they have become popular with the current generation of pitchers.
I’ve seen some pretty decent sliders, and I even have seen them taught to high school and college pitchers to enhance their repertoire and increase their pitcher’s survival kit. These pitches can stun a hitter while being a lot easier on the arm.
Parents, you need to be more diligent and not allow coaches to ruin your son’s health and welfare for the sake of a “Win”. You need to seek out people who are knowledgeable or educate yourself about pitching/throwing mechanics. We are always adding more educational resources at funbaseballconcepts.com.
