Baseball conditioning for 14 year olds and older

At a glance

The drills

77 physical-focus baseball drills work at home for 14 year olds and older, 11 of them baseball's own. 19 of them are jump, bound or sprint drills, which a plan limits.

How it is built

From 14, conditioning can be most of a session: up to 75 minutes from 15, on up to 5 days a week, with rest days between.

Load rules

Box jumps and contact drills open at 14 for practice with a coach; neither is ever in an at-home plan. Loaded lifting is not in an at-home plan: strength work with weights is for a coach or trainer in a gym.

What you need

Most used: cones (20 of the 77 drills), wall (7), stopwatch (6), mat (5), balls (4), soft ground (4), bat (3), light medicine ball (3). 6 drills need nothing but space. 11 are for two, and a parent can be the partner.

baseball's own

Baseball conditioning drills for 14 year olds and older

These drills build the body for baseball itself: power, base running and arm strength. Every one is open to 14 year olds and older by the app's age gates and works at home with one parent.

power

Power

• Frog JumpsAges 7 and up · 6 min
• Two-Hand Underhand TossAges 7 and up · 8 min
• Hitter Strength CircuitAges 14 and up · 15 min
• Toss Then Swing PairsAges 14 and up · 12 min

base running

Base Running

• Hustle Double TurnsAges 14 and up · 12 min
• Partner Towel StartsAges 14 and up · 10 min

arm strength

Arm Strength

• Pre-Throw Arm Care RoutineAges 11 and up · 8 min

Every sport

Athletic drills baseball players share

Speed, balance and control carry across sports. These athletic drills are the same for every sport, picked from the ones open to 14 year olds and older.

base running

Base Running

• Partner Band Resisted StartsAges 13 and up · 12 min
• Six-Station CircuitAges 13 and up · 20 min
• Two-Point Stance AccelerationsAges 13 and up · 12 min

fielding

Fielding

• Angled Cuts at 45 and 90 DegreesAges 13 and up · 12 min
• Five-Ten-Five Technique RehearsalAges 13 and up · 12 min
• Prep-and-Protect Warm-Up SequenceAges 13 and up · 15 min

hitting

Hitting

• Ladder Plus CatchAges 13 and up · 12 min
• Reaction Ball CatchAges 13 and up · 10 min
• Two-Ball Wall TossAges 13 and up · 10 min

power

Power

• Mini Hurdle Rebound HopsAges 13 and up · 12 min
• Push-Up and Band Row PairsAges 13 and up · 12 min
• Rotational Wall ThrowsAges 13 and up · 10 min

A 40-minute session

A conditioning session for 14 year olds and older

A warm-up, 2 drills and a cool-down: 40 minutes. Box jumps and contact drills open at 14 for practice with a coach; neither is ever in an at-home plan.

1. 1Baseball Warm-Up, Ages 14 and UpA 12-minute moving warm-up for baseball players 14 and up: moving stretches, strength, single-leg control, cuts and build-up runs, then baseball moves at practice speed.12 min
2. 2Base Running SprintsExplode out low, run through the bag.12 min
3. 3Band Shoulder CareSlow and controlled. Light band.8 min
4. 4Baseball Cool-Down Stretches, Ages 14 and UpA 8-minute cool-down for baseball players 14 and up after training: stretches for the legs, hips, shoulders and wrists, each held 20 to 30 seconds, never to pain.8 min

Healthy load

How much baseball conditioning is healthy for 14 year olds and older

From 14, conditioning can be most of a session: up to 75 minutes from 15, on up to 5 days a week, with rest days between.

Box jumps and contact drills open at 14 for practice with a coach; neither is ever in an at-home plan.

Loaded lifting is not in an at-home plan: strength work with weights is for a coach or trainer in a gym.

Organized sport should total no more hours a week than the child's age in years, with two rest days a week. (NATA youth sport specialization recommendations).

The research behind it

• Ages 13 to 15 are the "specializing years", after the sampling years of 6 to 12.

  Côté and Vierimaa 2014

• Organized sport should total no more hours a week than the child's age in years, with two rest days a week.

  NATA youth sport specialization recommendations

Questions and answers