Just needing some opinions

The answer is quite simple. You don't have to be mutually exclusive to one or the other. Tell the coach that you are also working out at the YMCA because it has additional equipment that you need. Demonstrate the additional stength that you have gained when you are working out with the coach on a regular basis and he will see that you are making progress.

Have a word with the coach and let him know that you think you can get more done working out at the YMCA. You'll see how he takes it and then you'll probably know in your gut what the right move is.

Good Luck

OK, I dont know how strong you are but I think almost every hs kid should be doing the football workouts and trying to get strong, and focusing on the big muscle groups. Very few players in the college ranks are strong enough and the majority of players start lifting like a baseball player WAY TO SOON unless you are a pitcher. Work on the big muscle groups and try to get some man strength, Just make sure you stretch before and after your workouts and make a committment to flexibility.

swvabaseball,
You are on a High School team. You need to work FOR and WITH your Coach. He's now the boss.
It does not matter that the YMCA has "nicer" equipment. You need the CORRECT equipment. What DOES matter, is that you get stronger & better for your Team, Coach, & you, in that order.

Take a look at your baseball workout compared to the football workout. Talk to your Coach to see if it needs to be modified. Ultimately, you want a strong core, back, & legs for power up in pitching. Arms, long & loose muscles.
See our hsbaseballweb link for good advise on Strenghth & Conditioning:
http://hsbaseballweb.com/eve/f...s/a/frm/f/2976083255

My son was a pitcher in HS & now 4th yr college. He used a Yankees workout, that was approved by his Coach. Modified lifting, lots of leg lifts, band work, Jobe exercises, Yoga, running. All under the watchful eyes of his coaches.

You absolutely DO need someone spotting you while lifting. Better to be safe than sorry. Accidents happen.

"Doing your own thing" could send a message to Coach that you are "un-coachable". It's in your best interest to be a teamplayer. Talk to him. Approach him with an attitude of "All for one, One for all". He will respect you for it.
Best of luck.

Let's start with a grasp of your situation on the team. Are you a returning starter with a lock on a position? Or will you be competing for a position? If you're competing for a position the coach can't see the effort you're putting forth if it's not in his program. If you have a lock on a position there's more flexibility. However, your coach may want to see you training with the team and showing leadership. I would talk with the coach before doing anything outside the scope of the team.

My son has better access to facilities away from the team. But he likes the camraderie of working out with the team. When he can't make workouts he makes sure the coach knows in advance even though he's a lock to start again next season. He also works out on his own with a personal trainer at least once a week.

My son has a very similiar situation. He will be working out with the football team and the baseball team this winter. The good thing is the strength and conditioning coach is the same coach, so he knows to alternate the workouts so he is not doubling up on the same group of muscles.

He had the opprtunity to train outside the school training but he decide to stay with the team for the leadership and team bonding aspect. He is in his junior year and is going to be counted on as a team leader.

He felt that he could not lead the team if he did not sweat with the team.

However I do agree that as long as you show improvement and it is evident to the coach that you have been working you should be fine, but I would suggest that you talk to the coach. Communciation is key.

A few things here from an "old warhorse"

Working out with the football team can mean you are not doing baseball specific workouts but more football specific workouts---this happens in HS quite often and can do more harm than good

If the HS work outs fit your needs basaeball wise but you feel you can do more at the "Y" why not share time, with coaches approval in both locations, HS and the "Y"

NEVER EVER lift without a spotter--too many bad things can happen

Just a few thoughts

My son also has a similar situation. He has 3 D1's interested in him, and they are all saying that the #1 thing he needs to do is get faster, so that it is his priority this offseason. He is working on getting stronger, too, but these teams have watched him enough to know that he is not a power hitter, and he's only a part-time pitcher. They have been very clear that what they want to see is more speed.

He is a 3-year starter on the HS team, but there is a new head coach. He did not play on the HS summer or fall teams because he played on his travel team and we learned from years past that it's not productive for him to do both.

He is doing 3-day a week baseball-specific speed and agility workouts with his travel team, and baseball-specific lifting on other days (he has the Angels off-season workout book). There is already a huge difference in his speed and agility after just a few weeks. But has been getting pressure to work out with the HS team. Like dad43's son, he is a junior and will be counted on as a team leader. So he went to the last two workouts. They consisted essentially of calisthenics and long-distance running. This is not going to help 2B get where he wants to go. But he feels the pressure from the HS team and wants to do the right thing, so he is doing both. I told him it is up to him. What will suffer is his lifting program.

I agree with everyone here who says to communicate with the coach. I disagree that the HS coach is the boss, but then I am a little jaded because we've had 3 coaches in 4 years. In my mind, the HS coach is the boss during the HS spring season, but in the offseason, you should do what is best for you.

swva - the tough choice, as you already know, is deciding what is best for you - be with the team, or do the workout that will better help you develop for the future. Or try to do both.

A couple of things:

One, a great workout really doesn't require great equipment. As long as you have dumbbells, a bar with weights, a bench, squat rack, and maybe some med balls, you really don't need a lot of other stuff. You can get a great workout with basic equipment doing the major compound lifts. I wonder if you may be doing a lot of machine lifts, considering that you aren't lifting with a partner. I think most here would agree that free weights are much better, primarily becuase they don't preset the range of motion for an exercise. You may be doing mostly free weight work, so that comment may not be relevant.

Second, I think it's important for the team to at least make an effort to be present at team workouts. This is especially true if you're an older player. This is an important time to establish the overall tone of the baseball program, and if younger guys start seeing that it's ok for juniors and seniors to do their own thing then they won't be far behind. In other words, this is a very important time for the team leaders to establish themselves and set the tone for the upcoming season.

My son attends D1 Sports Training 4x a week and his HS teams workouts 1x week (Thye only have it 2x now). I approved it thru his HC. He does want him to attend more come January as they will ramp up the number of workouts for HS, so we will then back down on the D1 training sessions. I think as long as he realized that 1)He is getting great training at D1 on the only day he is missing with the HS team then he is OK with it and 2) That I keep him posted on his status and progress.
It has worked well for us! and he has never played an inning in HS as a Frosh or anything, he was injured last year, and I think if he wasnt he may have played some varsity/JV.

quote:

I approved it thru his HC.

Now that your son is in high school why did you approach the coach regarding permission for his training rather than your son?

Mainly, I approached the coach because he is essentially a new player as he has not played any baseball for the schools as he was injured his Frosh year and played travel during the spring his 7th and 8th grade years so the coach has never once seem him play. His labrum surgeries have prevented him from playing and I needed to discuss with the coach what limitations regarding workouts etc. That is why I approached him. He will earn his spot on his abilities I have no doubt.

Well I really appericate all the comments, I didn't expect really anybody to reply haha.

I think im going to start trying to workout half the time and the "Y" and half the time at our field house while keeping my program.

I wouldnt even bother with the field house but someone in a earlier post asked if I had a starting spot locked up or if I was competiting for a spot, and I am compeiting for a spot. See the field house program is simple and if you ask me pretty dumb for a baseball player. They do chest 2 days a week and legs 2 days a week. I think a baseball player needs to focus on all parts of his body..chest, legs, shoulders, back, bis, tris.

The current thing I am doing is back and bis one day, chest and tris one, legs and shoulder one day. After our christmas break is over im going to try back and bis one day at the "Y", legs one day at the field house, shoulder and tris one day at the "Y" and chest one day at the field house.

One thing I really like about the field house is they do pretty good conditioning after they lift and they mix it up every day. Usually when I get done lifting at "Y" its either the treadmill or the bicyle.

Oh yeah a few of you mentioned people you knew that was doing the Yankees or Angels offseason workouts..if anybody could send me any MLB offseason workout that would be awesome.