This crazy rollercoaster ride of life we’re on these days is just maddening enough to make us ask ourselves if this is real life.
It seems like even Hollywood couldn’t make up a story like the one we’re all experiencing. The studios would just laugh at any producers or writing team attempting to sell this movie due to the highly unlikely events it would be about. It reminds me of one of my all-time zone out and guilty pleasure movies, Independence Day, where aliens come to invade our planet and ultimately the President of the United States takes down the alien mothership as he boldly proclaims, “This is our Independence Day.”
I love that movie so much that I’ve probably watched it 50 times. I never get sick of the plot, as unbelievable as it is. It parallels what we are currently experiencing: a deadly virus, racial insensitivity, and a divided country where we’ll seemingly change any team nickname or mascot based on whatever group feels attacked by said team name or mascot.
It’s just crazy, but here we are.
The game of baseball is trying to stand on its own two feet as well, and it’s a rough go at the moment. MLB is having trouble with virus testing, and more and more players are testing positive for COVID-19. There are also those players who just don’t want to spend the next three months with their teammates and constantly feel like they’re living in a bubble, and possibly jeopardizing their own family’s health.
Who knows how this will all play out.
However, there will come a time when baseball will be ready and more than willing to start playing games. It’s not only true for pro ball, but for universities and colleges around the country as well as high school, travel, and recreational leagues.
Players are ready to get going. We see it everyday here at Throwzone, where we’ve been as busy as we’ve ever been. I’ve also checked in with my business associates at the Texas Baseball Ranch, the Florida
Baseball Ranch, and at Driveline in Washington. They’re all packed with players getting themselves ready for when games begin again.
Our summer training has been an amazing experience for such players. Our group classes are bustling with players filling out all of our available class schedule slots. Players are driving from all over Southern California on the weekends to do video work. There’s even the possibility of a D1 program, already shut down until this next spring (which I can’t imagine 😦 ), who may train here at Throwzone for an extended period of time.
There are a couple of points I want to make as I bring up these scenarios.
One point is, if you’re not here, then why not?
Our players are raving about their development here, which is unlike anywhere else in Southern California let alone the Santa Clarita Valley. We would love to have you here so you can see how we’ve grown and find out what we can do for your son.
My second point is very important, and it’s something I touched upon last month. The risk of injury is going to be so great this year that most people might as well have their orthopedic doctor on speed dial. By the way, do we have speed dial anymore? Everything is touch screen now, but having speed dial was just awesome. It was a catchy phrase too to say, ”I have you on speed dial,” as if I was better than the next guy.
But I digress.
Injuries are going to be very real, and here is one of the reasons why: Players and coaches are going to be so ready to play games that there won’t be enough time to prepare the body for the rigors of the game. Mark my words, there will be a number of injuries when, and IF, MLB games start again. Three weeks is just not enough time to prepare the soft tissue for the stress the joints take on in a player’s body. There will be a breakdown at some point soon.
At the high school level as well as with travel ball, those teams simply won’t have the luxury of a 15-man pitching staff to slowly build arm strength and have game ready arms over the course of the season. My high school staff might have 10 pitchers, if we’re lucky, who might be ready for games. Typically, we’ll ride 5-6 arms, usually 4 if we can, but that’s going to be playing with fire. Arms will slowly break down with either lost velocity or flat out fatigue, like a car going down the road and having the engine light come on right before it just stops.
This will happen with position players as well. They’ll be running hard right out of the box and making left hand turns going into first base, rounding first on the way to second, and potentially to third. It’s a vicious cycle that we as coaches are not going to have the luxury of time to get ready. Once we do get the thumbs up to play then breakdown will slowly creep into a player’s body and eventually lead to an injury. Sadly, it can’t help but happen.
Sorry to be Debbie Downer here, but it’s important for players to train hard now so they’ll be prepared once games do begin. For throwers that’s something we do really well here at Throwzone Academy. We can give you a guide on how to train going forward and prepare you now before the games begin and coaches start asking you to give your all.
Contact us today for all the options available to help assist you in getting ready for when the games begin. Because life will get back to normal, and that means it’ll be full steam ahead with baseball. We all can’t wait!
Until next time,
Jim
Jim Wagner's ThrowZone Academy 