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Mechanics checklist
Progress Start with readiness Before throwing, tell the adult about fatigue or elbow/shoulder pain. Pain is a reason to stop pitching and seek medical evaluation, not a cue to push through.
Coaching Points Use a calm check-in that makes reporting symptoms easy.
Common Mistakes Do not turn a checked box into medical clearance.
Alternative Considerations A player can take part in non-throwing learning while an adult arranges appropriate care.
Rules/safety: safety (safety-guidance)
Explore fastball and changeup grips With a ball in hand and no throw, compare a comfortable fastball grip and a coach-taught changeup grip. Basic throwing comes first; a grip is not a promise of velocity.
Coaching Points Start with the player's hand size and comfortable control.
Common Mistakes Do not force a professional grip on a smaller hand.
Alternative Considerations This pilot does not prescribe a breaking-ball or weighted-ball program.
Rules/safety: safety (safety-guidance)
Find a repeatable start During a dry rehearsal, establish balance before moving toward the target. Keep the practice cue simple enough to repeat.
Coaching Points Observe the whole movement before adding another cue.
Common Mistakes A pose that looks right is not proof of a comfortable throw.
Alternative Considerations Use individual coaching for a persistent movement problem.
Rules/safety: safety (safety-guidance)
Rehearse a balanced delivery In a dry supervised rehearsal, work from a comfortable balanced setup toward the target. This is a coaching cue, not an invented balk penalty.
Coaching Points Minor does not call balks; actual illegal-pitch requirements still belong to the governing rulebook.
Common Mistakes Do not borrow the Intermediate mandatory-stop lesson or a pre-pitch-lead pickoff drill.
Alternative Considerations Stop for discomfort and let the adult resolve any rules question.
Rules/safety: balk (national-rule) safety (safety-guidance)
Use a controlled target In a coach-approved throwing progression, aim for a reachable target and prioritize a comfortable repeatable motion over a radar-gun number.
Coaching Points Keep the emphasis on a sound basic throw, then fastball and changeup development.
Common Mistakes Do not add maximum-effort throws to chase a screen score.
Alternative Considerations The checklist records a learning step, not prescribed repetitions or exercise dosage.
Rules/safety: safety (safety-guidance)
Ask the adult to check eligibility Before Minor pitching, the adult checks league age, prior catching, all pitching, calendar rest and readiness.
Coaching Points Minor players cannot pitch in two games in one day, and league-age 12 players cannot pitch in Minor.
Common Mistakes A checked learning box is not a pitch log or medical clearance.
Alternative Considerations The official record and the player's condition control the real decision.
Rules/safety: pitch-limit (national-rule) rest (national-rule) catch-pitch (national-rule) safety (safety-guidance)
Finish and report After the practice, tell the coach how the arm feels and discuss the next throwing day using the adult's workload record.
Coaching Points Coordinate all throwing commitments rather than treating each team in isolation.
Common Mistakes Completing all boxes is not permission for another throwing session.
Alternative Considerations Keep regular off-season rest and varied non-throwing activity in the longer plan.
Rules/safety: safety (safety-guidance)
Rules and source notes Little League International · SLVLL AAA · regular-season pilot. Sources reviewed 2026-09-06. Minor League Baseball; San Lorenzo Valley Little League local program. National rules, SLVLL published local instructions and coaching choices are distinct. AAA is the local Minor program. Placement is a draft/player-agent decision; historical page dates and exceptions do not establish a fixed 2026 age band. Amendment summary is not the full rulebook or proof that unmentioned rules are unchanged. Baseball regular-season section, not softball or Challenger. General safety recommendations, not a 2026 rulebook, individual medical clearance or proof that any drill prevents injury. Minor League section establishes 60/46 geometry, not a fixed SLVLL AA or AAA roster age band. No-balk classification does not remove illegal-pitch rules or prescribe a penalty. This is not a complete rulebook or a tournament eligibility guide. Coaching suggestions are labeled teaching choices, not national rules.
eligibility : SLVLL AA and AAA are draft-placement programs within Minor League Baseball, not national fixed age bands. The player agent must verify roster placement and any exception; division placement alone does not establish pitching eligibility. (local-intraleague; local-adopted-option) SLVLL Draft Policies amendments : The 2026 national changes were checked separately from older local annotations. A national courtesy-runner permission does not itself prove local adoption. Do not import the Majors-only local paragraph into AAA or assume an intraleague option applies to district or tournament play. (regular-season; national-rule) 2026 Rule Changes and Clarifications balk : Little League does not call balks in Major Division and below. Illegal-pitch rules still matter. There is no conventional pre-pitch-lead pickoff situation; do not confuse that with all later runner-retirement plays. (all-play; national-rule) What is a balk? pitching : Catching four innings in a game bars pitching that day. Pitching 41 or more bars catching, subject to the 40-pitch batter exception. Catching up to three innings then pitching 21 or more bars return to catcher, subject to the 20-pitch batter exception. One live pitch counts as an inning caught. (regular-season; national-rule) Regular Season Pitching Rules geometry : The Minor League field uses 60-foot bases and a 46-foot pitching distance. Local AA coach pitching has its separately stated delivery location. (all-play; national-rule) Little League Baseball Divisions pitching : Regular-season daily maxima by league age: 6-8, 50; 9-10, 75; 11-12, 85. However, a league-age 12 player may not pitch in Minor League. The finish-batter exception ends at that batter reaching base, being retired, the third out, or removal before that at-bat ends. Minor pitchers may not pitch in two games in one day. (regular-season; national-rule) Regular Season Pitching Rules rest : For age 14 and under: 1-20 pitches requires zero calendar rest days; 21-35 one; 36-50 two; 51-65 three; 66 or more four. Use the first pitch to the batter for a rest threshold. No pitching on three consecutive days. (regular-season; national-rule) Regular Season Pitching Rules safety : Stop throwing for fatigue. Elbow or shoulder pain requires stopping pitching and sports-medicine evaluation. Coordinate workloads and recovery across teams; eligibility is not medical clearance. This learning checklist is not an actual pitch log or a prescribed exercise dose. (safety-guidance; safety-guidance) Position Statement for Adolescent Baseball Pitchers Saved on this device Answers, self-assessed mastery, review flags and notes save in this browser. Mechanics checklist steps save too, but are not scored. Quiz/Coach view preferences and the hub's last-opened module may also be saved. No names, accounts or server uploads are requested. Avoid personal or medical details in notes. Browser storage may differ between files or browsers; if the hub cannot see a module's progress opened from disk, use that module's backup and import it into the hub. Browser data clearing removes local progress.
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