By Billy Felo
Now that the World Series is over, baseball season SHOULD be done for almost everyone. This holds especially true for youth athletes as late fall into early winter is a great time to separate from the game.
Some professional baseball players play winter ball for various reasons, but your youth athlete is not a professional (yet!) and needs this break from the game for several reasons.
Reason 1 – Athletes mentally need a break from their sport.
Imagine if you had to work seven days a week. Even if you love your job, working every single day would prove redundant, and you would soon grow tired of it.
That’s what playing and practicing a sport year-round is like for youth athletes. While they may absolutely love playing baseball, players still need a mental break from the game. When practiced year-round, baseball becomes more like a job and less like a game.
They say absence makes the heart grow fonder. If you want them to continue loving the game, a short break is necessary to build their excitement to return.
Reason 2 – Athletes physically need a break from baseball skill work.
Baseball is loaded with unbalanced movements. While throwing a baseball overhand is unnatural, swinging a bat in the same direction hundreds of times can also cause instabilities in parts of the body.
This is equivalent to driving your car around a racetrack in the same direction thousands of times. Your tires would become unbalanced and weaken over time.
According to the Orthopedic Journal of Sports Medicine, “Single-sport athletes who specialize in baseball at a young age may have a greater predisposition to overuse injury, burnout, and decreased career longevity when compared with multiple-sport athletes.”
Time away from skill work allows youth athletes’ bodies to recalibrate. Abstaining from throwing a ball or swinging a bat gives them time to physically recover and enable proper development for next season.
Reason 3 – Athletes benefit from time away from their sport.
I’m not saying to be inactive once baseball season is over as that’s the last thing I would advocate. Kids need movement every single day, and the offseason is not the time to just play Fortnite and eat Cheetos.
During the offseason, the most advantageous activity for baseball players is to play another sport. Most professional athletes played multiple sports in high school and almost all of them played more than one in their youth years.
“Professional baseball players who participated in multiple sports in high school played in more major league games and experienced lower rates of upper and lower extremity injuries than players who played only baseball in high school,” says the Orthopedic Journal of Sports Medicine.
Even if it’s just for fun, playing another sport increases athleticism, reaction time, strength and agility.
The MMB Offseason Plan
If youth baseball players should be taking a break, how can they be proactive in the offseason?
At Masterful Mechanics Baseball, we are always learning what works best for our athletes, but here are some suggestions and options for your baseball player.
Time Off
How much time off from the game is necessary?
For dedicated players, a minimum of one month and a maximum of six months away from all skill work, such as throwing and hitting, is suggested.
If they play fall baseball, time off will obviously be shorter.
Also, it will depend on how serious a player is about the game. Include them in the decision on how much time they want to take off.
Strength and Mobility Training
If an athlete doesn’t play another sport, they can spend some of the offseason training strength and mobility.
For high school athletes and above, this could include weight-lifting, functional movement exercises and speed/agility work. Younger players can perform bodyweight exercises such as push-ups and pull-ups or simply go outside for free play.
Let them choose how they want to stay active. As long as they’re moving, preferably outside, they’re enhancing their development.
We offer personalized fitness plans and are working on scheduling speed and agility classes this winter.
Skill Development Classes
For the younger age group (5-12), we offer skill development classes starting November 30. Assuming they have taken a break from the game all of November and possibly the entire Fall, these classes are great to get kids moving during the winter months.
Most of the instruction here is basic and laid back with some competitive non-baseball games involved. However, there will be an advanced group for players who would benefit from it.
These classes include skill work in hitting, throwing, pitching, catching and mental training.
Skill-Specific Classes
We will also be holding skill-specific classes starting in January. This gives athletes a break from the game for at least two months in November and December.
These classes are designed for advanced players who are looking to gain an edge for the Spring. Class options are not set in stone, but some options could be arm strength/arm care, hitting, pitching/catching, strength/speed and mental training classes.
Classes will be announced once they are scheduled.
Private Lessons
Private lessons are offered year-round barring at least a month break built in for each player.
For athletes who took a break in the Fall, lessons would be beneficial now through the beginning of Spring. If your athlete played Fall ball, we suggest taking November off and starting private lessons in December at the earliest.
For high school players looking to improve this offseason, we advocate starting private lessons in the Winter to prepare for Spring. This is the optimal way to develop a number of baseball skills.
Mental Training
Mental training is best for ages 12 and up. As athletes get older and face stronger competition, mental skills prove to be a difference maker. This side of the game is not usually addressed, so any mental training provides athletes with an edge over competition.
While we plan to offer mental classes this Winter, we also have personal training for mental skills. This could include work in breathing, visualization, relaxation, confidence-building and focus.
For more information about our services, visit our website at masterfulmechanicsbaseball.com or contact me.
Mental training videos are available on our YouTube Channels at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCy3eI0HDHhsGnguCC1Y7PoA and https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLogukpg0FfQTFnUwZKE3QQ
Closing Thoughts
As you can tell, our main thesis is a break from baseball is absolutely necessary. With at least a month off, players can get a much-needed mental break from the game while letting their bodies heal from the constant and unbalanced movements that baseball entails.
Ensure that athletes stay active when they are taking a break from the game, but please let them choose how they plan to do so. Playing another sport just for fun and getting outside for free play is the ideal way for kids to move!
With this time away from baseball, your athlete will come back stronger, more resilient and will appreciate playing the game that much more.
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