Pitching Drill: Long Toss (Baseball & Softball)
Arm strength drill for pitchers and all players. Warm up, then progressively move back until reaching your partner is a challenge. Throw with slight arc.
How to Run This Drill
- Start with normal warm-up catch at a comfortable distance.
- Once the arm is warm, move back a few steps with each throw.
- Get far enough apart that reaching your partner is a challenge.
- Take a long step forward, keep the elbow above the shoulder, and throw with a slight arc.
- One-hop throws are fine. Players should only do 6-10 throws at their max distance to avoid tiring out the arm.
Coaching Points
- Pitchers should do this between starts
- Younger players: no more than once per week
- Do not allow players with arm pain or players that just pitched to do long toss the next day
- Older position players can do several times per week
- The goal is to get players throwing as hard as they can to build arm strength and learn how to use their entire body when throwing.
Quick Actions
At a Glance
Categories
PitchingThrowing
Focus Areas
Arm StrengthLong Toss
Age Groups
7-89-1011-1213-1415-1617-1818+
Players
2-20 players
Difficulty
intermediate
Equipment Needed
Similar Drills You Might Like
Explore more drills to build your practice plan and develop well-rounded skills
ThrowingFun Gamesbeginner
Long-Toss Golf
Fun accuracy game where players throw at targets in the outfield like golf holes. Builds arm strength through long tossing while developing accuracy.
View drill
WarmupThrowingbeginner
Two Ball
Players catch two balls at once - one in each hand - building bare-hand confidence and hand-eye coordination.
View drill
Throwingbeginner
Over Under
Partner drill practicing both overhand and underhand throws. Infielders learn to handle different throw types they may encounter in a game.
View drill