by Steve Hammond

When will sports be back to normal? It’s an impossible question to answer in the midst of a situation that no one has dealt with before. There are far greater concerns than when organized sports will resume. But in honor of the #letthekidsplay movement, I thought I’d put together some thoughts on possibilities of how this will play out (on the field).

Sports play such an integral role in the family culture of so many people here in the East Bay Area. Kids are locked down and unallowed to play catch or kick the ball around with their best friend, let alone play in that Memorial weekend tournament that had been on the schedule. We are all chomping at the bit to ‘get back to normal’, but what does that even look like?

First, there is a big difference between pro sports teams playing in front of 50,000 fans and a pair of youth teams playing a game on a Sunday afternoon. There seems to be a realistic expectation that smaller groups of healthy individuals may be able to get back to action earlier than bigger populations.

There are 4 primary factors that I see coming into play as we get kids back on the field and into their sport.

Travel & Large Events

I see a strong likelihood that families will be hesitant to pack up and head to another state in order to play in a 32 team tournament this summer, fall or even winter. Not only the worry of gathering in a concentrated area with potentially thousands of people, but the financial demands of these trips when quite a few of us are feeling the burden of lost wages - or even worse. No doubt, some families (and many kids) would still love to play a full summer travel schedule, but there will be others that can’t or won’t.

Decreasing the amount of travel for sports once things settle down doesn’t mean there won’t still be a huge surge in demand. I see programs and clubs getting creative to put together better local options for kids to compete and play - something we hope to be a strong part of here at B.A.B.

Don’t Get In Shape - Stay in Shape

With the Shelter in Place orders lasting for a minimum of 7 weeks (3/17 - 5/3), and the potential for them to get extended, young athletes are not going to be able to pick up where they left off. Only the most dedicated few that are getting 6-9 workouts a week (I know a few) will be able to jump back into their sport with no ill effects. But the problem there is that all of their teammates won’t be at the same level and coaches will always have to spend time building up the lesser prepared players.

So my advice to all of the athletes that are still hopeful to play this summer, as I am, is to stay in shape, rather than hoping to get back into shape. That’s truly why I offered to loan out our gym equipment for free, written up dozens of at-home workouts, and offered live online fitness classes. I want everyone to know that there are plenty of options if they want to stay sharp, all they need is a little motivation!

Dip Your Toe First, Don’t Just Dive In

My hope is that sports teams and travel clubs take into consideration that their players haven’t competed in a game-like situation for potentially more than 2 months, and plan accordingly. There will certainly be plenty of desire to get back to full competition, but doing so without a build-up period is short sighted and potentially dangerous.

Rather than having a practice or two and jumping into a tournament, coaches (and Parents) should strongly consider finding a way to add extra training time in order to not only prepare an athlete’s body, but their mind as well. I think of it in terms of workload - you wouldn’t hop on the treadmill for 5 minutes one day and think you’re ready to hike Mt. Diablo the next, would you? Same goes for competitive sports, athletes won’t be physically or mentally ready for competition for at least 2-3 weeks from when they are allowed to get back on the field.

The Injury Bug

Related to the previous point, I see the potential for an influx of injuries as we rush to get back to ‘normal’. I don’t want to be a pessimist, but there just aren’t enough coaches with the knowledge or resources to properly prepare their players for battle (ie: 5 game weekend in Ripon in the 100 degree heat). We must be diligent in doing everything we can to keep our athletes healthy and on the field.

The most at-risk populations are female soccer and lacrosse players (knees & ankles), basketball players (lower body injuries) and baseball pitchers (elbows & shoulders). If you play these sports, it’s especially important to keep your fitness level up to reduce the risk or injury when you get back on the field.

That means continuing to do agility, balance and core strengthening drills, which can definitely be done at home and we’ve even created a full library here and do lots of them during our live workouts. And for baseball players, it means continuing to throw at least a few times a week, even if it’s at a lower intensity and into a net in the back yard. Heck, I even threw into my bed mattress up against the wall of my apartment during a particularly rainy period in college. If there’s a will, there’s a way.

The crew at B.A.B. will always be looking out for the best interest of athletes, so I hope that this information is helpful as we slowly tread back into the water and let the kids play. Keep moving, stay strong, be ready!

by Steve Hammond

Should I play fall ball? How do I throw harder? Do you think I have a chance to play ball in college? These are questions I get asked multiple times a day. Enough so to get me to sit down and write about my thoughts on how I believe a BALLPLAYER should develop.

First, this article is intended for athletes from 13-18 years old, 7th grade through High School. Athletic development happens in earnest at these ages - I’ll share my thoughts on 8-12 year olds in a separate article. I also want to be clear that I encourage and promote playing multiple sports throughout the year - although that gets much more difficult as you get to the Varsity level in High School.

The best way to look at athletic development - Baseball in particular - is to work backwards from the end goal. For most ‘serious’ players, that means suiting up for a college baseball team. For the very skilled/hard-working/talented few, that could even mean playing at the professional level. But this generally isn’t on the mind of a 15 year old who only wants to make the Frosh or JV baseball team.

So how do you reach those goals? There are many variables in play, but for me, there are four factors that combine to determine your ability to play at the next level.

1. Talent

This is a word that gets thrown around often, but can be difficult to determine what it actually means. I believe talent is a reflection of 3 things. Physical skills - how hard they throw, how hard they hit the ball, how fast they are, etc. Baseball IQ - how they anticipate plays, how they read game situations, how they do the little things to help a team win. And finally, Projectability - how you can envision their skills developing over the years to come.

The 2nd and 3rd factors are hard to teach. They can be worked on, but are mostly innate in a good Ballplayer. Physical skills are what can be altered the most through training and practice. To make it more tangible, I’ll throw out a few numbers that I use in the facility to gauge physical skills:

Bodyweight - (Height in Inches X 2.75) A 5’8” player should be 187 pounds fully developed, and someone that’s 6’3” should be just over 203 pounds. This particularly applies to pitchers - middle infielders and some outfielders are often smaller if speed is part of their game.
Throwing Velocity - (Age X 5) This is the baseline for which Pitchers should try to stay on. Many players are above this number at younger ages, but fail to build strength and maintain the trajectory. 12 years old = 60mph (~20% of players). 18 years old = 90mph (~1% of players).
Batting Exit Velocity - (Age X 5.5) The same ratios hold true
Hex Bar Deadlift - (Bodyweight X 2.2) Once proper form is established, this is a great marker of strength. I tell people that strength is their magic pill. Once you build it, it’s hard to lose it - so the sooner the better!

2. Passion

This is absolutely mandatory for all but the most gifted natural athletes. The desire to put in the effort to continue getting better is what sets 90% of athletes apart. If you just play because it’s fun, there’s a strong chance you don’t make Varsity, let alone don a college uniform. Passion for the game - no matter the sport - can take you where you want to go. This is especially true for ‘late bloomers’ or those slow to develop at younger ages. I didn’t truly develop as a Ballplayer until after I got to college, but my passion for the game helped me work through 4 years of high school, 5 years of college, and 11 years of professional baseball. For those of you that love it enough, this could be a long and amazing journey!

3. Nutrition

Something that I see get completely overlooked in middle and high school is how and what people eat. Developing routines and habits at an early age can make a huge difference in a young person’s body and strength and energy levels. How much sugar have you had today? Did you have any protein before dinner? If the answers are ‘too much’ and ‘no’, then you’re not setting yourself up for success. Start small and keep it simple. Have some protein in your breakfast and bring some nuts, fruit and a healthy granola or protein bar to school with you to eat during the day. It’s not that hard, but very few people do it.

4. Recovery

Sleep and Hydration. The final developmental factor involves how well you sleep and how much water you drink. Things that are usually totally within your control. Again, keeping it simple is best. Sleep at least 8 hours every night and drink 100oz of water every day.

The easiest way to develop a habit for sleep is to work backwards from when you need to wake up. If that is 6:45am, then that means you should be asleep by 10:45pm. Notice the bold there. Not starting to go to the bathroom and brush your teeth, while scrolling Instagram at 10:45. Asleep. So that means turning off the TV and/or your phone at 10:15 and beginning your night time ritual. One tactic I’ve always used, and many athletes use, is to stretch on the floor before bedtime, taking deep breaths. You need the stretching anyway, and the deep breaths help to calm your body and mind - 2 birds with one stone.

Hydration can be incredibly important in sports, which everyone agrees with. The 2 problems that occur though, are that 1) athletes need to pre-hydrate rather than catch up once they’re thirsty, and 2) sugar water (Gatorade) is completely unnecessary. The sugar is doing nothing for you that a banana or orange couldn’t do, but better. One tip to start the day off right is to drink 20oz of water first thing after you wake up. It will kick-start your digestion, help get your body moving, and make it easier to get to that 100oz mark before dinner.

Looking at a 12 month calendar for a typical baseball player, the 3 biggest things that jump out at me are the lack of focused strength and agility training, too much pitching/throwing in the off-season, and the almost non-existence of a proper throwing program to develop arm strength, velocity, and shoulder health.

The following chart is what I feel is the best plan for development. Keep in mind, this assumes a ‘normal’ baseball season where the athlete played all spring and summer. If there was an injury or other factor that affected their in-season ability to play, this plan would be modified. I have several athletes each year that do a throwing program and play in the fall because they were limited or didn’t play in the spring/summer.

August and September should be almost completely shut down from throwing. Your body needs time to recover from all of the stress that throwing creates. But sitting on the couch is not recovering. This is an ideal time to put on some muscle and get stronger, or work on your conditioning and speed.

If you don’t play another competitive sport in the fall, October and November are ideal times to work on your defense and hitting skills. This can also be done part-time while playing other sports. Most programs do their fall ball from late August into early October, but I think it’s best to greatly reduce or shut down baseball activities if you played competitively the last 6 months. October and November is a good time to start up on skill work out on the field once a week, and if you have access to an indoor facility, train inside once per week as well.

The biggest factor with Fall Ball is pitching. Once athletes start throwing with velocity, the stress on their bodies increases. Fall is not the time to overextend pitchers and hinder their development. Therefore, playing a 20 game fall schedule seems quite counter intuitive. Most 13-18 year old athletes can go out and throw 20 pitches without negative consequences, but 80-100 pitches in a weekend is something entirely different.

The final missing piece to the development puzzle is a structured, progressive throwing program before the spring season. Following a program that factors in distance, specific drills, arm care, and conditioning is the best way to set yourself up for more velocity and a healthier arm. I didn’t learn this until 18 years old when I got to Sacramento City College. I left High School maybe topping out at 80mph, but after a fall and winter focused on building strength and following an aggressive throwing program, I hit 90mph just 1 year later. BOTH the strength training and the throwing program were equal factors in my development. Which is the exact thing I’m trying to educate the next generation of Ballplayers on, and help them stay ahead of the game in an increasingly competitive environment.