Practice Practice Practice

Anyone who is involved in the game of baseball knows the importance of skill training. A large part of the game of baseball relies on the ability to repeat highly skilled movements. Therefore repeating these skill movements in practice seems to be the logical way to go. The ability to take these skills from practice to game play can separate the elite from the average player. However the fundamental flaw in this logic is the workloads that take place in practice are far greater then that of game play.

Overtraining is a well-documented phenomenon that can lead to significant decrease in ability and performance. The goal of any strength and conditioning coach or performance coach is have their athletes obtain an over reaching state. This state actually leads to a slight decrease of physiological ability, but results in a super compensation phenomenon that eventually ends with a bounce back effect that supersedes the original ability.

This is a well-documented affect that is a practice commonly implemented by professionals. Research on overtraining (resulting in decrease performance without the super compensation effect) seems to be a result of continuous high volume of training. This is the danger in constant high volume skill training. Young athletes who do not give their body's ample time to rest continue to break down with no recovery process in place.

Baseball is a repetitive movement pattern sport. Athletes repeat the same movement patterns over and over. The strain of this practice can lead to an accumulative fatigue affect that can lead to significant breakdowns, with little ability to recover.

Yes practice is important. Strength training, skill training, nutrition, sleep, mental training, vision training, and everyday stress are all catabolic activities that lead to the accumulation of fatigue. Working hard is not the issue here. With hard work comes hard recovery. This is where the super compensation effect can take place and lead to actual gains in performance.

​So what does this mean? Baseball athletes spend a large percentage of their time playing and practicing baseball. This is necessary to continue to develop the tools required to set a player apart and ideally lead to a long career. However this high volume of training also requires some time off. Off-season training should start with no baseball specific activity. Think of it as a progression from 0 to 100, 0 being no baseball activity and 100 being as specific as it comes, baseball season. This linear progression in training should take place from day 1 of the Off-season to day 1 of In-season. If our athletes start their off season working on baseball skills, batting practice and throwing off the mound, this leaves little ability to increase sport specific activities leading to the season. The human body needs a chance to recover and reset from the imbalances that the game of baseball creates.

Take 2 months off throwing and hitting, and gradually progress from catch and T-work to flat grounds and soft toss. Take your time to get game ready! The season is a long one. Your goal should not be to peak for game 1!

Think how much a player can be fatigued after one season. Without proper recovery this fatigue still exists to start season 2. After season 2 this accumulative fatigue exists for the third season. The accumulation effect of fatigue and stress can lead to burn out and performance decreases from one season to another. So take time off! The goal should be to progress from season to season.

Practice does not mean perfect; neither does perfect practice. Smart practice that is properly periodized will lead to the greatest chance of success.

#Practice #OffSeason