Baseball
Coaching Tips: How To Implement Strength & Conditioning Into Practice
For All Ages
One task baseball
coaches struggle with is how to properly strengthen and condition
their players. Typically practices start with a light jog and stretch
and then do not increase strength or conditioning sans a little running
at the end.
While certainly
skill development needs to be priority number 1, including strength
and conditioning exercises in your coaching plans will help your players
perform better, have more fun and get injured less.
This is actually
very simple to do.
Baseball
Coaching Tips for practice...
1. Begin
with a Dynamic Warm-Up
Forget the laps
and team circle stretch. That does very little to properly warm-up
the body in a manner that's suited for the dynamic nature of baseball
and frankly, is a waste of time.
Dynamic Warm-Up
is a fun, effective way to quickly increase the body's core temperature
and within each individual joint. This is critical for optimal performance
and injury prevention. Failing to do this can cause injuries that
otherwise can be prevented. Proper baseball
coaching should start with this rule.
2. Perform
sprinting first - not last
Perform any running
work early in practice. This is when players are freshest and can
actually get faster. Sprinting at the end of practice when the players
are fatigued will develop poor habits that will be very difficult
to overcome. Plus practice is always more fun once sprinting is over!
3. Players
should rarely stand still
Do your best to
have a practice plan and stick to it. This will take some adjustment
by the coaches and players, but will result in up to 40% more work
being done. Practice will fly by, everyone will have more fun and
players will be better skill wise and condition wise.
In addition, by
always moving around players will not get tight and stiff, therefore
creating a much safer environment for your players.
4. Finish
with strength & conditioning work
The end of practice
is a great time to add some strength and conditioning work. Pull out
all the stops in your baseball coaching arsenal and perform medicine
ball partner throws, along with pushups, lunges, squats and static
core holds.
10-15 minutes
is all you need to make a significant difference in how your players
perform and feel.
As you can see
these are simple, yet very effective methods to help your baseball
coaching. Of course the key is implementation. My suggestion is to
slowly introduce each aspect I listed and not try to do everything
at once. Too much too soon only confuses everybody.
As the game of
baseball displays greater speed, power and strength each passing year,
it's imperative that you keep pace and help put your players in a
position to succeed. This, as you know, is Baseball Coaching 101.
The important thing is to always remember why you are there and just
how much you mean to your players. I have great respect for the time
you take out and your commitment to carrying on the great tradition
of our national pastime.
Be sure to check
out Jon Doyle's baseball
coaching website and sign up for his FREE Baseball Training Newsletter.