The following is a series of videos we posted not long ago on social media. They are excerpts out of a presentation I gave on how we train pitchers with an eye towards their Long-Term Athletic Development. I think you will enjoy them…
Introduction – Long-Term Athletic Development (LTAD) should take into account and help manage an athlete’s training career early on and see it through high school. While size / physical maturity are genetic factors that are out of our control, we certainly take them into consideration when building an athlete’s program over the span of 3-5 years. Playing multiple sports, working on year-round strength/mobility, mechanics, throwing + arm care over the long haul will provide the best chance to succeed. Don’t wait until later in high school to get started.
Arm Care/Health – While throwing a baseball builds resilience/durability in the soft tissue, it does make the arm tight and tired… Getting into a great YEAR-ROUND arm care program as part of an athlete’s LTAD is essential in maintaining good arm health.
Strength/Athleticism – Producing, re-directing and dissipating force requires total athleticism. This includes full body strength/power/mobility of upper/lower body and linear/rotational development of the core. A great year-round strength training program as part of an athlete’s LTAD should address all these variables.
Mechanics – Fixing energy leaks in the delivery and learning to “re-tension” the throw to help us create a more stable and consistent release point from throw-to-throw should be part of every athlete’s long-term athletic development program (LTAD).
Throwing Program – A great throwing program is not 8-10 weeks, it’s year-round, working on velocity, command and situational pitching. This also includes adequate time off of the mound for adequate recovery. A good LTAD program should include a year-round schedule that co-ordinates all of the above.
See ya’ in the gym…
By Nunzio Signore (BA, CSCS, CPT, NASM, FMS)
