Throwing is one of the most critical fundamental motor skills (FMS) for children to acquire as it is used extensively in many sports and games. There are apparent and consistent gender differences found in the skill of throwing with males outperforming their female counterparts (Garcia & Garcia, 2002; Halverson, Roberton, & Langendorfer, 1982; Langendorfer & Roberton, 2002; Thomas & French, 1985). These gender differences in the throwing literature, along with the developmental delays found in FMS for disadvantaged children (Goodway & Branta, 2003; Goodway, Crowe, & Ward, 2003; Hamilton, Goodway & Haubenstricker, 1999) suggest a need to examine this issue further. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of throwing instruction on the overarm throw for force in disadvantaged preschoolers. Participants for this study consisted of 104 disadvantaged children with a mean age of 54.24 months (SD=3.85) enrolled in a compensatory preschool program. Three classes of preschool children were assigned to a motor skill intervention group called SKILL (n=58) and three classes to a Comparison (n=46) group. All children were pretested and posttested on Roberton’s (1984) component approach resulting in a mean score for the step, trunk, backswing, humerus, and forearm components of the overarm throw for force. The children in the SKILL group received two, 45-min sessions of FMS instruction per week over a 12-week period. Embedded in this program were 120 mins of throwing instruction. Each throwing session consisted of 10-mins of 3-4 instructional throwing tasks presented in a developmental task sequence. There were a total of 12 throwing sessions. The children in the Comparison group received the regular preschool program and no formal instruction in motor skills. Prior to instruction a MANOVA on body components revealed no significant differences between groups (p>.05) for throwing performance. A Group (SKILL, Comparison) X Time (pretest, posttest) MANOVA with repeated measures on the last factor revealed a significant multivariate Group X Time interaction (p>.05). Follow-up tests revealed that the SKILL group had significantly (p>.05) better throwing performance than the Comparison group at the posttest. Also, that the SKILL group improved significantly (p>.01) from pre-to posttest in contrast to the Comparison group who did not significantly change from pre- to posttest. Additional follow-up tests revealed the changes in different body components as a result of the throwing instruction. These findings have implications to the developmentally appropriate instruction of preschool children who are disadvantaged.Keyword(s): early childhood, performance, youth-at-risk