Routine for a softball athlete

[wheyman]

I'm putting a routine together for my 17yr old daughter. She plays softball year around and will be playing in college pretty soon.

Goals - Overall, be stronger and a bit faster. She's considered a power hitter so I'd like to increase her power as much as possible and try, if possible, to improve her sprint speed. If both can't be accomplished, more powerful will be the objective.

The routine I'm writing has a lot of low rep stuff to really focus on strength and explosiveness. I like to also finish off power movements, like squats, with something explosive like box jumps.

Here is a sample...

LEGS/BACK/BI'S

Squats - 4 x 6
Modified stationary lunges on box - 3 x 8 - Basically stand on an 8 inch box, lunge back, then explode that knee back up.
Glute/Ham Raises - 3 x 8
Box Jumps - 3 x 6
Assisted Pullups - 3 x 6
Landmines (Abs) - 3 x 10

Question is, since we're going for strength here, what kind of protocol should we be looking at for intensity? In other words, how often should she be going heavy? I know going heavy all the time is bad.

Should we look into some of Westside's protocol? They have a dynamic/Max effort, etc.

I'm looking at an 8 week plan, then take a full week off for recovery, then a new routine for another 8 weeks.

Thoughts?

[AvidFisherman]

I played college baseball as a pitcher. We did a lot of light weight/high rep weightlifting. Squats, cleans, polymetrics and a lot of cable movements. We ran and swam a lot, exercised our legs and abs more than our upper bodies.

You can look up who the athletic trainer is at your local university and talk to them. Coaches are limited in their interaction with high school students but I don't think athletic trainers are.

[Scrumhalf]

^ What Avid said. Squats, cleans, plyo, sled and harness trainer work, etc. would be more useful than a conventional BB-type routine. I'm not as familiar with softball but I assume that speed, quickness and agility would be key in addition to explosive strength. Plus lots of stretching/flexibility drills. I would avoid any BB/strength type routines. Having a conversation with a trainer associated with a college athletic program might not be a bad idea.