Curveball Grip/Throwing Curveballs
Throwing the curveball is probably one of the mostdesired pitches of all coaches, parents and youngpitchers. As a private instructor I am frequentlyasked to teach an aspiring pitcher how to throw acurveball. Now there are different concerns, andopinions of young pitchers throwing a breaking ball(breaking ball, generally consist of curveball orslider), most commonly it is thought that if you startthrowing breaking balls at a young age that you willhurt your arm. And this does seem to happen to manypitchers young or old, but it is not the pitch persay, as much as it is the way the pitch is thrown. Personally I think it is essential for young pitchersto learn how to throw a fastball first, for a numberof reasons, in the same token I do believe if thrownproperly a curveball will not have any physicallydamaging effects on a pitcher. It's when it is thrown improperly or thrown to frequently that you experience arm troubles.
Here are some helpful tips:
*First and foremost develop your fastball-this means starting out with having the proper gripand arm action-this will be the key to consistency and thebuilding of arm strength-When learning a breaking ball you have to start outwith the grip-whether you throw a slider or a true curveball (thisis usually determined by the flexibility in thepitchers wrist and the arm action) you want to gripthe ball making sure that your middle finger is on theinside of a seam.-this will help in getting maximum rotation andtorque on the ball necessary to create spin, which iswhat actually makes the ball break.
