Getting Your Velocity Back
Newsletter 42/100
As I mentioned a few days ago. We have started a fund for youth baseball players and families in need. The memories that I had during my experience in youth baseball are irreplaceable, and helping others have those same memories is a no-brainer.
We are a 501c3 organization and our mission has always been the same. The link to donate to the fund is right here: YOUTH BASEBALL MEMORIES FUND
Anyway, back to the article.
Getting Your Velocity Back
The season started, you're pitching well but things aren't as sharp. The travel from games is getting to you, your body feels beat down and the class schedule isn't helping. You can't ever really rest to your fullest, but you need to find out what's going on.
Your body feels okay, but your mechanics look less sharp. You do not feel as explosive and you can't really make out why everything is the way that it is. You are hammering mechanical work and feels and doing all your plyos but you just feel like you are off.
What gives?
Well, it could be a lot of things.
When it comes to the season, it really pays to have someone in your corner helping you look at all the facets of your game and lifestyle. Simple things can really make or break you over 150 games in the minors, or over the sprint that is the college baseball season.
Sleep
How much are you sleeping? A 96 mph arm is doing okay to start his season, but he is playing another position while he pitches and is travelling late to games. He gets home at midnight and has a 7:30 class the next day. He is not sleeping enough to overcome the deficit, and his performance is showing.
Still a great athlete, he holds his velocity in the 91-93 range. However when you throw 96 in highschool, you want to be closer to that as often as you can be.
Only sleeping for 7.5 hours a night won't cut it. You need more as an elite athlete. Most schools have a policy of being allowed late entry if you return from a game late enough. It puts players at risk of injury from short sleep. You should try to get in bed as early as you can, but if your school allows it you should take advantage of the rules.
Naps are also great, you should get one when you can. I remember before I hit my first HS home run I took a nap on the way to the game. Especially for upperclassmen that have early release, getting home and getting 1-2 hours of a nap before practice is huge.
Workload
If you are like this guy, then your off-season likely didn't build you up for the stresses of playing games multiple times a week on top of being a starter. Especially if you take pitching more seriously than your other position, the lack of chronic workload built to be a daily position player is impossible to overcome. Your body will be beat up, and you wont really get a break until the season ends.
So what do you do?
You have to take time off when you can. It is more important to be well rested than it is for you to get in the extra reps on your lighter days.
As always, take the light days light and the heavy days heavy. Make your starts your hardest days, try to get a lift in after the game. Make sure you are taking your bullpens lightly, while still maintaining the chronic volume you need.
It's a hard balance, but knowing when to “be lazy” and when to push the gas is important. Do not forget, the best velocity training is the training you get when you're fully rested and juiced with adrenaline on the game mound to a hitter with pride on the line. You will be able to use the games as valuable reps, pushing your capacity forward if you take the necessary steps to do so.
Conclusion
You really have to do what you have to do during the season. It is hard, but getting the sleep needed is pretty much priority number one.
This next part is the most important thing I will say, it provides the right frame for your season and the issues you will come across:
The time to get better is before the season, during the season your job is to get yourself ready to compete at 100%.
Recover during the season, stress the body before it.
John