Going from hitting a ball off a tee to hitting a moving ball is always tough for youngsters. As parents and coaches, it’s important to make sure you’re helping make that transition as easy as possible! Find out what Coach Lisle’s number one tip is for helping ease the transition from tee ball to coach pitch!

Common Mistakes when Starting Live Pitching

So let’s talk about coach pitch or tee ball where we’re just starting to introduce live pitching to our young ones. This transition can be a huge step for younger hitters, given their age and just getting started with baseball or softball it’s important to help build their confidence and make the game fun!

A common a mistake a lot of coaches and parents make when switching their kids from tee ball to coach pitch is that they stand up, they stand tall, and they throw down to their hitters. For example, I’m 5 foot 11 but I know that there are a lot of dads or parents who may be 6’2″, 6 foot 3. Imagine that if you’re child, is only 4 feet tall, and you have this angle from a 6’3″ dad throwing down to their child. This is like a major league 12 to 6 curveball and it’s really difficult for them to hit.

Best Advice for Parents and Youth Coaches

My advice is that if you’re going to throw live to your children below the age of eight years old, making sure that you come in at arm angle that’s equal to their height.

So whether you’re sitting on a bucket, you’re down on a knee, or you’re crouched like a catcher, make sure that you’re throwing an arm angle that’s a little more realistic to what they’re actually going to face.

And that’s what’ll make coach pitch and introducing live pitching a lot easier for your hitters.



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