Warming up arm

Unless the pitcher is warming up 45 minutes before the game starts your son should be able to find time to long toss. Your son needs to talk to the coach so a modification to the pregame program can be made to allow him the 5-10 minutes he needs for long toss before the bullpen, and/or to get another kid to catch the first 5 minutes of the bullpen.

Part of the pitcher's routine SHOULD be to long toss to properly warm up his arm.

Also how many catchers do you see lobbing the baseball back to the pitcher after every pitch? Then all of a sudden they need to make a snap throw to first or throw down to second base and they have spent the last hour in the game lobbing the ball back to the pitcher or sitting on the bench. The only game like throw they make is the one throw between every inning to second base and some lob that one.

I have always taught my guys to throw a stiff seed back to the pitcher focusing on hitting him in the chest. Keep the arm ready and loose by the way you throw it back to the pitcher. Also after a strike out with no one on use your proper throw down footwork and throw a seed to the 3b or 1b. There is no reason for a catchers arm to cool down , you throw the ball after every pitch dont you?

In many ways taking care of a catchers arm is more critical than a pitchers arm. It is just that too many people do not look at it that way. It is almost like the catchers arm is taken for granted

What Coach May said...and TRhit too.

Ours is a C also, and he takes great, great care with his arm. He will do bands at home often on off days, in addition to long toss every day at practice during season.

If it is a particularly cold day at a game, he will wear a warming sleeve - like a Phiten, something like that. And he makes sure if it is really cold that in between innnings he puts on his jacket.

IMHO, a C's arm is much more critical than a pitcher. A C will play every single game, and although he may not throw quite as hard on a regular basis as a pitcher, he WILL throw more than any pitcher does. And he needs to throw different distances with complete accuracy also (back picking at 1st, down to 2nd and then also 3b).

The coach finally agreed to let him do some long toss before the games and practice to loosen up. Son's biggest complaint was that 60'6" wasn't far enough to loosen up and that was all he got to throw except on his 1 throw down at the beginning of each inning. He is now allowed to do what he did all summer and fall and throw out to 225-250 feet before games. At practice he like to stretch it out even further. He has found if he can get the long toss in he has much more accurate and harder throws. As far as throwing hard back to the pitcher his coaches comment was that the ball already goes faster from home to the mound than it did coming in.

quote:

Originally posted by redbird5:
Part of the pitcher's routine SHOULD be to long toss to properly warm up his arm.

So if he's warming up with the pitcher, he is getting his long toss in.

The pitchers don't long toss before the game they are pitching. I don't ask why. I am the catcher's dad not the pitcher's.