My son is 11, has a build like Frank Thomas, and has been playing baseball (by choice) since 4yo. For the past two years, he has been concentrating on pitching and catching. During try outs this year, his fastball was clocked at 70mph. Is this good or should we send him to the incredibly expensive pitching intensive bball camp this summer that he is begging to go to rather than a more affordable but still credible camp? He already has big dreams, knows the odds, and wants the best coaching he can get. He thinks 70mph at his age sucks and is embarassed about it.

I apologize for the error in spelling. You're welcome for the ego boost it gives you to sit around and find mistakes people make and correct them. THAT is what is sad, sweetheart.

Like the people above me stated the average speed is about 50-55mph. I have a little brother who has been playing baseball for about 4yrs and when he turns it up he's clocked 70mph and he is also 11 years old. My parents have sent him to pitching lessons for about $32 per half-hour and they are very helpful. They work on the mechanics of throwing. Showing him what to do and why you do it that way. It is a good idea to get lessons I have seen major improvements in my younger brothers control and pitch location. Should you go to a very expensive camp? I would say not necessarily, its finding the right place and the right people that can interact with your son well. It is not always about how much you spend.

I wish your son the best of luck in the future and maybe some day he can achieve his dreams.

You can't spell elevEn? That's just plain SAD...

thats great he it will increase over the years because the arm strength as you get older becomes stronger.

I was in the leage your son was in probably a average speed would be around 50 or 55 miles per hour

Any 11yr old that can truly throw 70 is something special. I was just at a tournament this past weekend and only saw one 12-yr old who could do that. Avg velocity for an 11yr old is 55 mph. But you should still send your son to a pro for lessons, they have been very helpful to my son, both hitting & pitching. Bad mechanics can lead to arm injury. We paid about $30 per 1/2 hour lesson.

First, there is no such thing as an average 11-yr old.

Second, pitching isn't about how fast you can throw. Pitching is about fooling the hitters, and any hitter worth his salt can hit the fastest fastball, if that pitch has no movement on it. Later on, breaking pitches can be added, but for now, what your son should be concentrating on is moving his fastball around in the strike zone as he wants it to move, and on giving it movement on the way to the plate,

Now, do him a couple of favours. Throw out your radar gun, don't allow it to be used when he's pitching, and tape every game that you can find in which Greg Maddux is pitching. Let him learn about how to PITCH instead of how to throw, and let him learn about it by watching a master.

Tghat is pretty amazing! Normal would be around 50 - 60 for an 11yo. If he shows the talent and accumen, and has the temperment to handle it... send him. Just make sure they don't allow him (or god forbid encourage him) to throw curveballs. It could destroy his arm at that age, it did mine!

yeah, he's smoking 'em in there, for 11 years old, that pretty good. my buddy was throwing around that when he was that old and he's now 18 and putting them dead center strike zone at 87-93mph, and getting offers from tons of top colleges. if he keeps up the hard work he should do just fine. the camp depends on your financial situation, if you can afford it no problem, go with the better one, he'll probably learn more.

There is no average but a 70 mph pitch by an 11 yr old!!!!!!!!!!
that is amazing
however your son definitely has an ego problem
either that or is never satisfied with what he has
in other words, he wants to do better and better and will probably push himself to hard and get injured.

70 at age 11 is very fast.I'd say the average is around 45-50.If he can throw 70 don't let him throw curves and screw up his arm untill he's 13-15.