Summer travel tryouts are in a month. Half the team will be new to kid pitch so the need to teach pitching is necessary.
I am curious how others teach pitching to this age group.
My inclination is to keep it as simple as possible - Front side towards the plate, follow through on pitch and bring back leg forward.
8u is really young so definitely keep it simple.
If you want to focus on mechanics, focus on the things that happen at the beginning of the delivery because they set up what happens later in the delivery. I suggest focusing on posture and balance they form the foundation of a good delivery. Strive to get your pitchers to keep their heads upright and eliminate unnecessary head movement in directions other that towards the target. Also be sure to mix in some work on throwing hard.
Don’t focus on follow-through and back leg finish because those are the result of things that happen earlier in the delivery. Take care of the earlier things and the later things will take care of themselves.
Teach them how to warm-up and how to play catch. Beyond that, not much else is relevant.
Thanks. Keep it Simple.
If you were actually coaching an 8U kid pitch team, what would you say to the ones who make it to the pitchers mound?
Would simply having a proper catch be enough to qualify them for the mound?
at 8 years old, not many are qualified for the mound 
The kids with the best arms barely get the ball across the diamond and there are shockingly few of those
8U here is kid pitch until 4 balls then an adult pitches until 3 strikes or the ball is put in play. Nearly every batter has the coach pitch to them. Many don’t even bother to swing at the 4-5 pitches the 8 year old throws because they know if they are patient, the coach will lay one in there for them.
9U is the first time kids around here pitch with no coach bail-outs. 9-10U is fairly agonizing to watch in all honesty, but one must start somewhere.
I can’t imagine what an 8U exclusively kid pitched league would be like :shock:
On a side note: FIRST YOUTH GAMES OF THE SPRING SEASON UP HERE IN THE FROZEN TUNDRA OF CENTRAL MASSACHUSETTS ARE TOMORROW–WEATHER PERMITTING!!!
[quote=“CoachPaul”]at 8 years old, not many are qualified for the mound The kids with the best arms barely get the ball across the diamond and there are shockingly few of those
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There are certainly arm strength issues but we do “OK” with accuracy. The best pitched inning is around 16 pitches. Between inexperienced defense, hitters and umpires, we really don’t see less on a regular basis.
For me, I want the basics that this age can handle physically and mentally. Two, three or four ‘commands’ that get them right enough. As opposed to the micro-coaching one can do with a PC at more physically developed ages.
We have our first games this weekend too. Just want some baseball in short sleeves. 
My son’s league starts kid pitch at age 8.
The first year is pretty rough. Lots of walks. Accurate throwers are the exception rather than the rule.
The second year was not too bad. My son’s team had three kids who were pretty accurate and that was enough. Some of the other teams only had one or two, though, and my son’s team won several come-from-behind games where they outlasted the other team’s ace.
IMO, being a good pitcher takes good mechanics, practice, and a good mental approach. Your best kid pitchers will be kids who throw a lot outside of team practices.
Like anything new, there is a period of adjustment.
Thanks for the tips.
We played a 9U tournament are were the victims of control issues. Interesting the best control were two 8s and they didn’t cause any issues but a tournament needs a lot more than two pitchers!
We have 8U summer beginining in three weeks and this would be an every other game problem except for the three tournaments.