Off-Season Focus

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What Should Be the Focus of Your Off-season

By: Kolten Smith 

December 26, 2024

We are at the time of year when everyone is in the dead heat of their off-season. Whether you are a youth, high school, college, or pro player, you are spending 100% of your time training to get better. Depending on your level, your season could start as soon as late January or early March. As such, this time of year could make or break your upcoming season, and having a plan is of the utmost importance. To start, you need to ask yourself what you need to work on. Is it arm health, velo, command, off-speed pitches, athleticism, or something else?


I will start with arm health. If your arm hurts any time you throw a ball or have soreness the next day, you have an arm health issue. (Especially if this pain is a two out of ten or higher.) Your arm pain should be your #1 priority if you have it. To get rid of it, you need to find out why it is happening. Is it mechanical? Structural? Overuse? Whatever it is, you must identify why because you will never gain permanent velo with arm pain.


If you have no arm pain, there is a good chance velo will be your biggest goal in the off-season. Again, just like arm health, you need to identify why your velo is not where you would like it to be. Mechanics, overall athleticism, flexibility/mobility, and strength are all possible contributors to the lack of velo. I would say that mechanics is the most common contributor, but flexibility/mobility is often overlooked. If you are not flexible or mobile enough to get into your optimal throwing positions, gaining velocity will be very tough. No matter what your deficiencies are, you must recognize them and correct them.


Next is command. As I’m sure you know, command is very important. You could throw 100 miles an hour, but you will never play if you can’t throw it over the plate. Most players make the mistake of only working on command during a bullpen session. The truth is, command is an all-the-time thing. This means that anytime you are throwing, you can work on command. Playing catch with a partner? Have your partner change his glove position throughout your throwing session. Throwing into a screen? Instead of throwing into the same spot every time, have different small targets to hit. Above all, if you’re throwing, working on command should be a must.


Lastly, I will talk about working on your athleticism. You could have no arm pain, have efficient mechanics, and be flexible/mobile but still not throw as hard as you want. The answer is almost certainly your speed and quickness. Now, as a pitcher, you do not need a 6.5 60-yard dash or a minute-quarter mile time. However, you must be athletic and quick enough to be able to be a fast rotator. Pitching is a rotational movement, and if you rotate slowly, then you will not throw as hard as you potentially can. To become a better rotator, doing movements that make you move quickly is key. Exercises like Russian twists, water bag exercises, and our own med-ball wall series teach that fast rotation. Doing these in addition to your strength training will teach just that.


During this off-season, everyone is going to be trying to get better. However, most will not have a thought-out, hyper-personalized plan to map out exactly what to do to get there. At the Texas Baseball Ranch®, we do just that. We will take you through all our assessments, including a video analysis of your mechanics, a physical test for your mobility/flexibility, your pitching data via a Trackman, athleticism-building exercises, and much more. This plan will tell you exactly what to work on during the off-season and how to rise above your peers. I urge you to visit us before your season starts so we can help you achieve your goals!