Offseason-taking a break vs tryouts

[bmd]

My dd's last tournament is this Saturday. Her plan is to take all of December off. Sounds good to me as I've learned this year that time off and rest periods are a necessity. However a lot of TB tryouts are going on in December and January. So she will not be going to any tryouts in December. But will go to some in January. I don't think its a good idea to roll up on the scene cold turkey after a month off. My dd is one of those that really falls back after a break. What are your thoughts?

 

[osagedr]

She should be able to pitch enough to stay sharp while not carrying her normal workload and get rest that way. This worked extremely well for DD this fall - her time "off" was throwing once or twice per week for short workouts so she didn't regress. Good luck!

 

[Snotbubbles]

She should be able to pitch enough to stay sharp while not carrying her normal workload and get rest that way. This worked extremely well for DD this fall - her time "off" was throwing once or twice per week for short workouts so she didn't regress. Good luck!

That's not time off.

My DD doesn't pick a ball for ~6 weeks, starting Thanksgiving week. She always comes back in January throwing harder and knocks the rust off pretty quickly. We do another rest period starting mid-July to September. We aren't moving teams however and her coaches don't ask her to pitch at tryouts so we have the luxury.

 

[grcsftbll]

That's not time off.

My DD doesn't pick a ball for ~6 weeks, starting Thanksgiving week. She always comes back in January throwing harder and knocks the rust off pretty quickly. We do another rest period starting mid-July to September. We aren't moving teams however and her coaches don't ask her to pitch at tryouts so we have the luxury.

We do this too. I think our team will still have a few practices in December but she won't pitch during them and I think it'll only be maybe 4 all month. Probably focused on hitting, with it being indoors. Mine's younger but after our break last year she seemed stronger, not rusty. Hoping it'll be the same way this year but we pick practice & lessons back up in January.

 

[maksoftball]

I struggle with this because of muscle memory. HS ball starts beginning of February (mostly shake off the rust scrimmages and tournaments). Is 2-3 weeks of warm up in January enough to get muscle memory back? Or can't they just go through the motions 2-3 times a week hitting and pitching? HS tryouts are in January around MLK weekend (not worried - returning varsity). I'm all for the break because year round is just too much...always concerned about timing and muscle memory.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[riseball]

Throwing very light during workouts to get the arm moving once or twice a week is much more effective to promoting recovery and enhancing perfomrance than doing nothing for several weeks. Unless you are recovering from an injury one of the worst things you can do is completely shutdown. I think the perpetuation of this myth of complete shutdown for several weeks is more about parents wanting break from the grind than a desire for healthy, high level athletic performance.

 

[KneeHighSocks]

My DD hasn't picked up a ball since Oct 31. She has a team wide pitching clinic this weekend and it will be her first time pitching in 3 weeks. She will probably start easing into a light once or twice a week routine sometime next week (after this clinic). The 3+ weeks off was so good for her mentally, sometimes the "gotta practice, gotta get better" voice in her head would really wear on her mentally. A mental break is just as important as a physical one. We Don't have try outs over Winter here, everyone generally stays together all year, so we have that luxury of having a true "time off" period where she doesn't have to worry about it.

 

[bmd]

Throwing very light during workouts to get the arm moving once or twice a week is much more effective to promoting recovery and enhancing perfomrance than doing nothing for several weeks. Unless you are recovering from an injury one of the worst things you can do is completely shutdown. I think the perpetuation of this myth of complete shutdown for several weeks is more about parents wanting break from the grind than a desire for healthy, high level athletic performance.

I can't speak for other parents about why their kids take breaks but I let my dd be in control of her schedule/desires/goals. She came to me last week and said she needed a break. If I had my choice I would have chosen a different time period this year for a break. Her breaks are not complete shut downs. She will do yoga, jband exercises and hitting lessons. Just will not pitch in December. I have to allow her wish for a break so that she will not burn out. However, I worry about her falling back too much before tryouts. She is the type that really will need two weeks to get things back....her speed will be there but her control will suffer and she will have two weeks of frustration. I worry about that. That's why I posted on the subject....I am curious as to how others allow dds extended breaks without falling back in progress.

 

[grcsftbll]

Throwing very light during workouts to get the arm moving once or twice a week is much more effective to promoting recovery and enhancing perfomrance than doing nothing for several weeks. Unless you are recovering from an injury one of the worst things you can do is completely shutdown. I think the perpetuation of this myth of complete shutdown for several weeks is more about parents wanting break from the grind than a desire for healthy, high level athletic performance.

Is it a myth? All I see everywhere is how a year round sport is harmful for athletes and that breaks are crucial for their physical (not to mention mental) well being. I pretty much never get sick of watching DD play. We'd practice all winter without complaint. But I'm seeing a lot out there that's the opposite of what you're saying. Not that they should do NOTHING but that they should do non-softball things for at least 6 weeks a couple of times a year.

 

[KneeHighSocks]

I...I am curious as to how others allow dds extended breaks with falling back in progress.

My DD may fall back in progress but she doesn't pitch in games until March.We plan to do light pitching in December and then her team will start to have bi weekly indoor practice and she will see her PC once a week as well. If she gets a good few weeks of solid practice in February she will be good to go come march. There were times in the season where she would say to me that all she does is practice and she missed out on other stuff that her friends were doing. She played softball every weekend and said no to theme park and movies and sleepovers etc. It's important for her to have a balance and not start to resent practicing. Now that she's had a couple weeks of she told me she misses pitching. She will walk around the house doing arm circles etc. She's ready to go back to it. She WANTS to go back to it. I can't speak for other girls or parents, but for my DD the break far outweighs any couple weeks of rustiness