This report, the first of three on the effects of teaching kindergarten children the overhand throw, compares the children's final ball velocities to those of two control groups. Later reports will discuss the effect of instruction on the children's movement processes and the relationship between velocity and movement process. Forty-five children from two intact kindergartens in a Madison, Wisconsin public school were randomly assigned by sex to one of two groups: an experimental group that received a movement program including 120 minutes of guided practice in the overhand throw or a control group that received no exposure to the throw. A third group, randomly selected by sex from a comparable school, received no movement experience. Ten side-view, filmed trials of each subject's throw for force were taken before and after the 6-week period. Ball velocities for each trial were recorded simultaneously with the Roberts' velocimeter. No significant velocity differences between groups were reported, though boys throwing had significantly greater velocity than girls at both pre- and post-practice testing. One hundred twenty minutes of guided practice in the overarm throw did not significantly change the ball velocities of kindergarten children compared to two groups with no formal throwing experience. (Author/JA)