It's not as easy as it looks.
Yes, some young players have no trouble picking up a ball and zinging it right to where they want it to go. But others need careful step by step instruction.
Everybody on the team needs to be a good thrower.
Note to Coaches: The steps here are broken down in Tai Chi style - the end of each step is a check-and-correct position. However, that is a teaching method only. You do not wants stops or pauses or hitches in the actual throw. The most obvious correction to look for is in shoulder angle - they should be in line with each other and the target, not equidistant.
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Start balanced.
- Get your feet under you - very important after fielding the ball.
- Line yourself up. Two invisible ropes - from back foot through front foot and from back shoulder to front shoulder - go straight to target.
- Plug into the ground, on the inside balls of your feet, shoulder width apart. (From outfield, do a crowhop - back foot crosses front, then front foot forward - before plugging in.)
- Find the target early - with both eyes.
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Up and load.
- Take ball from glove with ball resting on palm of throwing hand. (We used to teach "palms away / thumbs down, not any more.)
- Bring both arms up - elbows to shoulder height.
- The throwing arm will swing out and up easily, allowing the fingers to get on top of the ball.
- Throwing arm never bends in more than right angle (90°) - wider is better (120°).
- Glove arm up and opposite the throwing arm - with either glove to target or elbow to target.
- Front leg comes up.
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Rotate.
- Back foot rolls in and up to toes, back knee tucks forward.
- This opens hips, to let torso come around, which brings throwing arm forward.
- Front leg will move forward for balance, keep it pointed slightly to the throwing arm side, knee relaxed.
- Plant the front foot out front but don't worry too much about stride length. (Fielders might stride half their body length, pitchers 3/4 of body length or a bit more.)
- Throwing elbow should still be shoulder high, angle between arm and body between 90° and 110°. (Arm too high causes shoulder impingement.)
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Release.
- Keep the glove in front of the chest. Glove turns over - flip and pinch - and elbows come in as the throwing arm comes forward. (We don't teach glove tuck any more because it pulls the body open too soon, but we don't want a lazy glove arm either.)
- Weight shifts forward over bent landing knee. (Not a deep bend, just relaxed enough so the hips are free to let the upper body rotate through.)
- Arm comes forward, elbow extends, wrist delivers back spin.
- Throwing arm sweeps across body to opposite hip, using contact with the body to stop safely.
- Glove side still up out of the way - throwing arms goes under.
