HS-aged baseball players and off-season?

[Anonymous]

What are your HS-aged baseball players doing this off-season in terms of baseball activities? Conditioning/strength training/speed work? Pitching or hitting lessons?

Just interested in the high school set's plans as those arms will need to be ready by February for school try outs.

[Anonymous]

Our school has the boys spend the winter sports season in the weight room for 2 hours each day after school for "winter conditioning". I think they also do some batting practice during this time.

My son goes to the cages several days a week with a friend and also lifts at home another few days per week. He's been doing this all fall (did not play travel ball). He's a varsity starter and likely captain.

[Anonymous]

If your child is a pitcher, be sure to rest his arm. Just strength training and possibly hitting until February.

[Anonymous]

Jaeger offseason arm care, 2x bp, and a winter sport that includes a high amount of conditioning/strength training.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If your child is a pitcher, be sure to rest his arm. Just strength training and possibly hitting until February.

This! DS's coach said no throwing at all until the new year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If your child is a pitcher, be sure to rest his arm. Just strength training and possibly hitting until February.

There are competing thoughts on this. My kid trains with a guy that trains several D1 and MLB pitchers and the belief is that you never go 100% cold-turkey.

Start training in November with light bullpens (~70% max) at least once per week. Start ramping up to 100% in January.

If you read the information provided by Driveline and other folks, something like 90% of all pitcher arm injuries (at all levels) happen during the first month of full training. Doesn't happen as much at the MLB level (though the emphasis on crazy velocity is of course causing tons of injuries), but prior to folks like Driveline coming onto the scene, you would see tons of Spring Training arm injuries.

Around hear, working with R&D or The Bullpen (both in Sterling) are good ideas during the offseason.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our school has the boys spend the winter sports season in the weight room for 2 hours each day after school for "winter conditioning". I think they also do some batting practice during this time.

My son goes to the cages several days a week with a friend and also lifts at home another few days per week. He's been doing this all fall (did not play travel ball). He's a varsity starter and likely captain.

He lifts multiple times per day then? I don’t think that’s actually healthy.

[Anonymous]

Once per week hitting, once per week fielding, crazy amount of basketball.

No throwing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our school has the boys spend the winter sports season in the weight room for 2 hours each day after school for "winter conditioning". I think they also do some batting practice during this time.

My son goes to the cages several days a week with a friend and also lifts at home another few days per week. He's been doing this all fall (did not play travel ball). He's a varsity starter and likely captain.

1.15 minutes phone time and chatting, 30-45 minutes working out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If your child is a pitcher, be sure to rest his arm. Just strength training and possibly hitting until February.

This! DS's coach said no throwing at all until the new year.

Hopefully he is also recommending a proper ramp up over 6+ weeks before full intent resumes.

February is too late of a rest to start throwing in HS season.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If your child is a pitcher, be sure to rest his arm. Just strength training and possibly hitting until February.

There are competing thoughts on this. My kid trains with a guy that trains several D1 and MLB pitchers and the belief is that you never go 100% cold-turkey.

Start training in November with light bullpens (~70% max) at least once per week. Start ramping up to 100% in January.

If you read the information provided by Driveline and other folks, something like 90% of all pitcher arm injuries (at all levels) happen during the first month of full training. Doesn't happen as much at the MLB level (though the emphasis on crazy velocity is of course causing tons of injuries), but prior to folks like Driveline coming onto the scene, you would see tons of Spring Training arm injuries.

Around hear, working with R&D or The Bullpen (both in Sterling) are good ideas during the offseason.

But he’s not a D1/MLB pitcher. He’s much less developed and risks more. Rest your kid’s arm. Too many high schoolers going into surgery by Senior year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If your child is a pitcher, be sure to rest his arm. Just strength training and possibly hitting until February.

There are competing thoughts on this. My kid trains with a guy that trains several D1 and MLB pitchers and the belief is that you never go 100% cold-turkey.

Start training in November with light bullpens (~70% max) at least once per week. Start ramping up to 100% in January.

If you read the information provided by Driveline and other folks, something like 90% of all pitcher arm injuries (at all levels) happen during the first month of full training. Doesn't happen as much at the MLB level (though the emphasis on crazy velocity is of course causing tons of injuries), but prior to folks like Driveline coming onto the scene, you would see tons of Spring Training arm injuries.

Around hear, working with R&D or The Bullpen (both in Sterling) are good ideas during the offseason.

But he’s not a D1/MLB pitcher. He’s much less developed and risks more. Rest your kid’s arm. Too many high schoolers going into surgery by Senior year.

It’s like some of these folks really don’t understand the difference between growing boys and adult men.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If your child is a pitcher, be sure to rest his arm. Just strength training and possibly hitting until February.

There are competing thoughts on this. My kid trains with a guy that trains several D1 and MLB pitchers and the belief is that you never go 100% cold-turkey.

Start training in November with light bullpens (~70% max) at least once per week. Start ramping up to 100% in January.

If you read the information provided by Driveline and other folks, something like 90% of all pitcher arm injuries (at all levels) happen during the first month of full training. Doesn't happen as much at the MLB level (though the emphasis on crazy velocity is of course causing tons of injuries), but prior to folks like Driveline coming onto the scene, you would see tons of Spring Training arm injuries.

Around hear, working with R&D or The Bullpen (both in Sterling) are good ideas during the offseason.

But he’s not a D1/MLB pitcher. He’s much less developed and risks more. Rest your kid’s arm. Too many high schoolers going into surgery by Senior year.

He will be pitching D1 next year, though not Power 4.

The surgery and arm injuries are from throwing too many pitches at too many games during the season and the focus on crazy velocity.

Again…Driveline has made many advancements that were controversial at first and now are generally accepted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If your child is a pitcher, be sure to rest his arm. Just strength training and possibly hitting until February.

There are competing thoughts on this. My kid trains with a guy that trains several D1 and MLB pitchers and the belief is that you never go 100% cold-turkey.

Start training in November with light bullpens (~70% max) at least once per week. Start ramping up to 100% in January.

If you read the information provided by Driveline and other folks, something like 90% of all pitcher arm injuries (at all levels) happen during the first month of full training. Doesn't happen as much at the MLB level (though the emphasis on crazy velocity is of course causing tons of injuries), but prior to folks like Driveline coming onto the scene, you would see tons of Spring Training arm injuries.

Around hear, working with R&D or The Bullpen (both in Sterling) are good ideas during the offseason.

But he’s not a D1/MLB pitcher. He’s much less developed and risks more. Rest your kid’s arm. Too many high schoolers going into surgery by Senior year.

He will be pitching D1 next year, though not Power 4.

The surgery and arm injuries are from throwing too many pitches at too many games during the season and the focus on crazy velocity.

Again…Driveline has made many advancements that were controversial at first and now are generally accepted.

And growth plates. Sounds like your son is beyond that concern but many HS boys are not.

[Anonymous]

Rest alone is pretty universally not the recommended path for high school players and especially pitchers. Whether in the weighted ball driveline camp or not, coaches should be pushing some kind of arm care plan.

My position player follows a specific strength and flexibility throwing plan in the offseason, which includes a planned ramp up of long toss when appropriate (he is currently on rest but will start 8 weeks before baseball practice begins).

It sounds like conflicting advice to rest and throw during the offseason, but they do need to go on rest AND then ramp up to throwing again. The idea that they rest until February and show up throwing full speed at HS tryouts is not what anyone decent should be recommending.

There is an easy to follow book by Jaeger that position players can do with the bands. (Pitchers too, but I would think a hs pitcher is doing something individual from one of the local pitching factories) It takes like 10 minutes a day and builds the arm up over time after the rest period.

Again, this is for high school players which is what OP asked about. Youth players shouldn’t be throwing at such an effort and volume that they’re inviting injury. And arm care is not just for professional pitchers.