What to do after the season

Welcome!

There are two schools of thought here. ASMI suggests a 2-3 month rest period with no throwing. BUM and some other's sons here have thrown year round. I have always gone the rest route, however this year my son is a rising Jr and will be playing scout ball this fall, so he will throw all the way through to the season. Normally we tried to get in 2 months of rest.

I would suggest a period of rest (no throwing) now and the start to long toss 2-3 months prior to season start. Flat ground only for a 6 weeks and then 6 weeks to season start add in some bull pens to get release points and mechanics in order. I would also have him hit the weight room and a yoga class or two a week for stretching.

Others will tell you to go ahead and long toss only (flat ground only) all the way up to the season and start in 6 weeks of pens prior to season. Ultimately it is a personal choice.

Good Luck!

This question always reminds me of a kid who asked it of a pro coach. Coach said go ahead take all the time you want. However keep in mind their are athousand guys working their butts off to take yours spot.
Our Elite teams workout all year except for a couple weeks at Xmas. The reason they do this is to compete with warm weather players. It worked.

And of those thousands (who were pitchers) had their arms fail because they did not take care of themselves and over used their arms?

I suggest D2P you take the time and do the research at ASMI, read the posts here, talk to others, then make your own choice, frankly there is really no right answer.

BHD Just because you are not throwing does not mean you sit on you butt and watch TV. There is in season work and off season work.

I was referring to tough workouts and bull pens all winter long.
I know hundreds who did this and had no arm issues at all. To me not throwing is not taking care of your arm. I do know guys who had arm problems but only after going to college. A couple had 2 tommy J surgeries and they are still throwing over 90 mph today after college.

I know BUM and the Jaeger guys say this is important - throwing at least, I think all year bull pens are asking for trouble. For younger players I would be more cautious, particularly under 16. This will be the first year my son has not shut down so I (he) will get some personal experience. He has always thrown a lot (other than his shutdowns) so it will interesting to see how he feels once he gets into HS season.

Personally I think the off season strength and conditioning is more important than throwing, but it is just one component. D2P will have to figure out what is best for his boy.

BOF believe me that I understand your concerns. I have followed hundreds of pitchers. The ones who work all year usually have healthier and better conditioned arms.
Shutting down and starting up is a tricky thing to do. My son had a great Chiropractor who was with the Rangers and co authored The Pitchers Edge series. He checked my guy and others over routinely. He told me my son's arm and shoulder was incredibly solid. Exact words "keep doing what you are doing " We started year round at 15. Before that there wasn't any year round teams but he probably would have done it if he could. We always kept a close watch and he is the type who shuts himself down if he was feeling uncomfortable.
Like I said I know guys who have had 2 TJ surgeries. They are grads of US college D1 programs and 2 years after graduating they are still pitching in SR Elite BB. One just returned from playing pro ball in Italy. He throws 90mph and only throws a FB. At 14 he was at 86mph. Another was the closer at Arkansas Little Rock. RS 2 years. He was heavily scouted . U have seen guys at pro camps with the tell tale zippers on their arm. One was from Wake Forest and he was outstanding.
Life isn't over because of TJ surgery.

BHD,
I somewhat agree, surgery doesn't always mean the end, but for many it means a setback. There is a big difference in a milb player having TJ surgery and a ML player. They will be patient with the guys they have paid lots of money to. To come back from TJ surgery is a long process, years for some. That adds up to long time, as you get older, you can't suddenly find yourself at 25 in low A.
Most injuries show up later on, on the college or pro level. I do beleive most of it is because of what you did when you were younger. So read all you can and follow recommendations for his age group.
I think a lot has to do with each individual pitcher, how much time he has put in through a season or seasons and how much he will the following year. 16 means that in the next year or so, there might be lots of tournies and showcases ahead, so plan accordingly.
From my knowledge, most pro pitchers shut down the arm (but still condition)completely for two months, then begin a throwing program. Flat gound work, then onto the mound, pitch to live hitters if you can, and then you have to come to camp @75-80% velocity. The instuctions they give are recommendations only.

I agree with TPM. I recommend to shut down the pitching for 6 to 8 weeks (notice I said pitching). Conditioning, conditioning, conditioning - work the heck out of your core, shoulder and scapula - minimum long toss while conditioning. Legs and shoulder conditioning is a must over the off season and be consistent with whatever program you are using.
You can begin light ground work about 4 to 6 weeks before practice begins and work your way up to light (70% velocity) bullpens.

It is important to have a year long program that focuses on not only throwing, but the time off from throwing as well.

I found a program that shows exactly what pitchers should do throughout the year so that they are ready for their season.

It covers everything from:

stretching
lifting
conditioning
hip and core work outs
agility
throwing program (long toss, short toss, flat ground and bullpens)
goal setting
injury prevention arm care
pitching drills
how to increase velocity, movement, and control
and how to throw many different pitches

There is a video you can check out about it at Pitching 365

I'm sure this will answer your questions! Good Luck!

Everything is relative. As pointed out by Dr. Andrews during the LLWS fatigue is major risk factor for arm injuries. If a player is in top physical condition, throwing (not pitching) year round would be beneficial. For such an athlete, it would be good to have a "down time" (revert to a maintenance mode) in rigorous physical training. Start up the rigorous training (e.g., plyometric training, cardio, weights, core) in late November, working in the bullpens in January. Fall is also a good time to get solid mechanical instruction.

For athletes NOT in top physical condition, shutting down throwing would not be a bad idea. These folks should also get a few weeks rest, then slowly build up their physical endurance and strength to near 100%. Once physical endurance has been regenerated, slowly work in the long-toss. Once long toss is near maximum capability, slowly work in the bullpens.

BTW, I can't count how many kids I've seen who've ignored the physical conditioning aspect. Physical conditioning is a lifestyle, not something you achieve once a year. The top players and pitchers, to almost a man, get in great shape first. If your kid is not in great shape, invest in a health club membership first and a travel league second.

My son is 16. He has played year round since he was young. He has taken maybe a couple of weeks off between seasons. He has been able to throw a lot of pitches and has always been in pretty good throwing shape. After a long HS and summer season we decided to take a month off to let him rest up. No throwing at all. He has been lifting, doing band work and dumbells for his shoulders. So he has been conditioning.

Last week we started to do long toss and this week started throwing a couple of light bullpens. He can only throw about 25-30 pitches before he starts to get tired. So I will say this, if you take a lot of time off from throwing, be prepared to take a good bit of time and work to get back into game shape. You don't start where you left off.

bballman,

Let me understand. Your son has played year round since he was "young" (he's now only 16), he took a month off from throwing and one week later he's throwing bullpens? In September? It sounds like he needs to focus on the conditioning and light throwing first.

Bum, let me clarify. He played fall and spring rec from 7 thru 11. At 12 he started playing travel which went thru the summer and fall. Although he did not officially pitch or do any organized long toss year round, he was always throwing something. We would either play catch, or he'd play baseball or wiffleball with his friends or throw pinecones at his brother - something. This is probably the first time he has thrown nothing for a solid month.

And yes we did a couple of recent bullpens after a week of long toss. Reason is, he is in the PG underclass showcase in a couple of weeks. We're just trying to tune up for that. Bullpens are not 100%. Just trying to work on location and getting a feel back.

bballman, okay.. have fun at the PG event. Just remember, don't worry too much about his individual results at the event. Things can and do change a lot between age 16 and 17. Good luck.

Thanks Bum. Just trying to establish a base line. Sure he'll do it again next year. Just want to make sure he does reasonably well as this is one of the individual showcases. I know he won't pitch too much. I believe I heard that the pitcher will throw to 5 batters in an inning. I'm sure there will be enough pitchers that each will only get one inning. But, like I said, I'm trying to balance getting him back in shape with long toss and dialing in the pitching enough where he can be fairly effective. We'll see how it goes.

The point I was making earlier is that the more time you take off, even with conditioning, the more work it will take to get back to game shape. So be prepared to spend some time well before the season starts to throw. It would not be good to take a bunch of time off and show up to tryouts or the new season with your arm out of shape.

bballman,
I wouldn't count on him throwing just one inning at the showcase unless you ask them to limit his innings. 2 or 3 innings is more typical and I've seen 4 innings.

Sounds like you are on the right track. My son took a break then gradually worked his way back up to throwing full distance long toss. The weekend before he reported for school he threw a light pen then afterwards tried to throw a few pitches for velocity. His mechanics/control were off after not having thrown off a mound for over a month and he wasn't able to hit full velocity despite having a fairly fresh arm. It really didn't matter from a school standpoint as they've started them out working their way out toward full distance long toss and they haven't thrown off the mound yet, although I think they are going to do so later today.

From the looks of it your son has pretty good velocity for a young 16yo. Just remember to have him toss in a few pitches thrown for velocity on 0-2 or if he hasn't had a chance to let one go after having already gotten a couple outs in an inning. Both his working and top velocities are important in the showcase context.

Thanks CADad. Yeah, we have talked about all kinds of strategy for the event. I talked to him about 1st locating and just throwing like he usually does, but to rear back on a couple of 0-2 fastballs. I also talked to him about making sure he calls his own game as the catcher won't know him. He needs to be able to mix things up, come inside (he loves that), throw a breaking ball for a 1st pitch strike, etc... He knows how to approach batters, he just needs to take the bull by the horns out there.

We're working to get him back in condition for this and hopefully it will work out. Appreciate the heads up about # of innings expected. Just wasn't sure how they would do it if there were a bunch of guys that needed to pitch.