by Alan Jaeger
Published in CBN, reformatted and posted here with the author's permission. (3 part series.)

Part 1 covers the reason we need a better long toss approach, part 2 why 120' programs don't work..

From experience, I can tell you that if you take the time and distance constraint restrictions off a player, quite simply, their arm will have a chance to grow and evolve naturally. What's in the arm can reveal itself when we get out of its way. When we learn how to listen to and trust the arm to be our guide, it will tell us what it wants to do from day to day. Over time, this process allows the arm to maximize its strength, endurance and recovery period; over time, players tend to be more athletic and intimate with their arms. And yes, even mechanics can be benefited through proper training when Long Tossing.
 
Through all of my years of training, it's remarkable and refreshing to see what each player is capable of experiencing simply by giving them the freedom to let their arm manifest its natural abilities. It's taking the arm out of the cage, and letting it work with nature.
 
It's this mentality that allowed a pitcher like Joel Zumaya, who was an 11th round pick out of high school in 2003, to go from 88-92 in high school to 98-103 by the time he was 21. Make no mistake - I am far more gratified to know that Joel's arm had been conditioned for health, endurance and recovery period reasons first, but the velocity is an added bonus of allowing a players arm to be "opened up" rather than constrained. [Editor's Note: it was Alan Jaeger who worked with Zumaya to realize this increase.]
 
The arm will find its home if given a chance. By removing time and distance constraints, only the arm knows what it's capable of doing. Only then will the arm have a chance to realize it's potential. And if there is more health, strength and endurance to be found in the arm, wouldn‚' you like to find this out?
 

Though, the United States seemed to be the "leaders" in the baseball world for so many years, we suddenly find ourselves wondering why we are taking a back seat to so many other countries when it comes to the development of arms. Simply put, why are there so many arm injuries occurring at alarming rates in the U.S.? Why does it seem that so many professional scouts are "down" on throwing arms in the U.S.? Why does such a small country like the Dominican Republic represent approximately 10% of all players on Major League rosters? Why are 40% of all minor league rosters (as of 2006) comprised of foreign born players? Why are there so many more signings of "well conditioned, hard throwing" pitchers from the Far East (who are clearly not as "big" in stature)? Why do these other countries seem to produce so many players with strong, durable and healthy arms (until they come to the U.S.)?
 
Well, I can assure you, it's not a coincidence. From the research I've done, based on the training culture of the Dominican and Japanese players it is clear that players from these countries not only long toss far distances, but their throwing sessions last for a much longer period of time. This form of training makes complete sense because their arms are not restricted by time and distance constraints. There‚s no one telling them how often, how far or how hard to throw. Quite the opposite - their arms are free to grow because they become an extension of nature. Their arms are given life, rather than having life taken away. And what's in their arm can be found.
 
When you get in nature's way by introducing unnatural limits and constraints on your arm, you are asking for problems. For the sake of the next generation of players, I hope the powers that be heed the call. It's not about whose way is right; it's about getting it right.

As much as I believe in Long Toss, and have seen its effects consistently over the past 15 years on players I've trained, it doesn't mean everyone has to long toss - if a player feels comfortable throwing 120 feet, for whatever reasons, let him - but let's not force players into 120 feet either. Let's not put that Giant Redwood into a 10 foot greenhouse, or that Ferrari in the garage. And let's not let mechanical theories, which I believe are unfounded anyway, to distract our attention away from the overwhelming benefits we get from Long Toss. Namely: Health, Strength, Endurance and Recovery Period.
 
It's time for the proponents of the 120 foot throwing program to ask themselves, why are we training players at 40% of their capacity at the professional levels, and conservatively, 50% at the high school and collegiate levels? Why are we having players throw for the same amount of time and distance, as if all arms are built the same? Ultimately, why are we getting in natures way?
 
The arm is like any other amazing organism. If given a chance, it has plenty of room to grow. The problem is, with the current state of many of the throwing programs here in the U.S., it‚s becoming an endangered species. And this trend will continue as long as we put time and distance constraints on it. Fortunately, it‚s only going to be a temporary thing because nature always wins. I just hope that "temporary" doesn't last for another 20 more years.
 
Alan Jaeger would like to thank Jim Vatcher, Ron Wolforth, Brent Strom, Jerry Weinstein and Rob Bruno for playing an instrumental role in writing this article. He founded Jaeger Sports in response to the growing need to address the two most neglected areas of baseball: The Arm and The Mind.