How to get ready for HS ball

Hi there Dave, I also have a 14u son.  My son is 5'9 and 160#.  I can't say for sure your boy can/will gain that much weight but my son increased his strength last winter with speed and agility work and no throwing a baseball AT ALL, and yes he pitches too.

He did various workstations involving ladder drills for footwork, dodging cones, jumping up on stools, hitting the floor with rags, used a tennis racket for one drill, throwing a football into a net, band strengthening...have you ever seen a dog show where the dog does a bunch of different tricks or dodges obstacles, it was like that every Sunday, all winter long.

By the Spring he was in really good shape, I highly recommend a program like that.

My first reccomendation for gaining weight is always eat more. Sons freshman year he added a 700 calorie protein shake to his breakfast every morning, had another one right after weight room in the evening, and usually had another before bed. Thats 2,100 calories without real food. Not sure if hes lifted weights before, but he should start this year. If he's just beginning work on the basic lifts and make sure technique is good. With bad technique kids may be able to lift more immediately, but its much harder to lift the heavier weights with bad form, not to mention he can hurt himself. I would like at Eric Cressey's website. He has tons of articles on there. He trains lots of high school and college guys, as well as having tons of pros come their during the off season.

He looks well proportioned for his age.  Sounds like he has some talent.  Most kids gain weight as they get older.

I apologize ahead of time, but your post hit on one of my pet peeves.

People would be shocked to see how many emails we get from parents telling us how their son is such a great kid and coachable. We have never once had a parent tell us that their son is a trouble maker, disrespectful, and uncoachable. Nope, they are all great kids!

Not trying to be snotty, but it means nothing when a parent brags about what a great kid they have.  You are far from being alone I assure you.  It just means a lot more coming from someone else.

There are people here that can give you some good advice about training.  Best of luck to your son.  I bet he is a real talented player!

Hello Dave, welcome to the site.

Until those hormones really kick in it's a little hard to affect weight gain (the good kind, e.g. muscle mass).  Having the right kind of diet is really important along with a good strength and conditioning program can be a good habit to begin with.  Then when those hormones kick in along with favorable family genes the weight can quickly be added and this very often happens in the latter part of HS.   So, protein and carbs are essential with veggies and a little fruit.  Cut out all sugar (NOT an easy task). 

And if the genes aren't there for height, a little growth hormones added will work over time.  

Hi Dave - 

Truman hit the nail on the head.  My sons trainer tells all his kids trying to gain weight...  eat, eat, eat, eat, eat, eat.  Seriously he recommends eating the right foods 6 times a day in concert with a good strength, speed/agility program that is baseball centric because the kids burn so many calories.

I'm sure there too are baseball specific trainers in MO that are well respected, best advice is to reach out to a couple and find the right fit to add size, strength, and speed.

Also - Welcome to the club about Coach wanting kids to get bigger and more physical.  We know a lot of kids that just finished freshman year, and very common feedback from HS coach.

Best of luck to ya!

Thank you for the advice. I really appreciate it.

Thank you for your advice. He is close to being the biggest kid and he is not skin ad bones but no fat on him. he did a strength/ agility program last year and we will probably start with the weights (machine or free) this year. Machine is better form wise so we may stick with those. Thanks again.

Welcome: 

Two of my favorite resources for training:

https://www.gymjones.com/

http://www.ericcressey.com/

Eric Cressy will have more baseball specific workouts. Gymjones is not for the faint of heart. They are intense but the best IMO. 

Oh and not to forget for baseball players flexibility. 

http://www.mobilitywod.com/

He is young but if HE starts to get interested in HIS training and spends some time on these sites he will be light years ahead of his peers.

Good Luck! 

Thanks Truman ... a teenager's life without sugar. Man that is a tall order! He eats well but he does like his sweets. He will probably have to ease into that. Thanks again.

Eric Cressy comes up all the time so that is a great recommendation. thanks,

I replaced the potato chips, candy and honey buns with popcorn, pretzels and fruit.  It's not a perfect system as the popcorn does have fake butter on it, and the pretzels still have salt, but it's got to be better than the entire bag of Dorito's and Takis he's able to eat in one sitting!

Isn't that the truth. I chuckle sometimes when I think he has to eat more! We do have a budget and a teenager can really "take a bite" out of it. I know he will grow by the amount he consumes.

So the coach just threw that out there without any suggestions, help?  Does team work in weight room over winter?  R u on your own or are the coaches working w kids who need to get bigger?

Good question so let me clarify. His pitching coach is a man that is smaller in stature (5'9") pitched in college. he knows that any edge a player can get when he is undersized will help. The club doesn't have a staff to handle that aspect. Last year we did strength and agility - as one person mentioned, ladders, multiple drills mixed with some baseball skill drills, but nothing specific. Davie goes to a H.S. that have strength training for sports in their season. We are checking on that, if he can "audit" those programs. They have some unsupervised lifting but that usually turns into a bench press competition. The other alternative is a lifting club at the school that need a sponsor (instructor). That just means a volunteer to oversee the club. The students can start a club if they can get a sponsor and at least 6-8 people who would like to be in it.

You're welcome.   Yes.. .. it's a tall order and it's probably only going to happen if he's really determined on his own.  There are so many things that have lots of sugar added, it takes special attention.  But once one figure out a diet that can be acceptable, then once the habit is established it not too hard to maintain.  These days it's no secret that the biggest source of sugar in our kids diets is soft-drinks, so that's probably a good place to start.  Good Luck. 

So it sounds like his club coach or pitching coach commented about the weight?  IMO, at 14 I wouldn't worry too much about it.  He'll start growing naturally.  As others have said, get into a good strength/speed/conditioning program for the offseason.  And make sure to hit as much as possible.  Good luck. 

Dave: I'll agree that some of the weight that he needs to put on will come with natural growth. I also think that rather than put on X # of pounds for the sake of it, determine what kind of hitter he is-- power, contact, spray, etc. Speed and agility as others have mentioned is are good things to focus on in a winter program.

Also direct him to ways to build his arm strength in the off season.(See related threads on this) While trying to work on weaknesses of his game, it's also key to strengthen the tool he does best (hitting, fielding, arm, speed, etc.) And like Golfman suggests swing the bat..repetitions over the winter.

BTW versatility in positions is good. Come into the HS tryout period with your "feet running." At our HS tryouts, by observing the booted routine balls or huge # of swing and missed by some, it's easy for a coach to see who has been working on his game. With your comment that Son "can pitch" my guess is that he's typically a MI/OF, right?

I don't believe you have to fool around with natural growth. At fourteen a kid may gain height and weight at different times. My son was 5'4", 120 in 8th grade and when 14u started. Freshman year he was 5'11", 135. Over the next year he started eating like a hound and starting taking weightlifting and diet seriously. He was 6', 160 soph year. By senior year he was 6'1", 175. In college he's 6'2", 195.

Intentionally gaining weight may not mix well with his growth. What's more important is being agile and strong for his size. The growth will follow.

My daughter was the same way. She grew from 4'10" to 5'10" in 18 months. She looked like a stork after she grew. Then she filled out and worked out. She played college softball. She was weak before she grew. I wouldn't have guessed she would even be a high school star when she was in middle school.

RJ hit the nail on the head in my opinion. Heck he is a 14 year old freshman in HS. That's typical size for the kids I coached over the years. What is important? Can the kid play the game? I would focus on being a good hitter. Great fielder. Proper throwing mechanics and arm strength. Getting better at what is going to be important. In four years if he only puts on 5 lbs a year he will be 150 lbs. There were 3 guys that started at UNC my son's freshman year that were 150 soaking wet and 5'9 5'10. But they could flat out the play the game. I could careless how much a kid weighs if he can play. He is going to naturally put on weight over the next couple years.

Focus your efforts on being the best player you can be. As a coach I never told a kid he needed to gain weight. I did tell a few they needed to lose some. You will never throw it too hard, hit it too hard or run too fast. Focus on the game. This other stuff is nothing more than a distraction. "Hey that kid can flat out play. But he is only 130?" Yeah and he is 14 freaking years old. I was 150 at graduation from HS. I was 200 when I graduated from college.

You know how many kids come into HS at your son's size? The vast majority that play baseball. And the vast majority leave much bigger and stronger. But can they play the game? That's all that matters man. Can you play the game?

Hey thank you for that, I really appreciate it. Yeah we tend to get caught up on the constant critique of being too ... whatever. He runs well and can hit. He's strong too and obviously he eats. These kids can really eat so thanks again, especially about UNC, I always think these kids are all 6'2" and then there bigger kids too. 

2009 Roster my son's R/S year in college they had 8 players listed at 5'10 and below. They had 6 players listed below 170 lbs. Three 160 and below. Now that's listed size. They were not even close to those ht's and wt's. But what did all of them have in common? They could really play the game. Now imagine if they are college players and they are listed at 5'10 5'9 5'7 and below 170 - Imagine how big they were at 14 years old? It's a non issue if you can play the game. And if you can't does it matter how much you weigh? Good luck to your son. I am sure he is very talented.

That truly is encouraging. I've never been in this position befor, my other son and daughter have different interests and talents so it means a lot to get information like this. I truly am grateful. 

If you're in MO I'd say you should visit STRONG Gym at least once. Learn the core lifts and get a solid beginner strength program to build a foundation for your baseball career and life. Matt Reynolds would be a good resource to talk to/work with if you decide to go.

Here is the link to their site: http://www.stronggym.co

It is in Springfield, MO

After freshman year my son started started doing FASST (fitness, agility, speed, strength training). Until he grew I didn't see the benefit. He also had training specific to running the sixty. My daughter went to track camp.