Is it hurting son's chances?

You are not being too cautious. Respect his pitching coach shutting him down until Jan 08.
I certainly respect your pitching coach! In regards to this, he knows what he is doing. Your soph son has time to followup his Prospect Camp & PG showcase after his next high school season & summer team appearances. His exposure on the mound will only be helped with resting his arm this winter.

Keep him shut down.....Bleacher is correct ! If he's that good they'll come and see him when he's throwing in spring and summer. It won't hurt his recruiting chances at all.

Everyone has their opinion. I personally know that my son works all year and never had a sore arm.
Last summer he had the 1st time off after summer collegiate league and that was like taking time off. He has lost a couple MPH and is struggling to get it back.
I would talk to your coach and tell him what you want to don just out of respect.
My son's former team pre college is still working out 3 days a week after playing all summer and fall. These are 3-4 hour workouts.

I really appreciate the responses. My son does workout with a strength and conditioning coach as well as on his own 3-4 times weekly. His PC does not want him throwing off the mound during his shutdown period.

Every kid is different, mine throws year round and has never had any arm trouble of any sort but he started very young with a throwing regimen so his body is used to it. He's a sophomore, ask him what he wants to do. you just have to be seen by the right guy at the right time.

I agree with bleacherfan and your son's coach. Wise to shut down young pitcher's because this time next year is more important so better he remains healthy.

If throwing year round is good for you, why do pro players shut down for 3 months?

I wouldn't worry about it.

He's only a sophmore. He's got plenty of time to showcase.

Not to worry--you are doing the right thing and so is he by taking some time off


There is nothing worse than a bad showing due to not being in shape---coaches never forget bad showings

I also agree with Bleacherfan, TPM, and yourself, he should follow his pitching coach's plan for him, giving his arm a rest and working on getting stronger will be much better for him in the long run than to keep him in top pitching form through Dec to be in top shape for the events.

Most of the minor league guys I know work out all winter. My son used to throw with a few of them. The World Cup is o0n right now and they are ML guys.

i agree with letting him rest. he is only a soph. so it really won't effect his recruiting.

to you dads whose kids throw year round without any arm problems. mine did too, until he had arm problems. you only get one pitching arm,if you think it's a big part of your future ? take care of it. you don't want it to be a thing of the past.

quote:

Originally posted by BobbleheadDoll:
Most of the minor league guys I know work out all winter. My son used to throw with a few of them. The World Cup is o0n right now and they are ML guys.

What are most of the minor league guys doing, are they throwing in games or flat ground work and conditioning?

What are most of the ML guys doing, playing in the World Cup or conditioning?

Recovery time for the arm is a good thing.

And don't go to a showcase unless you are on top of your game. A bad first impression will be hard to overcome, no matter the excuses.

You're doing the right thing.

I think the OP was just worried about if his son was missing out on something by not attending these camps/showcases.

Those in pro ball now playing in fall leagues will shut down afterwards for a few months.

BHD,
You can speak to most milb players, regardless of position, arms get shut down for awhile. No nothing. Conditioning only.

I am cutious why you asked the question ?

A scout once told me that while you are resting someone else is working.
I know I will never win this arguement because it has been around for ever and people will do what they believe, right or wrong. All I can say is arm health requires constant work. An athlete works out to reduce recovery time and a good athlete can pitch every 5 days with a bull pen in the middle. A good athlete feels better, works better and has better arm health if they set up a proper regimine and stick to it. A day or two of rest is almost too much rest.

Pro players take time off to rest mentally but most pitchers do bull pens. They like to get away from the game to rejuevenate their mental state.
My son's old elite team gets pro players that come out and use their facilities all winter.

quote:

Am I being too cautious?

No you are not. A baseball career is a marathon, not a sprint, especially for pitchers and catchers. Point toward peaking the summer between junior and senior year for college recruiting and spring of senior year for the draft. Time away from the mound for recovery is important. My son has been shutdown every fall from now till after Christmas since middle school. So far so good.

It is a personal decision between you, your son and his pitching coach. We have no idea how durable his arm is, how experienced his pitching coach is or anything else.

Given that he's a sophmore it really isn't a big deal at all that he misses the showcases. The rest is up to you.

My son is a position player and he has completely shut down all throwing and will start up slowly in mid Dec.

You are from the north east, Would your son be able to be in season form and compete along side warm weather pitchers??? I would think you have more to lose than win by going to a winter showcase....

I for one think its a good thing for him to shut down and work on conditioning and maybe even take his mind off baseball for a month or two...good luck.

One of the main reason our teams around here workout all winter is so they can compete with the warm weather guys.
My son's college team is still playing and will workout untill exams and will start up right after new years. They used to start playing Feb 2 before thye rule change.
Normally he would come home and play BB right after exams and they play until late August. He has to leave early for college. It starts all over when he gets back. Last year he played Collegiate Summer League and he felt like he was shut down compared to what he is used to. That is the 1st time he took time off since he was 15 and it hurt him. He lost weight and velocity.

I might add there is nothing that my son likes more than being with his teammates and working out.

"... baseball career is a marathon, not a sprint ..."

Well put, Dad04!

I am a big advocate of taking a couple of months off during the winter months (mid NOV to mid Jan) from throwing. But Im a big advocate of working your butt off during this period of time. Core work , thera bands , running , lifting etc.

But I will say my son hates to take time off from throwing. He says it takes him a long time to recover from not throwing. It usually is around the middle of the HS season before he says his arm feels at its peak. He says the lay off from throwing hurts him. I have noticed the more he throws the better his arm gets. Usually around the end of the summer and into the fall it is at its strongest.

Every kid is different I guess. I just feel the arm needs a rest from the (throwing motion). All of our players seem to come back very strong from the rest and doing the workouts. But again my son is the one kid that complains about shutting down. He likes to throw all the time and not take time off. Maybe he says that to get my goat! Who knows.

I can only say what has worked for Bum, Jr. He has thrown year-round since age 11 or 12. No bullpens (light mechanical work okay) between end-Oct to early-Jan. He does core, plyometrics, weightlifting, band work (year-round), thrower's 10, and cardio big time in the winter. All the other kids on his team shutdown from throwing completely when Bum Jr. is still throwing. Each year Bum Jr. gets stronger and throws with more velocity. He threw about 140 innings this year and gained 7 MPH in the past 12 months (about 89 Jugs). Next year he hopes for 92-93 and I don't see shutting down would be a good thing especially since he's had such good progress doing what he's doing.