Answer

Sarah,

Great Question. This gets asked a lot, especially from parents whose children play multiple sports. There are a few MUSTS when it comes to balancing baseball with other activities kids are trying to do. The important thing to remember is that it is the “off-season”, therefore baseball is something that can be focused on, but it's not a priority, especially if he plays other sports. Balance for children is an important tool for success. You don’t want your son to burn out before April rolls around…if he can continue to incorporate baseball with other activities he is trying to do during the fall and winter, he will come into the baseball season refreshed, eager, prepared, and ready to succeed!

Do Your Schoolwork. First and foremost, SCHOOL COMES FIRST! Never compromise time in your day that should be used on school work/reading/projects for ANY sport. I know how tough it can be for kids to want to do school work when they can play ball, but believe it or not, being a good student will make you a better baseball player and will help you go farther in your career! Baseball is a game that constantly tests your brains and your ability to make quick, sound decisions. If you let your brain rot by not challenging yourself in the classroom or at home doing homework, it will cost you on the field.

Baseball also tests your discipline (as do many other sports), so making a schedule and being able to balance school work with baseball will also help your focus, and help you become more discipline in your life as well as your baseball game. Kids have a lot of distractions these days with video games, iPods, and the internet (believe me, I know…I love gadgets!). But if you let these distractions interfere with your school work or your baseball life, they will take away from your progress and you will never become the student or the player you want to be. Iif you are disciplined and make a schedule, there will be plenty of time for Guitar Hero!

In addition to actually helping your game, doing well in school can help your career if you are interested in playing one day in the big leagues. Getting good grades enabled me to go to college (Univ. of Richmond…Spiders Baby!), where I was drafted and got the opportunity to play pro ball. And, even more important – this will make parents smile - I earned my college degree while saving my Mom and Dad a bundle thanks to the scholarship I received. So being a successful student helped me earn a degree, save my parents money, and play pro-ball! Lesson: Do well in school!

Do your baseball homework…keep a notebook! You may have seen this in one of our previous tips of the week, and it is something I preach constantly that goes right along with being a good student. I stress to all of my players how important it is to keep a book and how much it will help improve your game. Keeping a notebook helps in a few ways; first off it stimulates your brain which is always good. Second, it will help reinforce the skills you have worked on with your instructor. Maybe the instructor told you that you need to work on keeping your head down when you swing, or get your elbow up when you throw. It is very easy to remember when the instructor is right there, but what happens during the season when you possibly start struggling at the plate, or you are losing control and velocity with your throws? If you can go back to your notebook, you can notice mechanics you have worked on and drills that helped you correct those issues. Everyone goes through slumps (Even Jeter was 1-30-something a couple years ago), but a good player limits the time he is in a slump. Keeping a detailed notebook can help you get out of that slump before it becomes overwhelming.

In your notebook, you should jot down the drills that you do each lesson, and rate how you did. Also, mark down corrections your instructor offers you. Here is a key, if your instructor repeats something to you multiple times, that means it’s pretty important and you probably should write it down! Then over the course of the week, review your notes so you are ready to improve on those skills at the next lesson. It’s like homework…but it’s for baseball! What can be better than that?
Keep a book during the season, too. Note the pitchers/batters you’ve faced, how you did against them, their strengths and weaknesses, etc. Also, note what pitches you might be struggling with at the plate or on the mound, or how you are doing defensively. Even take notes on your baserunning! Did you score from second on that single up the middle? Or do you need to work on your reads or jumps. All of these things will improve your game.

Don’t be a couch potato. So far I’ve spoken about school work and notebooks, and you are probably saying, “Vito, the question was how should my son WORK OUT in between lessons.” Well, before we can talk about working out, we need to prioritize. Now that we are doing well in school and we are keeping our baseball notebook, we can talk about physical activities we can do to keep us in shape between lessons and help us get ready for the season.
The worst thing to do is to go to your lesson, and then not think or do anything baseball related until the next time you see your instructor, especially if you are only doing lessons once a week. You will always be reviewing and working on skills from the previous week that you haven’t grasped yet, and you won’t be able to move on as quickly. Both you and your instructor will be frustrated.

Other Sports: If you play other sports, than that should help you stay conditioned between lessons. Remember, balance is key. Playing other sports helps train muscles baseball may not, and that in-turn will help improve your baseball strength and skills. If you play other sports, you should still pick up a ball and throw at least one time in between lessons for about 10 minutes. Not hard or far, but just to keep your arm loose and in shape. For hitters, take about 20-30 dry swings (no ball, just working on the swing) one time during the week in between lessons just to keep your hands in shape and also to brush up on some mechanics you worked on in your previous lesson. At the very least, you should be reviewing your notebook twice in between lessons.

Just baseball: If the only sport you are playing is baseball, then you need to do things during the week so you don’t fall out of shape between lessons. It is key to do some conditioning (running, jump rope, etc.) in addition to baseball specific skills. Try to throw twice between lessons, about 10-15 minutes each time. If you can hit or take ground balls, I suggest only one time in between lessons for no more than 20 minutes total. Maybe a 30 dry swings, or if you can 30 swings off a tee. You just want to stay fresh, you don’t want to overdo it…remember don’t burn out. You can increase everything each week as you get closer to the season. And remember, you should review your baseball notebook at least 2 times in between lessons.

Weight Training: Lifting weight can be very beneficial for your baseball career…if you are the right age. I do NOT suggest lifting for children under 14. You should start lifting around your freshman year of high school, but there are exercises that kids under 14 can do to gain strength.
Under 14 - Body weight squats (great for leg strength, base of everything you do on the field – fielding, hitting, throwing) also;
- Push-ups
- Pull-ups
- Abs/Core
o These are all great core exercises that are safe for children of all ages.
Over 14 – Any type of weight lifting your high-school coach has approved, always supervised. If you have any specific work out or lifting questions, you can ask our resident Weight Training Guru and Personal Training expert Joe Defranco at his website www.defrancostraining.com.