Time enough for Baseball

We use our unfinished basement. Living in Minnesota it gets cold in the winter and you've got to be creative.

There is an indoor facility close by and from time to time we'll go there to test the things we've been working on. My father-in-law built a portable mound for my son last year and he throws off that into a net about 40 feet away. Hitting is mostly done off a tee or soft toss. Not ideal but his arm has been strong and his skills have improved.

School work always comes first and that needs to be done prior to dinner (immediately after arriving home from school). We usually spend 3-4 days a week pitching off the mound and/or hitting for about an hour each time. He still has plenty of free time and it's up to him what he does with that.

My son is 12 years old (13 next January) and plays baseball and football. He has played rec league basketball in the past but has decided to give that up to concentrate on the other two sports. So far the off-season schedule has worked very well.

Jason

FlippJ,
We use the garage for hitting drills when we can't get regular BP. Right now he is long tossing 3 to 4 days a week with a light bullpen following long toss. He does arm circles, and arm bands before long tossing so it takes a while. He's also running 3 or 4 days a week. Right now we're building up towards 2 mile runs 3 days a week. When he gets there we'll cut back on the distance running and he'll start working the wind sprints, etc. When it starts getting dark early he'll pitch twice a week indoors and also throw on the weekend. The hardest part is getting work on ground balls and fly balls. He currently maxs out at 64 or 65 but can consistently throw 63. I'm hoping that he can pick up about 6 or even 7 mph a year for the next two years which would put him in decent shape for making the freshman team and give him an outside shot at varsity as a sophmore with continued improvement in velocity and command. If he does somehow make varsity as a sophmore and gets some playing time then he'd have the unenviable task of facing Robert Stock that year.

As far as homework goes he is in all honors classes, yet he isn't the fastest in the world when it comes to homework. He usually gets the work done after school but there are evenings where he is still going until 9:00 pm. He's a few months older than your son with a birthday in late September. They seem to be on similar paths development wise.

He'll be starting 8th grade next week and depending on how he develops over the next few years he'll either have the advantage of playing in an extemely strong high school league or the disadvantage of not getting enough playing time because of the strength of the league.

CADad,
I think you’re doing plenty. If you want to do more, here are some ideas. Like FilpJ, I developed an area in the basement to hit and throw. I gave him a soft toss machine for Christmas one year and permanently attached a net to the ceiling that can be rolled up. He would hit into the net and also work on his pitching mechanics by throwing into the net. We always keep about 3 dozen baseballs on hand for soft toss. In addition, I made a broomstick bat by using the handle of a broken aluminum bat with the barrel being made from a broom stick. I would soft toss golf ball sized whiffle balls with him swinging the broomstick bat. This improves bat speed by developing the “small” muscles. You hit the whiffle balls into an old blanket. This also improves the player’s eye hand coordination. There are many exercises a baseball player can do after dark. There are rice bucket exercises, winding and un-winding weights that are attached to a broomstick with a ¼” rope (This really strengthens the hands and forearms), tubing drills and light free weights. You can get creative by devising “games” that challenge him to improve strength, flexibility and also his hitting and pitching. I used to hide his allowance in the rice bucket. While ground ball and fly ball drills are good (and more fun), proper development of hitting and arm strength are much more important (in my opinion). The movie camera is also a great tool and allows you and your son to analize his mechanics. If you make it as fun as possible, your son will look forward to the "workouts"...
Best of luck,
Fungo

fungo,

When we (finally) move down your way I want to come over and "play". You could even put some money in the bucket for me if you'd like.

Jason

Here's what Boomer's doing! He is taking a short break from fall ball and Travel ball. He caught all of these bass by himself. I didn't get a strike!!

You can still find us at the park a couple of times a week to workout.

Callaway,
Has Boomer had a growth spurt? He looks thinner in this picture.

CADad and other parents......My personal opinion is that the best way to balance baseball with academics and other sports during the fall and winter is to let the kids focus on the academics and other sports.......baseball's time will come. JMO!

CADad

5'2" 118lbs. this morning. Turned 11 on the 23rd. He grew a couple of inches this summer but is still pretty "chunky" although he has been doing a lot of running this summer.