high school winter strength and conditioning program and instructional materials

Regarding the bullpens. Have you considered having several of the same pitch (e.g., grip, location) thrown sequentially? This gives an idea of how repeatable the pitcher is. And allows for adjustment, if required, after a couple of similar misses.

E.g.,
3 ea. 2 seam, low & inside, w/u
3 ea. 2 seam, low & inside, stretch

3 ea. c/u, low & away, w/u
3 ea. c/u, low & away, stretch

3 ea. fb, low & away, w/u
3 ea. fb, low & away, stretch

3 ea. curve, low & away, w/u
3 ea. curve, low & away, stretch

3 ea. 4 seam, up & in, w/u
3 ea. 4 seam, up & in, stretch

3 ea. c/u, low & away to a lefty, w/u
3 ea. c/u, low & away to a lefty, stretch

etc.

This routine will give the pitcher an idea of how his command is progressing. And if he misses several times, he has several throws left to adjust.

Alternating fb's with offspeed can help him develop habits that will avoid telegraphing his offspeed (e.g., throwing the c/u identical to his fb).

JMHO

Concerning the OF instructions.

With runners on base, the optimum catch will be over the throwing arm shoulder. With no runners on base, then catch over the glove shoulder.

For a ball hit directly to the fielder, unless the fielder is absolutely certain the ball is coming in short, there should not be an immediate step forward. Getting forward momentum at contact is a good way to have a line drive go over your head.

With the flyball & runners on, then forward momentum is needed. With no runners on, the forward momentum is not called for.

The flyball hit directly over the head. A turn & sprint should be executed every time. This does not require taking the eyes off the ball (unless the ball drifts & a quick head turn is required). Yes, this takes lots of reps to perform properly in the game. But it is the best way to ensure a catch.

And if I interpreted properly, you are emphasizing that if the ball "switches sides" as the fielder is going back, that a quick head turn is executed. The body does not turn, nor does the running slow down.

Good to see the reference to pushing the ball into the ground when picking up a ball off the ground.

On diving, also great to see the fact that diving is a last resort is emphasized. However, both arms should not be extended. The throwing arm should be angled ahead & down (with the hand in a fist), in order to break the fall. Otherwise, the glove arm elbow is likely to impact the ground and this can cause the ball to pop free.

Great advice on backing up bases. This saves runs, but is sometimes overlooked.

Just a few thoughts.

thanks for the thoughts. i appreciate it. baseball is a great game there is no one right thing to do things. we just cipher through all the great minds and material out there and do whats best for us - it doesnt necessarily mean its the right thing for everybody. we work on diving everyday. we do not want to break a fall with the off arm - that breaks bones. we always catch flyballs on glove side it goes with the footwork to make a throw. we hold ground on all flyballs / line drives until certain. i agree 100% on lineball getting over you on false steps. see it happen all the time. like i said our way is not the only right way.
on bullpens throwing pitches back to back - we will do that some - especially if struggling with a particular pitch. these are just examples of scripts we use. our philosphy is you dont get any do-overs in a game so try to eliminate doovers as much as possible during practice. but we do bullpens like you have there also. thanks for all the good input. feel free to eamil at coachd_04@yahoo.com

I would comment further on breaking a fall with the throwing hand arm. The arm is extended forward some & flex is maintained at the elbow. This can prevent injuries to the shoulder and glove elbow. A stiff arm or an arm left back under the waist(not extended) certainly could cause a problem. But a properly extended arm is extremely unlikely to cause a problem.

Please note that the throwing arm is not to stop the slide or take all the weight of the landing. Merely to soften the impact & absorb some of the energy.

I have seen shoulder and elbow injuries (some in the past year, actually) from an outfielder not breaking his fall with the throwing arm. But I have never seen or heard of an injury from the fielder properly breaking his fall with the throwing arm.

This will not cause injuries. If you watch college & the pros, you will see this done routinely.

On flyballs, with no one on, there is no throw to make. Probably your point is doing it the same way everytime regardless to build consistency.

Just thoughts.

Good luck to your team.

on the diving i think we are thinking the same thing just wording it different. on the flyball we just teach it one way for consistancy. thanks for your info nad followup. steve