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Reply to "Lefty Pitch with spin"

Another approach to the painted ball ... When my son was about 9 he had a Coach use a ball with electrical tape to help teach him how to grip the ball, and watch the rotation when he threw. He would tape the ball around the center over the four-seam axis.

He learned that the thumb and middle finger should cut the ball in half. Easy enough, thumb on the tape on the bottom, MF on the tape on the top. The goal was to see a steady (not wobbly) line as the ball flew to te target. Since my guy throws 3/4, from the left side, the line was more 11 to 5 or 10 to 4 than 12 to 6. That's okay. The key is how tightly the rotation held the line.

I brought this idea to my LL team, and used to have all the guys warm up with taped balls (yes ... I know ... that can hurt if the tape is on too tight Smile). The boys had fun learning to throw more effectively, and it became a contest to see who could throw the best (tightest spiral). When I added in target practice -- getting points for hitting the target, all of the boys throwing improved dramtically.

Enjoy!
Last edited by southpaw_dad
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