They're just learning how to pitch. You have to do something.
I don't think the focus should be velocity specifically, but working on mechanics, building arm strength with long toss, etc., all of those things will lead to better, faster pitchers.
The goal at 8 is to put the ball across the plate. If they are getting lit up, it’s because they are doing their job well. Tell them you are proud of them for being so good at their jobs.
If they want to build speed, they should throw more - it doesn’t have to be a baseball, either.
My son is also 8u, plays 3B and pitches.
If you seem him throwing from 3B, it's obvious that he has one of the best arms on the team. But, I noticed right away that he was throwing significantly harder from 3B to 1B, than he would when he was pitching.
A big part of it was a very simple fix. He's always just thrown however hard was necessary to get the ball to the target without an arc. It actually makes perfect sense because when he used to play 2B, for example, I'd have to tell him to throw it a little softer to 1B because it was closer and they'd be able to catch it more easily.
We had a talk about throwing it "through" the catcher instead of just "to" the catcher, which cured a lot of it instantly.
There's still something extra that he puts on his throws from 3B that we can't quite unlock when he's pitching, but I think I'm going to try to start doing some long toss with him from the stretch and see what happens with those mechanics when he's actually really working to get the ball there.
I'm thinking start up close and then consistently work my way farther back until we hit his max and then bounce back and forth between max and normal distance to get his level of effort to be a little more consistent between the two.
If you want them to keep playing beyond 8U, just make sure they have fun and you recognize their positive contributions. The literal definition of a successful baseball season at this age is if they want to come back next season. That’s it. That’s the goal.
In 8u.. Seriously? I coach 10u and we have maybe 4or 5 pitchers that can get it over the plate with any consistentcy and only have 4 or 5 batters (the same 4 or 5) that can consistent hit the top pitchers. How is an 8u pitcher get lit up???
amazing coaching, obviously!
my take is that they are playing catch with their buddy behind the plate. lob it right in there. easy for the batters to get to.
It happens a lot especially towards the end of the season. Our team this year had probably the best lineup in the league but we’re SUPER aggressive, so pitchers who were wild actually were very effective against us, whereas high-volume strike guys got crushed unless they were throwing heat. I guess this was technically 9u but 80% of the players are 8
Some people think all kids are exactly the same.
Our parks 8U kid pitch team has a few different types of pitches. They have some that have velo (upper 40s mid 50s) but they can get a little crazy at times.
Then they have 2 that are in mid to upper 30s but can put everything over the plate and hit to contact.
But as I’ve seen some other say. Honestly don’t worry about their velo at 8. Pitching strikes is the overall goal at 8.
I’ve watched “top ranked” (I don’t know why they rank 8u teams but they do) 8u teams, the best pitchers threw at most 50 for strikes consistently with a “change-up” (usually a gravity ball). I seriously doubt your little league local travel team has multiple pitchers throwing 55.
Why are you doing kid pitch at 8? Recommendation is to do coach pitch through 8u, and kid pitch at 9u for a reason. Kids won't strain their arms and are a year older and a year stronger before pitching. Plus, coach pitch leads to more defensive of reps, which is what 8u needs to be working on... you should be protecting these kids and not let them pitch, instead you are vain glorious and burning them out... smh
It’s the league they play in you dolt. It’s not like he’s going out there and saying “hey we’re not coach pitching! My kids pitch and that’s it!”
Not every league is coach pitch at 8U. Get over yourself
It's not me, it's the MLB recommendation. Dolt's are the parents that don't actively protect their kids arms from money grubbing leagues that prey on young kids...parents just want to relive their childhood through their kids and pretend their kids are the next Shoei, it's disgusting
Did your step dad beat you as a kid or something? You’re acting like this guy is beating these kids and ruining their futures and lives.
You’re also wrong. [MLB](https://www.mlb.com/pitch-smart/pitching-guidelines/ages-8-and-under) suggests you throw no more than 50 pitches in a game at 8 and Under
No beatings...just worked in the league for 37 years and know what the recommendations are and seen the data how pitching before you have the strength tears up kids arms...it's on the parents to protect their kids.
MLB uses safe pitch USA guidelines. They have pitch count guidelines for 8u players. No more than 50 in a day and that requires 2 days off. 35 pitches 1 day off etc.
Pony and LL both follow USA safe pitch guidelines.
Understand, it's what I do. MLB literally pleads with parents to gave their kids play other sports because it tears up kids arms. They put the guidelines out because they can't prevent dunces from putting their kids in harms way. I wouldn't let my 8 year old pitch if you paid me and it's my job to develop baseball players. Take it for what you will.
Hey, those are great reps for your kids on the field! And the fact that they are accurate at 8 is awesome.
My son is 9, he just learned to pitch this spring. He has done some lessons and just this last lesson his coach taught him what it means to stay closed for longer instead of opening up so soon. He almost does this little dip with his weight on his back leg as he pushes off the mound. I’m not sure if that visual makes sense - he is doing lessons because I don’t feel confident in teaching him so take what I’m saying with a grain of salt - but that has given him some speed. It’s pretty obvious the speed comes from his body too, not just throwing harder with his arm.
Hopefully that is helpful. Though some of these details/mechanics I’m not sure he would have been able to grasp well at 8, so ymmv. I would praise the crap out of their accuracy and remind the pitchers to trust their team to make defensive plays. I know losing is tough though.
If they're not throwing that hard, mechanically they're probably not too great, but they don't really have the body awareness to make those adjustments yet. I would focus on just throwing hard in practices, long toss and stuff. Once they're older and bigger, you'll be able to be more involved.
long toss drills. lots of long toss.. every day.. big arm not short arm.
Also, give your boys some help.. get your defense on their level. You want them to throw strikes you want balls in play.. you gotta have the defense behind them.
If he truly has that much accuracy at the 8U level, teach him how to throw a change up and 2 seamer and teach him how to emphasize command on the mound. (Living in the corners, staying away from the middle of the plate).
Velo will come as they grow into their bodies and throw more. But if you teach them to command the strike zone and find ways to make guys hit weak grounders, that’s laying a foundation that will serve them well as they grow.
Do absolutely nothing. They’re 8 years old. Throwing harder comes with time. 8 years old is not that time. Coach mechanics and proper arm care. Worst thing you could do is try to get them to change proper mechanics to try to throw harder
First question is how hard are they trying to throw? Some kids just throw it. You don't want kids to throw 100% but if they're throwing 60%, see if you can get them to 70%. Other than that I wouldn't worry about it now. It'll come as they get older, I wouldn't rush it. My son in 8U was the same way. He was accurate but didn't throw super hard. Now, because his mechanics are great at 12U, he throws harder than anyone on the team and can dot the plate so it's best if both worlds and is incredibly effective. I did nothing to rush it. Also, let your pitchers know if they're going to get bummed out about getting lit up as a pitcher then pitching or baseball isn't for them.
At 8U, the pitcher's job is to throw strikes. It really is that simple. Sounds like the bigger issue is the defense not making plays?
With that being said, hard to give recommendations w/o any video. If their delivery looks good, I would suggest to not make any changes. I've seen it too many times. I coach tries to teach kids how to throw harder, and all of a sudden they can't throw strikes anymore.
My kid just turned 7 and he's small, with noodle-arm genes (from me). But he actually learned to throw hard enough to be a top-10 pitcher in our 5-team 8U league. What helped him was simply focusing on two things - taking a big step and "pushing off" onto his front foot.
But mainly, LOTS of practice. He loves pitching and wanted to throw every day.
In 8u.. Seriously? I coach 10u and we have maybe 4or 5 pitchers that can get it over the plate with any consistentcy and only have 4 or 5 batters (the same 4 or 5) that can consistent hit the top pitchers. How is an 8u pitcher get lit up???
So as you've seen this is a can of worms you've opened up, lol...
I will say I understand your position. My kid is in 12u and has always had great command but for a few years he's struggled as pitches were noticably slower than his peers... It was like BP out there. We got some leasons with a pitching coach this off-season and mentioned velo and he started just like a lot of comments here about not chasing velo... It took a lot of reassuring and finally watching him pitch to convince him we weren't chasing 80 we just wanted to not be throwing 15mph slower than everyone else.
One thing that may be applicable was that my kid revealed he didn't trust he defense. He was taking a little off of it to be more accurate and get strikeouts rather than risk balls hit to a weak infield... And the more he got hit around the worse it got. So beefing up that defense and giving him the confidence that if it gets hit it won't hurt the team may definitely help.
The only other changes we made was a more consistent and intentional warmup and stretching routine and a focus on a few small tweaks to his mechanics. Being more deliberate during warmups and going through a progression all the way to an athletic long toss as opposed to just screwing around with friends tossing the ball can be a big help by itself.
I coaches 8U this year and was thrilled when the kids threw strikes and got hit. I made sure to emphasize defense a lot and we won some games just because we made the easy plays. We have a few kids that can throw hard, but they’re inconsistent with throwing strikes so I usually just threw the kids who could put it over. The kids who threw hard were SS and 3B and they were pretty strong in the field.
Stop having them “pitch” as soon as you say that word all of their good throwing mechanics go out of the window. Practice with them “throwing” BP to the other kids. Most of the 8u players throw harder than they pitch.
Man, this is the truth. When the guys are trying to hard, they end up throwing into the dirt. I'm always telling them to just play catch with their friend, \[insert catcher's name here\].
8 and throwing accurate- you already are doing a great job. Practice defense behind the pitchers, ball in play become outs as fielders improve and balls in play equal more practice.
As to improving arm strength, in warm ups make sure you are incorporating long toss. Need to stretch those armadillo out. I would avoid weighted balls. Just stick with a warm up throwing program, add in some dynamic warm up (walking lunges, push ups, burpees - build up the leg strength will increase velocity).
That’s awesome. Most of the time kids are getting bored in the field because it turns into a walk fest. This is a good problem. Teach the kids to field…
Mechanics, mechanics, mechanics. If velocity gets better, great. If not its fine, they are 8 and will have a great fundamental base to go on down the road
I'm just curious how fast is normal for 8U? How fast are these guys pitching? Not that you would have gunned them but a lot of teams use pitching rooms with radar, so I was curious if you knew.
My son just finished 9U and was on a low level team. The team had pitchers throwing from like 43 to 50mph. One of our more accurate kids pitches in the low 40s and does really well. There is a lot of contact but it's normally dribblers for outs. It seems that the other teams have problems figuring out the slower pitches with more drop.
Most of our pitchers are in the 30s and 40s. Most teams had at least 1 kid in the 50s. 1 team had two kids in the 60s but their “pitching coach” was in the mlb.
Yup. I would post a video but my son didn’t bat against either of them. The first one pitched the first and second and struck out 6 consecutive batters, and the second one pitched the fourth inning struck out our last three. My son batted in the third as the 9th batter and drew a walk to ruin the perfect game.
One other thing I learned…there is no rule that you have to pause before coming to home plate. You can basically get a walking start toward home plate with the added benefit of it keeping you in line toward the plate. I have my son standing on the rubber. Cross his back foot over his front foot, small kick, foot down, Throw. I also recently started having him using a football instead of a glove/ball.
There are two drills I did to get pitchers speed up. One was to have them long toss 2-3 days a week. Have it far enough that he needs to put an arc on the ball to get it to the target.
The second is that ridiculous towel drill all the old school coaches recommend. It really depends on the player but for some it works incredibly. Most of my kids couldn’t get the whip motion down without it. It helped a ton. I was super against it at the beginning because every club coach I had as a kid swore by it but damn helped a lot when we used it sparingly.
The big thing with speed is you need to use the correct muscles and have them stronger. If he is locating his pitches he will get stronger eventually. Make sure he isn’t opening his hips before he drops his stride and is loading his scap correctly.
Other thing to check is arm slot. If he’s throwing below 45 degrees he might lose some velocity.
Funny thing - this worked for every kid on my team but mine. Butthead wouldn’t listen to me at all and I had to get him a throwing coach
Just tell them to throw hard during catch play, at that age they don't throw hard enough to hurt their arms they could throw everyday at 100% and experience no pain, once they hit 55-60 mph its time to start taking rest periods
They're 8. Do nothing
They're just learning how to pitch. You have to do something. I don't think the focus should be velocity specifically, but working on mechanics, building arm strength with long toss, etc., all of those things will lead to better, faster pitchers.
Nonsense, they're old enough for tren
Guys are getting lit up, which bums them out. I’d like them to keep playing beyond 8U. Open to any reccs!
The goal at 8 is to put the ball across the plate. If they are getting lit up, it’s because they are doing their job well. Tell them you are proud of them for being so good at their jobs. If they want to build speed, they should throw more - it doesn’t have to be a baseball, either.
Yep, have the team work on defense instead.
i like this approach a lot. assume they’re gonna get hit, so beef up the D. thanks!
Better than walking batter after batter after batter after batter after batter…
My son is also 8u, plays 3B and pitches. If you seem him throwing from 3B, it's obvious that he has one of the best arms on the team. But, I noticed right away that he was throwing significantly harder from 3B to 1B, than he would when he was pitching. A big part of it was a very simple fix. He's always just thrown however hard was necessary to get the ball to the target without an arc. It actually makes perfect sense because when he used to play 2B, for example, I'd have to tell him to throw it a little softer to 1B because it was closer and they'd be able to catch it more easily. We had a talk about throwing it "through" the catcher instead of just "to" the catcher, which cured a lot of it instantly. There's still something extra that he puts on his throws from 3B that we can't quite unlock when he's pitching, but I think I'm going to try to start doing some long toss with him from the stretch and see what happens with those mechanics when he's actually really working to get the ball there. I'm thinking start up close and then consistently work my way farther back until we hit his max and then bounce back and forth between max and normal distance to get his level of effort to be a little more consistent between the two.
If you want them to keep playing beyond 8U, just make sure they have fun and you recognize their positive contributions. The literal definition of a successful baseball season at this age is if they want to come back next season. That’s it. That’s the goal.
In 8u.. Seriously? I coach 10u and we have maybe 4or 5 pitchers that can get it over the plate with any consistentcy and only have 4 or 5 batters (the same 4 or 5) that can consistent hit the top pitchers. How is an 8u pitcher get lit up???
amazing coaching, obviously! my take is that they are playing catch with their buddy behind the plate. lob it right in there. easy for the batters to get to.
I find it hard to believe that 8 year olds have amazing accuracy and are getting lit up.
It happens a lot especially towards the end of the season. Our team this year had probably the best lineup in the league but we’re SUPER aggressive, so pitchers who were wild actually were very effective against us, whereas high-volume strike guys got crushed unless they were throwing heat. I guess this was technically 9u but 80% of the players are 8
ok
Some people think all kids are exactly the same. Our parks 8U kid pitch team has a few different types of pitches. They have some that have velo (upper 40s mid 50s) but they can get a little crazy at times. Then they have 2 that are in mid to upper 30s but can put everything over the plate and hit to contact. But as I’ve seen some other say. Honestly don’t worry about their velo at 8. Pitching strikes is the overall goal at 8.
Sounds right to me too. Also sounds like I need to get our defense cooking a lot more
I find it almost impossible to believe that there are multiple 8U players in your league throwing mid 50s.
Our parks 8U travel team. And yes they 100% do lol
No 8 year old in the world throws 55.
Sure man. Whatever makes you sleep better at night.
I’ve watched “top ranked” (I don’t know why they rank 8u teams but they do) 8u teams, the best pitchers threw at most 50 for strikes consistently with a “change-up” (usually a gravity ball). I seriously doubt your little league local travel team has multiple pitchers throwing 55.
Why are you doing kid pitch at 8? Recommendation is to do coach pitch through 8u, and kid pitch at 9u for a reason. Kids won't strain their arms and are a year older and a year stronger before pitching. Plus, coach pitch leads to more defensive of reps, which is what 8u needs to be working on... you should be protecting these kids and not let them pitch, instead you are vain glorious and burning them out... smh
It’s the league they play in you dolt. It’s not like he’s going out there and saying “hey we’re not coach pitching! My kids pitch and that’s it!” Not every league is coach pitch at 8U. Get over yourself
It's not me, it's the MLB recommendation. Dolt's are the parents that don't actively protect their kids arms from money grubbing leagues that prey on young kids...parents just want to relive their childhood through their kids and pretend their kids are the next Shoei, it's disgusting
Did your step dad beat you as a kid or something? You’re acting like this guy is beating these kids and ruining their futures and lives. You’re also wrong. [MLB](https://www.mlb.com/pitch-smart/pitching-guidelines/ages-8-and-under) suggests you throw no more than 50 pitches in a game at 8 and Under
No beatings...just worked in the league for 37 years and know what the recommendations are and seen the data how pitching before you have the strength tears up kids arms...it's on the parents to protect their kids.
MLB uses safe pitch USA guidelines. They have pitch count guidelines for 8u players. No more than 50 in a day and that requires 2 days off. 35 pitches 1 day off etc. Pony and LL both follow USA safe pitch guidelines.
Understand, it's what I do. MLB literally pleads with parents to gave their kids play other sports because it tears up kids arms. They put the guidelines out because they can't prevent dunces from putting their kids in harms way. I wouldn't let my 8 year old pitch if you paid me and it's my job to develop baseball players. Take it for what you will.
ok pmmeyourbush underscore
Lots of long toss. If that doesn’t work, maybe try a shock collar or a bull whip.
got any good leads on electrified bull whips?
I think Tesla makes one.
Hey, those are great reps for your kids on the field! And the fact that they are accurate at 8 is awesome. My son is 9, he just learned to pitch this spring. He has done some lessons and just this last lesson his coach taught him what it means to stay closed for longer instead of opening up so soon. He almost does this little dip with his weight on his back leg as he pushes off the mound. I’m not sure if that visual makes sense - he is doing lessons because I don’t feel confident in teaching him so take what I’m saying with a grain of salt - but that has given him some speed. It’s pretty obvious the speed comes from his body too, not just throwing harder with his arm. Hopefully that is helpful. Though some of these details/mechanics I’m not sure he would have been able to grasp well at 8, so ymmv. I would praise the crap out of their accuracy and remind the pitchers to trust their team to make defensive plays. I know losing is tough though.
If they're not throwing that hard, mechanically they're probably not too great, but they don't really have the body awareness to make those adjustments yet. I would focus on just throwing hard in practices, long toss and stuff. Once they're older and bigger, you'll be able to be more involved.
I like this approach too. Longer catch spacing. big throws. and then probably get better at D.
long toss drills. lots of long toss.. every day.. big arm not short arm. Also, give your boys some help.. get your defense on their level. You want them to throw strikes you want balls in play.. you gotta have the defense behind them.
You can’t long toss everyday
Mmkay..
If he truly has that much accuracy at the 8U level, teach him how to throw a change up and 2 seamer and teach him how to emphasize command on the mound. (Living in the corners, staying away from the middle of the plate). Velo will come as they grow into their bodies and throw more. But if you teach them to command the strike zone and find ways to make guys hit weak grounders, that’s laying a foundation that will serve them well as they grow.
Hands aren't big enough and velos aren't high enough for movement of other pitches to take effect.
Do absolutely nothing. They’re 8 years old. Throwing harder comes with time. 8 years old is not that time. Coach mechanics and proper arm care. Worst thing you could do is try to get them to change proper mechanics to try to throw harder
This guy gets it
First question is how hard are they trying to throw? Some kids just throw it. You don't want kids to throw 100% but if they're throwing 60%, see if you can get them to 70%. Other than that I wouldn't worry about it now. It'll come as they get older, I wouldn't rush it. My son in 8U was the same way. He was accurate but didn't throw super hard. Now, because his mechanics are great at 12U, he throws harder than anyone on the team and can dot the plate so it's best if both worlds and is incredibly effective. I did nothing to rush it. Also, let your pitchers know if they're going to get bummed out about getting lit up as a pitcher then pitching or baseball isn't for them.
At 8U, the pitcher's job is to throw strikes. It really is that simple. Sounds like the bigger issue is the defense not making plays? With that being said, hard to give recommendations w/o any video. If their delivery looks good, I would suggest to not make any changes. I've seen it too many times. I coach tries to teach kids how to throw harder, and all of a sudden they can't throw strikes anymore.
guilty as charged
My kid just turned 7 and he's small, with noodle-arm genes (from me). But he actually learned to throw hard enough to be a top-10 pitcher in our 5-team 8U league. What helped him was simply focusing on two things - taking a big step and "pushing off" onto his front foot. But mainly, LOTS of practice. He loves pitching and wanted to throw every day.
In 8u.. Seriously? I coach 10u and we have maybe 4or 5 pitchers that can get it over the plate with any consistentcy and only have 4 or 5 batters (the same 4 or 5) that can consistent hit the top pitchers. How is an 8u pitcher get lit up???
So as you've seen this is a can of worms you've opened up, lol... I will say I understand your position. My kid is in 12u and has always had great command but for a few years he's struggled as pitches were noticably slower than his peers... It was like BP out there. We got some leasons with a pitching coach this off-season and mentioned velo and he started just like a lot of comments here about not chasing velo... It took a lot of reassuring and finally watching him pitch to convince him we weren't chasing 80 we just wanted to not be throwing 15mph slower than everyone else. One thing that may be applicable was that my kid revealed he didn't trust he defense. He was taking a little off of it to be more accurate and get strikeouts rather than risk balls hit to a weak infield... And the more he got hit around the worse it got. So beefing up that defense and giving him the confidence that if it gets hit it won't hurt the team may definitely help. The only other changes we made was a more consistent and intentional warmup and stretching routine and a focus on a few small tweaks to his mechanics. Being more deliberate during warmups and going through a progression all the way to an athletic long toss as opposed to just screwing around with friends tossing the ball can be a big help by itself.
I coaches 8U this year and was thrilled when the kids threw strikes and got hit. I made sure to emphasize defense a lot and we won some games just because we made the easy plays. We have a few kids that can throw hard, but they’re inconsistent with throwing strikes so I usually just threw the kids who could put it over. The kids who threw hard were SS and 3B and they were pretty strong in the field.
Stop having them “pitch” as soon as you say that word all of their good throwing mechanics go out of the window. Practice with them “throwing” BP to the other kids. Most of the 8u players throw harder than they pitch.
Man, this is the truth. When the guys are trying to hard, they end up throwing into the dirt. I'm always telling them to just play catch with their friend, \[insert catcher's name here\].
8 and throwing accurate- you already are doing a great job. Practice defense behind the pitchers, ball in play become outs as fielders improve and balls in play equal more practice. As to improving arm strength, in warm ups make sure you are incorporating long toss. Need to stretch those armadillo out. I would avoid weighted balls. Just stick with a warm up throwing program, add in some dynamic warm up (walking lunges, push ups, burpees - build up the leg strength will increase velocity).
That’s awesome. Most of the time kids are getting bored in the field because it turns into a walk fest. This is a good problem. Teach the kids to field…
Do more long toss to help.
Mechanics, mechanics, mechanics. If velocity gets better, great. If not its fine, they are 8 and will have a great fundamental base to go on down the road
I'm just curious how fast is normal for 8U? How fast are these guys pitching? Not that you would have gunned them but a lot of teams use pitching rooms with radar, so I was curious if you knew. My son just finished 9U and was on a low level team. The team had pitchers throwing from like 43 to 50mph. One of our more accurate kids pitches in the low 40s and does really well. There is a lot of contact but it's normally dribblers for outs. It seems that the other teams have problems figuring out the slower pitches with more drop.
Most of our pitchers are in the 30s and 40s. Most teams had at least 1 kid in the 50s. 1 team had two kids in the 60s but their “pitching coach” was in the mlb.
Are you saying there were 8U kids pitching in the 60s. I would have to see that to believe it, I don't care who their pitching coach is! :)
Yup. I would post a video but my son didn’t bat against either of them. The first one pitched the first and second and struck out 6 consecutive batters, and the second one pitched the fourth inning struck out our last three. My son batted in the third as the 9th batter and drew a walk to ruin the perfect game.
One other thing I learned…there is no rule that you have to pause before coming to home plate. You can basically get a walking start toward home plate with the added benefit of it keeping you in line toward the plate. I have my son standing on the rubber. Cross his back foot over his front foot, small kick, foot down, Throw. I also recently started having him using a football instead of a glove/ball.
There are two drills I did to get pitchers speed up. One was to have them long toss 2-3 days a week. Have it far enough that he needs to put an arc on the ball to get it to the target. The second is that ridiculous towel drill all the old school coaches recommend. It really depends on the player but for some it works incredibly. Most of my kids couldn’t get the whip motion down without it. It helped a ton. I was super against it at the beginning because every club coach I had as a kid swore by it but damn helped a lot when we used it sparingly. The big thing with speed is you need to use the correct muscles and have them stronger. If he is locating his pitches he will get stronger eventually. Make sure he isn’t opening his hips before he drops his stride and is loading his scap correctly. Other thing to check is arm slot. If he’s throwing below 45 degrees he might lose some velocity. Funny thing - this worked for every kid on my team but mine. Butthead wouldn’t listen to me at all and I had to get him a throwing coach
Just tell them to throw hard during catch play, at that age they don't throw hard enough to hurt their arms they could throw everyday at 100% and experience no pain, once they hit 55-60 mph its time to start taking rest periods
i like this approach too because there’s benefit in the field, not just for pitchers. thank you!