We have reached the pinnacle of the baseball season with Cooperstown practically in the rear-view mirror……HS showcasing completed…..and the Little League World Series about to begin in the next week!
And of course, school starts for many next week and everyone else in the next few weeks. We have been on the proverbial merry-go-around….got off for maybe 1-4 weeks…..and now the merry-go-round is starting to move again.
This also means baseball season starts anew for all of those players who will join new teams….move up to a new level of ball….and of course, the top of young adult baseball…their HS team!
This month’s e-newsletter is to give you and your son some tips as a new season begins. I have seen this happen for the last 15 years as a coach and 25+ as an instructor who seemingly says the same thing every year but few heed these tips. Please know that I only want for all to have healthy arms and I know these tips and facts to be true:
*Please start playing catch immediately in order for you arm to have some lead up time before you start throwing MUCH MUCH more than you are used to.
Particularly in HS, the coaches don’t really have much lead up time to give your arm a chance to build up strength. You will HAVE to do that on your own because coaches want to get going as quickly as possible. The likelihood for a young impressionable Freshman to hurt his arm is almost around 60%. Not just pitchers but all position players.
If you think about it……first time HS players want to impress their coaches right from the beginning and the try to do this by cutting loose with their throws from the first practice. AND, if they haven’t had a period of time to allow their arm strength to build then, within the first several days, their arm is sore from all the throwing they have done at practice but didn’t give themselves the time to build up the month prior. This is why if you haven’t been throwing for a long period of time then start throwing NOW.
Imagine training for a marathon….26.2 miles…..but Day 1 you go out 20 miles….then try 22 a couple of days later. Your legs are going to be overtaxed and the likelihood of injuring yourself is way high. Throwing a baseball all out the first 2-3 days of practice will do the same thing but your elbow or shoulder will be sore, hurt or screaming in pain.
*Get your running in now!! Having a strong lower half makes THE biggest difference for all positions on the diamond plus for hitters it makes a world of difference. Having a strong lower half helps keep players balanced in their baseball activities. If you don’t have the strong base then coaches will tell you that you need to get strong legs so let’s have everyone run!!
Coaches LOVE to have baseball players run for some reason. For me, it is just plain dumb.
There are several HS coaches in the Santa Clarita Valley who have players running around tracks….up and down hills….what are called bow and arrows which is a dumb way to get kids hurt if doing this in the first days of practice. My suggestion, and what I have done with my HS pitchers, is to do sprint work…..10-12 40 yard sprints with a light jog back to halfway point of that 40 yard sprint….then walk the rest of the way back. Get yourself back into your normal breath..then another sprint. Explosive….works on fast twitch muscles and kids enjoy the sprints much more than long distance work anyways.
How many baseball players run long distances on the baseball field? Maybe 40 yards to get to a fly ball…..if they hit a triple then maybe 90 yards making 2-left hand turns? Pitcher’s sprint to back up a bag or 1st base…..how far is that? Maybe 7-20 yards?
Have you seen a picture of a 100 yard dash sprinter and how he is built life a football running back? Huge lower half…..explosive form which gets him from point A to B very very quickly. Now, think of a picture of a long distance runner……legs are super skinny….no muscle tone…..can you imagine whose legs are more built for baseball. Not even a question that the runner who runs sprints is more strong for baseball activities.
Your player needs to be built for explosive activities which will benefit him 100%…….so why all the long distance running?
There is an old saying in that how many pitchers came from the countries of Ethiopia or Kenya? Not one but if long distance running is SO important to pitching then why hasn’t anyone from those countries made it to professional baseball? Running long distances makes no sense at all.
*Get into the gym now……nothing too much about that. This should be something that needs to be part of your everyday life and especially for athletes. Strength is the difference in throwing a ball, swinging a bat and pitching off a mound
*For young players…….please have them throwing at least 2-3 times a week…..and if they are a pitcher then they need to pitch 1-2 / week. (One of those time could be our work at Throwzone) Also, be VERY VERY cautious about only pitching 1-2 innings max / no more than 35 pitches when tournament games start up again. DO NOT let coaches overuse your player for the first several tournaments of the next month or two. In fact, I would tell the coach that you are limited in your pitch count and innings. No reason for your son have to help his team out when there is a lack of pitchers on the team. I will always tell parents that if the coach is going to pay the co-pay for the office visit……pay the deductible for any potential injury THEN take and pay for the player to go to PT. Make it a priority up front that he has to stay at those limits in the first 3-4 tournaments. The coach will appreciate it….and you will have a piece of mind.
I hope that a few of these tips will help you and/or your son or daughter in their quest for baseball greatness. But the biggest thing is that he or she needs to start their greatness now as vacation and summer time is turning into development time. The tips above will go a LONG way in helping your child in keeping healthy body.
If you ever have any questions regarding activities that I have talked about above feel free to contact me via phone, text or email. I am definitely here to help in any way possible.
Lastly, our training classes are continually running through the rest of this year including our 7:30p advance training classes which starts up again on Wednesday, August 13 from 7:30 to 9:00pm. These classes are by invite only but would love to talk to you how your JHS or HS age son can take advantage of Mon-Thur….monthly basis….come as often as you can.
Please reach out to me soon about classes as they are filling up again with summer ending and baseball beginning quickly.
Until next time……
Jim
Jim Wagner's ThrowZone Academy 