Offseason Throwing Programs: To Shutdown or Not?

With fall ball programs wrapping up and cool weather setting in, decisions about what to do over the next couple of “off-season” months have to be made. Shut down or keep throwing? In my opinion, there is not any one size fits all answer, as it largely depends on the individual.

Given the schedules and current organization of high school baseball (spring) and select baseball (summer/fall), many competitive high school baseball players have been throwing on an in-season type of program since January, and it is often times a very unorganized and inefficient plan. The timing alone is longer than an MLB season, and these are undeveloped/ still developing adolescents. Injury rates are through the roof, and burnout is at an all time high. On the other hand, the fact that they have been in an in-season mode for 10+ months, means there was likely little time for true development focus. There are a lot of factors that go into deciding what to do during the short off-season period that high school baseball players have, and I think it’s important to take all factors into account.

Unfortunately, a majority or people seem to be all in on one side or the other. Either shut down completely, or never shut down. The shut down completely group argues that this is the only way to ensure that the elbow, shoulder, and other connective tissues have a chance to regain passive stiffness and recover from a long season (or multiple seasons). On the other hand, the keep throwing group, typically argues that this is the time to train and that you cannot improve if you don’t keep throwing. While there is truth in both arguments, I don’t think either side has it completely correct and that the decision comes down to the individual that it pertains to.

It is also important to look at all positions on this from a physiological, neurological, and even a mental viewpoint.

Complete Shutdown

A complete shutdown can be necessary and appropriate for certain athletes. For example, if you are already more athletically advanced than your same aged peers (throwing 4-5+ mph harder, better stuff, better command), and have thrown a high number of innings throughout the year, then a shutdown may make sense. This would usually apply to an older athlete, but on the same note, if you are an underclassman or younger player who is far below your same aged peers in skill, the same could apply. Typically, younger athletes who are also lesser in skill are also lacking in physicality. A shutdown period can allow you to go all in on a strength focus in effort to hopefully catch up in that realm.

Physiologically, a shutdown can be viewed in multiple ways. On one end, an opportunity to allow tissue to recover seems positive. The opportunity to regain full health, strength, power, and mobility can lead to increased mechanical efficiency. However, on the other end of the same argument, as the tissues recover without even a slight amount of throwing stress, they lack the organization needed to endure the stresses of throwing a baseball, which can ultimately leave guys vulnerable to injury and require a much more extended on-ramp period.

There is also a neurological effect. Typically, a shutdown is accompanied by an emphasis in strength training. Any significant increase in strength will require an improvement in motor control and new demand relating to coordination. With physical growth, new coordination and body control will also have to be learned. As this relates to throwing a baseball, I do believe this can be addressed by means other than just throwing.

From a mental standpoint, I think a shutdown can be very positive for many athletes. Overuse has mental impacts that are often neglected or not noticed. I think time away from anything can be beneficial from a mental standpoint. However, on the other end, taking time off can lead to high anxiety in some guys, as they may feel like they are missing out on something. This can lead to inconsistencies in whatever else their offseason program consists of.

Continued Throwing

Continued throwing is often seen as the only way to have any chance to develop at throwing. Underdeveloped athletes think that training to pitch means throwing a baseball year-round. While pieces of that argument may be true, it doesn’t consider every aspect.

From a physiological standpoint, as previously mentioned, when tissues recover, they become organized (or not) in a specific manner. When we aren’t throwing, they may be described as unorganized and unprepared to take on the stresses of throwing a baseball. If we keep throwing, this doesn’t have the opportunity to happen. However, if we continue high effort throwing year-round, we may never allow tissues to really recover, which can result in “overuse” injuries over time.

Neurologically, when throwing continues, motor skills can be maintained and continue to improve with improvement that may occur in throwing and development.

From a mental standpoint, there are two sides of the continued throwing debate. First, the risk for burnout may occur. Guys are overworked and overused, and ultimately lose drive and interest in their training. I think that largely depends on the individual and their interests. On the other end, the comfort in knowing that they are doing everything they can from a throwing standpoint can lead to confidence in training (whether warranted or not).

What We Do

As a starting point, we put guys in one of two groups: a shutdown group and an active rest group. A multitude of factors go into that decision including injury history over the past year, whether they have shutdown at any other point in the year and for how long, where they are in the college recruiting process, and where they are developmentally - and what their main areas of weakness are. Once players are grouped into the two basic programs, we can look at individual circumstances to adjust lengths of each phase and what specifically each phase will include for that individual.

Active Rest Winter Program:

• Active Rest Phase: 2-4 weeks of low volume/intensity throwing (extended de-load that may include work with heavier weighted baseballs out to 45-90ft), coupled with an emphasis in needed corrective areas and strength training.

• On-Ramp Phase - 3-4 weeks of on-ramp – long toss only working up to roughly 70-80% RPE & long toss distances

• Mound Blend Phase - 2-3 weeks of continued on-ramp working to 100%, along with mound blend working from mound plyos to short boxes and ultimately into bullpens.

Shutdown Winter Program

• Shutdown Phase - 3-4 weeks of complete shutdown from throwing, accompanied by an emphasis in strength training, while continuing band work and using other avenues to put some level of force on the throwing arm and body in general

• On-Ramp Phase - 4-6 weeks of on-ramp – long toss only working up to roughly 70-80% RPE & long toss distances

• Mound Blend Phase - 2-3 weeks of continued on-ramp working to 100%, along with mound blend working from mound plyos to short boxes and ultimately into bullpens.

Either plan starts somewhere in the middle of end of November and works out to be a 9-12 week period that leads into our first week of practice at the end of January. The only difference in the two tends to be the length of the on-ramp. When guys don’t stop throwing, and only go into an active rest period, the on-ramp occurs much more quickly. When a shutdown occurs, I prefer to implement between 1 ½ to 2 weeks of on-ramp per week of shutdown, depending on the length of the shutdown. Since our shutdown is relatively short, there is plenty of time to take the on-ramp slowly working into the season.

Following the 10–12-week winter programming, we work as most teams do into our first scrimmage in the first week of February, consisting of 1-2 inning outings per arm and into our first game in the end of February, consisting of 2-3 inning outings for starters and 1-2 inning stints for relievers. Over that same period, bullpen volumes and intensities also increase and become more game like. In all, between the time period of either shutting down or beginning active rest, we have roughly 15+ weeks before pitchers are expected to be close to 100% game intensity and prepared for extended outings. As long as athletes take their plans seriously and have focused intent within their plan, this is plenty of time to grow and develop, while maintaining and increasing arm health.

A couple of common examples of high school players and how we group them are listed below.

1. A senior who is unsigned but has a real interest and drive to play at the next level.

A shutdown doesn’t typically make a whole lot of sense for this player. Being unsigned, there is clearly a disconnect somewhere that needs to be improved on. When your baseball career may only have 6-7 months remaining, shutting down during that point is likely not appropriate. In this case, we’ll usually implement a short active rest period where we can focus of corrective work and development in other areas. With a short active rest period, we can allow for adequate recovery and expedite the on-ramp process following the rest period.

2. A freshman who is athletically behind in a multitude of areas (strength, velo, etc.).

Being young, there is a lot of time for this player to improve. A shutdown period may be beneficial for them to focus on the wight room or any other areas that are currently lacking. An extended on-ramp period can be implemented following the shutdown, as a freshman baseball season lacks any real importance in the long run and realistically, innings will be relatively limited as it is.

3. An athlete (any age) who has had some level of injury at a point earlier in the year, which required a shutdown period.

Given that this player has already shutdown earlier in the year and missed either development time or valuable innings, a shutdown is not logical or needed. An active rest period would be ideal to continue working on movement patterns, while also allowing time to continue developing in other areas.

4. A typical athlete that has no significant injury history and has played a common Texas high school baseball schedule (spring, summer, fall)

Current skill levels, age, and usage over the past year are important to note with this type of player. If their skill is at or above the level of their peers, and their usage level over the past 9-10 months is moderate to high, I believe a shutdown period can be warranted. In this instance, these guys are usually either PO’s who have thrown a lot of innings, or best player on the field type of guys who have pitched a moderate to high number of innings AND played another position regularly. If they are developmentally below their peers, and have limited innings, it is important to note where they are lacking. Do they need development in areas outside of throwing, or do they need increase workloads in throwing? Deciding where to put focus is the deciding factor.

Closing

In conclusion, there is no one size fits all program and the “right answer” is different for each and every athlete. For us, starting with two basic programs simplifies the process and gives us a starting point to then individualize plans based on athletes circumstances, development and skill levels, as well as their specific interests. I believe some level of rest should occur with every single player, whether that be a complete shutdown period or an active rest period. There are pros and cons to each and weighing those with individual needs is where quality and efficient plans can be formed. At the end of the day, the on-ramp period is the most important factor in any program when it comes to preparing your arm for the stressors and demands of the season.

Whatever you do, be confident in your plan and go all in.

-Sean Stacy-