Youth Baseball programming

[Eanderson]

Hey guys, was reading this article today (Kids These Days | Jim Steel) and figured there might be some baseball parents in here who are trying to figure out how they can program their kids for health/performance, etc.

I've made a few posts in here about my 13U ballplayer who has had little elbow and shoulder issues over the last couple years. For the most part we've fixed them with presses, chins, etc. but it is a challenge to keep these kids growth plates from getting irritated no matter how well you handle arm care, strength training, etc.

I have him basically doing the novice program with smaller jumps and some added forearm flexor work in addition to some daily band and wrist weight stuff that is probably silly BS but omnipresent in the baseball world.

I'm curious if anyone in here has trained a still growing 11-14 yr old and dealt with the usual elbow and shoulder pain.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Can You Put Your Kids on a Strength Training Program? | Mark Rippetoe

[Eanderson]

Can You Put Your Kids on a Strength Training Program? | Mark Rippetoe

Thanks, Rip. I've read that one, and listened and that's why my kid's "training" the way he is now.

I guess I was thinking there might be some like minded (strength training wise) parents of baseball players on here who could share their experiences programming in-season, through/with little league elbow/shoulder. Things they learned, etc. Just seems like even parents who do everything right end up with shoulder and elbow pain during these ages.

[Al Copersino]

I guess I can add something, in the category of “don’t do what I did”. When I was 14 (in the early Middle Ages) I played baseball (pitcher and outfielder) and had recently started lifting weights. A few people said it was insane for a baseball player to lift weights during the season, especially a pitcher. Turns out lifting weights wasn’t a problem at all.

What was a problem was misunderstanding some advice I read from Nolan Ryan. In one of his books, Nolan said a young pitcher could improve his arm strength by throwing a tennis ball. I read that and - diligent but dopey teenage me - started obsessively throwing a tennis ball in the basement to a little strike zone I had taped onto the far wall 60’ away. I threw down there for hours and hours, week in/week out during the off-season, improved my velocity and got nice movement on my breaking ball. I also got a nasty rotator cuff injury and my pitching career was over before I turned 15.

In sum, to get stronger and better at the sport, teenage baseball players should lift weights (correctly; a la Starting Strength). They should not throw a tennis ball as hard as they can one billion times. But you and everybody else probably already knew that!