By Isaiah Trevino –
Oftentimes, especially throughout the summer, fall, and winter, players find themselves stuck between playing travel ball and actual training. Playing against live batters and live pitchers can certainly help prepare you for your spring high school season, but there isn’t quite a substitute for purposeful training. On the other hand, it can be difficult to completely replicate the game-like scenarios, pressure, and feelings you experience during competition. It’s not impossible, but it does take creativity and intention.
There are pros and cons to both, and several things you need to take into consideration when deciding how to spend your summer, fall, and winter.
If you are at a stage in your career where you need development more than anything, whether that’s at the plate, on the mound, or in the field, I believe it is more beneficial to spend the majority of your offseason training rather than playing.
I know playing baseball, especially travel ball, is the more glamorous thing to do. However, if it isn’t the most beneficial thing for your development and your career, then you should reconsider how you spend your offseason.
There’s nothing wrong with playing for part of the summer or fall to get some game reps in. If you can do both, sometimes that is the answer for a lot of people. However, if all you do is play and you never spend time training, it will be very difficult to continue improving simply by playing the game.
In my own experience, I didn’t play a ton in the offseason because I spent most of my time training. If I could go back and do it again, I would probably try to play a little bit more while still maintaining the amount of training I did. I really feel like I grew a lot because of the time I spent training.
On the other hand, if you are already pretty well developed for your age and are trying to get your name in front of college or professional scouts, I think playing during the summer can be a great idea.
There isn’t one answer that will fit everybody. Each person is on their own development path, and your needs are going to change at different points in your career.
For example, if you are going into your senior year of high school and are throwing 82–84 mph, you probably have no business spending your time at a University of Texas prospect camp. Instead, your time may be better spent training with the goal of gaining 4–6 mph before the start of your senior year.
Now, if you are already throwing 91–93 mph and, for whatever reason, don’t have a place to play in college yet, attending a prospect camp could make a lot more sense.
Like most things here at The Ranch, this is not a one-size-fits-all answer.
At some point in your career, you’re going to need to train more. At another point, you may need to play more. The key is understanding what you need right now and making decisions based on that, not based on what everyone else is doing.
Whatever stage you are at in your career, whether you are training or playing, stay in the moment and be 100% engaged in whatever you’re doing. If you’re training, train with purpose. If you’re playing, compete and get everything you can out of those game reps.
Right now, we are about a month into fall, and I’m sure a lot of you have already made decisions about how much you are going to play or train. After reading this, I hope you either feel confident that you made the right decision or recognize that you may need to make an adjustment for this year, or possibly the next.
There are good things and not-so-good things about both.
Just be sure to weigh them accordingly and hyper-personalize your offseason based on what’s best for you. Your development is your responsibility, and the right answer for someone else may not be the right answer for you.
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Important TBR Updates
- It’s back! You asked, we answered. We are binging back our pitching coaches workshop. It will be held this year on December 4th & 5th. For more information or to register go to www.CoachesBootcamp.com or email info@texasbaseballranch.com.
- Registration for our Advanced Alumni Camp on January 2 & 3 is now open! Save $500 with Early Bird registration through November 10th. Space is limited to 32 pitchers. You must have attended a previous Ranch event to participate in this camp. CLICK HERE to register.
- Join us for a Fall/Winter Elite Pitchers Boot Camp!
October 10-12 (Sat-Mon) Spots Limited
November 21-23 (Sat-Mon) Spots Limited
December 28-30 (Mon-Wed)
January 16-18 (Sat-Mon)
February 13-15 (Sat-Mon)
To register or learn more CLICK HERE
- Have you been considering attending one of our 3-Day Elite Pitchers Bootcamp but haven’t yet pulled the trigger? To help, we have a detailed mailing package entitled “What Makes This Boot Camp Different”. If you’d like to receive this package and start making plans for the summer, email Info@TexasBaseballRanch.com and request a copy.
- Our October classes start next week! You can still join us. Classes are held Mondays and Wednesdays from 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM, and you can choose to attend one or both days each week. Spots are limited. Email Info@TexasBaseballRanch.com or call our office at (936) 588-6762 to secure a spot or ask any questions.
- Attention Catchers! Our annual Elite Catcher’s Boot Camp will be held December 11th – 13th. Registration is now open. CLICK HERE to learn more and reserve your spot. $500 Early Bird savings available.
- Coach Wolforth is hosting a special 90 minute webinar – “The Velocity Code: 3 Secrets to Improving Velocity and Staying Healthy” on Thursdays at 7pm CST. If you’d like to attend the next webinar, CLICK HERE to register.
