Youth Pitching Grips

By Coach Todd Williams for YouthPitching.com

In baseball pitching, it's one thing to understand the importance of a proper wind-up and other mechanical skills and techniques.

But did you know that your pitching grip on the ball is just as important?

Gripping the ball correctly can help a baseball pitcher increase velocity, enhance ball movement, and create better accuracy.

The first rule that you should know about pitching grips is that you really need to learn the fastball first. Then learn the change up pitching grip.

Many professional pitchers who played youth baseball never developed a curve ball until they were high school age, and most of the pitchers who manage to play baseball into their late 30's are players that never threw a curve ball when they were 8-12 years old.

Many pitching coaches throughout major league baseball insist that (with proper grip) movement can be created without throwing a curve ball - and very few pitchers who throw curve balls at a young age advance past high school baseball.

The way the baseball is gripped in relation to the threads and even the amount of pressure applied by each finger can even have an influence on movement.

Most pitching coaches also agree that the value of the curve ball is it's change in speed in keeping batters off-balance, not it's breaking action. Yet, this change in speed can be achieved with other pitches that place less stress on the pitchers arm like the change up grip.

As you're working on your youth pitching grips, learn the fastball first. Then add the changeup - and you'll be on your way to having a successful and healthy career!