warming up

That's a tough one because it's been my experience that you almost have to create your own kind of routine, especially as a pitcher. I would suggest looking at different baseball warm ups, taking the exercises that work the best for him, and constructing your own warm up routine. Make sure to use plyometric stretches, and not just static stretching. And experiment with it. Figure out how many reps it takes for him to feel good versus fatigued. You don't want to do too many (I once had a coach who made us do one heck of routine - it became known as "marathon stretching" as we felt like we had just run one after we were done... not good ).


Also, make sure he finds a way to prepare mentally. When your son stretches before pitching, he's not just preparing his muscles, but his mind as well. Let me give you an example. Every time I step into the box, I turn my back to the pitcher so he knows my number (kind of a confidence thing), and then I thank God for the opportunity to play ball another day. I then clear my mind and hit. For pitchers, this kind of thing starts in the bullpen. Do a routine, clear the mind, and turn it on autopilot.

Start off with a "wake up" before you warm up. Meaning light movements that gradually become more intense intended to lubricate the joints and rais body temperature.

Next go with some dynamic movements. There are literally dozens to choose from so experiment and see which ones work for you.

Now you can do your static stretching, but try to focus on moving while flexing.

Next go with arm circles and tubing exercises to loosen the shoulder. I like the Jaeger protocol. Finish of with some light shoulder stretches.

7steps had some good points...

I would suggest doing a dynamic warm-up and maybe some light form running before games. He can also do some tubing exercises to keep his arm lose if he is coming out of the bullpen.

Nonetheless, I highly recommend he does more than 10 minutes to warmup for a game.