From the time players first learn to throw a baseball, they are taught the importance of warming up their arm before a game starts. Unfortunately, it is seldom that players are taught the importance of stretching their backs and legs as well.

Depending on their level of activity, by the time a player reaches middle school, they start to lose some of their flexibility as muscles continue to develop and strengthen. It is not uncommon for a player in this age group and older to come up limping after a cold sprint down the first base line trying to beat out a single. In the early weeks of a season, where night games are played in cool temperatures and players have been sitting in classrooms all day long -- leg, arm, and back muscles will be tight. This is especially true in northern states where late afternoon temperatures take a harder dip from daytime highs.

Ideally, stretching should start with the back since it is involved in every aspect of playing baseball. Simple trunk rotations and gentle twist fro side to side are a good way to get the upper and lower back muscles warmed up. Having a player place a baseball bat behind their neck and across their shoulders, holding it in place with their hands, is a great way to perform these simple stretches.

Once the back is loosened up and a player can safely bend at the waist, the legs should be the next muscle group to warm up. While the player is still holding a baseball bat across their shoulders, have them perform fifteen to twenty slow squats, focusing on keeping the back straight, to begin to loosen the front of the legs. Follow this up by having the player touch the ground with their palms while their legs are spread shoulders length apart will work the back of the legs. Hold this position for a count of fifteen. Lastly, have the player place their hands on a fence and reach one leg behind them, resting on the ball of the foot. Now have them slowly press the heel of the extended leg to the ground to stretch the calf muscle in this leg. Hold it for a count of fifteen. Repeat this stretch for the opposite leg.

With the back and legs properly warmed up, it is safe to start working the throwing arm. Players should begin by soft tossing the baseball with a teammate from a close distance. After roughly a dozen throws by each player, the players should take a few steps back (depending on age and range) and repeat the process until they are at about 80% of their maximum range.

Considering that most players arrive at the field still finishing their dinner and just in time to be penciled into the line-up, there is barely time to get the throwing arm lose, let alone the rest of the body. By teaching these simple stretching techniques during practice, players who are running late can begin to loosen up their backs and legs at home, saving the precious pre-game time for getting the arm lose and warming up the glove.