An offseason baseball training program might be needed to take your young player to the next level. It’s the perfect resource for youth baseball players to improve their hitting, fielding, and throwing.
Baseball never sleeps, and neither can our desire to get better! The offseason presents a golden opportunity to build a strong foundation for next year. That’s where this off-season training program comes in. We’ll focus on core skills, build strength, and, most importantly, have some fun while we do it. So, grab your glove, dust off your bat, and prepare to take your game to the next level!
When it comes time to say, “Play Ball!” you’ll know at least one player bringing their “A Game.”
What’s In the Offseason Baseball Training Program?
- 18 carefully designed 66 minutes of baseball workouts.
- A minute-by-minute breakdown of activities.
- Activities rotate from one to the next quickly to keep players interested and for aerobic benefit.
- They are designed for either six weeks with three sessions per week or nine weeks with two sessions each week. Players who play another sport in the offseason frequently find the nine weeks best.
- It’s in e-book format. Print off the sheets you need and follow along for each workout, or follow along on your smartphone.
A baseball inspirational story and quote for each workout
Before each workout, we recommend that players read the stories and quotes.
This baseball training program reinforces life lessons such as overcoming obstacles, treating people with respect, and the power of having a positive attitude.
Information young baseball players should know
Featured content includes:
How to interact with coaches
How to eat smart on game days and before and after practice
The benefits of goal setting, and more.
Baseball Conditioning – Type of Player
Ages 10 – 17 years old. It’s recommended that players have played organized baseball before. If the 66-minute time period is too long or the activities are too challenging for younger players, we suggest shortening the sessions to 30 or 45 minutes.
Pick and choose from the middle activities while maintaining the warm-up and ending activities to reduce the time. You can adapt this Baseball Training Program to your own needs.
See Baseball Practice Plans for Coaches.
Baseball Workouts – Design Considerations
The thinking behind the overall workout plan and each plan includes:
• A focus on fundamentals. We emphasized the building blocks of a good baseball player because that easily transfers from one team to the next.
• Strong emphasis on throwing, fielding, and hitting. These are three critical areas that can be practiced individually or with another person effectively, and the offseason is a great time to work on these skills. It is a great baseball conditioning plan for players.
• Multiple position development. Youth baseball players shouldn’t just learn the skills for just one position. The best players are well-rounded. They know how to play many positions. This makes them valuable assets to any team.
• Shift activities quickly. Moving from one activity to the next quickly keeps players interested and enables them to work on many different skill sets.
• Increase the level of difficulty over time. Some of the fitness drills will get progressively more difficult. Initially, we want players to grow accustomed to using different muscles, and then, as the plan progresses, we’ll ask for more repetitions or longer periods.
Why this Offseason Baseball Training Program Works
• A fitness focus. Players play their best when they’re in shape. It’s hard to execute at the highest level if you’re tired, lack strength,h or are out of shape. A part of each workout session includes general fitness exercises to address these needs. Some strength training uses your body as weights to get your body into baseball shape.
• Designed for individual use or with a workout partner (a friend or parent is perfect). One player can complete most of the activities for these off-season workouts. However, workouts can be more fun with a workout partner, and throwing and catching activities are better with a person than a rebound net. Players should try to find a friend to complete the workouts with or have a parent assist.
• Designed for healthy kids who have played baseball before. If you have concerns about having your child participate in this program from a health perspective, consult your physician. Kids should have a water bottle and drink water as needed.
SEE THE SAMPLE PLAN BELOW
Why offseason conditioning plans are important?
• Repetition of an exercise builds muscle memory. Focusing on individual skills during an off-season workout gives players plenty of opportunities to fine-tune those skills and improve upon them.
• Your team’s coaches don’t have enough time to devote to every individual skill. Regular season games usually present too few opportunities to hone a skill. Practices during the regular season provide more opportunities, but typically, a coach has many other topics to cover.
Let’s say a player wants to work on hitting pitches on the outer half of the plate to the opposite field. A player may have only seen a few of these pitches during practice or a game. However, an off-season workout might include dozens of opportunities weekly to work on hitting this type of pitch. Lots of reps lead to improvement.
• Breaking down the bigger game into each component makes it easier. If a player goes to practice and plays games, that player will likely get better at baseball. Suppose the same player takes a different approach, concentrating on improving some fundamental baseball skills. In that case, the player will likely improve at a much more rapid pace.
A Coach’s Best Friend
• It provides a platform to strengthen weaknesses and build on strengths. Individual workouts can be tailored to work on the areas specific to a player’s strengths and weaknesses.
• There is plenty of time until the next game. Experimenting with your batting stance, stride & swing during the season can be difficult. Corrections can be made during the offseason, and lots of repetition can occur before a game. It’s the ideal time to develop your hitting.
• It’s a relaxed environment where no one is watching. Individual workouts enable players to take many risks without fear of evaluation or criticism. Sometimes, by taking chances and some risks, players improve their game.
About John Blissenbach
John Blissenbach has coached all levels of youth baseball from kindergarten through high school. Having coached and managed championship youth & American Legion baseball teams, John began coaching baseball in 1979 at the age of 20.
He started as a high school assistant varsity/JV head coach working with varsity head coach Hank Mauer (great uncle of Minnesota Twins All-Star Catcher: Joe Mauer).
In addition to coaching baseball, John has coached his four children’s softball, football, basketball, track, and soccer teams. During the past 20 years, he has enjoyed coaching more than 50 youth (boys & girls) teams. He’s a big believer in baseball training programs.
Digital Download Available Immediately
You’ll receive a PDF—this product is a digital download. The PDF works on Macs and PCs. Make sure you have the latest version of Adobe Reader (available for free) on your computer. The PDF lets you print out pages you want when needed.
MVP Offseason Workouts for Youth Baseball — $23.97
The SAMPLE baseball training plan includes an inspirational story and an agenda that explains the activities. Note: sized to 8.5″ x 11″
Baseball Training Plan
Your practice grids can easily be printed out or followed on a smartphone. The appendix explains some of the fitness activities A Program that works.
MVP Offseason Workouts for Youth Baseball — $23.97
This baseball training program can be a difference-maker. If you make the commitment, you’ll be ahead of the game.
You are on our Offseason Baseball Training Program page.
