The fastball is where every outing starts. Before a young pitcher worries about a single secondary pitch, the fastball has to be there — so it’s where Coach Myles starts every pitcher he works with.
Proper mechanics
A good fastball is built from the ground up, not from the arm down. The power starts in the legs and works forward through the hips and torso, with the arm coming through last. The goal is a balanced, repeatable delivery: a controlled leg lift, a direct move toward the plate, square hips at release, and a finish that lands in fielding position. When the lower half does the work, the arm stays loose and the same delivery repeats pitch after pitch — and command comes from repeatability, not from steering the ball.
Developing it the right way
For a young athlete, command beats velocity every time. The right order of operations is simple: learn to repeat the delivery, learn to throw strikes to both sides of the plate, then let velocity come naturally as the body grows and gets stronger. Chasing radar-gun numbers before the mechanics are clean is how young arms get hurt and how bad habits set in. Build the fastball first; the whole rest of the arsenal plays off it.
The mindset
The fastball is a conviction pitch. You’re not aiming it — you’re committing to a target and trusting the work you’ve put in. A pitcher who believes in his fastball pitches ahead in the count, and pitching ahead changes everything.
One cue Coach Myles comes back to: establish it first. Command the fastball before you ever try to expand the zone or add a secondary.
Every pitcher is different, and a real plan is built around your athlete. Claim a free first lesson and we’ll start with the foundation.