shifting gears a bit re: my 9yo son who we are expecting to be on the mound opening day. in a previous post we discussed to great benefit to us, the delivery mechanics.

we're getting there. now i think i need to address with him the rotation i'm seeing on his ball. or maybe not. i'm interested to hear what you all think.

it seems his natural delivery, righthanded, is offering this sniff of a breaking ball and consequently i see the laces rotating from let's say approx 10 o'clock/4 o'clock...at that angle.

my gut tells me to help get the ball delivered more from over the top with a 12 o'clock/6 o'clock rotation.

am i right to address this with him or just let him throw? i don't want him throwing breaking balls this young, not that he really can anyway. funny thing is, they do break just a smidge. kinda cool but possibly harmful?

to me i wonder if his mechanics are still off based on the rotation of the ball.

thanks.

From which view? From the pitcher's view as the ball leaves the hand? Or from your view as you catch the ball?

A fb thrown from a three quarter arm slot will not have 12/6 backspin.

Check to see how he grips the ball. Is he throwing a fastball and it has a 10-4 rotation of the laces?
If so, he probably doesn't have his thumb bisecting (in the middle of) his top two fingers, as this can impart different rotations on the ball.

If the 10-4 is from the view of the person catching the throw, it could be as simple as the boy is throwing from a three quarter arm slot and everything is proper.

it's 10-4 from catcher's view.

am i hearing that a 3/4 delivery is acceptable mechanics if that's what comes natural?

as for grip, i am in the process of slowly introducing some grip techniques offered by texan in earlier postings. i will check his thumb placement.

thank you.

Absolutely the three quarter arm slot is fine. That is the most natural arm slot for many pitchers.

At 9 it is unlikely his hand is big enough to properly grip a ball. At this age if he throws it, and it's on target more often than not, he is above the curve. Once his hand is large enough to actually get the ball out in to the fingers would be the time to consider rotation.

yes i have found his hands still need some time to be able to properly grip a fastball/changeup but we play around with it. he likes the idea of it and tries it out occassionally.

sure glad i got the input abt the 3/4 slot delivery.

thanks.

tzz
Don't allow your 9 years old kid to throw CB please.
Try to teach him a change-up or palm ball to combine with the fast ball. Keep his arm for the future, he doesn't need a CB to pitch to 9 year old hiters.