Staying on the Field and Off the Injury List

Over the last several years, the lines between in-season, off season, and pre-season for softball have significantly blurred.  I see my students (not only the gold and showcase level athletes who may be traveling to tournaments well into January) but younger players as well, extending their competitive activities into what used to be the off season.  I like to look at the off season as a 2 to 3 month “active” rest period where our athletes can work on fundamentals, acquire new skills and, most importantly, recover.  Rest is as important a component of training as anything else the athlete does.  The shortening of this recovery period is the quickest path to converting an acute pain or injury into a chronic one.

Use your pre-season to work on flexibility, balance,stamina and agility.  Joe has wonderful posts to help you with all of these.  You may not be ale to turn the clock back to correct for the fact that you haven’t taken a day off in a year and half, but you can still approach the pre-season intelligently and prepare your body to stay off the physical therapist table, and on the field.