February News Letter Avoid spring sports injuries through careful training May 2, 2013 By Dr. Sue Hubbard With the arrival of spring comes a new season of baseball, softball, track and field. This also means that kids need to be prepared to play. Professional ballplayers spend 4-6 weeks in spring training preparing for the season, but for many kids the spring sports season starts without any serious practice. Some kids have not been active during the winter, while others have been playing only indoor sports. Their bodies may not be quite ready for "full steam ahead" play. I'm already seeing patients both boys and girls complaining of muscle strains and sprains. Kids need to get into shape for throwing, hitting, pitching and fielding over time. But no one seems to understand the word "gradual" these days! Kids want to play ball and they may want to impress their coaches, as well. They're being watched to determine who plays which position, the batting line up, etc. which may make some athletes try to throw too much or too hard when they first start back. Parents (and coaches) need to encourage daily pre-activity warm ups and stretching followed by light throwing to prepare the body to increase activity and intensity over several weeks, rather than days. Kids need to learn proper throwing mechanics, which will not only improve efficiency but also help control stress on the body. The shoulder joint is held together almost entirely by muscles. Developing strength and endurance in the key muscle groups that keep the shoulder stable helps prevent fatigue. The same goes for pitching. Strict adherence to pitch counts, and well as following the recommended rest period between pitching sessions helps prevent overuse injuries. I've already seen a high school baseball player with elbow pain who admitted to me that he
was pitching far more curve balls and fast balls than the "official" limit. He doesn't realize the stress he's placing on his body and it's still very early in the season. He wasn't thrilled when I told him he needed a week off to rest before he started back, and then to practice much less aggressively. He has a few more years of high school ball before he even thinks about college baseball and he needs to stay healthy. Remember to use ice as an anti-inflammatory, as well as ibuprofen. And if shoulders or elbows are already hurting, try a slower spring re-entry into throwing and pitching. Creating Game- Ready Hitters Provided by Stacie Mahoe Is practice really preparing your batters for what they will face in a game? Do you tend to have batters that look awesome in practice during drills or off the machine, but for some reason can't quite produce come game time? If so, you may be interested in these rather basic, yet often overlooked tips for hitting practice. Practice Running When you practice hitting, practice getting out of the box ON EVERY SINGLE SWING. Often times in practice, especially at the younger age level, coaches have them stay in the box and swing at a set number of pitches. Maybe they have them run on the last hit. Then in the game they wonder why they forget to run after they hit the ball. Make sure to keep them running. Visualization Hitters should take as many swings off a tee, if not against live pitching, as possible. But what if your team doesnt have the capability to have each player take that many cuts off a tee or live pitching during practice. Even if there is only one tee for players to hit off the other players can still practice their hitting technique. Have players get into their stance with the bat and visualize a pitcher pitching to them. They should go through their routine of starting outside the batters box then stepping in and getting ready for the pitch. Have them see the ball being pitched to different spots (inside high, inside low, outside high, outside low, etc) and take cuts at the different pitches they are seeing. They should visualize solid contact with each pitch and use the proper swing to hit the ball coming in the different locations. If they do five pitches at each location list above, they will get in 20 swings with this one drill.
Soft toss Soft toss is another way players can get some swings in. If youre using soft toss because you dont have a net, set up two stations to run at once. Just be sure that the tossers do not toss the ball at the same time. This gets the batter more swings in a shorter period of time compared to live pitching because batters should be able to hit every tossed ball. (Whereas in live pitching they may not take a swing if the pitch is not good.) Wiffle balls Set up a couple of stations where players can hit wiffle balls. You can soft toss these if you want, but its probably better to pitch them to the batters. Distance between the pitcher and the batter should be close (10-15 ft). This is quicker than hitting live with regular balls because you can set up 2-3 stations vs. having just one player hit live at the plate with real balls. Note: Wiffles dont go as far so its easier and faster to shag all the balls. Slow things down Dont rush your hitters through their 100+ swings. Why? Because thats not game-like. In a game, they see a pitch, have about a 10 second break, then see another pitch, and then have a break, and so on. They arent going to be taking five swings in the span of 10 or 20 seconds. In at least some of your hitting drills, allow your hitters to take a good swing, get out of their stance, reset, get ready again, then take another swing. Even if they have 30 seconds between each swing, 100 swings will take less than an hour. So dont rush them. Let them have quality swings with breaks in between, just like game time. One more note about batting practice. If you can its always great to have your pitchers pitch to your hitters. It helps make the pitchers stronger and also makes the batters stronger when your pitchers are throwing their best stuff. Stacie Mahoe is the owner of AllAboutFastpitch.com and Host of FastpitchTalkRadio.com. She is also currently involved with fastpitch softball as a high school and 10U coach in Hawaii and as a parent of three young softball players.
Team MaxBat Baseball Recruiting Combines/Tryouts We believe that every baseball player who has a goal of playing at the highest level possible should be given every opportunity to live out that goal. We try to make our events the most affordable in the industry, but refuse to cut corners to do so. Our events are designed to have parents and coaches tell us "You could easily have charged more money for this." Well we could, but again... Our goal is for every High School and Junior College baseball player to have the opportunity to get the exposure needed to play at their desired level or beyond. 5/07 ~ Saturday Team MaxBat Iowa Combine/Tryouts Location: Mercer Park Aquatic Center-Iowa City, IA Ages: 14-18 and JC Players 6/06 ~ Monday Team MaxBat Southern Florida Combine/Tryouts Location: Florida Christian HS- Miami, FL Ages: 14-18 and JC Players 6/07 ~ Tuesday Team MaxBat Central Florida Combine/Tryouts Location: Chain of Lakes Stadium- Winter Haven, FL Ages: 14-18 and JC Players 6/08 ~ Wednesday Team MaxBat Northern Florida Combine/Tryouts Location: Gulf Breeze High School-Dolphin Baseball Field-Gulf Breeze, FL Ages: 14-18 and JC Players 6/09 ~ Thursday Team MaxBat Georgia Combine/Tryouts Location: Augusta University Jaguar Field- Augusta, GA Ages: 14-18 and JC Players 6/13 ~ Monday Team MaxBat National Recruiting Combine Location: Regency Furniture Stadium-Waldorf, MD Ages: 14-18 and JC Players Cost: $ 200.00 View Details Register Now
6/14 ~ Tuesday Team MaxBat Pennsylvania Combine/Tryouts Location: Eastern University- St Davids, PA Ages: 14-18 and JC Players 6/15 ~ Wednesday Team MaxBat New Jersey Combine/Tryouts Location: Raritan Valley Community College-Branchburg, NJ Ages: 14-18 and JC Players 6/16 ~ Thursday Team MaxBat Boston Combine/Tryouts Location: Longley Field- Franklin, MA Ages: 14-18 and JC Players 6/20 ~ Monday Team MaxBat West Virginia Combine/Tryouts Location: Potomac State College- Keyser, WV Ages: 14-18 and JC Players 6/21 ~ Tuesday Team MaxBat Ohio Combine/Tryouts Location: Performance Automotive Fields- West Chester, OH Ages: 14-18 and JC Players 6/22 ~ Wednesday Team MaxBat Indiana Combine/Tryouts Location: Goshen Baseball Complex- Goshen, IN Ages: 14-18 and JC Players 6/23 ~ Thursday Team MaxBat Southern Illinois Combine/Tryouts Location: MacMurray College- Jacksonville, IL Ages: 14-18 and JC Players 6/27 ~ Monday Team MaxBat Northern Illinois Combine/Tryouts Location: Genoa-Kingston Baseball Complex- Genoa, IL Ages: 14-18 and JC Players
6/28 ~ Tuesday Team MaxBat Wisconsin Combine/Tryouts Location: Carson Park Baseball Stadium- Eau Claire, WI Ages: 14-18 and JC Players 6/29 ~ Wednesday Team MaxBat Minnesota Combine/Tryouts Location: Martin Luther College- New Ulm, MN Ages: 14-18 and JC Players 6/30 ~ Thursday Team MaxBat South Dakota Combine/Tryouts Location: Augustana College- Sioux Falls, SD Ages: 14-18 and JC Players 7/07 ~ Thursday Team MaxBat Pennsylvania Combine/Tryouts Location: Spooky Nook Sports- Manhiem, PA Ages: 14-18 and JC Players 7/11 ~ Monday Team MaxBat Louisiana Combine/Tryouts Location: Pilot Field at LSU- Shreveport, LA Ages: 14-18 and JC Players 7/12 ~ Tuesday Team MaxBat Eastern Texas Combine/Tryouts Location: Houston Baptist University Baseball Field-Houston, TX Ages: 14-18 and JC Players 7/13 ~ Wednesday Team MaxBat Southern Texas Combine/Tryouts Location: Missions Baseball Academy Fields-San Antonio, TX Ages: 14-18 and JC Players 7/14 ~ Thursday Team MaxBat Texas Combine/Tryouts Location: Brookehaven College Baseball Field- Dallas, TX Ages: 14-18 and JC Players
7/18 ~ Monday Team MaxBat Southern California Combine/Tryouts Location: Poloma Valley High School-Menifee, CA Ages: 14-18 and JC Players 7/19 ~ Tuesday Team MaxBat Central California Combine/Tryouts Location: Sacramento, CA Ages: 14-18 and JC Players 7/20 ~ Wednesday Team MaxBat Oregon Combine/Tryouts Location: Tom Bowen Field (Sheldon HS)- Eugene, OR Ages: 14-18 and JC Players 7/21 ~ Thursday Team MaxBat Washington Combine/Tryouts Location: University of Puget Sound- Tacoma, WA Ages: 14-18 and JC Players TMB Softball Recruiting Combines/Tryouts We believe that every softball player who has a goal of playing at the highest level possible should be given every opportunity to live out that goal. We try to make our events the most affordable in the industry, but refuse to cut corners to do so. Our events are designed to have parents and coaches tell us "You could easily have charged more money for this." Well we could, but again... Our goal is for every High School softball player to have the opportunity to get the exposure needed to play at the college level or beyond. 5/15 ~ Sunday TMB Softball Missouri Combine/Tryouts Location: University of Missouri- Kansas City, MO Ages 14-18 5/22 ~ Sunday TMB Softball Florida Combine/Tryouts Location: Auburndale Sports Complex, Winter Haven, FL Ages 14-18
6/05 ~ Sunday TMB Softball California Combine/Tryouts Location: Kaseburg Park- Roseville, CA Ages 14-18 6/06 ~ Monday TMB Softball Colorado Combine/Tryouts Location: TBD- Denver Colorado Ages 14-18 6/08 ~ Wednesday TMB Softball Nebraska Combine/Tryouts Location: TBD- Omaha, NE Ages 14-18 6/13 ~ Monday TMB Softball Illinois Combine/Tryouts Location: TBD- Bloomington, IL Ages 14-18 6/14 ~ Tuesday TMB Softball Illinois Combine/Tryouts Location: TBD- Bloomington, IL Ages 14-18 6/15 ~ Wednesday TMB Softball Indiana Combine/Tryouts Location: Indianapolis Sports Park- Indianapolis, IN Ages 14-18 6/15 ~ Wednesday TMB Softball Indiana Combine/Tryouts Location: TBD- Indianapolis, IN Ages 14-18 6/16 ~ Thursday TMB Softball Michigan Combine/Tryouts Location: Veterans Memorial Park-Ann Arbor, MI Ages 14-18
6/27 ~ Monday TMB Softball Maryland Combine/Tryouts Location: St. Charles High School-Waldorf, MD Ages 14-18 6/28 ~ Tuesday TMB Softball Ohio Combine/Tryouts Location: River City Sports Complex- Cincinnati, OH Ages 14-18 7/06 ~ Wednesday TMB Softball Minnesota Combine/Tryouts Location: Chanhassen High School- Chanhassen, MN Ages 14-18 7/07 ~ Thursday TMB Softball Wisconsin Combine/Tryouts Location: Carson Park- Eau Claire, WI Ages 14-18 8/08 ~ Monday TMB Softball Iowa Combine/Tryouts Location: Mercer Park-Iowa City, IA Ages 14-18 Spread the word! The College Scouting Bureau is about the player not the team. Promoting players around the US into college programs that are a great fit for them and their parents is what we are all about.