As a pitcher, who may make as many as 20,000 throws a year and whose livelihood depends on your arm, its safe to say that youll probably know your arm better than anyone else youll ever meet. Even though my previous research confirmed what I strongly suspected, I thought with the 2014 MLB Draft right around the corner, it would be interesting to reach out to even more college programs and a broader sample of many of the top rated pitchers in the upcoming 2014 MLB Draft to see if this trend of individuality and distance throwing (long toss) continued (these results can be found at the end of this article). And isnt one of the most fundamental principles of training and development to push beyond your limitations (which is why you run more to build up endurance, lift more if you want to get stronger). 3. Weather and travel restrictions tend to be the two big problems that come to mind. Collegiate Water Polo Association (Division I) NCAA D1. Lengthening the distance an athlete is expected to throw absolutely does not translate to more strength or speed. There is no one-size-fits-all program for every baseball player you will need to figure out what works the best for your needs and position on your own. Placing restrictions on an arm that has been well conditioned is one of the quickest ways to regress an arm, and put it in harms way. And this is clearly evident by the fact that both programs have essentially the same parameters in place a set amount of time or throws at specific, predetermined distances (60 ft, 90 ft, 120 ft 90 ft and 60 ft). 17 UCLA for a three-game series beginning Friday at Hawkins Field with all three games airing on SEC Network+. Getting bulked would actually hurt your performance. Student Athlete Community Service Network To 100 feet. Start by throwing the weighted ball until you get to 90 ft, then switch to the 5 oz ball and complete the rest of the long toss session with that. 5-9 170 L/R. How The Top 25 Fared: Week Two. Reef Industries (Protective Field Covers) A balanced diet supports muscle growth, healing from injury, a healthy immune system and more. International Paper Baseball Classic 402-649-1461, dirk.chatelain@owh.com, twitter.com/dirkchatelain. You essential throw more like a ferris wheel than a carousel when you long toss, which utilizes different muscle recruitment patterns and motor planning from when you pitch. Weighted ball training programs have become a very popular tool for baseball players looking to improve their pitching velocity. What are we doing to them in the long-term? I wrote this article for one simple reason there is no such thing as the best baseball long toss program. Sports Health. Maybe the manufacturers of cookie cutters, but thats for cutting cookies and not helping pitchers to make the most of what they have and can do. Most guys that struggle with the long toss are the guys with bad mechanics, Brown said. This, when thinking about it, seems odd considering a throw from home plate to second base is 127 feet. Annual throwing recommendations for all pitchers. Recently, a third study was published on long-toss which brought to light some interesting data. This is a problem when you consider that discussing long-toss can be a controversial topic, with coaches often falling into the love it or hate it camps with little wriggle room. Beyond The Ball (Book By Tony Abbatine) I don't stop at 120 feet, I throw it as far as I can." NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Junior Kumar Rocker went the distance on Friday evening, as the second-ranked Vanderbilt baseball team downed No. SS. During extension, the goal is to get warm and loosen the arm. Days per week: 3, with at least one day of rest between sessions. Here's how your workout program in the early pre-season should be built: Duration: 6 weeks. If you are looking for additional information about programming, feel free to contact our support team directly at [emailprotected] or 425-523-4030. To follow this up, I will write an article soon on what I believe long toss is actually doing and why it may be beneficial to include in baseball training programs, if designed appropriately. Flat-ground throwing is commonly used for training and rehabilitating baseball pitchers and position players. The results are listed below in the following format: Name, School, Off-Season Maximum Distance (in feet) and how many throwing sessions at there maximum distance per week (x), In Season Maximum Distance and maximum distance throwing sessions per week (x), and the amount of years theyve been on this routine. First pitch for Game 1 on Friday is at 4:30 p.m. CT. Saturday's game will begin at 1 p.m. and Sunday's finale is set for a noon start. Remember that some teams are much more progressive with their throwing programs while others have organizational restrictions to 120 feet. Long tossing may improve something else, such as muscular endurance or arm speed, but there is a fine line between building speed and endurance and overloading and causing fatigue. Weighted ball throwing affects pitching mechanics and joint stress. Nonetheless, its a rule that is sometimes implemented. Weighted baseballs can also be used to start long-toss at any time of the year. The point is, you dont have to throw past 120 feet but in order to progress to throwing off a mound, long tossing to 120 feet is just one of the criteria. Glenn Fleisig and the American Sports Medicine Institute recently analyzed the difference in mechanics between pitching off a mound and long tossing at 120 feet, 180 feet, and at maximum distance. Learn more about how we strengthen our pitchers by reading the blog articles we have pertaining to strength. Kayson Cunningham. And just as the physical therapy program had a completion date to initiate the beginning of the throwing program, the throwing program had a completion date to initiate when it was time to resume normal training. With the easy access of quality coaching across the country and such great resources as the internet so readily available, it seems like in this day and age most pitchers are very educated when it comes to knowing their arm, and knowing whats. 5. These can provide you with valuable insight into baseball training and allow you to independently develop programs.Also remember that baseball is a mental game. Read More This has caused some to question the role of aggressive long toss programs on the increased rate of injuries, which may or may not be fair, as there are many different ways of integrating long toss training programs. H.S. 1. Its also a great time for focused, submaximal throwing work. A professional pitcher's long toss program. Think of the above program as a framework. Ill give you a few suggestions and tips below. Though you may have many stops along the path, your arm is always with you. Also, 42 out of 52 pitchers interviewed (81%) trained at distances of 270-400 feet prior to the draft, or well beyond the prescribed distance for the rehabilitation model. Which begs the question, if so many pitchers are training based on listening to their arms, and by throwing more, rather than less, what happens to their arm if they have major restrictions placed on them? With the easy access of quality coaching across the country and such great resources as the internet so readily available, it seems like in this day and age most pitchers are very educated when it comes to knowing their arm, and knowing whats best for it. I am not very satisfied with D. Johnsons Complete Daily Throwing Program. Phase 1: Player starts at a distance of 15 steps, 2-3 sets of 25 throws on a line with 5 minutes recovery between sets. But you really need to understand many of the points below to truly appreciate what long toss does to your body. That is why the rehab throwing programs I published seem so basic. Its controversial because many experts, including some high-profile orthopedic surgeons, say that pitchers shouldnt throw more than 100 to 150 feet. On good days, he can throw foul pole to foul pole. Ball velocity and elbow torque may increase as throwing distance is increased and in some situations are in excess of the magnitudes in actual pitching. In a time- or distance-restricted environment, you must be creative about your throwing phases, but you can still get work done that will approximate those stimuli. This is important, but it wasn't created with an interest in athlete performance or maximal development." Marcus Elliot, MD, Director of Sport Science and Performance The Official Athletic Site of the Vanderbilt Commodores. How you define long-toss, then, is entirely dependent on how you want to use it. Calvin Harris Established as Centerpiece of Ole Miss Lineup. Because of what I had already sensed from so many years of teaching, consulting and information gathering, I wanted to reach out to some of the top projected pitchers in the 2011 and 2012 MLB Drafts, along with many of the most respected College programs in the country to see how they were training. "I'll start playing long toss in January. I only bring this up because I hear from many of my patients and clients about all these great MLB players that long toss, and while that is true, just realize there are many that do not. No. Your arm will eventually reject you." Sometimes thats 150 feet the day after he pitches, sometimes its 350. Remember that pitching for more than 8 months out of the year increases your chance of getting injured by 5x! He even had a coach that told him it was stupid, we laughed then too, because not only did all the pitchers on that coaches team have soreness after a tournament (except my son), but he himself is already retired from Pro ball because he blew out his arm. In fact, today, mental skills coaches in MLB are valued more than ever. This formatted program typically included specific limits on how far (ie 120 feet), how much (ie the counting of throws), how long (ie 10 minutes) and at what angle (ie on a line) pitchers were instructed to throw. Then 150. Rather than ask the pitcher what he has done to have success what he has done to have a strong and healthy arm, the focus is on a format that someone else thinks is right for you, independent of your input or personal history. Add this warm-up and throwing routine to you program and see immediate gains in the health and development of your pitchers. That's up to you. Strength training has been shown to noticeably increase the mean throwing velocity in college baseball players. Using a 9-ounce or 11-ounce ball, play light extension toss with a specific external or internal focus (i.e. Underweight balls increase the amount of peak strain on the arm. Directly comparing restrictive 120-foot throwing programs to long-toss throwing programs has not been researched. The essence of this article was to source why a one-size-fits-all throwing program began to take root in the baseball community decades ago, and why, in some casesit is still being implemented. The research paper gives examples of training programs by position and provides general workout recommendations for baseball players. Once or twice a week, you may want to "air it out" with some long toss beyond 120 feet. If time restricted:During the last 2 minutes of the throwing window, put the ball on a line walking in to 60 feet. Jan. 6, 2017 Section B, National H.S. A comprehensive, balanced pitcher program also includes exercises that maintain joint health, function and mobility. And, at the end of the day, it isnt your coachs fault if you arent on one. Albert- wed have you use both the weighted and the regular baseballs in these long toss sessions. I had a discussion with Dr. Fleisig and Dr. Andrews about this concept and the analogy that was used was rather alarming You can observe a group of Little League aged kids smoke a pack of cigarettes a day and none of them will likely get lung cancer while in Little League, but they may one day. Reef Industries (Protective Field Covers), Student Athlete Community Service Network, Winning With Honor: John Wooden & Dave Roberts (Book By Gary Adams). Heres one example of a circuit training program for the off-season: On each exercise, the last rep should take a good amount of effort from you. The number of throws and distance are often mapped out day by day for weeks until athletes can continue pre-injury workloads. Fulmer, who does more training in long toss than he does on a mound, believes that when pitchers get hurt, its often because their arms arent strong enough to handle pitching. A spotter would be nice as well for exercises like the bench press. And whether it was due to the convenience of having a structure in place that was easy to control, easy to implement, perceived as anatomically correct (throwing the ball on a line was also popularized in the 1990s) or safe because it was medically based (ASMI began conducting studies on distance throwing in the mid 90s that may have also greatly influenced limiting distance throwing), the bottom line is that rehabilitation and training seemed to become interchangeable. Its important that the individual finds his level, Brown said. To me, the most interesting part of the studies from Dr. Fleisig and ASMI is when they analyzed maximum distance long tossing. He sees the rash of Tommy John surgeries. In fact, when you look at any form of training or development, the common denominator is that everyone is unique. Stat Roundup: Saturday, Feb. 25 Top Performers. Vanderbilt's bats back up a stellar pitching performance by Devin Futrell and Bryce Cunningham as Alan Espinal's grand slam powers a 12-2 win past the Longhorns. Pitchers were also more likely to use long-toss for a component of arm strengthening, conditioning, and recovery via stretching.. Interval-throwing programs can also be used for athletes who are returning to throw after taking time off. It seems like everyone on the internet has a long toss program that guarantees to increase your pitching velocity. 2009;1(2):145-153 Axe MJ, Snyder-Mackler L, Konin JG, Strube MJ. Thx. 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