How do you encourage a player to throw harder?

Anonymous asked: I have a twelve year old son who often doesn't throw as hard as he can. What can I do to break this habit?

He is mechanically sound and hits his spots. His primary position is catcher but he is a well rounded utility player.

While he can throw the ball in from the outfield, his arm ability doesn't show well in regular drills and tryouts because he takes some off all the time.

Any suggestions or similar experiences are welcome.


Rick answered: Thank you for your question.

One possibility could be a lack of interest in the game itself. He may be just going through the motions to get by. Really would rather be someplace else.

When you ask him why he takes something off all the time, what is his reasoning?

Does he show the same characteristics in games, or just practice, and tryouts?

As a catcher, you can put a stop watch on his throws to second, and see what his pop times are?

Within that drill, you can see by the times on the watch, whether he is working hard or not.

I would be interested in knowing more about what his responses are to why he does what he does.

If he has, and has shown the ability to throw harder than he does, why as a catcher would he not use that skill. At age 12, he should have an answer for why that is.

Maybe it is he doesn't think it's important, maybe his arm hurts....could be numerous reasons.

Look forward to what he has to say. Hopefully from there, we can work in a positive direction.


Yours in baseball,

Rick