Stop With the "Bullpens!"
At 43 years old I can't throw a baseball at max effort without pain. Join the club right? Well the problem is I've been saying that since I was about 13. I don't blame anybody for that, but all I've known for the overwhelming majority of my life is that when I reach back to let a ball rip, my arm hurts. MRI's have shown tears in my rotator cuff, and doctors have told me that I need or should have surgery, but I've elected to just regulate my activity and when something really hurts I just stop. I can't extend my right arm in certain directions without pain if I'm holding any weight.
Those are my problems. Those problems shape how I view arms and arm-care when it comes to coaching baseball. I know I'm not normal. I know some kids and people can throw a baseball all day and never get tired or sore. I know that I shouldn't base all of my views on pitching and arm-care on my right arm. I also know that I constantly am reading about arm-care. I know what the science and research says about what leads to injuries and what helps recovery. But most importantly, I know that if one of my players injures their arm, it's not because of something that we have done or made them do in winter practices. I hope none of my players will ever have a scar like the one in the picture.
I don't want to say or act like what we do it "the right way." There are a number of different philosophies on arm-care. I just see too many things on Twitter or hear from other parents with kids on different teams that have kids throwing bullpens in January and February. This makes me wonder if they are helping these kids take care of their arms or if they're just throwing bullpens because they think that's what you do during indoor workouts. At the younger levels the kids arms tend to be like rubber, but as they get into middle school and especially high school the kids arms need to be worked and trained like any other muscle, except with more focus on recovery.
So what do we do with our kids in the winter? Our kids are 14, so we try to balance that we have a lot of established pitchers, but we also have to get them ready for a four month season that starts mid-April.
Like most travel teams we have one scheduled indoor practice during the week. During those practices every kid goes through proper stretching and resistance band work before throwing. Then every kid throws for about fifteen to twenty minutes. Not playing catch, but they throw into nets as part of our program. This is all about YOUR arm, not the arm of a person you might be playing catch with. Our kids go through a throwing progression listening to their arm. That progression involves them being focused on listening to their arm and taking as many throws as they need to get warmed up. They will do this for at least four weeks before they get on a mound. No kid just takes 10-15 throws and then steps on a mound. They must throw for at least 10 minutes before they can get on a mound. Yet, bullpens aren't even something we do until we are about two months out from actual games.
When/if a kid throws a bullpen that day there is a focus. Kids do not just get on a mound and throw as hard as they can for x number of pitches. The focus is largely on mechanics and fastball command. Most pitchers at 14 can throw a ball as hard as they can down the middle of the plate, but can they consistently locate and spot it. If not, is it something mechanical we can work on? Can they do it with a kid standing in the batters box? The kid is standing there with a glove and helmet to protect themselves, not with a bat. Kids need to learn how to throw aggressively and effectively to their arm side. Way too many kids and coaches only feel comfortable pitching away. It makes them very predictable in game situations. Winter bullpens are the perfect time to work on these things in a controlled environment, same with breaking pitches. I hope most teams and coaches do the same thing with their pitchers,but I don't think this is the case. Also, I assume and hope most teams and coaches have the sense to slowly work their kids up from 20-25 pitches and build each bullpen up able 5-10 pitches until they get to about 50 or a little beyond. But I'm getting a little ahead of myself, so let me go back to what I think is an important part of what we do that a lot of teams probably do not.
I'd feel pretty comfortable that after their pitchers throw a bullpen, most teams have the kid grab a bat and get some swings. That's pretty much what you do indoors, and that's what we used to have them do too. However, as kids get older that's not what pitchers should be doing. What so many teams and coaches likely don't do is properly take care of the arm after they throw a bullpen. After a bullpen, our kids get on a treadmill for a light 5 minute jog. Later they go through a lower body workout before leaving. The last thing they hear when they leave is go home and ice your arm if you threw a bullpen. Research shows that the best way to help an arm recover is by working the legs with moderate activity to increase blood flow and eliminate acid build up. Too much activity can cause more soreness. Additionally, we have added an extra practice day this winter to have kids come back a couple days after a bullpen and throw. This throwing session is designed to work out any lingering soreness, knock off any of those acids, and to continue to exercise and develop the muscles. On their throwing day kids are expected to only throw about 70%, but focus on mechanics. As kids get older, throwing once a week at maximum effort is only going to lead to soreness and injury. It's no different than if we ran as hard and as fast as we could for 10 minutes once a week. The soreness and muscle we've built up would be gone by the next week, but we're probably going to see minimal growth because we're not consistently working and developing the muscles properly, and in fact we increase our likelihood of pulling or straining a muscle.
In addition to throwing twice a week, I think it is important to also not do certain things. Our players have been put through some upper body strength and conditioning. However, on days after our kids have thrown a bullpen they do not do upper body strength exercises. I don't know of any pitchers that go out and do push ups after they have thrown a bullpen or a game, so why do some teams and coaches do that? You're not doing your legs any favors, and in fact you increase your odds of muscle injuries or tears, if you do squats after you've run three miles, especially after you've let those muscles cool down for 30 minutes or more. Throwing twice a week allows for the kids that want to put in the work to get in a good upper body workout twice a week without overworking the muscles.
So that's what we do, and quite honestly I don't concern myself too much with what other teams do. However, I've recently seen a number of things on Twitter or heard things directly from parents on other teams that really concern me about how coaches and teams treat pitchers and players. A friend told me that his 12 year old son's team has been on mounds since December and they have radar guns on the kids, AT TWELVE! All that does is ruin mechanics and encourage kids to just throw hard instead of pitch. So it comes as no surprise to anybody that his son's arm is sore, in February. They don't even play a game for a month yet!
So far I've come at this from the youth angle, and really just the middle school ages. What has really perplexed me is what I'm seeing on social media from high school level teams and organizations.
Over the years I have learned that almost every player will do what is asked of them by their coach. Coach tells me to throw a bullpen that's what I'll do. Coach wants me to go all out and put me on a gun, I'll go all out. When you ask how their arm feels, just about every kid will say "fine." Often times it takes the keen eye of a coach to notice something and point it out to a kid with the preface of, "I think your arm is bothering you because I noticed..." before they will admit that something isn't right. Again, they are trained to agree with you as a coach, not to resist.
So my big concern is why do so many high school travel teams have their pitchers throwing bullpens? Do they not think they are doing this with their high school teams during workouts? Do they not care? Do they not know any better? Chances are pitchers are already throwing 3 days a week with their high school team in workouts, and they might be doing 2 bullpens during that week. So why would a high school travel team have kids throwing on the weekend too? Is it fair to the kid to have him throw 40-50 pitches on Saturday after he might have done the same thing Thursday or Friday night? Is it fair to have him throw 40-50 pitches on Sunday and then have him go to his high school practice and do the same on Monday? If kids did this during the summer, parents and other coaches would be all over those coaches for abusing their arms. Is it fair for a high school kid to have to decide which coach he should tell he can't get on the mound that day because he just pitched the day before...IN FEBRUARY?
I completely understand why high school baseball coaches would be upset with and not trust travel ball programs. I completely understand that they are concerned about their top players arms being ruined. A travel program can just recruit and add new kids, high school programs and coaches cannot do that. And all so a travel organization can post a video of how hard a kid is throwing? There a specialized events for that, and the kids and families that go to those events are making that choice and hopefully communicating with their high school coaches about that. Are these pitchers doing proper cool downs and arm-care after they are done throwing for their travel teams? I know that a lot of high schools don't even do that, but the high schools aren't having them throw an additional day on the weekends. High schools give the kids time off in the winter on the weekends to rest their bodies.
Another thing I recently saw was a very reputable high school travel team posting videos of them going live with hitters and pitchers. Why? Now you're not only putting high school's pitcher at risk, but you're also putting another high school's catcher and another high school's hitter at risk. For what purpose? To try and figure out where you're going to slot kids into your lineup and rotation in June. If you don't already know that then what did you do in the fall or how did you evaluate the past summer? I get the importance of doing this at the very young levels for the development of both the hitters and the pitchers, but what is the point for high school kids that won't play games together for over three months? Again, another reason for high school coaches to distrust travel ball and worry about their top players in the winter.
I see all of these things posted and it just creates a lot of reason for pause. My son has some arm talent. It's nothing special, but it's enough where he could have some significant pitching opportunities in high school and maybe beyond. I worry about a lot of things, but I don't want him to end up like me. There are many studies that show arm/muscle issues are genetically prone and that is a more likely predictor of injury than workload, but I just think coaches and organizations need to be smarter and do what is best for the kids. There are so many ways to build up arms and make them better pitchers than just throwing bullpens. Throwing just once a week at maximum effort will lead to issues as will throwing too much too soon at the middle school levels and overuse will cause them at the high school levels.
Research shows that the majority of pitching injuries happen before or at the beginning of a season from high school on up. I will always firmly believe it is due to pitchers doing way too much way too soon. Countless kids have been throwing bullpens since January, yet when the games begin two or three months later they struggle to find the strike zone. Why? What has been the focus in the winter? Has it been a consistent approach on mechanics and location, or have coaches just told their guys to go throw 50-60 pitches because that's what they need to do to be ready to go when the games start? Do those kids simulate games during those long bullpens? I've seen a lot of baseball, so I know that if a kid throws 50-60 pitches a row in a game without a break somebody should be fired. Same thing in the winter.
So maybe I shouldn't say, "Stop With the Bullpens," but instead be smart with your bullpens. Indoor and winter workouts are times to be innovative. I wasn't very good at it when I first started off coaching either, but as the kids have grown and I've grown as a coach we try to do what is best for them and their future. I hope the kids and families, especially the pitchers and their families, are very aware of what is taking place out there and find the best travel environment and program to protect their arms.
Major league pitchers throw bullpens and simulated live games for about two to three weeks before going out and pitching in games. Think about that. Yet, we have youth and travel teams doing it months before games. And the purpose of a bullpen for pitchers is to work on mechanics, pitches, and adjustments. They don't just throw to throw. They are working out some soreness and conditioning the arm, but they only throw off a mound for about 10 minutes.
We don't do everything right, but we don't broadcast and share what we think is wrong. The best thing about coaching youth baseball for the past six years is the wealth of knowledge I've forced myself to take in. I wish I could go back and do a lot of things over, but I know we're doing a lot of things right too. We throw bullpens, but we have just started within the past week. Their is an intent and a focus there each week for each individual kid.
