Summer b4 college..play or condition

Dont go into the fall with a tired arm. Go into the fall in the best shape of your life. So pitch some and work out a ton.

I second CM's advise.

Spot on.

Still have about two weeks of high school baseball left.

June will be active rest for the arm, core conditioning, and maybe a few short outings in local games, culminating in a "reunion" tournament with his travel team.

July to mid-August is summer school in the morning and afternoon workouts planned by the college's conditioning coach. I think most of the signing class intends to be there for the summer term.

After summer school, he'll join us for a week of family vacation, then head back to school for the fall semester.

The conditioning coach says most freshmen need his summer workouts just to be able to handle his fall program, which makes Coach May's advice seem exactly on the mark.

My son attended summer classes in addition to doing the later as you have suggested.

There's a ton of transistion that takes place for freshman and having some credits going in helps relieve some of the adjustment pressures.

I agree with Coach May - go into Fall rested and ready to compete.....

Thanks everyone. He will graduate in a little more than a couple weeks and then will take part in state select north/south all-star games mid June. After that he's decided to step up his conditioning, take a half hour pitching lesson from his long time pitching instructor about every other week, throw a couple games for a pick-up team with a strict low pitch count of no more than 50-60.

Am I to understand that his college coaches will set out work for him to do over the summer prior to getting on campus this fall? They check in with him in a frequent basis now to see how he's doing and what he's up to but I imagine that once their season is over they set goals for him relating to their program.

Congrats to your son. I'm sure he is excited about his future college baseball experience.

My (pitcher) son was asking the same question last year, and I believe I asked this same question last year on this board. This is the direction we went in.......After playing travel ball for the last 7 years very successfully he decided to play (local) Legion baseball, and workout every other day before he went to college. He worked out like he never had before. For Legion, he would start one game every week, and play the field in the other 3 Legion games. He really enjoyed Legion alot. Legion had new teammates, new coaches, and lots of history. He really like talking baseball to some of the old-timers and veterans. Legion did 3 things for him from a baseball perspective. First, it kept him sharp on the mound. After the Legion season was over in mid-July, he cut back to only doing long toss in terms of throwing exercises. Second, it kept him close to home. He goes to school 8 hours away, so we selfishly wanted to spend as much time as possible before he left for college. Third, it allowed him to work out vigorously about 3-4 times per week without interfering with baseball. His college coach emailed him a workout package and made workout suggestions & goals. There is no doubt that your son will want to be in the best shape possible when Fall baseball starts. He will be competing with men for positions and playing time.

Best of luck. I hope this helps with some perspective to what other people have done to prepare for the Fall. Enjoy your summer, the best is yet to come!

My son will be doing a similar program to fenwaysouth son's. His coach is sending him a workout for conditioning and throwing. He is running a minimum of 30 minutes every day and working out now before he gets the coaches info.

We have a new "futures" league as part of the Florida Collegiate Summer League where senior commits (grads) and college freshman or redshirts will play a 25 game schedule. He will only pitch once per week but will be able to keep up all of his long tossing, etc. He is happy to play locally and not travel and spend the summer with his friends.

quote:

Am I to understand that his college coaches will set out work for him to do over the summer prior to getting on campus this fall? They check in with him in a frequent basis now to see how he's doing and what he's up to but I imagine that once their season is over they set goals for him relating to their program.

I would suggest your son ask his future college coaches. i.e. many coaches "rest" pitchers during the fall if they pithced much during the summer/spring.

quote:

Originally posted by fenwaysouth:
Congrats to your son. I'm sure he is excited about his future college baseball experience.

My (pitcher) son was asking the same question last year, and I believe I asked this same question last year on this board. This is the direction we went in.......After playing travel ball for the last 7 years very successfully he decided to play (local) Legion baseball, and workout every other day before he went to college. He worked out like he never had before. For Legion, he would start one game every week, and play the field in the other 3 Legion games. He really enjoyed Legion alot. Legion had new teammates, new coaches, and lots of history. He really like talking baseball to some of the old-timers and veterans. Legion did 3 things for him from a baseball perspective. First, it kept him sharp on the mound. After the Legion season was over in mid-July, he cut back to only doing long toss in terms of throwing exercises. Second, it kept him close to home. He goes to school 8 hours away, so we selfishly wanted to spend as much time as possible before he left for college. Third, it allowed him to work out vigorously about 3-4 times per week without interfering with baseball. His college coach emailed him a workout package and made workout suggestions & goals. There is no doubt that your son will want to be in the best shape possible when Fall baseball starts. He will be competing with men for positions and playing time.

Best of luck. I hope this helps with some perspective to what other people have done to prepare for the Fall. Enjoy your summer, the best is yet to come!

Outstanding advice.

Your son needs to show up next fall ready to get out college hitters if he wants to play in the spring of 2012. College umpires will be calling the fall intra-squad games while 21 and 22 year old guys will be trying to hit the ball hard off of him. Yes, he needs to be in the best shape of his life. Just as important, he better be prepared to throw all his pitches for strikes next fall. I don't see how that would be possible if he does not pitch all summer. fenwaysouth's advice looks like it strikes a nice balance between working out and keeping a pitcher sharp without overtaxing his arm.

How does pitching this summer help him next spring?

When does he shut down and rest his arm?

I agree with CD. I've found that many pitchers have a very tough time adjusting to the college level of play. The stuff they possess might be dominating in high school against 15-17 year olds that aren't used to seeing fastballs in excess of 85 mph or curveballs that break decently and are over the plate. But in college, there are 22 year old men that have had literally hundreds upon hundreds of live in-game ABs against people with stuff either at par with or better than the stuff the freshmen possess. The ability for a pitcher to adjust and work to continually get hitters out will impress coaches. A coach will notice a pitcher making changes and notice the success rate that may come with those changes.

Long toss and strength are very important things. But you can throw as hard as you want, and bench press a million pounds. If you can't locate and change speeds, they'll hit you.

Sultan- Many, if not all of the college coaches I've come across strongly encourage pitching during the summers (although they do stress that a moderate to light workload is ideal...no one wants sore arms in the fall). A pitcher's work during the summer helps experience and helps to improve on some aspects of the game that need to be worked on. Rest time is dictated by the college coach...at my school we usually take the entire month of December completely off from throwing, and don't set foot on a mound from late October until preseason in January.

My son wrapped up his HS season last night and since he was sidelined for a month this year he did not have a heavy pitching load. He is going to play with his travel team in Connie Mack ball, but we will carefully control his innings. He is going to focus on developing some of his off speed pitches and work on fine-tuning his mechanics. He knows he needs to tighten up his control for college ball and the summer will give him the opportunity to do this. He is also a two way player he wanted to get as many AB’s as he could against high quality pitching so he decided to go this way.

He is already in contact with the strength and conditioning coach and will be hitting the weight room 6 days a week with their program. They want the freshmen to focus on getting bigger and stronger so his program is tailored for this. He will continue with his existing throwing program. It is a balanced approach, but each player will have different objectives so I don’t think there is one plan for all players.

The OP is regarding a pitcher, but my son is a catcher so he does not like putting miles in running during both in-season or off-season, so he now road cycles several miles per week to keep his legs and core in aerobic shape.

He began the beginning of last summer (he is a sophomore this year) and put several miles in each week during the summer. During fall season he reduced it somewhat as they were doing plenty of workouts at school. During the spring season he continues to ride 2-3 hours a week and it helps maintain his core and flush his system. He also continues a core lifting program 2-3 days a week in season and during summer undertakes a full program.

He catches quite a bit with all the bullpens, games and practices but since starting his cycling program has not experienced any noticeable leg fatigue (except for the 24 innings in 24 hours against our biggest conference opponent, but he bounced back very quickly after that weekend.)

I offer this as an alternative to a running only regimen. Cycling is less mundane than running, and you will be surprised what it does for the core.

Many of our senior boys are in the same boat. My son is fortunate that he will be playing in the playoffs next week, and will be on the mound in game one. Once their playoff run is finished (hopefully in June?), he'll take a week off and then hit the weight room etc...He'll be playing summer ball as a two-way, RHP/OF, but we'll limit his innings. He graduates HS early, May 27th...and his college is on a quarterly system and doesn't begin until September 22nd, so he has a very long summer ahead of him.

I'm thinking that he'll continue with his workouts throughout the summer, but I'd like to shut him down pitching/throwing completely for 4-5 weeks in August, before going back at it after Labor Day weekend? It's interesting to get everyone's perspective, and I'm happy this thread was started...very good advice thus far.

I was pointed to this website by my son's strength and conditioning coach so I thought I would share it here since it applies to this thread. I will post it over the in strength and conditioning forum. Wow is all I can say. I have just been looking through it at lunch, but there is "how to" on basically any kind of lift and their workouts are perfect for the explosive athlete. Great stuff.

http://www.crossfit.com/

quote:

Originally posted by BOF:
I was pointed to this website by my son's strength and conditioning coach so I thought I would share it here since it applies to this thread. I will post it over the in strength and conditioning forum. Wow is all I can say. I have just been looking through it at lunch, but there is "how to" on basically any kind of lift and their workouts are perfect for the explosive athlete. Great stuff.

http://www.crossfit.com/

BOF,

The trainer that my son has been going to the last two years incorporates many of the crossfit training methods...pulling and throwing tires around, climbing rope, obstacle courses, to go along with plyometrics and other explosive training, I agree with you...it's Great Stuff!

I know this thread is focusing primarily on pithcing. My son is a senior catcher and just completed his high school season. He asked the same question to his college coach and he was quite clear that he should get as many at bats as he could over the summer so he is ready to compete in the fall. Just wanted to share for what its worth.

I might add, whether the player is a pitcher or position player they should attempt to play at the highest possible level during the summer. i.e. Hitting off kids throwing low 80s to 95 is more valuable then hitting off kids throwing 70-80.

The summer before the freshman year is not the time to kick back, its the time to step it up. After all, the returning players at the college are playing in college level leagues improving their skills everyday developing their body strength......

quote:

Originally posted by jsingerjj:
I know this thread is focusing primarily on pithcing. My son is a senior catcher and just completed his high school season. He asked the same question to his college coach and he was quite clear that he should get as many at bats as he could over the summer so he is ready to compete in the fall. Just wanted to share for what its worth.

Very good advice.

quote:

Originally posted by CollegeParentNoMore:
I might add, whether the player is a pitcher or position player they should attempt to play at the highest possible level during the summer. i.e. Hitting off kids throwing low 80s to 95 is more valuable then hitting off kids throwing 70-80.

The summer before the freshman year is not the time to kick back, its the time to step it up. After all, the returning players at the college are playing in college level leagues improving their skills everyday developing their body strength......

Excellent advice.

The way I see it, kids need to play in the summer unless there is an injury involved. Baseball is a summer sport and that is the time to make hay. I would never advise a kid to take the summer off. A kid only has so many summers in their respective lifetime's to play. The only way to get better at baseball is to play it. It takes years and years to get really good at it. Get out there and play.

quote:

Originally posted by WinBuc44:
Well, my LHP son’s high school career has come to a close and now we’re debating on what to do during his last summer before he begins his college career in the fall. He has played travel showcase ball for the last number of years both summer and fall but he's now 18, signed and accepted to a D1 school.

Going into this summer he has the choice of playing on the local Legion team which means pitching every week, playing on an 18u travel team for about 6 weekends, or just finally taking a summer off giving his arm a rest and working with his pitching coach and conditioning. We are leaning towards the later with maybe picking up with a team for a tournament here and there.

Any thoughts or advice from those of you who have already made this decision would be appreciated.

Contact Riginos, ask for a summer workout and ask his opinion.
Pitching is a lot different than for position player (don't know how much your son has pitched this season).
Before son went to college the advice was to play, have fun and keep it simple.

Perhaps the protocol for pitchers should be different than position players (mine)? There wasn't a school recruiting my son that didn't expect him to be playing competitive Summer baseball. The worst thing he could have done would have been not competing before Fall ball began.

Only three Freshmen position players were recruited by his school. One, a highly touted shortstop, decided to take the summer off, i.e., enjoy himself a bit (it had been a long haul) and just workout on his own. Fall ball was over before he began to be comfortable again at bat or in the field. He played very little this past year.

Baseball is a skill sport, it's great to concentrate on the workouts but you can't keep your skills sharp by throwing a bullpen here and there, or taking a little BP in the cage.

For pitchers or hitters, it is learning "quickness"
and reaction to a older pitcher or older hitter who has quicker fast ball or a quicker bat.

The majority of HS players age 17-18 have been accustomed to a "slower" pace game. Then as a Freshman in College he now has to react to a "quicker" pace.

Perhaps, I can offer the example of driving 65 mph or 95 mph.

A player needs to experience the game at the highest pace possible before entering college.
Competitive games are the best platform for acquiring this skill.

Bob

Position players need to get as many quality at bats as possible. They need to play the best level of ball they can play leading into the fall of their Freshman season. And they need to spend the time not playing working very hard to be in the best shape they can be coming in.

Pitchers need to pitch. They need to stay sharp. But they also need to make sure they are not on the down tick coming in with a tired arm from throwing too much in the summer leading into the fall. A situation where your getting innings but not too many. And a situation where they can work on their craft. And they need to work very hard to be in the best physical condition they can be coming in. The last thing you want to do is come into the fall season with a tired arm.

That is what I was trying to say in my original post. I dont think hitters can ever get too many at bats. I do think pitchers can throw too many innings.

please, please,please go with coach may on this one!

QABs for position players, if you are a catcher then dh only or play another position other than catcher or pitcher.

Pitchers, long toss program.

gym, beach, deli... gym, beach, deli... gym, beach, deli.

playfair- I'd be hesitant to play another position or DH all the time as a catcher. If your summer experience involved a heavy schedule then maybe split some time so as to save your body. But not catching for a few months is going to hurt you once you get on campus in the fall. Having good blocking skills and a consistent on the bag pop time is crucial for development and coach evaluation (especially for a freshman) and not having experience behind the dish all summer cannot help those things.

I have to agree with JH on that post. I think a DH / Catching role would be ideal. Most good showcase team will carry at least two catchers who rotate. One will DH the other catch and then switch off from game to game.

I know of a few players who trained hard in the summer rather than play and it actually worked well for them. There is no single plan that works or fails in every case. However, here is how I see it.

Warning: I’m wrong quite a bit!

Unless an injury or excessive wear is involved players need to play. All players should strive to get better. Does that senior going off to college not need to get better? I’ve seen kids take that summer off, then get red shirted or even cut the following year. There are no guarantees, everyone needs to get better.

I can't think of any skill where a person gets better at something by not doing it. In the case of baseball, playing against the best possible competition is a big advantage. The spring,summer and early fall is baseball season. Unless someone also plays football or another fall sport, they should be playing baseball. That's exactly what the majority of the best players do.

I'm not talking about over doing things here. Common sense is important. Personally I believe next to extreme talent the most important factor in being successful is the love someone has for the game. It is that love for the game that becomes the driving force to do what’s necessary. When a talented player has decided not to play, he might have a very good reason, but it’s the kid who IS playing who I’m most impressed with. I don’t have to question his method.

Training and conditioning is very important if someone desires to be a high level athlete. I’m not saying players shouldn’t work at getting stronger. Not saying players should play year around, even though some players do. I just don’t think the peak baseball months of June, July and August is the time to take off. In fact, for most, that’s the time they get better. You can be the strongest most well conditioned athlete on earth, but you might not be able to touch a 90 mph fastball or a good curve ball. Certain things that happen during the games can never be replaced by training. Certain things happen during good competition that can never be replaced in lesser competition. And yes, there is some risk involved every time a player steps on the field. I believe the potential rewards make it worthwhile.

Many times I have heard something similar to this… “I have already committed to a college so there is no reason for me to play”. Sorry, but when I hear that, I can’t help but think that some recruiter has made a big mistake. I have to question just how much this kid loves the game.

I do understand that sometimes it is the college coaches advising kids to take some time off. Sometimes scouts have even told kids to take time off. Agents also have told kids they don’t need to play in certain situations. The agents/advisors have their reasons, usually to protect their own interest (that's another topic). Coaches and scouts might have a good reason they would want a player to stay home and not play. But every baseball coach and scout I know is much more impressed with the kid who can’t get enough baseball and wants to play every day. If a player truly wants to impress that college coach that is telling him to take some time off, tell him you just couldn’t stand it not playing baseball for that long. Any coach or scout would want to hear that from one of his players.

There are thousands of games played every day in the summer at every level from T Ball to the Major Leagues. Why would an uninjured player not play?
Once again, if a pitcher has been over worked, he might need some time off. If a player is injured or rehabbing he obviously needs some time off.

I’m sure there are those who think differently about this stuff.

remember that no roster sots are secure especially for an inconing frosh---you want to ariive on campusin the fall in the best baseball shape possible and you cannot attain that in a gym
may not be what your coa\
as for workout programs get it from your college coach--tom riginos is a great baseball guy but what he wants in a workout program may not be what your coach desires

quote:

Originally posted by Coach_May:

Pitchers need to pitch. They need to stay sharp. But they also need to make sure they are not on the down tick coming in with a tired arm from throwing too much in the summer leading into the fall. A situation where your getting innings but not too many.

The OP did not mention how many innings his son put in, that was why I suggested call the coaches. Starters can relieve, and vice versa, they do this in summer wood bat leagues when a pitcher has put in lots of innings, or not enough, the summer headed into college should be the same. Definetly need at bats if you play position.
FWIW, there are many coaches who have made suggestions for pitchers to get in a class or two and work in the gym, no one should feel that they HAVE to do something, much depends on time spent on the mound and for position players if they are in best of health going into the summer.

What I liked a lot, even though son didn't put in a lot of innings, was that he was up and at a game almost every day, instead of late nights and sleeping in. Good practice for what's to come.

My opinion is that it's pretty hard to condition and play at the same time, unless you have been taught what to do and what not to do. That's why many programs do give out suggested programs modified if you are playing.

I suggest running though, lots of it, something you probably won't believe how much you will be doing come this fall.

quote:

Originally posted by TPM:
I suggest running though, lots of it, something you probably won't believe how much you will be doing come this fall.

Amen to that

The quickest way to start turning the college coach's head is to show up in shape and start winning races on the field. I would suggest it is like marine boot camp. Coaches are looking for tough guys who refuse to give in to the pain.

quote:

Originally posted by Coach_May:
Dont go into the fall with a tired arm. Go into the fall in the best shape of your life. So pitch some and work out a ton.

Thanks! Your's and other similar advice was taken to heart. He'll be filling in with a top level SC travel team to pitch 'here and there' and working out to get stronger including long toss. Thanks agin and have a great summer!

Some schools are now bringing in their recruits for second session of summer school. We were told the NCAA started letting the baseball guys bring them in and pay for it like football has done for so long. Where son is committed 9 of the 10 signees last year were enrolled in summer school. They told us the baseball coaches cant work with them on the field, but the strength and conditioning coach can work with them. They said it was good to acclimate them to college academically without the whole student body there and get two courses in the bag.

quote:

Originally posted by Lefty's Dad:
Some schools are now bringing in their recruits for second session of summer school. We were told the NCAA started letting the baseball guys bring them in and pay for it like football has done for so long. Where son is committed 9 of the 10 signees last year were enrolled in summer school. They told us the baseball coaches cant work with them on the field, but the strength and conditioning coach can work with them. They said it was good to acclimate them to college academically without the whole student body there and get two courses in the bag.

I agree with the above philosophy, that is why I suggested he contact the coaches. I hear if they get a large group, they can toss with each other as well as work in the cages.
Again I suggest contacting coaches.

.

quote:

Originally posted by Coach_May:
Dont go into the fall with a tired arm. Go into the fall in the best shape of your life. So pitch some and work out a ton.

quote:

Originally posted by ClevelandDad:
The quickest way to start turning the college coach's head is to show up in shape and start winning races on the field. I would suggest it is like marine boot camp. Coaches are looking for tough guys who refuse to give in to the pain.

Some of the best advice mine ever got was from the program, "We don't really care what you do, there are lots of ways to the same goal...but come back in the best shape of your life and ready to compete immediately for a starting position."

I also love the idea of going to the school for the summer, knocking out a couple classes, acclimating, getting to know some teamates and the coaches...

44
.

Pitchers and hitters/position players should have different goals.

Pitchers put in lots of time come fall in the pen and in instruction and then in practice amd in the gym. If you have put in too much time in the spring and in summer with your arm, then you won't be able to get in the work that you need to compete for the spring. My understanding is that many freshman pitchers come into the fall overworked. That's why it is important to speak to the coach beforehand and get an idea of what their individual expectations are based on what the pitcher did that spring.

My player was given clear instructions as to what the expectations would be, based on his spring innings, so he understood, from coach, what he needed to do so he could participate in the fall.

Position players need at bats to improve and stay sharp. You don't get better any other way, but pitchers don't get better by missing out in the fall because their arm or elbow hurt.

As far as being a tough guy and not giving into the pain, I do hope it's not meant for pitchers. There's a difference between being in shape and pitching with a very tired arm. You don't win a starting position that way.

quote:

Originally posted by ClevelandDad:

quote:

Originally posted by jsingerjj:
I know this thread is focusing primarily on pithcing. My son is a senior catcher and just completed his high school season. He asked the same question to his college coach and he was quite clear that he should get as many at bats as he could over the summer so he is ready to compete in the fall. Just wanted to share for what its worth.

Very good advice.

Indeed a very good advice! Its really worth.
Thanks for sharing!