Free 14U Velocity Building Program: 6 Weeks of Foundations

Who this template is for

Athletes with pain, recent injury, or a long throwing layoff need an individualized assessment before using a training framework. This is not a rehabilitation progression. Training age matters more than the roster label: a 14-year-old who has never lifted uses the 13U loads and bodyweight options first.

The key progression is doing ordinary work more consistently. You do not need to increase throwing intensity, lifting load, and sprint volume together. Pick one change, then observe the next practice and next-day response. Young or new lifters adapt best to two loading weeks followed by a lighter week, so this block uses that rhythm twice.

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 · Bilateral strength

B · Unilateral strength

T · The throwing week

Practice focus

Discuss the weekly plan with every coach involved. If a tournament adds games, remove supplementary work rather than squeezing it into rest days. Keep strength and throwing records together so fatigue is not attributed to only one activity.

Throwing program

Ages 13 to 14 · Offseason build · 3 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.

Week 1 · about 125 planned throws

Week 2 · about 140 planned throws

Week 3 · about 140 planned throws

Week 4 (lighter week) · about 105 planned throws

Week 5 · about 140 planned throws

Week 6 · about 150 planned throws

Throw counts include warm-up throws. Distances are ceilings, never targets. Pitch Smart for this age group: Ages 13 to 14: daily max of 95 pitches, no more than 100 combined innings in any 12 months, at least 4 months off from throwing each year. 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

Ready for the high school foundation when six weeks are complete with at least ten of twelve sessions, goblet squat and Romanian deadlift patterns are consistent under light load, single-leg balance holds 30 seconds, jump landings are quiet, and the athlete recovers within a day from the week’s hardest throwing. Age alone does not qualify; an athlete without these markers repeats this block.

Common questions

Do six weeks guarantee a velocity increase?

No. This is a generic organizational template; individual responses and throwing opportunities differ.

Should every pitcher copy the same mechanics?

No. Use clear, repeatable observations and one external coaching task at a time. Aesthetic similarity is not the goal.

Why are weeks 3 and 6 lighter?

Young and new lifters adapt to short waves: two loading weeks, then one lighter week to consolidate technique and shed fatigue. Textbook periodization places an unloading week at the end of each short block.

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. NSCA: Youth training and long-term athletic development

   Development and training experience matter alongside chronological age.

2. Haff & Triplett, Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning, 4th ed. (2016)

   Chapters 7, 17, 18, 20, 21 and 22: youth guidelines (1–3 sets of 6–15 repetitions, 2–3 nonconsecutive days per week, load increases of about 5–10%), exercise order and rest intervals, the two-for-two progression rule, plyometric prerequisites and 48–72 hour recovery with depth jumps contraindicated while growth plates are open, aerobic progression of no more than 10% per week, in-season maintenance with unloading weeks, and criterion-based return to play. Consulted from the supplied book; no program tables reproduced.

3. MLB Pitch Smart: pitching guidelines by age

   Daily pitch maximums and required rest days by age. Values quoted in these templates were checked in September 2026; the linked page is authoritative and league rules may be stricter.

4. 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.

5. Susan Hall, Basic Biomechanics (2023)

   Growth plates stay open until about age 18 and can be injured by repetitive loading; elbow valgus torque rises with ball speed; flexing the hips, knees and ankles on landing lengthens the absorption time and lowers peak force (pp. 86–96, 189–192, 369).