How can I improve my pitching? originally appeared on Quora, the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world. You can follow Quora on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus.

There are many approaches to improving pitching. At 13, you’re at a level where it’s worth devoting some attention to that; however, I will caution that few are the pitchers at the upper levels of the sport who became dedicated pitchers at that age. In other words, I wouldn’t obsess about pitching-only at this point.

Tactical Improvement

Every young pitcher can improve by mastering:

* Changing speeds.

* Pitching inside as well as outside.

Changing speeds means cultivating a good change-up that mimics your fastball and thrown with the same arm speed. There are half a dozen change-up grips. Find one you are comfortable with and that produces spin similar to your fastball, and master it.

It also means plus and minus fastballs, that is, plus or minus about 3 mph. The further you hold the ball out on your middle finger, the faster it flies for a given arm speed. If your top fastball speed is 50, throw 47 and locate it. Very occasionally bust one in at 50 and challenge with it. Or, put it over the plate at 44 and watch ’em get out in front and dribble it to third [righty]. Your change-up at around 40 will complete the picture, though it never hurts to use a slow rolling curve off the plate to set up a heater for the out.

Pitching inside will not only help keep hitters honest on your outside pitches, for batters with loopy swings (common at your age) or fear of getting hit (also common), they become a nice way to collect strikes on a batter and keep him guessing.

One more thing, coaches at your level seldom know much. They will tell you not to pitch up in the zone (having your usual fastball come up from knee level is a worrisome sign that your arm is tiring or you’re not finishing your pitches). However, a 4-seam fastball up and in is a devastating pitch. In the pros, that pitch has to reach the cold zone right next to many batters’ crush zone, so it has to be precise. At youth levels, rare is the player with the batting mechanics to handle it unless you miss badly.

Fitness Improvements

Today’s players have superior balance thanks to skateboards and superior hand-eye coordination thanks to video games, but the players going back a couple of generations had something sorely lacking these days. Working on a farm builds shoulder, forearm, wrist and hand strength like crazy.

Stand with your back to a backstop, ball-in-hand, elbow shoulder-high, and throw the ball as far as you can using only your arm from the elbow down. You’ll probably get 10 or 12 feet in the air. Build up your strength until you can more than double your first efforts.

There are plenty of techniques for doing this—rubber cords, weighted balls, rice buckets, medicine balls, hand squeezers and many more. You can even do it isometrically at your desk while stuck in class. Last week, I was in a tomahawk throwing competition. That seemed like an outstanding way to strengthen the entire throwing mechanical sequence, and throwing tomahawks are fairly cheap.

Balance is key to pitching. Get a slackline and spend 15 minutes to an hour a day on it.

And long toss, long toss, long toss.

Arsenal Improvement

You don’t want to use a particular type of pitch in a game until you’ve got some mastery of it, except maybe to show it purposely off-the-plate. But you should always be working on other pitches until you feel you’ve got what it takes to get lefties and righties out all game long.

I’ve seen 11 y/os with awesome knuckleballs. My own son could throw a forkball at that age. I’ve known 13 y/os who could bring the hammer (the hard-biting curve that mimics a 4-seam fastball). The power sinker is not that difficult to learn, and is easy on the arm. In fact, contrary to popular opinion, there are only a couple of pitches that, thrown with proper mechanics, cause problems. Trouble is, you’re in no position to judge your own mechanics. By the way, those are pitches like the splitter and some forkballs that spread index and middle fingers, which can stress the ulnar nerve.

If you just start with a 2-seam fastball, learn to throw it with the middle finger on the center axis and powering down through the ball to “finish” the pitch. Move your middle finger a half-finger-width outside, and you are now cutting the ball. The same throwing motion and finish will produce a pitch that moves away from a same-sided batter. Move the finger the same distance to the inside, and you’ve got a pitch that will run in to a same-sided batter.

Now, using any of those grips finish by “turning the ball over” to either side, that is, have the hand rolling over and through the ball to the inside or outside. That will cause your pitches to sink to either side.

Already you have half a dozen pitches. Add a change-up that looks the same, and you can keep batters guessing all day long.

Add a knuckle curve (basically, dig your bent index finger into the ball and throw a fastball) and you have a breaking pitch that will do until you perfect a curve, whether rolling or hammer (some players use both).

To throw a power sinker, hold the back of your hand toward your face with the ball resting on the inside of the thumb with your first two fingers holding it in place. Feels awkward at first. Now, throw your thumb at the plate. If you can perfect this pitch, you’ve got a potent weapon against both same-side and opposite-sided hitters.

Throw in a 4-seam fb up and in, and you have a very potent arsenal of pitches.

Mental Improvement

You have ice in your veins even when you are fired up. Nothing rattles you. You are the hunter and hitters are your prey. With every next pitch, you have your composure and a focus only on executing the pitch and fielding your position. No exceptions.

Strategic Improvement

Do you know what your job is as a pitcher? In general, it is to keep batters from “centering” the ball, that is, from hitting the ball “right on the screws”—sweet spot of bat to center of ball. Centered balls go for line drives, and 85 percent of those go for hits. Balls hit off-center go for grounders and flies, and 85 percent of those go for outs. In competitive leagues, if you face four batters an inning on average, you will be a top pitcher. Face five an inning, and your coach will have doubts about putting you on the mound.

Now you know what your job is, but do you know it pitch-by-pitch?

Your main pitch will be whatever you have the most mastery of—usually your 2-seam fb (or even all six of your 2-seamers, or 18 if you throw in plus and minus speeds).

When you’re up two strikes, you want an out pitch that will sit the batter down right now. That will usually be a pitch that looks strike-goes ball. A low change-up or a high 4-seamer would be a good example.

When you are down in the count, especially with runner on, go to your cripple pitch, that pitch in your arsenal that produces the highest rate of routine ground balls or pop-ups.

When you’re ahead and want to get a batter out with a pitch already used, throw in a show pitch: fb low and away… “Steeerike two!” Rolling curve well off the plate… “ball.” Another fb low and away…. “Yerrrr OUT!” There are other uses for show pitches, but you get the idea. The overall idea is that you will get much better as you learn to pitch situationally and strategically.

Super Improvement

Get a private pitching coach. Just understand that only about one in five will be really good. The only way you can be sure your mechanics are optimum is to have a savvy pitcher study your pitching. A good teacher can help you develop a regimen for improvement and offer you perspectives that will help you develop a competitive edge.

Supreme Improvement

What will take you to the top of the game? How did Greg Maddox win all those Cy Youngs with average arm speed?

Every batter by his approach to the plate, his practice swings, his stance is telling you how to get him out, where the hole is in his swing. Read the batter. Pitch accordingly. Sit him down.

This level of pitching greatness takes years and requires a few truly savvy coaches along the way.

This question originally appeared on Quora. More questions on Quora:

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