OFF-SEASON CONDITIONING
Players up to age 12 shouldn't  worry about staying in shape, as (hopefully) their normal daily activities give them plenty of exercise. There are exercises and drills that a player who wants to improve coordination and skill can do, however concentrating on physical conditioning is not necessary until about age 13. Many of today's amateur coaches are pushing their young players to pump iron, but this is, at the least, ILL-ADVISED, and can be DANGEROUS for young players. Baseball players need to be lean, loose and flexible, not muscle-bound. The greatest players of all time did NOT lift weights, and the players whose careers last the longest are those who keep their bodies
limber -- not bulked up. The players who do too much weight training are the ones who suffer the most injuries.

Here, then, are a few basic exercises:

Stretching of arm and leg muscles and development of lower back muscles:

 For arms -- hang by hands from a bar for brief periods
 For legs -- stretch hamstrings; standing, bend one knee, extend other
          leg back until straight, with toes on ground. Push down on bent knee
          with body weight. Switch and repeat.
 For back -- sit-ups with knees bent and hands behind head, a few at a time.

Developing strong hands and wrists:

  Repeated squeezing of soft rubber ball.
  Wrist curls with light weights in hands.
  Wringing towel or similar object.
  For hand quickness -- play jacks, practice juggling two or more small balls.
 

PRE-SEASON CONDITIONING
As the season nears, it's important to begin getting the body toughened up so that when actual practice begins you'll be able to spend more time on skills and less time on conditioning. Don't cut corners -- discipline yourself early and you'll find yourself in top condition.

  Running:
          Sprints -- start at 90 feet (the distance from home to first on a
                regulation field) and work up to 360 feet. Youth league players should
                use distances proportionate to their fields. Each day, increase the
                number of sprints.
          Jogging -- a distance of approximately 300 yards is best as a warm-up
                before doing sprints and as a cooling-down exercise after sprints .

Stretching:
          Hamstrings -- as described above.
          Achilles -- with both feet flat on the ground and legs straight, stand about
                three feet from a wall or backstop and push against it.
          Back -- standing with feet spread wide apart, bend from the waist, touch
                left hand to right foot and vice versa.
          Arms and shoulders -- with arms straight out to the side, rotate them in
                increasingly larger circles.

 

 

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By Will Lowrey - Click Here