At home
Parents want to help between practices, and the instinct is to set up a net in the garage and let him throw. A little of that is fine. Most of the real progress at home comes from the things that are not throwing at all.
Start here
Ten to fifteen minutes of hip and shoulder mobility and band work is the single best habit a young pitcher can build at home. It is low risk, it adds up, and it is the foundation everything else stands on. At PPL this routine is written from the athlete's own movement assessment and lives in the app with a video for every exercise.
Get stronger
Squats, lunges, planks, push ups and rows build the legs and core a delivery depends on. Younger kids need nothing more than their own bodyweight and good form. Strength is where a lot of safe velocity is hiding for growing athletes.
Dry work
Towel drills and slow, mirror checked deliveries let a pitcher groove a better move without stressing the arm. The point is one specific feel, not a long list of cues. If he is working on something with a coach, this is where he practices that one thing.
Throwing
Some throwing at home is fine: catch play, or a short set into a net or at a target with a clear goal like hitting a spot. Count the throws, keep them inside the week's plan, and skip it on days after he pitched in a game. Hundreds of unplanned throws in the garage are how workload quietly gets out of hand.
Questions parents ask
Daily mobility and band work, bodyweight strength like squats, lunges and planks, towel drills and slow dry deliveries, and a small, counted amount of throwing at a target. The non throwing work is where most of the at home progress comes from.
Not as an unlimited habit. A short, counted set with a purpose is fine on some days. Every throw counts toward his workload, so skip it on days after he pitched and keep it inside the weekly plan.
Mobility, strength, towel drills, mirror work on the delivery, and short sets at a target. Filming a few throws on a phone and comparing them to his coach's notes helps too.
Yes. Every PPL athlete has a phase based throwing program and arm care in the app, with a video for every drill, so the days at home follow the same plan as the days in the building. PPL Remote does the same for athletes who are not near a facility.
The free assessment shows what your athlete needs most, so the work he does at home is the right work.
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