If you’re familiar with the collegiate softball schedule, you know it’s a year that spans an off-season from September to January, then ramps up from February to May with intense practices, games, and travel. The off-season prioritizes General Preparatory Phase training to boost the athletes’ size, speed, and strength. As February approaches and schedules fill with practices and double-headers, maintaining a strategic programming structure becomes essential, despite challenges like missed lifts due to travel.
Having grown up in the world of baseball, a few truths about ballplayers always stand out:
- Both baseball and softball are governed by routines, and disrupting a player’s routine can significantly impact their mental focus.
- The period before the first pitch involves a lengthy, deliberate warm-up process.
Trying to influence the entire warm-up process as a strength coach has the potential to enhance the athlete performance on the field, elevate the status and integration of strength coaches within the team structure, and garner recognition from players and sport coaches alike. I’ve observed that during their daily warm-ups, athletes often perform their movements mechanically. The intentionality behind their warm-up routines diminishes over time because these routines have remained repetitive and basic since childhood.
Reflecting on my own experience in baseball, I recall doing the same dynamic warm-up from the age of 5 until I was 15. The routine never evolved and became more of a tradition, causing my teammates and me to simply go through the motions. In athletics, we understand that without intention, we rarely see any progress or improvement. Moreover, the impact of intent facilitates athletes’ ongoing development, even on game days.
Video 1. Overall Activation warm-up showcasing TRX Y-Rows with an external rotation, Waterbag Alternating Switches, ½ Kneeling Banded Rows. Note how the warm-up is directly on the field, so athletes can transition into individual warm-ups.
A Standard Game Day Warm-Up
Typically, teams arrive at the field three hours before the scheduled first pitch to set up. During this time, players will pull the tarps off the field, set up the mound and infield area, and prepare the field for batting practice. Following this, there’s a rather routine and basic “dynamic warm-up” session aimed at loosening up. This phase tends to be leisurely and lacks urgency. Once warmed up, the team moves on to batting practice, typically lasting about 30 minutes. Subsequently, the opposing team takes their turn at batting practice, which also spans approximately 30 minutes. During this interval, players often engage in lighthearted banter, enjoy snacks, and relax.
As the game approaches, usually 45 to 60 minutes before the first pitch, teams’ transition to throwing, arm care routines, and infield/outfield drills—essential components of the baseball/softball warm-up routine. While some teams may have variations in their routines, this general structure is one I’ve consistently observed over time. While I don’t criticize these routines, based on my experience in the sport, I often felt my body wasn’t fully prepared for the game due to the leisurely warm-up period. As previously mentioned, when my teammates and I went through our dynamic warm-up, it often lacked intentionality. There was little intensity, and I didn’t feel my muscles were properly activated. We didn’t incorporate much tendon or muscle loading before games because it wasn’t customary to do so. This became problematic for me, as I often didn’t feel in sync with the game until after the first pitch, sometimes not until after my first at-bat. Now, as a strength coach in collegiate athletics, I strive to enhance game day routines even more.
For me, the solution was straightforward: Game Day becomes the prime opportunity to continue impacting our athletes’ development and ensuring they’re fully prepared for the challenge ahead—seven innings of competitive softball! This experience turned out to be the most gratifying period of my career as a strength coach. Being directly involved in game day preparations and collaborating closely with our exceptional softball coaching staff at Simon Fraser University, who truly integrated me into the team as a whole. Typically, as a strength coach, you’re part of the support staff for teams and may not always feel fully involved in the team dynamics. However, everything changes when you step into the athletes’ environment and witness the excitement they have on game day.
Game Day becomes the prime opportunity to continue impacting our athletes' development and ensuring they're fully prepared for the challenge ahead—seven innings of competitive softball!, says Timothy Rattan. Share on XSo, how did we manage game day preparations? Here’s a comprehensive breakdown of our pre-game routines, covering both the day before and the hours leading up to the first pitch.
Pre-Game Lift: Day Before Game
The day before a game follows a standard procedure where the team works within the strength coach’s environment. During these sessions, lifts serve the purpose of enhancing potentiation. We utilize various Olympic lifts, jump variations, and movements that generate high impulse—applied force that changes rapidly over time. The primary objective is to activate the athletes’ nervous systems without inducing complete fatigue before game day. Our focus isn’t on chasing muscle fatigue or achieving significant strength and hypertrophy gains during these sessions.
Breakdown of Power/Potentiation Day
- Movement Prep (5-10 mins)
- Include rotator cuff work, grip strengthening exercises, ankle yielding isometrics (20-60 second duration), hip mobility and stability exercises
- Neuro Prep (5-10 mins)
- High CNS Movements – Which can include Medicine Ball throws, Sprints, Low Level Extensive Plyometrics (pogo jumps, jumping rope, reactive single leg jumps)
- Primary Lift (25-35 mins)
- Olympics lifts & Variations – Generally High Pulls, Hang Power Cleans, Trap Bar Shrugs, Trap Bar Cleans
- Jump Variations – Intensive focus. Includes Broad Jumps, Box Jumps, Approach Hurdle Jumps
- High Impulse Movements –Iincludes kettlebell swings, kettlebell passes, medicine ball throws, waterbag swings
- Loaded Resistance Movements – During these movements the goal is to have load applied to the oblique and the contralateral oblique sling. We use loaded cable swings from a high angle to mimic a swing, minimize explosiveness on this exercise. The major high speed rotational movement will derive from medicine ball throws or waterbag swings.
When I tell the student-athletes “today is our power day,” they understand it’s about moving weights swiftly and energetically. This session also serves as our final opportunity of the week to expose them to high-speed activities, incorporating controlled volumes of sprints. The pre-game lifts inject positive energy and ensure the team is primed for the upcoming day.
Game Day Activation: Athlete & Coaching Buy-In
The first step to ensuring smooth game day activation was to align myself and the coaching staff. Luckily, the SFU Red Leafs’ softball coaching staff were receptive to collaborative ideas, and throughout the season, we worked seamlessly together. Kudos to the coaching staff for their openness to making adjustments to enhance our performance on the field. In discussions with the head coach, Stacy Fournier, we reviewed the entire game day routine leading up to the first pitch. I identified two key areas where we could make a difference:
- The initial warm-up before batting practice.
- The 30-minute gap while the opposing team takes batting practice.
These were critical moments where maintaining optimal nervous system activation and readiness were essential.
The next step involved discussions with the team captains. Understanding the importance of superstitions among softball players, my goal was to reassure the team that we were not making drastic changes, but rather adjustments to enhance their preparation. Once this was clarified, we moved on to implementing the new routine leading up to first pitch, detailed in Figure 1 below.
Understanding the importance of superstitions among softball players, my goal was to reassure the team that we were not making drastic changes, but rather adjustments to enhance their preparation, says Timothy Rattan. Share on X
Game Day Activation: Pitchers vs Position Players
Initially, we divided into two groups: Pitchers and Fielders. It was crucial to maintain a different pace for pitchers to preserve their flow and mental focus. During our team’s batting practice, we focused on activation exercises tailored for pitchers. This included dynamic movements to enhance hip stability and mobility, activation drills for the arm and rotator cuff, impulse exercises to improve hip rotation and projection (simulating pitching, and short-distance (10-yard) sprints to simulate the impact on the landing leg while on the mound.
Video 2. Showcasing the major movement patterns we cover during pitcher activation. Using Cossack squats and tripod around-the-worlds to activate and stretch out both the obliques and hip complex. Waterbag drill will be the primary focus for starting pitchers of the day to simulate throwing a pitch.
With pitchers, I made minimal adjustments, while for position players, we adjusted their routine more extensively. Referring to Figure 1, we conducted two separate warm-ups. We kept the team’s usual dynamic warm-up intact to respect their established approach. After their dynamic warm-up and a series of waterfall sprints (requested by the captains), we proceeded to “Activation 1” before batting practice.
Here, the focus was on preparing for hitting by engaging the obliques, hip complex, and enhancing rotational flexibility. This phase included dynamic stabilization exercises with water bags, an overcoming isometric component, and ballistic movements using light bands. After targeting all key areas for swinging, the team smoothly transitioned into batting practice.
Video 3. Before batting practice, it’s a chance to warm up the obliques and emphasize rotational activation. Specifically, we incorporate both a waterbag swing (top video) and a variation of the Pallof press (bottom video) to simulate the movements used during a swing.
After batting practice, I aimed to improve the 30-minute downtime in our pre-game routine. Instead of idle time, we introduced a 15-minute activation session that differed from the traditional “arm care” routine typically seen. A typical arm care regimen includes performing rotator cuff exercises with various resistance bands. These exercises focus on both external and internal rotation movements. Such routines are often rooted in tradition, which isn’t necessarily problematic. However, they can become repetitive over time, lacking the necessary progression required for adaptation to occur.
During this period, athletes had more autonomy in the total amount of volume they completed prior to first pitch. This activation included impulse variations, tissue strengthening exercises, and dynamic movements, focusing on activating the posterior chain and shoulder girdle as shown in sample videos.
Breakdown of Activation 2
- Med Ball – Para – ½ Kneel Press or vertical toss
- TRX Y-Row
- Waterbag Rotational Swing
- Waterbag Alternating Switch
- ½ Kneel Band Row
Following this brief session, the team still had time for personal arm care routines and relaxation before transitioning to throwing and team warm-ups on the field.
Video 4. After Batting Practice has been completed, the team then transitions to the field for activation 2. The video above showcases 3 different exercises, TRX Y-Row to External rotation, ½ Kneel Banded Rows (bottom video) & Waterbag Alternating Switch (Top Video).
Being Part of the Team
In athletics and sports, game day stands out as the pinnacle that excites players, coaches, staff, and fans alike. It’s a day when everyone unites to strive for victory as a team. Establishing a robust game day routine that preserves athletes’ nervous system integrity before the first pitch is crucial.
Game day stands out as the pinnacle that excites players, coaches, staff, and fans alike... Establishing a robust game day routine that preserves athletes' nervous system integrity before the first pitch is crucial. Share on XUnlike the conventional approach—where softball players warmed up and then waited around for up to 1.5 hours—we segmented activations to minimize downtime and significantly enhance athlete development on game days. Returning to the diamond to influence the game in fresh ways has been among the most rewarding experiences in my young career as a strength coach. Even though traditional softball warm-ups were firmly established, players found this new approach to be invigorating and revitalizing for game day operations. According to player feedback, they felt more prepared as the first pitch approached, which was the primary objective behind these adjustments.
For those interested in adopting a similar strategy and avoiding the monotony of being solely a “weight room person,” I highly recommend immersing yourself in the athletes’ environment, collaborating closely with coaching staff and players, and injecting new energy into athlete development work.
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References
Dechant, Z. (2018). Movement over Maxes: Developing the Foundation for Baseball Performance. Independently Published.
Schlesinger, C. (2023). Micro-Dosing Performance. Lecture.
Care, T. (2024). Holistic Performance Management Concurrent Model. Lecture-NSCA.
Rattan, T (2023). Creating a Plan for In-Season Softball Training.
