Too Dang Skinny!!

I was skinny when I was that age. Noone accuses me of that now!

"Me neither," said the man as he peered downward at the 225 reading on his bathroom scale.........

krakatoa:

I'm 15 myself and a sophomore in high school. I'm currently 5'10" and about 170. I work with weights, not a lot of weight but a lot of reps. I'm currently sitting around 80 (I'm a lefty). Some people's metabolisms are a lot different, and I can understand your frustration with your son's weight. The best advice I can give you is not to try to change his body type. If he is skinny, he's skinny. Work with weights but don't push the weight too much, because you can be skinny and still very strong. Also, running makes you lose weight not gain it, so I am not saying don't run because that's still the best exercise but try to balance other weight lifting, programs etc. with that. Let me know how everything goes.

~Josh

Krak,
When my son was 15 he was about 6" and weighed around 165. He is now 20, stuck between 6'3 and 6'4 and 195, give or take. He was always a good eater, not picky so he always had a well balanced diet. He still eats like he has a tape worm, but now spread out to about 4 meals a day.
He never worked out seriously with weights until last year. The years before that he just dabbled. He has always had good mechanics and a loose arm so he mostly worked on lower body when younger, tubing, agility and just this year really started getting into serious upper body workouts with trainer at college, more definition in the chest and trapizoid, powerful legs. His weight of 195 ( since HS senior) has remained the same, he's still long and thin, just better defined.
Let your son grow up naturally. He has a way to go yet. If he has good mechanics and good stuff the velocity will come. Although we knew he was gunned ocassional at showcses or tournaments, we never asked what his velocity was. All of a sudden one day he was hitting 90. Don't worry abut it. JMO.

That's my skinny story.

Krak,

"Please share your skinny-kid stories so I can relax!!"

LOL! My son was probably about the same size as yours at one point. I don't remember exact heights and weights when he was younger, but he was only 170 lbs when he hit 6'4" in Junior year of HS, age 16. A few knowledgeable people told us not to worry about the weight - he would gain weight and muscle in a few years. Now he's a bit over 6'4" as a 19-yr-old college soph, approaching 190 lbs, and the velocity is trending upwards also. Your son might throw harder if he was heavier, but there is plenty of time for that to happen. And guess what? Scouts don't call kids like that skinny - the word they use is "projectable".

My son is also just like yours - 6' even and probably 140 at 15.5 YO.

I have also wondered about more weight / muscle - but figure that will come. I grew late and he probably will too.

Meanwhile, he is working on being a complete pitcher - learning to throw his 3 pitches for strikes and knowing how and when to use each of them. When the size comes and the velocity moves up, that will make him that much more effective - or so I hope

Krakatoa:

Get him off that lo-cal kimchi!

I'm in that position now, only I'm 6'0, and 148. I'm 15, and 3 months old, and can throw at a competitive speed. I also wonder what I'd be capable if I were 160 or so. Is this gonna fix itself?

(I've grown 6 inches this year, and 4 last fall..alot at one time)

It will take care of itself in time.......but my concern is that 'time' is of the essence in college recruiting. I like MNMom's "projectable'
perspective.That's the best way to look at it. I would just hate to see recruiting reports saying 'too skinny'.

BTW, Josh, back when I was 19, for a summer job, I worked on installing the new gym floor at Gwinnett High School - still remember the big water tower, "Gwinnett is Great!" Loved it down there!!

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still remember the big water tower, "Gwinnett is Great!" Loved it down there!!

Thats cool! I've past that thing so many times. Theres actually another set on the other side of Gwinnett by Walton.

It's pretty nice down here, everything is close by.

I agree with posters saying to be patient. Be carefull you don't do heavier weights too soon. You can do serious damage to that projectability. Learn to be a complete pitcher is great advice. The velocity will come. I get the feeling that people feel if you are not throwing 90 that good schools wont look at you and that is not true.
Keep training hard and get good advice on weight training.

We heard the "projectable" word a lot while being recruited. My son is a LHP, 6'4", weighs 210lbs, throws in the mid to upper 80's. His velocity was called projectable, his size was called "mature-bodied". He wasn't quite sure how to take that description! He considers his dad mature-bodied while I apply that description to a good glass of wine! Or is that full-bodied? Could be the same on my husband (and me for that matter)!

My son has never lifted weights, but has a solid lower half. If you are over 6' and/or have good velocity, plus you can throw muplitple pitches for strikes, colleges are more than happy to see what they can do with you! The college workout hopes to produce a developed body when you're a bit older and they get you on campus full-time. Everyone grows at different rates.

Before anyone has a fit, being over 6' isn't required, but the coaches know they can't teach height or left-handed. That's a plus for a pitcher that is out of everyone's control.

Ervin Santana is 6'2" 162LBS with rocks in his pockets and tops out at 98 MPH. Velocity comes with good mechanics and explosive timing from the whole body. You will grow and mature naturally. My opinion is to be patience in growth and maturity and focus on developing a sound, explosive, well timed, mechanical, repeatable delivery.

My 15 yo is 5' 11" 140 LBS and his velocity improves every week by focusing on what he can do now to improve his pitching mechanics as far as his body development, a simple full body conditioning program not unlike that of the infantry soldier in basic training is what he does.

Now that I've read to the bottom of this thread, could someone please explain to me why David Wells doesn't break 100 mph consistently (or at all)???

My son has a teammate, a college freshman RHP. He stands 5-9 and weighs 155 pounds. He works from 90 to 93 MPH, all....day......long.

Houlden,


KC,
Projection may not always be the correct word to use sometimes. I prefer potential. Projection can mean a lot of different things.

Dad04 makes a great point. It's either you have it, or you don't. Some have it earlier than others, some later, some just don't have it at all, even at 6'3 and 200 pounds. I never understood the height and weight thing myself, nor do I ever intend to .

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Please share your skinny-kid stories so I can relax!! He just seems TOO DANG SKINNY!!

Not to worry. Ours graduated from high school as a 5'11", 152 pounder. From some indirect feedback we got on the one Pac 10 school he loved and which showed a bit of interest, his size was a factor for them. He is now just about 6'1", and plays between 180-185lbs. Above high school, strength will be an important factor but they also do a ton of strength training to get players ready.

My youngest is almost 15. Grew about 6" in the past 18 mos. and is now a very skinny 6'4" and maybe 145. Like most kids his age he eats all the time he's awake. I keep telling him not to worry about his weight - it will catch up some time - we hope.

Last year, as a junior, I was 6"2 150 lbs, and threw 80-82.

this year, as a senior I am 6"2 160 and throw 85-88. As long as you have a strong arm and good mechanics your velocity will improve as you mature. I was really really worried about my build too but not anymore.

Mine can join this club

At 18, he's around 6'2" tall and weighs 156 as of last week.
He was born skinny at 21 inches (even) and 7 pounds (even).
When he was four and went for his annual physical, he was in the upper percentiles for height and lower for weight. The next year, at age five, he grew about 4 inches and his weight was identical to the year before.

He's tried weight supplements, protein shakes, high calorie snacks, etc. but has never broken 160 pounds.

This is the first year he has been involved in a formal weights program beginning with the fall semester in college so it's too early to tell if that will help with the whole body mass thing. (it hasn't so far

But you work on the things you can control and the rest will fall into place.

(And Krak, he's a guitar player, too, so our boys have that in common as well

"This is the first year he has been involved in a formal weights program beginning with the fall semester in college so it's too early to tell if that will help with the whole body mass thing. (it hasn't so far)."

Lots of us llege folks think our sons go offto play freahman year and come back december as studs, not so, takes a long time, years maybe.

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(And Krak, he's a guitar player, too, so our boys have that in common as well

Blue Sky: maybe our kids should be emulating Iggy Pop instead of Roger Clemens!!

I haven't put on a pound since I was like 10, I'm 21 right now, lol. 5-10 140 soaking wet. I may not be the strongest, but I've had one of the best throwing arms on my team for the past 3 years, and I can hit as hard as the bigger guys. I've learned to make up for my lack of strength by propert technique. Probably what David Eckstein does as well.

The only thing you can 'do' is make sure the nutrition piece is dialed in, that you have a well thought out strength conditioning program, and the rest is just genes and time.

My son Sean followed this progression: 8th grade - 6"1' & 145 lbs; Freshman - 6'2" & 160 lbs; Sophomore - 6'3+" & 180 lbs; Junior 6'4"+ & 205-210 lbs; Senior (currently) 6'4"+ & 215 lbs. He has exactly my build, so he'll probably eventually end up in the 225-235 range, and followed almost precisely the same growth curve I had as a teenager other than I reached 6'4" a little earlier. Genes.

On the food and exercise front: weights three times a week; Core torso strength and balance workouts 1-2 times/wk; Yoga 1 day/wk; then the usual bullpens, batting cage work, and running. Food: Lots and lots of chicken breasts (BBQ, chicken tacos, etc.), occasional steak or salmon (keep fish intake low due to mercury concerns), scrambled eggs for breakfast, protein shakes 1-2/day, turkey sandwich 10AM snack betweeen classes. He stays away from all fast foods.

I believe weight is something you just can't rush, kinda like height. My son (Just turned 16, 5'10, 150, middle infielder) works out with a reputable olympic and NFL combine trainer and his advice was simply eat a balenced diet, eat MORE and eat MORE often!!! We do the "Muscle Milk" shakes , but they are not a replacement for eating solid foods. The best advice he had was to eat 5-6 medium size meals throughout the day, emphasizing the final meal of the day (just before bed) to be quite large or supplimented with a shake. So far it seems to have worked, he put on about 15 lbs of muscle in 5-6 months.

Wow, sounds like your plan is working well! I tried to get mine to do the shakes before bed, but he really had a problem with the 'palatability' factor. He's a very picky eater (huh? really?), and it just didn't work out! He is eating a LOT of what he does eat, though, so I hope he'll continue to develop................

Here's our mix for a protein shake ... and my son is pickie about tastes: a small amount of cranberry juice (roughly 1-1.5 cup), six strawberries, half a banana, ample scoop of vanilla protein powder, 5-6 ice cubes. Blend into a 'smoothie' consistency.