1. Kyle Boser
Professor Sheehan
Rec 241
November 25th
Activity Teaching Plan
Level: High School – Grades 9 – 12, Ages 14 – 18
Group Size: 8 – 12 Pitchers
Space Requirement: Baseball field, workout facility
Equipment: Catchers gear, baseballs, exercise bands and weights
Perceived Competence: basic terms used in baseball such as bunt, starting/relief pitcher,
bullpen, pick offs etc.
Description –
Pre-season Baseball Pitching Staff Practice Plan
The practice plan will consist of four days where pitchers prepare for their season. The
practice sessions will start two weeks before the team has their first game, this allows the
players to work on their arm strength and fine tune their skills for a week and give them
time to rest their bodies and arms for a week before the season starts.
Day 1 Objectives (Monday) –
Introduce – Start small
Introduction of staff to group and group to staff – (see appendix, page 4) 10 minutes
Talk about individual goals and perceived roles within the group – (see appendix, page 4)
10 minutes
Active warm up – (see appendix, page 4) 20 minutes
2. Play catch going through the sequence provided (pair with someone who has similar
goals/roles) – (see appendix, page 5) 15 minutes
Drill work throwing at 60ft to work on accuracy – (see appendix, page 5) 10 minutes
Pitchers fielding practice (PFP’s) some conditioning with this – (see appendix, page 6) 20
minutes
Sprint variations for 60ft distance (competitive) – (see appendix, page 6) 10 minutes
Band work - balance drills - weights – (see appendix, page 6) 15 minutes
Wrap up and have players stretch while the staff talks – (see appendix, page 7) 10
minutes
Total – 120 minutes (2 hours)
Day 2 Objectives (Tuesday) –
Weight training – Light bullpens
Morning weight lifting with trainer (light weight, high reps) – (see appendix, page 7) 45
minutes
Introduce day two and goals of the day for afternoon practice – 10 minutes
Active warm up – 20 minutes
Play catch going through the sequence provided (pair with someone who has similar
goals/roles) – 15 minutes
Drill work throwing at 60ft to work on accuracy – 10 minutes
Catchers gear up – two pitchers at a time throw off a mound – (see appendix, page 8) 30
minutes
One pitcher will be throwing; one will be charting the type of pitch and balls or strikes
Starting pitchers will throw 20 to 25 pitches at 75%
3. Relief pitchers will throw 10 to 15 pitches at 80%
Sprints for 30ft and jog back (12 total, 1.5 minute rest) – 20 minutes
Stretch – 10 minutes
Wrap up – 5 minutes
Total – 120 minutes (2 hours)
Day 3 Objectives (Thursday) –
Fielding – Defense
Active warm up – 20 minutes
Play catch going through the sequence provided (pair with someone who has similar
goals/roles) – 15 minutes
Drill work throwing at 60ft to work on accuracy – 10 minutes
Pitchers fielding practice (PFP’s) some conditioning with this – 20 minutes
Pick off practice (1B, 2B, 3B, pitchouts) – (see appendix, page 9) 20 minutes
Bunt coverage plays – (see appendix, page 9) 20 minutes
Come back double plays – (see appendix, page 9) 10 minutes
Stretch – 5 minutes
Wrap up – 5 minutes
Day 4 Objectives (Friday) –
Light weight training – Full bullpens
Morning weight lifting with trainer (light weight, high reps) – 30 minutes
Introduce day four and talk about objectives for the day – 10 minutes
Active warm up – 20 minutes
4. Play catch going through the sequence provided (pair with someone who has similar
goals/roles) – 15 minutes
Drill work throwing at 60ft to work on accuracy – 10 minutes
Catchers gear up – two pitchers off a mound at a time – (see appendix, page 8) 40
minutes
One pitcher will be throwing; one will be charting the type of pitch and balls or strikes
Starting pitchers will throw 50 to 60 pitches at 95% to 100%
Relief pitchers will throw 20 to 30 pitches at 100%
Light jog – 10 minutes
Stretch – 10 minutes
Wrap up – 5 minutes
Total – 120 minutes (2 hours)
Appendix
Introduction Day One –
The staff will introduce themselves, who they are and what they do. The players will
introduce themselves, who they are and a couple of things about themselves. Give a
summary of the game plan for the sessions during the week.
Talk about perceived goals and roles of the group –
Have the players state whether they are a starting pitcher or a relief pitcher and then the
staff will explain that the goals are to prepare the pitchers for the upcoming season and to
get their bodies and arms in game shape.
Active warm up –
5. Proper warm up and stretching starts with getting the blood flowing by taking a light jog
for 1-2 minutes. After jogging the players should form a few lines with an equal amount
of players in each line. The stretching progression will go as follows…
1. High knees
2. Butt kickers
3. Carioca right/left
4. Walking lunge with torso twist
5. Side lunge
6. Arm circles forward/backward
7. Right arm pulled across/left arm pulled across
8. Right arm over the top/left arm pulled over the top
9. Forearms stretch
10. Standing toe touch
11. Sitting right leg out/sitting left leg out
12. Butterfly
13. Sitting right leg back/left leg back
14. Two minutes to stretch anything else preferred by player
Play catch going through the sequence provided (pair with someone who has similar
goals/roles) –
1. Put your throwing arm elbow on top of your glove right in front of your chest and
do wrist flicks from about 15 feet away
6. 2. Square square is where you are facing your partner, turn your upper body to your
throwing hand side while your feet stay planted and then throw, take a few steps
back
3. One knee throw is where the player puts their throwing side leg down on a knee
and the other leg out front, make sure to follow through and get the elbow over
the knee while finishing the throw, take a few steps back
4. Play regular catch until the players get far enough out to where their arm is warm
Drill work throwing at 60ft to work on accuracy –
Players will throw from the stretch at 60 feet and throw fastballs at about 50% to work on
placement of pitches
Pitcher’s fielding practice (PFP’s) – The pitchers will simulate a pitch on the mound
while a coach hits a ground ball at them, the player will field the ball and throw to first.
The next drill is called take it, I got it which is where the pitcher will simulate a pitch and
the coach will either hit a ball the pitcher can get to or the first baseman will have to field
and the pitcher will either have say I got it and field the ball, or say take it to let the first
baseman field it
Sprint variations (competitive) –
Players will pair up with someone who is similar in speed and lay on their stomachs one
in front of the other, when a coach says go, they both get up and the person in back has to
try to tag the person in front of them. Repeat the same thing for starting on their backs.
Walk back in-between sprints and allow a minute for rest time
Band work – balance drills – weights
7. 1. Band work – will provided exercise bands the players will use these to strengthen
the shoulder muscles by preforming internal shoulder rotation and external
rotation
2. Balance drills – the players will practice standing steady in their balance point, the
balance point is when a pitcher brings their leg up right before they start to throw
the pitch
3. Weights – the players will use 1-3 pound weights, one in each hand, both arms
fully extended at their sides and rise straight forward so that the players hands are
in line with their shoulders, they will do the same activity expect rise to the
outside so that their body forms a “T” shape
Wrap up and have players stretch –
Coaches will wrap up the day and send the players on their way home, players can stretch
on their own to make sure muscles stay lose and don’t tighten up
Weight training – (Website Provided)
• Push-Up Plus (Scapula Push-Up): In a close grip push-up position, palms flat on the
ground, lower your body by using both scapula. Almost round your back until you
feel a good stretch around each scapula. This movement focuses on the smaller
muscles around the shoulder, which are often ignored. Perform 3 sets of 15 good
repetitions.
• Side Plank with Single-Arm Cable Lat Pull: Many athletes have caught on to regular
planking for core strength. Adding side planks with a pulling motion is even more
beneficial. Lie on either side with your opposing forearm flat on the ground. Grab
a cable and adjust yourself until there is a good amount of tension. While side
8. planking, do 3 sets of 12 reps of Cable Pulls.
• I, Y, and T: Choose a dumbbell weight that allows you to perform 3 sets of 12 perfect
reps for each exercise. Starting light is a good idea, because the form of these reps
is far more important than the weight. Lying prone on either a flat or slightly
inclined bench is the best option. For the I, move both arms into forward flexion
with your thumbs up, gripping the dumbbells. For the Y, with your arms in 30-40
degrees of forward flexion (abduction), perform internal rotations in the scapular
plane with your thumbs facing down. This exercise targets the supraspinatus
muscle if performed correctly. Perform the T lying face down and with your
thumbs facing down to target the rear deltoids and provide a resisted stretch for
the pectoral muscles.
• Dumbbell Internal Rotation: Seated or standing, grab a light dumbbell and position
your arm and elbow to 90/90. Slowly move into internal rotation until you feel a
decent stretch, then repeat. Perform this exercise for 3 sets of 12 repetitions. This
motion provides a resisted stretch to the posterior shoulder, where many pitchers
are extremely tight.
• Forward Lunge and Twist: Holding a dumbbell with both hands, move into a forward
lunge and twist toward the knee in front of you. This will activate the core and
obliques while also providing a good stretch to the hip flexors and quadriceps
muscles, all of which are used during the pitching sequence. Perform 3 sets of 10
reps per side, focusing on your forward knee not going over your toes.
Catchers gear up –
Two pitchers at a time on a mound throw light bullpens –
9. Day 2: Starting pitchers will go with another starting pitcher and they will throw 20 to 25
pitches at 75%, one pitcher will chart the type of pitch (fastball, change-up, curve etc.)
and whether or not if it was a ball or a strike while the other one throws
Day 2: Relief pitchers will throw with each other and throw 10 to 15 pitches at 85% and
do the same with charting
Day 4: Starting pitchers will throw 50 to 60 pitches at 95%
Day 4: Relief pitchers will throw 20 to 30 pitches at 100%
Pick off practice –
Players will partner up and practice pick off moves to 1B, 2B, 3B and pitch outs to home,
try to have the left handed throwers go with other left handed throwers so they can watch
each other and learn from each other
Bunt coverage plays –
Pitchers will simulate a pitch off the mound and the players will have to field the ball,
and throw it to which ever base the coach yells out, make sure to have the players use
their legs when picking up the ball instead of bending at their hips
Come back plays –
Players will simulate a pitch off the mound and a coach will hit a one-hop line drive back
at them to work on reaction time and getting in front of the ball to stop it, coach will yell
out which base to throw the ball to
Work Cited
http://www.stack.com/a/in-season-baseball-pitcher-workout-program