Welcome to Rico Gloves!

My name is Tony Ross Maddi with Rico Sports. We are going to talk about Baseball Speed Training. 

We have some do's and don'ts for Baseball Speed Training !!!

The Do's for Baseball Speed Training!

• Get a qualified Speed and Agility Coach. (with background in track, baseball, and trained by NSCA or USA Weightlifting)
• Dynamic Warm-up should be done in the beginning of the program. (Stretching through a full range of motion)
• Work on starts from base stealing position. Technique on best way to steal. Work on technique for best jumps in the infield and drop steps for outfielders going back on balls. 
• Train for speed doing Sprint work. You can't train 100% Speed doing 5 mile runs or 300 or 400 meters runs. Training should be from 30 meters (Approx Home to 1st) to no more than 100 meters. Running the bases is great too because your training your body to make the turns on the bases. Make sure you get your baserunning coach to show you the proper route to run the bases. 
• Use an agility ball to work on fielding and getting in front of the ball. Great for agility and relates to baseball.
• Plyometrics should be included in the program. They should be appropriate for the age. Younger youth players should not over do it on the plyometrics because there body isn't developed enough for this. 
• Olympic lifts are the secret ingredient that I wish I did when I was playing. Hang pulls, Dead lifts, Hang Snatch, etc are a great way to build explosive power in the hips. Also, great for fast twitch muscle fibers and overrall body strength. 
• Core training is good for baseball. And especially good for sprinters. You can do this on an off day from sprinting. 
• Static stretch after a workout (this is the traditional stretch most people know) 

The things you should avoid when Baseball Speed Training!

• Avoid long slow 5 mile jogs. You want to train your body to be explosive in quick all out explosive movements. Avoid running for distance. Its great for your heart and lungs but doesnt help a baseball player be explosive. Running a mile or two as a warm-up is perfectly okay before a speed workout. If you have to pick between running 10 to 12  (60 or 100 yard) sprints or running 5 miles. PLEASE pick 10-12 Sprints. 
• Avoid training just doing hill work. I made this mistake. Hill sprinting is great but it puts greater work on the quadriceps and could lead to an imbalance of the Quadricep muscle and Hamstring Muscle. This can lead to more Hamstring injuries because the Quadricep is stronger than the Hamstring causing to big an imbalance. Train mostly flat ground that you will be running on for baseball. Use a parachute for adding power to your sprinting. You can train hills occasionally for more power. 
• Avoid over training. I have done this many times and I am speaking from experience. I believe in working hard. But with speed training you can't sprint everyday with all out sprint workouts. Your body and CNS (central nervous system) breaks down and needs a day or two to recover especially if you did some hard sprint workouts the day before. No more than 3 days a week should you tackle all out sprint workouts. You can include core training on the off days from sprinting. You can jog a mile or two on the offdays from sprinting. But AVOID sprinting to let your body and CNS system recover until the next sprint workout. 

These are just some things to think about before doing Baseball Speed Training! 

Tony Ross Maddi, M.Ed

Certified Sports Performance Coach- USA Weightlifting