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Why would it matter if the base was unoccupied by the defense? The base thrown to must be occupied by the OFFENSE (or a play being made... such as a runner breaking for 2nd so early that pitcher throws to 2nd).
Coach is probably confused with sitches where pitcher throws elsewhere (somewhere other than the base) because fielder was not where he thought he'd be. In a recent college game there was a balk because F1 threw it to F3, who was charging on a bunt. He balked because he didn't throw it to a base - he threw it to F3, who was not near a base. (See Miami vs Texas thread). If he'd thrown it to 1st base anyway (yes... he'd be throwing the ball away, possibly), it would not have been a balk.
I actually witnessed a coach practicing this once. He'd occasionally have F3 either breaking away from the bag to play his position, or breaking home for a bunt. F1 didn't know when this was going to happen. He was teaching him that if F3 was not on the bag to throw it right at 1st base, but softly, so it would roll toward the bag, and F3 could get to the ball in time. Pretty ingenious, actually.
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