Arm Strength, Conditioning and Injury Prevention

There are many things to be concerned with when coaching young baseball players. Developing their skills and improving team behaviors are chief among them but keeping them safe and healthy should always come first. CHLL is very fortunate to have an experienced Safety Officer, Don Montuori, who has developed a comprehensive Safety plan and by all reports our fields have been relatively injury free.

Less obvious but perhaps even more dangerous are the long term issues associated with overuse injuries. We all need to be vigilant in regards to varying drills and activities so that nobody is taking too many swings or making too many long throws or pitches in a day, week, month or season. We need look no further than our hometown Nationals to see the impact of either faults in mechanics, weaknesses in conditioning or the combination of the two.

We should have strength and conditioning plans for all our teams and in particular for our pitchers and catchers. There are many different plans out there. Little League has one (see: LINK) and if you search back on this blog you will see examples of other progressive throwing plans. The importance is consistency and progression. This is something that needs to be done with regularity and done purposefully with a focus on proper mechanics being the first and foremost goal. The linked file here is the strengthening program we received from my son's travel team this year. It can be done with any exercise band product. The starred pages are done on one day and the circle pages on another day - (LINK).

Even with the best training program, you need to track the volume of pitching and be cognizant of overuse within an inning, within a game, during a week and over the course of a season. Do you know how many pitches your kids are throwing? Do they play on other teams? If so, are they pitching in games other than Little League? Determining how many pitches they should throw in Little League is pretty well regulated by the rules (See a good summary at: LINK). Our AAA and Majors Commissioners do a great job of tracking pitch counts and ensuring adherence to these rules. Following these rules should also be complemented with some common sense on pitches per inning and also augmented with an awareness of their non-Little League play.

Communication and Data are the keys.

Communicate with the parents and the kid and keep track of the data. I have 6 players on my team that play outside of Little League and I try to be aware of their schedules and do my best to be respectful of their arms. Luckily my little league team has been able to pitch 10 kids so far this season. This volume of pitchers has helped insure that no pitcher has thrown more than 50 pitches in a game and no pitcher has just now eclipsed 260 pitches for the season. This gives me great piece of mind when they go off to play Travel Ball on Sunday. In terms of gathering the data, GameChanger (LINK) is a life saver! I am very fortunate to have had parents/coaches that have tracked each and every pitch of every game on GameChanger – both LL and Travel – for the last 3 years. I know with certainty what nearly every kid is doing. 

Also – it is not just about pitchers! Track your Catchers as well! There are very appropriately rules about catching to prevent overuse.

• A pitcher who delivers 41 or more pitches in a game cannot play the position of catcher for the remainder of that day.
• A player that plays catcher for 4 innings cannot pitch that day.

Some experienced coaches and trainers warn that while injuries will certainly be caused by overuse, the real warning signs are a drop off in velocity, efficiency and effectiveness. If the players pitch per inning stat is creeping up along with hits allowed and runs allowed, maybe it is a sign. If those numbers are staying even and there is a no drop off in effectiveness – play ball!

Key points in Summary:

• Develop proper mechanics as early as possible
• Warm up, stretch and condition before throwing.
• Pain is not normal in the elbow or shoulder. Never throw through pain.
• Don't pitch year-round. Take minimum of 2-3 months off during the year.
• Abide by pitch counts/innings pitched in every game.
• Seek a doctor or physical therapist if pain persists.

Improving Grip Strength

While their is no replacement for repetitions on the tee, soft-toss or live pitching, there are times when this is just not possible but it does not mean we can't do something to improve our young sluggers. 

Improving strength in hands and forearms will give any player better control and power. Simple exercises will fill up some otherwise idle time with a routine that makes hands and forearms stronger. 

Put a couple tennis balls in the car and have your player hold and repeatedly squeeze the tennis ball over and over and if they can make a habit of it - they will get stronger. The same can be done while watching television. 

If either mom or dad uses resistance bands or small dumbbells at home they can do some version of wrist rolls as well. You could even make a project out of making a homemade roller - broomstick handle, rope and a weight.

How to grip a bat?

Just when you think you know something is true, someone or something comes along and tells you that it is not. I have been operating under the notion that kids should grip the bat with their "knocking knuckles lined up" which allows the wrists to roll at contact promoting a good whip in your swing. Don Mattingly has an entire line of bats designed to promote that grip by using a v-grip.

Turns out that much like "back elbow up" or "squish the bug" this might be a widely help opinion but far from the gospel truth.

An oft repeated piece of advice I have found in my searches is that if your arms form a comfortable V-shape and the bat rests comfortably in your fingers - not in your palms - that is more important than the alignment of your knuckles. Whether or not the knuckles line up is not critical but you do want to be palm-up/palm-down at contact. 

I have never been a fan of anything that is a one-size-fits-all and believe that every player is different. Being comfortable and focused at the plate seems more critical than the precise  alignment of a players knuckles.

3 Good Hitting Drills in 1 video

The attached video has 3 great drills that anybody can benefit from. It also gives some good guidance on how to properly throw soft-toss...something I worry that I am doing wrong all the time. Like the doctor's creed goes, "first do no harm", we should learn to do these basic drills correctly so that we are not reinforcing bad habits.

Try these out!

Tee Hitting is a must at all levels!

As kids age up through Little League they tend to view hitting off of a tee as something that is beneath them. The reality is that hitting off of a Tee is an absolute essential - you should use tee drills at almost every practice. MLB players hit off of a batting tee every single day, and our players can reap the same benefits. All you need to run a tee drill is a batting tee and either a net or a length of chain link fence. Make sure hitters do not contact the tee. If the ball pops up, the batter is likely hitching or dipping his swing. Adjust the tee every once in awhile to work the entire range of pitches the batter might see - inside and outside, high and low. The tee gives you a great opportunity to focus on holes in your players' swings. When it comes to purchasing a Tee - particularly for young players likely to give it a good beating - don't skimp and buy the cheapest one as it just will not last. I am a fan of the hard red tee from Rawlings, as anyone that frequents Payne Field knows, it is the only one that has survived over multiple seasons. It it is also hard to find available for sale at times, so the yellow one from Atec would do as well.