Build your plan

For healthy pitchers who are already playing catch without pain. Nothing you choose leaves your browser.

Your week-by-week plan will appear here.

Example template, not an individual prescription or medical advice. Pain means stop throwing and see a qualified clinician. Follow your league's pitch count and rest rules, which take priority over this plan.

How the generator builds your plan

Every plan follows the same few rules. They come from published guidelines and research where those exist, and from conservative coaching defaults where they do not. We label which is which.

  • Volume builds in small steps. Each week stays within roughly 0.8 to 1.25 times the average of the weeks before it. Reinold and colleagues (2024) designed a workload-based interval throwing program to keep the acute:chronic workload ratio between 0.7 and 1.3, after finding that a traditional program spent 18 percent of its days outside that range. The goal is a bigger chronic base, reached gradually, which is what lets a pitcher handle more intent later.
  • A lighter week is planned. Week 4 of each 6-week block drops volume and distance. The next week returns to the week 3 level before building again, so the return is not a spike.
  • Distance is earned. Long toss distance rises across the block toward an age-based ceiling. Published programs top out anywhere from 90 to 250 feet (Boos et al., 2025), so the ceilings here are Pitch AI defaults: about 90 feet for ages 9 to 10, 120 for 11 to 12, 150 for 13 to 14, 180 for high school and 200 for college and adult pitchers. For reference, standard interval throwing programs move pitchers to the mound once they can throw 120 feet without pain (Dias et al., 2023), and in one high school study elbow torque rose with distance up to about 120 feet and then leveled off (Dowling et al., 2018). Throws beyond that build range and arm speed for older pitchers, not more pitching-like load.
  • Intent comes after the base. Compression throws (harder throws on a line while walking back in) only appear for ages 13 and up, and only late in the offseason or in preseason. Fleisig and colleagues (2011) found hard throws on a line looked similar to pitching, while maximum-distance arc throws produced the highest elbow and shoulder loads, so this plan never asks for max-distance throws.
  • Games replace sessions. In-season, the game or outing is the high-intent day. The rest of the week keeps the arm moving with catch play, recovery throwing and lighter long toss or a short bullpen.
  • Throwing days are capped by age. Ages 9 to 12 are capped at 4 days and ages 13 to 14 at 5. That is our conservative default, not a published rule. Pitch Smart sets pitch counts, rest days and months off, not weekly throwing days.
Easy throws are rarely as easy as they feel

In a long toss study at 120 feet, throws pitchers rated as 75 percent effort still produced 93 percent of maximum elbow varus torque (Melugin et al., 2019). Count every throw in the plan, including catch play, and keep recovery days genuinely easy.

How to use the plan

  • Warm up first. The throw counts include warm-up catch. A full-body warm-up before throwing is not counted.
  • Start where you are. If you have not thrown in more than a few weeks, start with the offseason build, even if the season is close. Jumping straight into a preseason ramp from time off is the kind of spike the plan is designed to avoid.
  • Let readiness decide the day. If your arm is heavy, sleep was short or soreness lingers into the next morning, repeat the previous week instead of moving forward.
  • Log it. Paste your daily throw totals into the pitching workload calculator after four weeks to check your acute:chronic ratio.
  • Respect the calendar. Pitch Smart recommends at least 4 months off from throwing each year for ages 14 and under, and at least 4 months off from competitive pitching for ages 15 to 18, with 2 to 3 continuous months off from overhead throwing. Use the pitch count calculator for game limits and rest days.

What this generator does not do

It does not know your arm, your mechanics, your strength or your schedule beyond the three choices above. It does not include weighted balls, pulldowns or max-effort throws, and it is not a return-to-throw program. If you are coming back from an injury, use the return-to-throwing planning workbook with your clinician. For the bigger picture on choosing a plan, read the best throwing program for pitchers and our long toss program guide.

Frequently asked questions

How many days a week should a pitcher throw?

There is no published rule for every age. Pitch Smart sets game pitch counts, rest days and months off, not weekly throwing days. Many healthy high school and college pitchers throw 4 to 6 days a week in the offseason and preseason, while younger players do well with fewer, shorter sessions. This generator caps ages 9 to 12 at 4 days and ages 13 to 14 at 5 days as a conservative default.

How far should a pitcher long toss by age?

Published interval throwing programs top out anywhere from 90 to 250 feet (Boos et al., 2025), so there is no single standard. This generator builds toward about 90 feet for ages 9 to 10, 120 feet for 11 to 12, 150 feet for 13 to 14, 180 feet for high school and 200 feet for college and adult pitchers. Those are ceilings, not targets: stop backing up when throws stop being clean.

How fast should throwing volume increase?

Gradually. The generated plans keep each week within about 0.8 to 1.25 times the average of the previous weeks, in line with the 0.7 to 1.3 workload range Reinold and colleagues (2024) used to design a workload-based interval throwing program. A lighter week is built into every 6-week block.

Can I use this throwing program to come back from an injury?

No. Returning from an injury needs a clinician-led interval throwing program with its own criteria for each step. Use the return-to-throwing planning workbook with your physician or physical therapist instead.

Do games and team practice count toward the plan?

Yes. A game, bullpen or team practice with throwing replaces a planned session instead of stacking on top of it. Count those throws in your weekly workload too.

A plan that adjusts to you

Get a throwing program built for your arm in Pitch AI

This generator only knows three things about you. Pitch AI builds your baseball throwing program from your age, level, years pitching, recent pitch counts, available days, equipment, season phase and goal, then adjusts each day with a readiness check-in and tracks your acute:chronic workload ratio from the throws you log. After a logged game, it applies Pitch Smart rest days for your age.

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Sources and further reading

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