Candy Durgeloh asked:

Does anyone have any great pitching advice for a beginner at the 10u level?

Richard’s answer:

Thanks, Ken, for helping get people away from thinking what you should do first is aim for the strike zone. What happens if young pitchers follow the many who suggested "just throw strikes" or similar, is that they start to "aim" their pitches which th... Continue reading »

Erlinda Martinez asked:

Is it better to make the team stretch prior to their warm-up throws to reduce any pulled muscles??

Richard’s answer:

We may be suffering from terminology misappropriation - the difference between clinical definitions and the practical applications of the field. Stretching gets loosely defined as being any/all warm-up activity prior to sport-specific activity - that w... Continue reading »

Candy Durgeloh asked:

Does anyone have any great pitching advice for a beginner at the 10u level?

Richard’s answer:

I am actually surprised by the number of folks suggesting the first thing to do at age 10 is find a pitching instructor. As a guy who teaches baseball pitching - in person and on the web - and has been doing so for 20 some years, and has seen a lot of ... Continue reading »

Erlinda Martinez asked:

Is it better to make the team stretch prior to their warm-up throws to reduce any pulled muscles??

Richard’s answer:

Tryouts could be the worst example - they ecists for the coaches/scpouts, not for the players. If there is no group warm-up stretching first, then show up early and make sure you get your own stretching in. Very, very important - not just for that day ... Continue reading »

Erlinda Martinez asked:

Is it better to make the team stretch prior to their warm-up throws to reduce any pulled muscles??

Richard’s answer:

Long Toss is great, but long toss is not stretching. Nor is it warming up. You need to have the core warm and the muscle relaxed BEFORE beginning long toss. The purpose of long toss is a combination of mental relaxation and physicality. Longer distance... Continue reading »

Erlinda Martinez asked:

Is it better to make the team stretch prior to their warm-up throws to reduce any pulled muscles??

Richard’s answer:

In fact as Matt and others pointed out, you should not stretch an un-warmed muscle - that's asking for trouble. That's why we do tubing and arm circles and leg work and sprints as warm-ups before throwing. Everyone needs to keep repeating the mantra: "... Continue reading »

Erlinda Martinez asked:

Is it better to make the team stretch prior to their warm-up throws to reduce any pulled muscles??

Richard’s answer:

The real difference here, something Matt's answer touched on, is a static stretch vs a dynamic stretch. A static stretch is when you hold the muscle in a stretch position for a few seconds against resistance - this is good for the cool down after pract... Continue reading »