The in-season period begins the day of the first game and lasts until you stop playing for more than 2 weeks. This 2 weeks period takes into account the transition from spring to the summer season.

Most youth, high school and collegiate players move straight their spring seasons into the summer season and generally this period takes less than a 2 weeks. The goal is to have a strong foundation built by the time the season starts. This will undoubtedly improve your performance and reduce your risk of injury.

Your foundation is the level of throwing and arm care conditioning that you have achieved in the pre-season. A strong foundation built in the pre-season will better prepare your arm to handle the stresses of the season. It will reduce fatigue during outings and the rate at which your arm recovers following an outing.

A strong foundation will also enhance performance. By progressively increasing your throwing workloads (giving your arm adequate time to rest and recover) and using the Crossover Symmetry arm care programs as prescribed (to strengthen and optimize the function of the stabilizing muscles of the shoulder complex), most players see a significant increase in throwing velocity over the 10 week pre-season period.

The Throwing Program is designed with 3 throwing progressions: Light, Regular and Long Toss. The difference is how far you are throwing. The diagram to the right illustrates the recommended Light, Regular and Long Toss distances.

Light Throw Day:
The maximum distance that you would throw is from the foul line to the back edge of the infield dirt.

Regular Throw Day:
Back up until you are between the back edge of the infield dirt and your long toss distance.

Long Toss:
Gradually back up to the long toss distance where you cannot reach your partner in the air. This is what we call the max one hop distance. If you can reach your partner in the air, then you are too close and need to back up.

Your foundation should be the basis for your pitch count limits during the first month of the season. We recommend that players who complete the 10 week pre-season throwing program set their max pitch count for the first outing of the season at 70% of the Pitch Smart recommended limit based on the age of the player. For example, the Pitch Smart recommended max pitch count for a 17 yr old pitcher is 105 pitches. In our opinion, throwing 105 pitches during the first outing of the year is too much – even for a well conditioned pitcher and could have negative long term effects.

In this case, we recommend that a 17 yr old pitcher, who has built a strong foundation in the pre-season, set their max pitch count at 70 pitches for the first outing of the season. During subsequent weeks (if there are no setbacks), the pitcher will add 10 pitches per week to this max pitch count limit until he has reached the Pitch Smart recommended limit for his age. This should take several weeks to reach the Pitch Smart pitch limit (week 1- 70, week 2- 80, week 3- 90, week 4- 100). If you have not built a solid foundation in the preseason by following a comprehensive throwing and arm care program, we recommend setting the max pitch limit at 40% of what Pitch Smart recommends based on the age of the player. From there, the pitcher will add 10 pitches per week until reaching the Pitch Smart recommended limit for his age.

It should be noted that pitch counts are just a safeguard and true indicators of when a pitcher should be taken out is fatigue. Indicators of fatigue can be: changes in mechanics and delivery, laboring, reduced velocity, missing up in the zone.

If the player is feeling any pain or discomfort in their shoulder or elbow, immediately stop the throwing program and put them through the Red Flag Shoulder Screen. If any of the four Red Flag Screens are positive, have the player see a licensed medical professional. If the player test negative for all of the screens, they should discontinue throwing for two weeks and perform two sets of the CS Recovery Phase every other day.

Following this two week period, the player can attempt to restart the throwing program from the day one in the throwing program. If the pain returns, the player should see a licensed medical professional.

Unless you live in warm weather states, your pre-season schedule with coincide with harsh winter months making it difficult to complete the program as outlined. There are however, some parts of the program that can be done routinely regardless of the weather.

You can follow the pre-season schedule indoors with limited space by setting throwing time limits on the throwing program. If throwing indoors, the light day would equate to around 8-10 minutes, the regular day would be 10-14 minutes and the long toss day would be 15-18 minutes. Whether throwing indoors or outdoors, always listen to your arm. If you feel like you are starting to fatigue during the throwing program, it is time to stop.

Crossbody horizontal adduction stretch demonstrated better results of restoring internal rotation to the dominant shoulder than the sleeper stretch in a recent study in the JOSPT. Posterior shoulder tightness will limit internal rotation and can cause the humeral head to migrate posterior/superior (backward and upward), creating internal impingement on the labrum and progressively causing what we call a SLAP tear.

GENIE STRETCH

Guidelines to stretching the posterior shoulder

• Dominant arm only
• Completed post activity following any Crossover protocol (ie: Recovery, Plyometric, Iron Scap)
• Create a stretch to the back of the shoulder
• Hold static stretch 30 seconds
• Complete two reps

Instructions for the genie stretch

• Lying on dominant arm side to block (stabilize) the scapula
• Reach over the dominant arm with the opposite arm in a genie pose
• Pull the dominant arm just above the elbow across the body
• Once a stretch in the backside of the dominant arm is felt hold 30 sec.
• If no stretch is felt, lightly internally rotate the shoulder by pushing the elbow into the wrist
• Stretch should be felt in the back of the dominant arm shoulder
• Should feel no pain in the front of the dominant arm