Fighting That Big Heavy Glove

Your glove can actually be making your job more difficult.  It can be your best friend or, not so much.

Often I see young pitchers come into lessons with gloves that are too large, too heavy, or both.  It is a necessary piece of equipment, but parents often want to provide their pitchers with the very best, spending hundreds of dollars on a pre-oiled piece of equipment that weighs so much that it throws the body out of balance. 

If you weigh 130-pounds, perhaps putting a couple of pounds of weight on the end of the arm is manageable.  However, a typical 10-year-old may have a lot more trouble controlling something that feels like a boat anchor flailing around.

I often tell parents of young kids to buy a glove off the shelf that has a lot less weight but still comes from a good company.  Spend way less on the glove and replace it every year if needed.  There are two reasons besides saving you money.  One is that does restore more balance to the motion, allowing her to stay in line better.  A lighter glove will also allow her to move it more quickly, improving her defensive ability.  Finally, if she can move it more quickly, it can protect her against a line drive that comes screaming at her face.

The same goes for a glove that is too big.  A floppy glove does not move quickly or efficiently, and she will often miss easy plays because she thinks the long glove covers more territory than it actually does. 

I have nothing against expensive, heavy gloves.  Just let her grow into them.