throwing to second

Question
hi, i am a catcher for a mickey mantle u15 team. i have a question about throwing down to second. my first question is could not looking where you are throwing mess up your throw. sometimes i try to be quick so i lift my head up and i am not even looking at second until after i throw the ball. and is being too quick a problem becuase when i relax take a little more time i make a strong accurate throw and ussually throw him out. but now my coach is trying to make me be too quick and i have nothing on the throw and it is usally not accurate. so shold i go back to making a strong accurate throw bcuase i was timed at 1.99 to second doing it my old way. but now when im trying to be even faster i loose it please help! thanks

Answer
As a coach I would like to strangle the person who came up with POP times.  Now everything is about speed, speed, speed, and that is not right.  I don't care if you can get the ball to second base in one second, it don't mean crap if it is no where near the base.

The key to a strong, acurate throw to second is to stay low and focus on the bag.  You should not see anything in your vision other than the actual bag.  You shouldn't see your fielder (short or second), you shouldn't see the pitcher, you shouldn't see the runner.  Just stay focused on the bag itself.

Tell your coach, that you are focusing on your footwork and vision and that you appreciate him trying to make you better, but you need to work on your accuracy over your speed.

Best of luck,

Coach Stauffer
Macomb Baseball