By Chad Henry, sports dad and former program director
My son plays travel baseball. This time of year, once the season wraps up, we don't throw at all. People are sometimes surprised by that, so here's why rest is on our calendar every week, all year.
Burnout is the real risk
My son is 12, and to me this age is the danger zone. It's when kids start to get burned out, they're doing too much, they fall out of love with it, or they find other interests.
So I'm not trying to squeeze every rep out of him right now. I'm trying to get him through this stretch still loving the game. This is a long journey, and the more excitement you build around it, the more it sticks. It's not the military.
Let him be a kid
I don't want baseball taking up every hour he's not in school. Some days he's just riding his bike or playing video games or doing 12-year-old boy stuff, and it has nothing to do with sports. He needs normal breaks to be a kid, and constant year-round focus on baseball is not going to allow that.
Even in season, he still gets to be a kid. Can you have a sleepover this weekend? Not when you have games. But you can have one the weekend you don't. He's learning to make those choices, and he isn't missing out on everything else along the way. In the end, this is a life journey.
It has to be his reason
This is also the age when kids start figuring out why they play. A lot of baseball lives through "my dad played, my uncle played, my grandpa played." I want him playing because he loves it, for his own reasons. Giving him a say in his rest is part of that.
A set off day, plus one he picks
Every week he has a set off day. He also gets a flex day he picks himself, either a Wednesday or a Friday. If it was a really heavy game weekend, he gets a second flex day and can take Monday off too.
It all comes down to one question: How do you feel today?
I give him that say instead of telling him "you have to go, you need to be here." It keeps the game fun and interesting for him, and doesn't make it feel like a chore. He loves going to practice because his friends are there and because he genuinely enjoys it.
Rest is what lets him push
Rest isn't the soft option. Earlier this year he hit his first wall. He was physically tired, his arm was a little sore, and he let everything get to him.
So he took a week off. Got to just be a kid, ride his bike, play his video games, without worrying about it. Then we got back to work, because there are going to be days when it's hot and you're tired and you have to figure out how to push through. Rest is what gets him ready for those days.
Shut it down in the off-season
A lot of programs are afraid to give kids time off. They think the kid will leave and not come back, or someone else will poach them. What I've found is the opposite. Let their bodies rest, heal, and recuperate.
For us at home, once we get to a certain point in the year, we just don't throw. He's been throwing all year, so we shut it down from mid-October through December. After Christmas we ramp back up with a few low-key indoor tournaments. In January we add another practice a week, so his arm is ready for the first outdoor tournaments in mid-March.
That time away builds the want. By spring he's saying he can't wait until it gets warmer and counting down the days to get back on the field. We all need that mental break.
And take the holidays off. The season is taxing on the player, but also on the families who make it happen. They need a break from the travel, the drives to practice, and the hectic schedule too.
Keep it light at home
Off-season doesn't have to mean a complete stop, though. We do drills he can work on while he's watching television, so he keeps getting better without giving up something he wants to do.
My advice: put rest on the calendar the same way you put games there, and let your kid own part of it.
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