How much.......

is enough or NOT enough in the pre/off season workout regime? Interested in any thoughts?

 

Personally, I think you should be lifting 4 times a week, running 2-3 times a week, and doing baseball related activities 4-5 times a week over the winter off-season.

 

i agree to an extent. the only thing i may disagree with is the baseball related activities at some point. some players that play about 9 months out of the year need to take some time off completley dealing with baseball. they still need to lift and run but i think they shouldn't pick up a bat or ball for about a month. recharge the batteries, prevent burn-out, and take a mental break. just my thoughts...... any comments???

 

Another thing that I have to take into condsideration is that kids need some time to be kids need to be allowed to be kids at times. Most kids today do not have the desire to commit themselves to any particular sport because it takes "too much work" for them to become successful. That's what separates the men from the boys to a certain extent. I try to keep that in consideraton when I schedule my workouts. Since I was the athletic trainer for football this season and my asst coaches also coach football, I could only open the cages up during football. BTW, football practices on the outfield and some of the football coaches here refer to the baseball field as the "football practice field". Now that football has ended, we go 2-3 times per week until the Friday before the week of exams, lifting and throwing. (about 4-5 hours per week at most). I still have players (some with excellent talent) that don not want to show up because they want to be kids. I have committed my time to work with those who want to get stronger and better, and though it is hard, I have committed myself to working hard to make these kids better that really want to be here. Come January, we will have conditioning and skill work sessions within the confines of the NCHSAA.

 

As a parent I feel that it's important that we allow our kid to make their own decision as to how much is enough. HS kids tend to want to be as independent as possible. These days they seem have a lot more to do than baseball. If a kid wants to spend his time working at baseball, let him. If he wants to do other things let him. In my experience I've found that trying to force an issue only creates tension between you and your kid.

Just my .02 worth.

Ofcourse, I guess I'm lucky. It's never been an issue for me, my son never really completely shuts down from baseball.

 

You can never work hard enough. Everyday of the week rain or shine. In the GYM, on the field, running stadiums, anything to get you better you must do if you want to be the best

 

"Someone else is ALWAYS working harder!"

 

As a former coach and also an avid tennis player I think all athletes need a break from everything to give the body time to rest and rejuvenate. My husband and I disagree on this somewhat. I think after playing spring, summer and fall ball my son needed time to do absolutely nothing other than going to school and hanging out with friends. That is exactly what he did. He took two weeks off and did not work out, throw, etc. He was then ready to get back into it. Even as a tennis player I always take one month off between seasons (December and July) and when I pick up a racquet again I am thirsty for the game. It feels great to get back to it and compete again. Sometimes kids can just get burnt out and it becomes more of a chore and not fun.

 

the only thing i think a player needs to take a break from is throwing, and this will depend on how much he has thrown, or the position he plays. one thing to consider is that you are not only competing against kids in ur age group at the next level, but men. you must also consider look at talent from other countries, (i.e. the dominican, cuba, ect.) its all on the kid. those who understand themselves and know what is necessary for them to be successful are the ones that rise above. Work Ethic is everything in baseball

 

I really do believe that there is no reason to take a break from hitting. If you take a break for a few weeks, your swing usually will change a little and it's real frustrating trying to get it back. I took 10 days off in between school ball and legion, and my swing wasn't the same all summer, because over the summer you play so often all you have time to do is play, not practice. So I would say to you all to keep swinging every day and keep that same swing and keep that confidence.