Preseason Training forYouth Baseball PlayersDavid J. Szymanski, PhD, CSCS*D, RSCC*E, FNSCALouisiana Tech University, Ruston, Louisiana

A B S T R A C T

THE GOAL OF THIS ARTICLE IS TO

PROVIDE INTERESTED READERS

WITH EXAMPLES OF 6-WEEK PRE-

SEASON TRAINING PROGRAMS

FOR YOUTH BASEBALL PLAYERS

AGED 7–14 YEARS THAT ARE EVI-

DENCE BASED, RELATE TO THE

MOVEMENTS OF THE GAME, AND

DO NOT TAKE A SIGNIFICANT

AMOUNT OF EQUIPMENT OR TIME

TO COMPLETE. COMPONENTS

INCLUDED IN THIS YOUTH ARTICLE

ARE AN EXAMPLE WEEKLY TRAIN-

ING SCHEDULE, PLYOMETRIC,

RESISTANCE TRAINING, AND

ROTATOR CUFF EXERCISES, AS

WELL AS AGE-SPECIFIC LONG

TOSS THROWING PROGRAMS.

INTRODUCTION

In 2001, it was reported that therewere roughly 2.5 million baseballplayers in the United States with

approximately 99% of those participatingin youth (pre-high school) or high schoolbaseball (8). The other 1% of playerscame from college or professional (minorleague to major league baseball) baseball(8). Most recently, it was reported thatapproximately 15 million children andadults play organized baseball with some5.7 million children eighth grade or lowerplaying baseball (23). Because most base-ball players are youth and high schoolathletes, it makes sense that programs de-signed to potentially offset injury andenhance performance should take intoconsideration the chronological age, mat-uration status, and playing experience ofthe players because these athletes are not“miniature adults” (11).

For baseball-related injuries, a researchstudy by Olsen et al. (21) establisheda link between throwing volume andshoulder/elbow injuries among youthbaseball pitchers. The findings of thisstudy stated that the injured group ofpitchers self-reported pitching moremonths per year, innings per game,and pitches per game. It was addition-ally reported that pitchers who threwmore than 8 months per year increasedthe odds of surgery by 5-fold. The mostconcerning finding was that pitcherswho regularly pitched while theirarm was fatigued were 36 times morelikely to be in the surgery group.

To add more fuel to this incidence ofinjury fire, it was recently reported thattoday’s youth baseball players can playon multiple teams, local and travelteams, playing 70 games or more peryear over 8 consecutive months (21).Fleisig and Andrews (13) stated thatthe huge rise in elbow injuries in youthpitchers is related to the extendedcompetitive baseball playing time.These data from previous studiesprompted the USA Baseball Medicaland Safety Advisory Committee tomake 6 recommendations, of which 4that relate to this article are listed. Theyare that (a) pitchers take 3 months offduring the year, (b) pitchers learn goodpitching mechanics, (c) pitchers shouldget involved in a year-round physicalconditioning program, and (d) limitparticipation to 1 team per season(26). Based on these recommendations,it is suggested that youth athletes getinvolved in other sports throughoutthe year that could increase their ath-leticism, allow the young athlete toexperience other activities, and offset

any potential burnout from playing 1sport continuously for 12 months (13).

Furthermore, it has been suggested thatproper sports training should begin inchildhood with long-term athleticdevelopment (LTAD) in mind (4,7,17).The LTAD model suggests that thereare vital “windows of opportunity” dur-ing youth developmental years (17).However, this is difficult to accomplishif you only work with a young athleteperiodically throughout each year andare not involved in their continuedtraining as they grow and mature.Hopefully, youth athletes are playingmultiple sports throughout the yearbecause physical fitness components,such as strength, speed, and power, willbe enhanced. Therefore, a programdesigned for youth athletes should besignificantly different from that of theadults from an intensity, volume, andtotal daily training time standpoint.Furthermore, it should consider ana-tomical and biological age, length oftraining, and be flexible (7,17).

Anatomical age refers to a number ofstages of anatomical growth that canbe recognized by identifying variousdevelopmental characteristics (7). Inthis article, the stage of prepubertyfor boys, indicative of a slow and bal-anced development when the func-tions of some internal organs becomemore efficient, is defined as the chro-nological ages of 7–12 years and will be

KEY WORDS :

baseball; youth; long toss throwing;rotator cuff exercises; plyometrics;medicine ball training; resistancetraining

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broken into 2 age categories from 7–9and 10–12 years for resistance training.For the long toss throwing programsdescribed in this article, this age rangefor the youth baseball players is dividedinto 3 age categories, 7–8, 9–10, and11–12 years. The stage of puberty forboys generally occurs from 12 to 14years, but in this article, the chronolog-ical ages of 13–14 years will be used forthe resistance training and long tossthrowing program described later inthis article. This stage is indicative offast growth and development in height,weight, and the efficiency of some or-gans, as well as sexual maturation withchange in interests and behaviors (7).

Biological age means “the physiologi-cal development of the internal organsand systems in the body that helpdetermine the physiological potential,both in training and competition, toreach a high-performance level” (7). Ifa coach believes in a firm chronologicalage classification system or does nottake age into consideration, this couldresult in misjudgments, bad evalua-tions, and poor coaching and trainingdecisions for a particular athlete. Twoyouth athletes with the same anatom-ical age, who appear similar in height,weight, and muscular development,could be of different biological ageand have different abilities to performvarious training tasks (7).

For length of training, previous researchby Escamilla et al. (9) demonstrated thatyouth baseball players, aged 11–15years, increased throwing velocity aftercompleting a 4-week combined rotatorcuff and long toss throwing program.Most recently, Escamilla et al. (10) indi-cated that high school baseball players,

aged 14–17 years, increased throwingvelocity after completing 1 of 3 different6-week resistance training programsthat used either the Thrower’s 10program, Keiser pneumatic resistancemachine exercise program, or plyomet-ric program alone (10). This study dem-onstrated that no single resistancetraining program was more effectivethan the other in increasing throwingvelocity. However, the authors statedthat the Thrower’s 10 and plyometricprograms were the easiest to implementbecause both programs used minimumand inexpensive resistance devices(tubing, dumbbells, and medicine balls).On another note, it was mentioned inboth articles that the short duration ofthe studies was advantageous becauseover the course of a year, oftentimesyoung athletes are playing multiplesports, are involved with other extracur-ricular activities, and they do not havethe opportunity to complete long-termresistance training programs.

Training to improve throwing velocityis only 1 aspect of overall baseball per-formance. There are also the aspects ofhaving fun, bat velocity, running, agility,injury prevention, and overall healthand fitness. Therefore, those that trainyouth baseball players should use infor-mation from research and strength andconditioning to develop age-appropriateresistance training programs for youthbaseball players.

The goal of this article is to providereaders with examples of 6-week pre-season resistance training programs foryouth baseball players that are researchbased, relate to the movements of thegame, and do not take a significantamount of equipment or time to

complete. Additionally, this articlepresents medicine ball and resistancetraining exercises as well as rotator cuffexercises accompanied with a long tossthrowing program for youth baseballplayers aged 7–14 years. The aspectsof flexibility, speed, agility, and condi-tioning are not presented in this article.

PROGRAM DESIGN

The weekly program design in this arti-cle for the youth baseball player incor-porates plyometric medicine ball andfull-body resistance training exerciseson Monday, Wednesday, and an optionfor Friday in addition to rotator cuffexercises and a long toss throwingprogram on Tuesday and Thursdaybefore baseball practice. The programsdesigned in this article are intended todevelop explosive rotational power thatmimic various parts of baseball move-ments, tendon, muscle, trunk, and armstrength, as well as joint flexibility.Table 1 displays the weekly schedule.

PLYOMETRIC PROGRAM

The plyometric resistance programdesigned in this article consists ofmedicine ball exercises performedexplosively. For this program, all themedicine ball exercises are to be per-formed using the stretch-shorteningcycle, which requires a rapid eccentricmuscle action (prestretch) followedimmediately by a countermovementthat involves a rapid concentric muscleaction to generate peak force asquickly as possible (10,16). All themedicine ball exercises involve theentire body, sequencing from the lowerbody to the torso to the upper body.These movements mainly take place inthe transverse and diagonal planes,

Table 1Weekly training schedule (7–14 years)

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday (optional)

Medicine ball Thrower’s 10 Medicine ball 17 UERE Medicine ball

Resistance train Long toss Resistance train Long toss Resistance train

Baseball practice Baseball practice

17 UERE 5 17 upper extremity resistance exercises.

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which were chosen because of theirspecificity to throwing, hitting, andsimilar baseball movements. Becauseof the ballistic and explosive nature ofthe medicine ball training, slightlyfewer repetitions are used during thistraining compared with the Thrower’s10 exercises and the resistance trainingprograms (10). Players between theages of 7 and 9 years will use medicineballs that weigh between 2 and 6 lbs,whereas players between the ages of10 and 14 years will use medicine ballsthat weigh between 4 and 8 lbs. How-ever, if modifications need to be madebecause of different maturation statusor overall strength, adjust the weight ofthe medicine ball accordingly. Eachexercise should be performed as explo-sively as possible. The players, depend-ing on age, will perform 2 sets of 6–10repetitions (reps) 2–3 times per weekwith 60–90 seconds of rest betweensets. Weeks 1 and 4 will be for 10 reps(2 lb5 7- to 9-year-olds and 4 lb5 10-to 14-year-olds), weeks 2 and 5 will befor 8 reps (4 lb 5 7- to 9-year-olds and6 lb 5 10- to 14-year-olds), and weeks3 and 6 will be for 6 reps (6 lb 5 7- to9-year-olds and 8 lb 5 10- to 14-year-olds) while performing the exerciseproperly. For example, see Tables 2–4for exercise programs.

The 9 medicine ball exercises used inthis article are based primarily on theresearch by Escamilla et al. (10) andSzymanski et al. (25) and are as follows:(a) chest pass—performed first withright foot forward and then performedwith left foot forward while standing3 ft away from the wall (Figure 1Aand 1B), (b) perpendicular throw—performed first with the right foot for-ward and then performed with the leftfoot forward and performed on bothsides of the body while standing 3 ftaway from the wall (Figure 2A and 2B),(c) ear throw—performed with ball firstheld on right side of the body and thenwith ball held on left side of the bodywhile standing 3 ft away from the wall(Figure 3A and 3B), (d) rotary straight-arm toss—performed on both sides ofthe body while standing 3 ft awayfrom the wall (Figure 4A and 4B), (e)Hitter’s push—performed on bothsides of the body while standingwith back foot 10 ft away from thewall (Figure 5A and 5B), (f ) squat tothrust (Figure 6A and 6B), (g) overheadslam (Figure 7A and 7B), (h) Lunge fig-ure 8 throw–performed while standingwith back foot 10 ft away from the wall(Figure 8A–D), and (i) standing diagonalwood chop throw—performed on bothsides of the body (Figure 9A and 9B).

RESISTANCE PROGRAM

Before beginning a resistance trainingprogram, make sure that youth athletesknow how to perform all exercisesproperly. This can be accomplished byhaving a certified strength and condi-tioning coach who demonstrates andexplains how to correctly perform allthe exercises before the players performthem. Additionally, it is important thatthe coach correct improper liftingtechnique, answer any of the athlete’squestions, and provide positive encour-agement during the training sessions.The National Strength and Condition-ing Association (NSCA) has writtenyouth resistance training guidelinesand recommends 1–3 sets of 6–15 repswith age-appropriate weight loads (11).Additionally, the NSCA recommendsthat resistance is increased gradually(5–10%) as strength and exercise tech-nique improve and athletes becomeskilled in the various exercise proce-dures (11). According to Faigenbaumand Westcott (12), 7- to 9-year-oldsrespond well to brief exercise sessionsthat use moderate weight loads andhigher reps. Bompa (6) states that theattention span for youths 7–9 years isvery short, they cannot sit and listen forlong periods of time, and they want tobe actively moving around. Therefore, itis recommended in Table 2, which hasbeen modified from Szymanski (24),that 7- to 9-year-olds only perform 1set of a 9 station full-body exercise pro-gram for 10–15 reps of the resistancetraining exercises 2 times per week(12). There should be 60–90 secondsof rest between sets.

The NSCA, in its youth resistancetraining guidelines, recommends thatathletes aged 10–12 years perform 1–3sets of 6–15 reps with age-appropriateweight loads 2–3 times per week (11).Additionally, the NSCA recommendsthat resistance is increased gradually(5–10%) as strength and exercise tech-nique improve and athletes becomeskilled in the various exercise proce-dures (11). Because these playersattain similar results from resistancetraining as 7- to 9-year-olds, it is rec-ommended in Table 3, which has been

Table 2Nine station exercise program (7–9 years)

Exercise Muscle group(s) Sets Reps Frequency

Medicine ball (9 exercises) Full body 1 6–10 2 times per wk

DB squat Quadriceps and gluteals 1 10–15 2 times per wk

DB Romanian deadlift Hamstrings 1 10–15 2 times per wk

1-Arm DB row Latissimus dorsi 1 10–15 2 times per wk

DB bench press Pectoralis major 1 10–15 2 times per wk

DB hammer curls Biceps 1 10–15 2 times per wk

DB triceps kickback Triceps 1 10–15 2 times per wk

Trunk curls Rectus abdominus 1 10–15 2 times per wk

Quadruped Erector spinae 1 10–15 2 times per wk

Use 2–6 lb medicine balls for weekly routines. Use soup cans as resistance if you do not haveDB. DB 5 dumbbell; reps 5 repetitions.

Modified with permission from Szymanski (24).

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modified from Szymanski (24), that 10to 12-year-olds perform 1–2 sets ofa 10 station full-body exercise pro-gram for 10–15 reps for resistancetraining exercises 2–3 times per week(12). There should be 60–90 secondsof rest between sets.

For young athletes aged 13–14 years,the NSCA recommends 1–3 sets of

6–15 reps (11). Additionally, the NSCArecommends that resistance is increasedgradually (5–10%) as strength and exer-cise technique improve and athletesbecome skilled in the various exerciseprocedures (11). In Table 4, it is recom-mended that beginners, those with lessthan or equal to 2–3 months liftingexperience, perform 1–2 sets of an 11

station full-body exercise program for10–15 reps for resistance training exer-cises 2–3 times per week. For moreadvanced athletes, those with at least12 months of resistance training experi-ence, it is recommended in Table 4,which has been modified from Szyman-ski (24), to perform 2–3 sets of an 11station full-body exercise program for

Figure 2. Perpendicular throw. (A) Starting position of perpendicular throw. (B) Ending position of perpendicular throw; explosivelythrow medicine ball 3 ft away from wall. Make sure to perform throws from both sides of the body.

Figure 1. Chest pass. (A) Starting position for chest pass 3 ft away from wall. (B) Ending position for chest pass. Extend elbows andexplosively push medicine ball toward wall.

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8–12 reps for resistance training exer-cises 2–3 times per week (12). Thereshould be 60–90 seconds of restbetween sets.

ROTATOR CUFF PROGRAM

The rotator cuff is comprised of 4muscles (supraspinatus, infraspinatus,

teres minor, and subscapularis) whichare important in shoulder movementsand in maintaining glenohumeral(shoulder) joint stability (20). Thesemuscles arise from the scapulaand connect to the head of thehumerus, forming a cuff at the shoul-der joint. They hold the head of

the humerus in the small and shallowglenoid fossa of the scapula. Theglenohumeral joint has been analo-gously described as a golf ball (headof the humerus) sitting on a golf tee(glenoid fossa).

The Thrower’s 10 program focuses onmuscles in the throwing arm, such as

Figure 3. Ear throw. (A) Starting position 3 ft away from wall. (B) Ending position. Make sure to perform throws explosively fromboth sides of the body.

Figure 4. Rotary straight-arm throw. (A) Starting position 3 ft away from wall. (B) Ending position. Make sure to throw the medicineball explosively against the wall from both sides of the body.

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the rotator cuff, biceps, triceps, andforearm muscles (28). Those whotrain youth baseball players whowould like to incorporate variety intotheir program are encouraged toinclude the 17 upper extremity resis-tance exercises (UERE) described byEscamilla et al. (9) in an alternating

fashion on days when the rotator cuffexercises are being completed at thebaseball field. For example, if 10- to14-year-old players are being trained,the Thrower’s 10 program could beperformed on Tuesday, whereas the17 UERE could be performed onThursday for the 6-week preseason

program. Additionally, it is relativelyeasy to incorporate these exercisesinto the beginning of each baseballpractice at the end of an activedynamic warm-up. Once playersknow how to perform the exercisesproperly, it only takes 10 minutes orless to complete.

Figure 5. Hitter’s push. (A) Starting position 3 ft away from wall. (B) Ending position. Make sure to perform throws explosively againstthe wall from both sides of the body.

Figure 6. Squat to thrust. (A) Starting position. (B) Ending position. Make sure to perform a half squat and then explosively jumpand extend elbows to thrust medicine ball as high as possible. Make sure to inform player to not catch the ball becausethey could injure themselves.

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The Thrower’s 10 program consists ofthe following exercises: (a) diagonal 2(D2) pattern flexion and extension, (b)lateral raise and 308 V-up, (c) bent-overlateral raise, (d) bent-over straight-armextension, (e) internal and externalrotation at 908 abduction, (f ) bicepscurls, (g) overhead triceps extension,seated wrist flexion and extension,seated pronation and supination, (h)push-ups (from wall, bench, or floor),

(i) press-ups, and (j) bent-over rows withscapula retraction. Photos and detaileddescriptions of all these exercises canbe found in the study by Escamillaet al. (10), online in PDF format atwww.asmi.org/SportsMed/throwing/thrower10, and online in videos at www.asmi.org/SportsMed/media/thrower10.The players, depending on age, will per-form 1–2 sets of 8–12 reps 2–3 times perweek with 60–90 seconds of rest

between sets. Weeks 1 and 4 will befor 12 reps, weeks 2 and 5 will be for10 reps, and weeks 3 and 6 will be for8 reps with the greatest resistance possi-ble, between 1 and 5 lb, while performingthe exercise properly. If players are usingresistance bands to perform the exer-cises, then those who train them musthave different color bands that representdifferent resistance. It is recommended tohave bands that are between 1 and 5 lb of

Figure 7. Overhead slam. (A) Starting position. (B) Ending position. Make sure to explosively throw the medicine ball out in front ofthe face against the floor so the ball will not rebound and hit the player in the face.

Figure 8. Lunge figure 8 throw. (A) Starting position with back foot 10 ft away from wall. (B) Second position. Take the medicine ballback to apply the stretch-shortening cycle. (C) Third position; take medicine ball behind the head. (D) Ending position;explosively throw medicine ball against the wall. Make sure to perform exercise from both sides of the body.

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resistance. For 7- to 8-year-old beginners,start with 1 lb of resistance and advanceto the 2 and then 3 lb resistance bandsover the 6-week preseason program. For9- to 10-year-old beginners, start with 2lb of resistance and advance to the 3 andthen 4 lb resistance bands over the6-week preseason program. For 11–14

year-old beginners, start with 3 lb ofresistance and advance to the 4 and 5lb resistance bands over the 6-week pre-season program. If, for some reason,coaches or players only have 1 set ofbands, then the players executing theexercises can change the resistance byhow much tension is placed on the

bands. For more tension, stand furtheraway from the point of band attachment(i.e., the fence or wall). The players canalso use dumbbells of the same weight(1–5 lb) if they do not have resistancebands. For those that do not have bandsor dumbbells, use the player’s baseball

glove as resistance. To increase intensity,

Figure 9. Standing diagonal wood chop throw. (A) Starting position with back foot 10 ft away from wall. (B) Ending position. Throwmedicine ball explosively down and across body. Make sure to perform the exercise from both sides of the body.

Table 3Ten station exercise program (10–12 years)

Exercise Muscle group(s) Sets Reps Frequency

Medicine ball (9 exercises) Full body 1–2 6–10 2–3 times per wk

DB squat Quadriceps and gluteals 1–2 10–15 2–3 times per wk

DB Romanian deadlift Hamstrings 1–2 10–15 2–3 times per wk

DB lunge Quadriceps and gluteals 1–2 10–15 2–3 times per wk

1-Arm DB row Latissimus dorsi 1–2 10–15 2–3 times per wk

DB bench press Pectoralis major 1–2 10–15 2–3 times per wk

Reverse grip DB curls Biceps 1–2 10–15 2–3 times per wk

Lying DB elbow extension Triceps 1–2 10–15 2–3 times per wk

Bridges Rectus abdominus, obliques, erectors 1–2 10–15 s 2–3 times per wk

Quadruped Erector spinae 1–2 10–15 2–3 times per wk

Use 4–8 lb medicine ball for weekly routines. Use soup cans as resistance if you do not have DB. DB 5 dumbbell; reps 5 repetitions.

Modified with permission from Szymanski (24).

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add 1, 2, or 3 5-oz baseballs inside theglove wrapped with a rubber band tohold the baseballs inside the glove. Ulti-mately, those that train baseball playersare only limited by their imagination forresistance devices to perform rotator cuffexercises. As long as the resistance iswithin the 1–5 lb resistance range, theathlete should be fine to perform theexercises. Each exercise should be per-formed in a 3-second repetition (1 sec-ond for the concentric phase and 2seconds for the eccentric phase).

Photos of the 17 UERE using MVPelastic bands (A Change of Pace, Inc,Davis, CA) can be found in the articleby Escamilla et al. (9) and include thefollowing: (a) elbow extension, (b) arm

extension, (c) chest fly, (d) reversechest fly (performed the opposite ofchest fly), (e) rowing, (f ) internal rota-tion with shoulder flexed 908, (g) exter-nal rotation with shoulder flexed 908,(h) internal rotation with shoulderabducted 08, (i) external rotation withshoulder abducted 08 (performed theopposite of internal rotation withshoulder abducted 08), (j) internalrotation with shoulder abducted 908,(k) external rotation with shoulderabducted 908 (performed the oppositeof internal rotation with shoulderabducted 908), (l) shoulder abductionto 908, (m) shoulder abduction to1808, (n) D2 diagonal pattern flexion,(o) reverse throw, (p) D2 diagonal pat-tern extension (reverse of D2 diagonal

pattern flexion, starting with shoulderflexed and externally rotated andelbow bent and ending with shoulderextended and internally rotated andelbow straight with hand at oppositehip), and (q) standard forward throw.Each of the 17 UERE should be per-formed in a 3-second repetition (1 sec-ond for the concentric phase and2 seconds for the eccentric phase).Make sure that each player isinstructed on how to perform eachexercise with proper form and tech-nique and use enough resistance foreach exercise that allows them to per-form 1 set of 20–25 reps but no more.Instruct players to adjust the tension inthe MVP elastic bands to accommo-date their improvements in muscular

Table 4Eleven station exercise program (13–14 years)

Exercise Muscle group(s) Sets Beginning reps Sets Advanced reps Frequency

Medicine ball (9exercises)

Full body 1–2 6–10 2 6–10 2–3 timesper wk

Barbell squat Quadriceps and gluteals 1–2 10–15 2–3 8–12 2–3 timesper wk

BB Romanian deadlift Hamstrings 1–2 10–15 2–3 8–12 2–3 timesper wk

BB or DB step-up Quadriceps and gluteals 1–2 10–15 2–3 8–12 2–3 timesper wk

1-Arm DB row Latissimus dorsi 1–2 10–15 2–3 8–12 2–3 timesper wk

BB or DB bench press Pectoralis major 1–2 10–15 2–3 8–12 2–3 timesper wk

DB pullover Latissimus dorsi, pectoralis major, serratusanterior, triceps

1–2 10–15 2–3 8–12 2–3 timesper wk

Reverse grip EZ-barcurls

Biceps 1–2 10–15 2–3 8–12 2–3 timesper wk

Overhead DB tricepsextension

Triceps 1–2 10–15 2–3 8–12 2–3 timesper wk

Bridges Rectus abdominus, obliques, erectors 1–2 15–20 s 2–3 8–12 2–3 timesper wk

Quadruped Erector spinae 1–2 10–15 2–3 8–12 2–3 timesper wk

Start with 1 set of 10–15 reps before advancing to 2 or 3 sets of 8–12 reps. You could use resistance machines if desired. Use 4–8 lb medicine ballsfor weekly routines. BB 5 barbell; DB 5 dumbbell; reps 5 repetitions.

Modified with permission from Szymanski (24).

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strength throughout the trainingprogram.

LONG TOSS PROGRAM

The topic of long toss throwing forbaseball pitchers is a long-standingdebate among baseball pitchingcoaches as well as for those that trainbaseball pitchers. Some advocate it,whereas some do not. Interested read-ers only need to enter the topic on theircomputer to find the many opinionsexpressed regarding this form of train-ing. However, the long toss throwingprograms described in this article arefor all injury-free players, no matterwhat the position, based on age andare not for maximum distances. Ac-cording to Axe et al. (3), “the onlyway to mimic the forces of a baseballthrow is to actually throw a ball.” Thelong toss throwing programs in this arti-cle are progressive sport-specific regi-mens for noninjured baseball playersthat gradually expose them to the de-mands they will experience as they playthe game. Because this article assumesthat each youth baseball player ishealthy, only 6 weeks of throwing isrequired. However, if readers are inter-ested in a more individualized throwingprogram for those players returningfrom injury, see the articles by Axeet al. (1,3). The goals of the long tossthrowing programs in this article are toprepare the baseball player for theworkload experienced during gamesand to minimize the chances of injury.One of the major features of these longtoss throwing programs is that they areresearch based. In support of this, Axeet al. (1) stated, “In this era of evidence-based medicine, it is important thattreatment interventions be based onobjective data, whenever possible.”

Research completed about how manythrows are made during actual colle-giate baseball games by all the variouspositions in baseball has been reportedpreviously by Barrett and Burton (5).The results indicated that most throwsduring a college game are made bypitchers (51%), whereas catchers make29% of the total throws per game. Therest of the throws made during a col-lege game, which are made by all theother position players, range between 3and 5%. Additionally, the distancethrown by position and number ofthrows per game was reported as well.Most throws were made between thedistance of 46 and 60 ft, and thesethrows were made mostly by the pitch-ers and catchers. The longest throws(180 ft and longer) during games weremade by outfielders.

Recently, Fleisig et al. (15) comparedthe biomechanics of baseball pitchingand long toss throwing. They had col-lege baseball pitchers throw fastballsfrom a pitching mound, which is 60ft, 6 in from home plate and thenthrows with a baseball from 121.4,180.4 ft, and maximum distance fromflat ground. Pitchers were instructed tothrow “hard, on a horizontal line” forthe throws from 121.4 and 180.4 ft.There were no constraints on the tra-jectory of the throws for maximum dis-tance. The conclusion from this studywas that hard, horizontal flat-groundthrows are biomechanically similar topitching from a mound “and are, there-fore, reasonable exercises for pitchers.”These authors did, however, statethat maximum distance throws pro-duced increased shoulder internal rota-tion torque, elbow varus torque, andchanges in throwing motions. Becauseof these results, the authors did state

that caution is advised when perform-ing long toss throws for maximum dis-tance for rehabilitation and training.

With the information provided by thestudies of Barrett and Burton (5) andFleisig et al. (15), it is recommendedthat long toss throwing programs forhigh school and more mature baseballplayers are no longer than 180 ft. How-ever, because this article deals specifi-cally with youth baseball players,specific recommendations will be pro-vided for them. The long toss throwingprograms in Table 5 for youth baseballplayers aged 7–10 years old were mod-ified by the author of this article fromthe distances and times for the olderyouth players in Table 6 recommendedby the research of Escamilla et al. (9)and are not for maximum distance.Furthermore, it must be stated thatyouth baseball players do not generallyhave sound throwing mechanics, sothose that train them should teachyouth baseball players how to throwproperly. However, it is beyond thescope of this article to address howto teach proper baseball throwingmechanics. Interested readers aretherefore directed to the articles byFleisig et al. (14), Marsh (18), andWhiteley (27). The distances and timesin Table 5 have been used to train DixieYouth baseball players in North Loui-siana by the author. These programsshould be performed at the baseballfield with the other players on the teamafter completing an active dynamicwarm-up and the rotator cuff program.The only equipment needed for theseprograms are baseballs, a glove, anda tape measure. The total duration ofthe programs for 7- to 10-year-olds is25 minutes, which addresses the shortattention span of young players.

Table 5Long toss program for youth aged 7–10 years

Age (y) WU: 5 min PT: 3 min each (total 5 9 min) LT: 3 min each (total 5 6 min) HT: 5 each SIRS (min)

7–8 209 309, 409, 509 509, 609 509, 409, 309 3

9–10 259 359, 559, 759 759, 909 759, 559, 359 3

HT 5 hard throws; LT 5 long toss; PT 5 pivot throws; SIRS 5 shoulder internal rotation stretches; WU 5 warm-up.

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Before beginning the long toss throw-ing program, it is strongly recommen-ded that those training the baseballplayers put cones on the outfield areathat mark the specific throwing distan-ces, measured with the tape measure,to ensure compliance. After a 5-minutewarm-up throwing at a 20-ft distance,have players aged 7–8 years performpivot throws with an arc (no stepallowed) for 9 minutes (30-ft throwsfor 3minutes, 40-ft throws for 3minutes,and 50-ft throws for 3 minutes). Then,have each player perform long tossthrows with an arc (1 step allowed)for 6 minutes (50-ft throws for3 minutes and 60-ft throws for 3 mi-nutes). For these players, have themend their throwing by performing5 hard throws (2 steps allowed) at50 ft, 5 hard throws at 40 ft, and 5 hardthrows at 30 ft while using properthrowing mechanics.

After a 5-minute warm-up throwing ata 25-ft distance, have players aged9–10 years perform pivot throws withan arc (no step allowed) for 9 minutes(35-ft throws for 3 minutes, 55-ftthrows for 3 minutes, and 75-ft throwsfor 3 minutes). Then, have each playerperform long toss throws with an arc(1 step allowed) for 6 minutes (75-ftthrows for 3 minutes and 90-ft throwsfor 3 minutes). For these players, havethem end their throwing by perform-ing 5 hard throws (2 steps allowed) at75 ft, 5 hard throws at 55 ft, and 5 hardthrows at 35 ft while using properthrowing mechanics.

The long toss programs listed in Table 6have been shown to be effective inenhancing throwing performance inyouth baseball players (2,9). These

programs were implemented by Esca-milla et al. (9) for youth baseball pitch-ers aged 11–15 years and demonstratedstatistically significant improvementsin throwing velocity compared witha control group that did not engagein the 4-week baseball-specific condi-tioning program. Just like the 7- to 10-year-old players listed above, instructthe 11- to 14-year-olds to begin theirlong toss program after completing anactive dynamic warm-up and the rota-tor cuff program at the baseball field.The total duration of the programs for11- to 14-year-olds is 35 minutes,which addresses the short attentionspan of young players. After a 5-minutewarm-up throwing at a 50-ft distance,have players aged 11–14 years performpivot throws with an arc (no step al-lowed) for 15 minutes (60-ft throws for5 minutes, 75-ft throws for 5 minutes,and 100-ft throws for 5 minutes). Then,have each player perform long tossthrows with an arc (1 step allowed)for 10 minutes (100-ft throws for 5 mi-nutes and 125-ft throws and beyond for5 minutes). For players aged 11–12years, have them end their throwingby performing 5 hard throws (2 stepsallowed) at 100 ft, 5 hard throws at 75ft, and 5 hard throws at 50 ft whileusing proper throwing mechanics.Have players aged 13–14 years endtheir throwing by performing 5 hardthrows (2 steps allowed) at 150 ft, 5hard throws at 125 ft, and 5 hardthrows at 100 ft while using properthrowing mechanics.

The final 3 minutes of all long tossthrowing programs for youth baseballplayers (7–14 years) should includeshoulder internal rotation stretches,

which consist of the sleeper stretch at908 of shoulder flexion (Figure 10),sleeper stretch at 458 of shoulder flex-ion (Figure 11), and horizontal cross-arm (Figure 12). Each stretch should beperformed for 1 set of 30 seconds with30 seconds of rest period in betweenstretches (22). This should take nomore than 3 minutes to complete.Research completed by Oyama et al.(22) demonstrated that collegiate base-ball pitchers significantly improvedacute internal rotation and horizontaladduction range of motion after per-forming a single session of posteriorshoulder stretches using 1 of 3 differentposterior stretches for 3 sets of 30 sec-onds with 30 seconds of rest between

Table 6Long toss program for youth aged 11–14 years

Age (y) WU: 5 min PT: 5 min each (total 5 15 min) LT: 5 min each (total 5 10 min) HT: 5 each SIRS (min)

11–12 509 609, 759, 1009 1009, 1259 1009, 759, 509 3

13–14 509 609, 759, 1009 1009, 1259 1509, 1259, 1009 3

HT 5 hard throws; LT 5 long toss; PT 5 pivot throws; SIRS 5 shoulder internal rotation stretches; WU 5 warm-up.

Data obtained from Escamilla et al. (9).

Figure 10. Sleeper stretch at 908. Lyingdown with the scapula stabilized against the ground,the shoulder is flexed to 908with elbow in 908 of flexion.Contralateral arm is used tostretch arm into internalrotation.

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each trial. None of the 3 stretches wasstatistically different than the other.Therefore, all 3 stretches are used inthis article for variety. However, itshould be mentioned that McClure

et al. (19) found that after 4 weeks ofstretching once daily for 5 reps of 30second holds, the horizontal cross-armstretch resulted in significantly greaterinternal rotation range of motion thanthe sleeper stretch or not stretching inthe control subjects of noninjured rec-reational athletes. So, if either of thesleeper stretches is uncomfortable,a youth baseball player could simplyuse the horizontal cross-arm stretchand be confident that it would havea positive effect on internal rotationrange of motion.

If a player cannot make throws withproper mechanics at the farther dis-tance(s), modify the program andshorten the distance by 10–20 ft forplayers aged 7–10 years and 25–50 ftfor players aged 11–14 years accord-ingly. In the event that players cannotmake throws from a respective dis-tance that they usually can completebecause of shoulder soreness, givethe player 1–2 days of rest and havethem perform 4 simple shoulderimpingement tests: (a) touchdown test(Figure 13), (b) hand on oppositeshoulder test (Figure 14A and 14B),(c) over and under test (Figure 15),

and (d) hand behind low back test(Figure 16). If pain results from any 1or more of these tests, shoulderimpingement is possible, and it is rec-ommended that the player havea sports medicine physician evaluatethe area of pain (13). For the elbow,if there is tenderness or pain to thetouch at the growth plate (apophysis)of the inside of the upper arm bone atthe elbow (medial epicondyle) or onthe outside aspect of the elbow, it isalso recommended that the playersee a sports medicine physician toassess the area of pain.

CONCLUSIONS

This article was written with theunderstanding that a youth player’sannual schedule may be very busybecause of playing multiple sports,being involved in extracurricularactivities, and being involved withfamily events among other possibleactivities. With all these other occur-rences going on, and based on theprevious research with youth baseballplayers, the programs featured inthis article were designed to only be6 weeks in length and occur duringthe preseason, so that the youthplayer would hopefully not get burnedout, lose interest, or get bored beforethe summer baseball season. Further-more, with the reduction of physicaleducation classes that youngsters maybe experiencing today in grade school,it is a good idea to have 2 or moreadditional days of exercise that isplanned and structured. Plyometricand resistance training exercises inaddition to rotator cuff exercises anda long toss throwing program areincluded in this article. These pro-grams were designed to incorporateexercises that address the entire bodyand movements of the game. Increas-ing the power and strength of a youngathlete may enhance performance,possibly offset injury, increase theiroverall fitness level, and teach life-long activity skills. However, it mustbe stated that it is very important tounderstand the training programs out-lined in this article can be modified

Figure 11. Sleeper stretch at 458. Lyingdown with the scapula stabilized against the ground,the shoulder is flexed to 458with elbow in 908 of flexion.Contralateral arm is used tostretch arm into internalrotation.

Figure 12. Horizontal cross-arm. Thedominant shoulder is flexedto 908 and passively horizontally adducted to endrange using the contralateral arm.

Figure 13. Touchdown test. Bothshoulders are flexed abovehead. If pain exists in eithershoulder, shoulderimpingement is possible.

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according to the player’s stage of mat-uration rather than the chronologicalage listed in the various tables. Youthplayers of the same chronological agemay differ by a few years in their level

of biological maturation. Therefore, itis important to adjust the various pro-grams to the individual athlete and letthem develop at their own pace.

Conflicts of Interest and Source of Funding:The author reports no conflicts of interestand no source of funding.

David J.

Szymanski is anAssociate Profes-sor, the headbaseball strengthand conditioningcoach, and holdsthe Eva Cun-

ningham Endowed Professorship inEducation at Louisiana Tech University.

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