The off-season is a time for work to begin. One question, what tools should every baseball/softball player use. The first place a player gets better is in the weight room (for those of the proper age). If a player does not work hard in developing a strong body and mind then the tasks on the field will not matter because they will not be able to handle them. The program designed for the weight room should be one which focuses on the athletic movements within the sport. For instance with baseball/softball, players should focus on shoulder, hip/legs, and the back as these are the muscles used in their sport.
Another tool that should be used by not only players but their coaches is some form of tool for tracking and measuring. My players use the Diamond Kinetics tools (PitchTracker and SwingTracker) as well as exit velocity testing periodically. Without these items the players will not know what is actually working and what doesn't.
The majority of our players completed a pre-Exit
Velo test prior to starting weight lifting and just recently taking another after 5 weeks of lifting a big increase in their velocities, some jumped as much as 6 mph.
With these increases in exit velo the players have shown a desire to lift more and work harder than ever.
How are you showing your players what works? And how are you keeping them motivated to push themselves to be better each day?
"Achieve Greatness"