At that age, give them 6 inches off the plate outside and 3 inches off of the plate inside. Call them up to their chin as well.
Eric Gregg of MLB baseball called 6 to 8 inch outside pitches strikes in a playoff game before he was fired (resigned, or whatever you call it). The same thing happened in the NCAA World Series one year. If it was good enough for the the big guys, its good enough for 9-10 year olds.
Shortly after Gregg called that game, I was doing a game and calling ridiclously outside pitches - strikes. One batter complained and I said "Don't you want to learn how to play in the National League."
At every level, the outside pitch is given to the pitcher, especially if the catcher makes it look good. It varies anywhere from one to six inches. Go for it.
Peter
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