The circle change is a pitch that every major league pitcher has in their arsenal and you should also. While it is a very popular pitch in the majors, it is often overlooked by many youth league coaches. Speed change can not and should not be overlooked. Many youth coaches teach kids how to throw a curve ball instead of this very deadly pitch. The curve ball, which I do not advocate is the last pitch to teach kids. If they can hit spots with the two and four seam fast ball as well as the circle change, you have a great pitcher in the making.
The key to keeping a pitcher on the rubber over the long term is hitting spots and changing speeds. Not the break of the curve ball or slider. Stick to the basics, until they have mastered the circle change. By that point the youth pitcher maybe old enough and mature enough to start throwing a breaking ball.
The circle change is griped as seen in the above photo. It is thrown with the same wind-up and arm velocity as the fastball. Many developing pitchers will slow the ball down by not throwing it as hard. This is incorrect. If you are going to sell the pitch to the batter, you must sell it as a fastball. Arm velocity and arm angle must be the same.
When throwing this pitch try to hit the catchers feed. If you can keep the ball low in the zone you will have great success with this pitch.
Very well said!
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