The USA Baseball Medical/Safety Advisory Committee has provided the following recommendations for youth and adolescent baseball players during the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic:
1. Your Important Role in Social Distancing
Baseball players and their families have never experienced anything like the COVID-19 global pandemic. While we are all anxious to return to baseball, we have a bigger issue to deal with first: social distancing. Your participation in social distancing may not only save your life, but also contributes to keeping our neighbors, family, and friends safe. Please follow the guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and your state and local governments. We are all in this together, as stated here.
2. When are we Returning?
Amateur baseball organizations are monitoring government mandates and guidelines, and will re-open when it is appropriate. As school baseball teams have been canceled for the spring 2020 season, each amateur player and family should determine a personal target for the next time they will be playing organized baseball. If they plan to return to a team in the next few weeks, the player should view the current time as preseason preparation; however, if the next season of competition is several months away, the player should view the current time as an offseason.
3. Baseball Strength and Conditioning
Staying at home because of coronavirus has created a situation with less outdoor physical activity. It is vital that amateur baseball players exercise during these times, whether indoors or outdoors. Physical activity should be fun and gratifying for physical and emotional health. The USA Baseball Athletic Preparation Plan includes videos of Arm Care, Lower Body Strength and Dynamic Flexibility exercises.
4. Baseball Skill Development
Skill training in the home and backyard requires some creativity. A few worthwhile activities for hitters are dry swings, one-handed and two-handed tee drills with a catch net or a hanging blanket, and whiffle ball. Pitchers must balance their volume of work to improve their skills but also take steps to avoid overuse. Throwing programs during the shutdown may include bullpen pitching, interval throwing, and weighted balls. USA Baseball offers a wide variety of free development-based assets online at USABDevelops.com and on its Mobile Coach App.
5. The Complete Athlete
While there may be some tempting poor lifestyle choices at home, especially during the time of a pandemic, the most successful athletes embrace proper nutrition and hydration to optimize their physical activity and recovery. Emotional well-being is also critical for thriving during these unusual and stressful times.
6. Baseball is Still a Team Sport
Although players may be apart for social distancing, the efforts of the team can still be a coordinated effort. Recommendations for coaches are located here.