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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
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
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
Rehearse the legal set With runners aboard, rehearse the legal set-position stop before delivery under the OBR foundation adopted by PONY.
Coaching Points Separate a legal delivery from a legal base throw; begin without live runners.
Common Mistakes Do not import the Little League Majors no-stop exemption.
Alternative Considerations Mustang departure restrictions do not license illegal pitching mechanics. PONY does not use MLB's pitch clock or disengagement limit.
Rules/safety: balk pickoff
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
Check the whole day before pitching The adult reviews league age, all same-day pitching, required rest and readiness. PONY can permit pitching in more than one game on a day within its combined maximum.
Coaching Points Use PONY 10(D)-(I), including its final-batter provisions and ban on same-game pitcher return.
Common Mistakes A second game is not a new pitch allowance, and numerical eligibility is not medical clearance.
Alternative Considerations Use the actual game record; these learning checkboxes do not store a pitch log.
Rules/safety: pitch-limit rest pitch-return safety
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
Rules and source notes PONY Baseball · PONY Bronco 12U · regular-season pilot. Sources reviewed 2026-09-06. This is not a complete rulebook or a tournament eligibility guide. Coaching suggestions are labeled teaching choices, not national rules.
eligibility : The national 12U program admits league ages 9-12. League age is age attained before May 1; 2026 birth range May 1, 2013-April 30, 2017. Rule 4(A)-(B) separately allows a league's two-year or U program and limits moving up in the U program. This profile does not choose a local roster option. (regular-season; national-rule) 2026 PONY Baseball Rules and Regulations amendments : The 2026 PONY changes address bat specifications, remove the prior jewelry prohibition, and restrict on-field communications devices with a medical-device exception. Read those alongside the full 2026 book, not as proof that every unlisted rule was independently unchanged. (all-play; national-rule) 2026 PONY Baseball Rules and Regulations Baseball Rule Changes for 2026 Season balk : PONY 9(A) adopts OBR 5.07/6.02(a): use legal pitching mechanics, including the set-position stop with runners. Balks are part of this rule model, not the Little League Majors exemption. PONY 10(O)-(P) exclude MLB's pitch clock and disengagement limit; Mustang departure options still apply. (regular-season; national-rule) 2026 PONY Baseball Rules and Regulations 2026 Official Baseball Rules geometry : Bronco 12U uses 70-foot bases and a 50-foot pitching distance (7(A)-(B)). (regular-season; national-rule) 2026 PONY Baseball Rules and Regulations leadoffs : Bronco training may include conventional pre-pitch leads and legal pitcher pickoff throws. PONY rules, not the identical Intermediate field dimensions, establish this. (regular-season; national-rule) 2026 PONY Baseball Rules and Regulations pitching : PONY 10(D) uses league age, not a single Bronco maximum: ages 9-10 have 75 pitches/day; ages 11-12 have 85. Under 10(E)-(H), combine same-day games, include the specified postponed/suspended/exhibition work, and apply the finish-current-batter exception at a daily maximum. (regular-season; national-rule) 2026 PONY Baseball Rules and Regulations pitching : PONY 10(I) prohibits returning to pitch in the same game once withdrawn from the mound, even when remaining in another defensive position. A lineup return under 9(L) does not restore pitching eligibility. Rule 10(L) requires facing the first batter or substitute until retired or reaching first, unless incapacitating injury/illness judged by the umpire; do not substitute MLB's three-batter rule. (regular-season; national-rule) 2026 PONY Baseball Rules and Regulations rest : PONY 10(D): ages 7-12 require 0 calendar rest days for 1-20 pitches, 1 for 21-35, and 2 for 36-50. Ages 9-12 additionally require 3 for 51-65 and 4 for 66+. Ages 7-8 have a 50-pitch daily maximum before the finish-batter provision. Rest uses the threshold at the start of the final at-bat only if removed before pitching to the next batter; the pitching day is not a rest day. (regular-season; national-rule) 2026 PONY Baseball Rules and Regulations safety : Respond to fatigue with rest from throwing; stop pitching for elbow/shoulder pain until sports-medicine evaluation. Coordinate workload across teams, allow off-season breaks, and teach basic throwing before fastball/changeup development. ASMI advises against combining pitcher/catcher duties; that safety recommendation is not a PONY catcher-to-pitcher pitch-count rule. (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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