Free 4-Week Throwing & Command Practice Program

Who this template is for

Use only if the coach approves replacing part of an existing pain-free session. The listed throws count toward that session’s total; they are not extra throws. Because the task is done at about 70–85% of your hardest effort, it is a moderate day: not the day after a bullpen or game, and not on a recovery day. If you have stopped throwing, have arm pain, or are returning from injury, this is not your starting plan.

Command is intent versus outcome: say the target before the throw, then record where the ball actually crossed. A tight group in the wrong place is an aiming or launch-line problem; a scattered group is a repeatability problem, and strike rate alone cannot tell them apart. Practice design follows a constraints-led approach: change the task—target, distance, or ball—rather than instructing body positions, and vary the task from the first session because the same outcome is produced by slightly different movements every time.

For age-specific pitching limits and rest requirements, consult the current MLB Pitch Smart guidance and your league’s rules. Limits are ceilings, not training targets.

Your weekly framework

The days below are movable placeholders. A qualified coach should fit them around current throwing, other teams, and recovery. Throwing volume comes from the throwing program below; it prescribes no maximum-intent throwing and does not stack on top of team practice or games.

Session details

Before each session, 8–12 minutes: easy walking or jogging, leg swings, hip and upper-back rotations, then a light band arm-care series (external and internal rotation, a row, and a scapular raise; one set of 10–15 each), then an unloaded rehearsal of the first exercise. Use a clear surface, a secure band anchor, and equipment sized to the athlete.

Order each session so the work that depends on freshness comes first: jumps or sprints, then the main strength exercise, then accessory and trunk work, with any conditioning last. Main strength sets stop with 2–3 clean repetitions still possible; accessory, youth, and beginner sets keep 3 or more in reserve. Rest 2–3 minutes after jumps, sprints, and main strength sets and 60–90 seconds after accessory sets. Progress by the two-for-two rule: when the final set reaches two repetitions above target in two consecutive sessions, add the smallest available load (about 2.5–5 lb for upper-body and 5–10 lb for lower-body exercises, or 5–10% for youth). End a set when speed, balance, or technique changes. No lifting to failure or maximum-effort testing is required.

A · Two targets, alternated

B · Repeat and compare

Practice focus

This dose is an original practical example informed by a coaching command sheet (four sets of four, at least 70% effort, advancement on at least half the throws hit), not a clinically validated command intervention. Stop if the arm hurts, the motion changes with fatigue, or the chosen effort no longer feels comfortable. The coach can shorten or remove the task at any point. No weighted-ball, maximum-distance, or maximum-intent progression is included.

Throwing program

Ages 19 and up (college and adult) · Offseason build · 4 throwing days per week. Build throwing volume and long toss distance first. Intent rises late in the block, after the base is there.

Place the throwing days on your week so the longest or hardest day is not the day before a game, and throw before lifting when they share a day. If a team already runs throwing practice, that practice is the session: use the numbers below as a ceiling and log what was actually done. Games replace a throwing day; they never stack on top. Repeat a week instead of moving on if the arm feels heavy or soreness lasts into the next morning.

Run each command session inside a catch play day: the 16 target throws replace 16 of that day’s comfortable throws, so the day’s total does not go up.

Week 1 · about 260 planned throws

Week 2 · about 280 planned throws

Week 3 · about 290 planned throws

Week 4 (lighter week) · about 210 planned throws

Throw counts include warm-up throws. Distances are ceilings, never targets. Pitch Smart for this age group: Ages 19 to 22: daily max of 120 pitches and at least 3 months off from competitive pitching each year, including at least 4 continuous weeks off from all overhead throwing. Need a different phase or number of days? Use the free throwing program generator.

Week-by-week progression

The weeks are decision points, not deadlines. Repeat or reduce a week when recovery is poor. Exact doses here are original coaching examples, not a research-proven route to a certain velocity.

When to move on

Progress the task, not the volume: when the hit rate exceeds 50% for two consecutive sessions, make the target smaller or move 5–10 feet farther, holding effort constant. When the hit rate falls below 25%, make the target larger again. After four weeks, keep one session per week or fold the task into bullpens with the coach.

Common questions

Can I add this after a bullpen?

Do not add it to the end of an already complete throwing workload. It replaces an approved portion of existing catch or a flat-ground session, or is omitted.

Why two targets from day one instead of one?

Skill research favors variability from the first session: the same outcome is produced by slightly different movements each time, and alternating targets trains the adjustment. A pitcher who is already very scattered can use one target and fewer changes; a consistent pitcher gets more variation.

Does hitting the target prove my mechanics are safe?

No. Accuracy does not diagnose joint loading or injury risk. Use video observations and qualified coaching in context.

Evidence & source notes

These sources inform the principles, not a guarantee that this exact template produces an outcome. Coaching manuals are labeled separately from research. No proprietary program tables or illustrations have been reproduced.

1. Rob Gray, How We Learn to Move (2021)

   Constraints-led practice: change the task (target, distance, ball, surface) rather than instructing joint positions; use variability from the first session and scale it to the athlete; prefer external, analogy-based cues; define targets by what to hit, not what to avoid; scale equipment for children instead of breaking skills into drills (chapters 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11).

2. Driveline Baseball, Differential Command Program (supplied sheet)

   Logic only: at least 70% effort, one or two sessions per week that may replace a high-intent day, four sets of four throws, and advancement once at least half the throws are strikes. Its differential-ball table is proprietary and not reproduced; the template uses a regular baseball.

3. Driveline Baseball, Hacking the Kinetic Chain: Advanced Pitching

   Supplied edition. Pre-throwing warm-up and band arm care (pp. 79–98), auto-regulated long toss (pp. 118–120), on-ramp periods of one to four weeks scaled to time off (pp. 170, 185), a recovery day after every maximum-effort day and pulldowns no more than once every five days (pp. 165–166), and age tiers that reserve hard weighted balls for older athletes with youth limited to light training balls (pp. 122, 177–178). Coaching context, not proof that a particular drill prevents injury.

4. ASMI: Position Statement for Adolescent Baseball Pitchers

   Fatigue and throwing workload require active management; fastball and change-up skills come before breaking pitches.