That 20 min of warm-up time....

That 20 minutes is very valuable so I have my players do a dynamic warm-up that also integrates strength and flexibility work. Almost everything we do involves movement - thus the "dynamic warm-up" label. Drills like karaokes (sp) and walking lunges with shoulder twist also work on core flexibility. The walking lunges as well as the side lunges and forearm presses also work on strength. We do drills like arm circles, prayer presses and "saws" and we do them in 3 hand positions - fastball, curveball and change-up. Is this what you were looking for? Our warm-ups don't really include any skill work.

Excellent post Roger. We do the same thing. The very first thing we do at practice and off season work outs is ther bands. Then we do dynamic warm up drills exactly what you posted. Then we throw always to a target using proper throwing fundementals and work on properly catching the baseball while we are throwing. Thera bands takes about 10 minutes. Dynamic warm ups around 15 minutes and throwing and catching around 20 minutes. This means the first 45 minutes of each practice and off season work out is devoted to what I feel is the most important part of practice. We usually practice for 3 hrs each day we start on the button at 3:45 and finish around 6:30 6:45. That 45 minutes is crucial imo. It sets the tone for the whole practice. Too many times you hear "Ok guys hurry and stretch and throw so we can start practice". Practice has started when we get there and get on those thera bands. Good luck to you guys this season.

quote:

Originally posted by Coach May:
Then we throw always to a target using proper throwing fundementals and work on properly catching the baseball while we are throwing.

Nice! We do the same. Too many teams leave this throwing unsupervised, undisciplined, and nonpurposeful. We specifically call it "throwing practice". We stress proper throwing fundamentals and as well as proper catching. It makes no sense practicing to do things wrong. What you practice is what you take into the game.

Roger, this is what I was asking for. Do you have a set routine/list that you could give me? Is there a prefered order?
"Saws" are the swinging of the throwing arm in a back and forth sawing motion?

Only 20 minutes---we spend at least 45 minutes "warming up and stretching"---we think it is key to be loose

TR Great minds think alike. Check out my earlier post , we spend the first 45 minutes of every work out and practice on stretching and throwing. And we spend the same amount of time before every game.

Coach May

I don't know about my mind being great but if you aint loose you can look for problems---we get to games 2 hours before game time whenever it is possible---we have been known to do stretching and warmups in the DARK when we have had an early morning game in a tournament

I can attest to TRHit...

last year in Jupiter we woke up 3 hours before every morning game (including a 7 AM game because of the time change) so that we could make sure we had a good healthy breakfast in the lobby and head over to the complex. We then secured a batting cage that was lit and stretched out in the outfield until we had enough sunlight to start throwing the ball. By time the other team showed up, we were already up for 2 hours and were stretched out plenty. It wasn't such a pleasant thing to do, but it sure worked.

quote:

Originally posted by Coach Labeots:
Roger, this is what I was asking for. Do you have a set routine/list that you could give me? Is there a prefered order?

I typically use the following routine:

- Jog forward/jog backward (soft knees, heads stay level)

- Skip forward/skip backward (soft knees, heads stay level)

- Karaoke left/karaoke right (arms up, shoulders twist opposite the hips)

- Walking lunges forward/walking lunges backward (arms up, shoulders twist opposite the hips)

- Side lunges left/side lunges right

- Shoulder twists (feet together, hands on hips, shoulders twist left/right, hips stay still)

- Bridges (hold for 2-3 minutes)

- Arm circles (small circles forward/backward, large circles forward/backward, 3 hand positions each)

- Side saws/front saws (3 hand positions each)

- Palm prayer presses (move rapidly left/right, elbows swim forward/backward, hands rotate up/down, hands wave left/right

- Fingertip prays presses (move rapidly left/right, elbows swim forward/backward, hands rotate up/down, hands wave left/right

- Reverse palm presses (palms together behind back, press hard and hole)

- Forearm presses (forearms and palms together in front of body, fingers toward sky, press and hold, move up and down through range of motion while pressing, press pinky finger as hard as can, then ring, middle, index, and thumb successively)

- Arm box presses (right arm out to side and bent forward 90 degrees, left arm extended forward and bent right at 90 degrees to form box with arms, left hand on top of right hand, press together and hold - 3 hand positions, then repeat with left hand underneath and right hand on top - 3 hand positions, then repeat on other side.

We sometimes do other things for some variety including elastic tubing work.

I coach a 14u travel team. We limit our practices to 2 hours each. We can't really spend 45 minutes on warm-ups. But the above routine, I feel, gives the kids a good warm-up and lets them work on some stength and flexibility. I normally get through the routine in about 20-25 minutes.

quote:

"Saws" are the swinging of the throwing arm in a back and forth sawing motion?

Correct - for "side" saws. For front saws, forearms are crossed in front of the body and the arms move left/right alternating which is on top/bottom. 3 hand positions for side and front saws.

here's what i'm using as a warm-up for our softball team for the first couple weeks of practice. As we get further along, I will shorten and modify it......

1/2 mile light jog

Stretching - I'll let the girls do whatever they like, but I prefer a static stretch held for 3-5 seconds, release, and then repeat again for 3-5 seconds.



DYNAMIC MOVEMENTS:
High Knees
Butt kicks
Walking Lunges
Walking Leg kick/Toe touch
Carioca - emphasis on leg swing/hip turn
Explosive skips for height
Frog jumps - squat and explode forward

Body weight squats
Body weight squat jumps


Stretching - I'll let the girls do whatever they like, but I prefer a static stretch held for 3-5 seconds, release, and then repeat again for 3-5 seconds.


Accelerations - 10 yards 1/2 speed, 10 yards 3/4 speed. 10 yards full speed
10 push ups followed by a sprint
60 second drill - 5 down and backs in under 60 seconds

Stretching & throwing should not be an afterthought to a good practice. That time is essential to healthy players AND to setting the tone for a focused group for practice!

if we don't have any cages or time allotted to hit before a game . i bring a bag of beans and toss a dozen or so to hitters . gives them a chance to see and hit something before the game, and you don't need to chase em.

Maybe I am off base. My high school simply does the same 10 minute old gym stretch. Then throws. Before games we mix in sprints. We monitor the throwing to an extent, but never the stretching. I have been there 5 yrs. I have not seen one arm injury. We have not lost a kid to surgrey. Most of our injuries are from something off the field. (Sprained ankles from basketball) Stretch and throw from 3until about 320. Flips from 320 to 330. Then we get after it in practice. In my 5 years, on a practice night, I have never left the field after 6PM. We have won 20 games atleast 7 times in the last 10. including a state title in 04. We are in the biggest class in our state.

Everyone does things differently---