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Flat-Ground Fastball Command

Pitch fastballs on flat ground to the glove side and arm side of a target.

By Coach Evan Waechtler Youth coach (U11, Cache Valley, Utah) and founder of SSTracker Updated October 30, 2026

Set up

Warm up with easy catch first.

Core: Medium. Keep to your usual pitch count and compare only your own accuracy.

Ages
11 and up
Time
12 min
Players
Just you
Space
Yard or field
Bring
Glove, baseballs, catcher or target
Level · skill
Developing · Pitching

The steps

How it works

  1. Warm up with easy catch first.
  2. From 40 to 46 feet, throw 10 fastballs to the glove side and 10 to the arm side.
  3. Count how many hit the side you aimed for.
  4. Stop at 20 pitches and log them in your pitch count.

Coaching point

Eyes on the mitt, finish to it.

Safety: Count every pitch. Follow Pitch Smart and Little League: stay under your daily limit (50 at ages 6-8, 75 at 9-10, 85 at 11-12, 95 at 13-16 and 105 at 17-18), take the rest days your count calls for (up to 4 days after a big outing), never pitch three days in a row, do not catch on days you pitch, and stop if anything hurts.

Make it fun

Play it, don't drill it

Game version

Strike-zone game: aim at target squares on a safe backstop, and a partner marks the zones you hit. Keep to your usual number of pitches.

Challenge

Pick a target: Less (large), Core (medium), More (small). Keep to your usual pitch count and compare only your own accuracy.

Story

You are the starting pitcher painting the corners of the plate.

My best

Beat your own count

Keep to your usual pitch count and compare only your own accuracy. Only your own number counts: today against last time.

Practice makes progress

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