Winter workouts

What's everyone doing in the pre-season to get into playing shape for February 10th?

What kind of work-outs do you favor? How much throwing are you doing? How long did you shut-down this winter?

 

This is a great thread NCBBall. Unfortunately, we still are in the recruiting stage of getting student members. It will take about 2-3 weeks before they start posting with any regularity. Most of them aren't aware of our site and they still post on that dinosaur ( Clt.com ). I am starting an email campaign to the school's booster clubs as well as 20-30 players that I know.

Any help,any member can give us through ideas, suggestions or recruiting to help us to shortcut the normal methods of building a forum please let us know.

This board belongs to no one, yet it does belong to everyone.

We are the originals and WE will develop this board to support and inform players and parents on what's happening in HS baseball.

We are also very interested in what is going on everywhere in NC, not just in Charlotte

 

Well, my son is not registered on www.thisboardrocks.com as yet and will soon register but I can answer this thread on his behalf at this time. And I really think that you might have originally said, “What’s everyone doing to stay in playing shape all year long for the serious baseball player”, as opposed to just, “What’s everyone doing in the pre-season to get into playing shape for February 10?”

My son has turned his selective sport (baseball) in to a year round program for himself to be the best baseball player that he can be according to his capabilities. He makes the South Meck baseball team’s roster and plays high school baseball from mid-February through late May then picks up with his summer team with 3 practices a week and competitive play and tournaments during the weekends in the summer time. He then usually takes off 1 month from mid-August to mid-September then plays with his fall team with 2 practices a week and competitive weekend play.

He then enrolls and works out at On Deck in the Winter Workouts there from early November for 4 times each week thru mid-December in the areas of physical strength, athleticism, hitting and agility with a qualified professional sports trainer, while also working very hard on his position drills as well. The off-season is when a player can really work on improving in areas that aren't conducive to his hitting and position skills. He then takes off mid-December thru the first week of January.

Now to answer your question “what’s everyone doing in the pre-season to get into playing shape for February 10th?” he is now enrolled at On Deck in the Pre-Season Training program which started with a 14-day throwing program and then plyometric and agility workouts as well as covering intensified aspects in the areas of hitting and position workouts which started 1/7 for twice a week and runs thru 2/8.

It is very, very competitive at South Meck with regard to high school baseball and to make the team these days, you have to play and practice hard all year long. There are still many good baseball players to date that do not make the varsity and jv South Meck baseball squads that could make baseball school teams in other Charlotte areas. It is important for a baseball player to work hard all year long to be prepared come high school baseball time at South Meck (as I am sure is the case at Myers Park, East, Butler and Providence as well) with regard to SW4A competitive play and if you want to give playing baseball at the college level a shot as well.

:applause:

 

I am glad to hear that your son is practicing a lot, Southloop. And On Deck has the perfect program for off season workouts.

You know, it's sad in a way how competitive HS sports are. It is very difficult for a student athlete to compete in multiple sports. Each one has become a year long process....but it's the nature of the beast now, if one is trying to get ahead. Because while you may be playing basketball, the one you are competing with is working out at On Deck or other places to stay ahead.

But I will say this, if you do play multiple sports, by the time you are a junior, you really need to commit to a particular sport.

Southloop, if you don't mind me asking, what position does your son play?

Oh....and one more thing Southloop:

WELCOME ABOARD

:xyzwave:

 

My son just finished a 12 week conditioning program developed by Wichita State Univ.s Coach Rosenboom...lotsa..lotsa.. sprinting and running: working out on resistance cords...took two weeks off and is starting work outs for hs baseball...he hasn't broken a sweat as far as running and agility exercises...has been doing flat work to keep the pressure off the shoulder; he is ready for simulated mound work..

 

Preseason Prep

My son has been doing a long toss program three times a week to develop arm strenght and conditioning. We are thinking about trying weighted balls, does anyone have any experience or suggestions on there use? Thanks!

 

Re: Preseason Prep

I have heard pros and cons on this subject. Here is a website that I think will help you.

weight training for baseball

 

Weighted balls

It's a tough question. What you are trying to do is exercise the muscles in order to make them stronger. That's the premise of weighted balls. With normal weight training, the weight is in your hand at all times, this includes stretching with a rubber tube.

The difference in a 3 lb dumbbell and a weighted baseball is that the weight is leaving your hand while the arm is in motion. This may lead to sudden increases in arm speed during the exercise and result in injury.

Weighted baseballs have been around 20 years and have never "caught on". The only way I would use one is tossing softly to stretch the arm, not as a normal exercise program.

A study of swinging a weighted bat before stepping in the batters box was performed in Japan. They found that, even though the players believed they were swinging harder, in fact, bat speed was 3% below their bat speed when they did not use a weighted bat in the on-deck circle. I don't know the specifics of how the study was performed.

As with anything, you just gotta be careful and use some common sense. I have a link here to an interview with Dr. Gary Coleman who was the strength and conditioning coach for the Houston Astros. Down in the interview is his opinions of throwing weighted baseballs.

http://hsbaseballweb.com/coleman_interview.htm

 

Conditioning is one of the most important things in sports.
In order to get in shape during the off season I would not only do the mandatory things for baseball but believe it or not, I played a lot of basketball for the cardiovascular.
I not only kept myself in top physical shape but it was something that I enjoyed.
I played a couple hours 3-4 times a week.
Swimming is also very good for the cardio.

 

I read this book a couple of months ago titled THE RIPKEN WAY, by Cal Ripken Sr. It was one of many "baseball" books that I have read and without a doubt "must read book!" Anyways, one of the things that Cal Sr. mentions is that "People can talk about work ethic, but the more they talk about it, the less they do."

That quote is so true and it jumped out at me because in a way I have always thought that, but I just never knew how to word it quite right. To me it means that the work that you put into your game is for you and to better the team. If you look at Tony Gwynn, Nolan Ryan, Greg Maddux, Cal Ripken Jr., etc., they dont work at their game to impress others or to be labeled as a guy with "great work ethic". It comes natural to them. It is apart of them and their passion for the game. They outworked their opponents and the reached the top of the pyramid that every ballplayer in the world is apart of, whether they want to be or not, and only the strong survive. I, like every other ballplayer out there, have a dream to reach the top of the pyramid.

I really like this thread and enjoy hearing about all aspects of the game. I just wanted to share that quote and some insight of mine towards it.

But I gotta run, because during the 10 minutes that it took to write this reply, there are ballplayers out there who are working to beat me out for the job and the best job in the world that I will be competing for a year from now as well as ten years from now.