How to Long Toss: The Complete Guide for Pitchers

Everything a high school, travel, or college pitcher needs to know about long toss — what it is, how to do it without hurting yourself, how far you should actually throw, and why GPS-measured distance changes how you train. Reading time: ~8 minutes.

What is long toss?

Long toss is a throwing protocol where a pitcher progressively extends their throw distance to build arm strength, range of motion, and velocity. Most sessions cover three phases: a warm-up at short distance, a stretch-out phase extending out to peak distance, and a pull-down phase walking back in while throwing on a flatter, max-effort plane.

It's been a staple of high-level pitching development for 40+ years. Modern programs from Driveline Baseball, Alan Jaeger, and most college programs include long toss as a core element 2–4 times per week.

Why long toss builds velocity

Two physiological mechanisms make long toss effective:

1. Improved arm speed at release. Throwing for distance forces your arm to recruit a full kinetic chain — legs, hips, torso, shoulder, elbow, wrist — in the same sequence used at maximum velocity. Repeating this pattern under load trains your nervous system to fire faster.
2. Increased external rotation + shoulder mobility. Reaching for distance lengthens the throwing motion, increasing the runway the arm has to accelerate. Research from ASMI and The Hardball Times has linked greater layback to higher fastball velocity.

Studies on Driveline's high-intent long toss + pull-down protocols have shown fastball velocity gains of 1–3 mph over 6–12 weeks in pitchers aged 14–22 when programmed correctly. The key word is "programmed" — long toss done with no plan can also cause injury.

How to do a long toss session (step-by-step)

A standard long toss session takes about 25–40 minutes. Here's the framework most coaches teach:

1. Warm up properly (5 min)

Start with light band work, jumping jacks, or a 5-minute jog to elevate body temperature. Then begin throwing at 30–45 feet — easy on the arm, focus on rhythm and clean release.

2. Stretch-out phase (10–15 min)

Gradually extend your throws every 3–5 reps. Walk back ~15–20 feet each round. Use easy arc on extension throws — let the ball travel through the air, don't muscle it. Distance benchmarks for a 17-year-old high school pitcher:

• 60 ft → 5 throws
• 90 ft → 5 throws
• 120 ft → 5 throws
• 150 ft → 5 throws
• 180 ft → 5 throws
• 220 ft → 3-5 throws
• Peak (250+ ft) → 3-6 throws

3. Peak distance (3–6 throws)

At your max distance, throw 3–6 high-arc throws with intent. This is where velocity gains happen. Don't lob — release with effort, let the arm whip through.

4. Pull-down phase (5–10 min)

Walk back in 20–30 ft at a time. Throw on a downhill line (flat trajectory, not arc) at maximum intent. This reinforces in-game release patterns at top velocity. Pull-downs typically span peak distance → 90 ft, with 2–4 throws per distance.

5. Track the data

Log every throw's distance, total count, and arm feel (1–5 scale). Without data, you can't tell whether you're progressing or grinding into injury. Old-school = paper logbook. Modern = LongToss Tracker, which uses GPS to measure distance automatically and tracks ACWR in the background.

How far should you throw?

The right peak distance is the longest distance you can throw with clean mechanics and recover from in 48 hours — not the absolute furthest your arm will let you. Pushing past your recovery threshold is the #1 cause of arm injuries in high-volume long-toss programs.

Typical peak distance ranges by level:

Ranges drawn from Driveline / Jaeger published data and aggregate GPS-measured sessions on LongToss Tracker. Individual variation is huge — peak distance correlates with fastball velocity but isn't a direct mapping.

ACWR — the arm-care metric every pitcher should track

ACWR (Acute-to-Chronic Workload Ratio) is the most useful single number for predicting throwing injury risk. It's the ratio of this week's throwing volume to your 4-week average.

Research from Tim Gabbett (2016) on athletic injury data — replicated across baseball, cricket, rugby, and Australian football — shows that spikes above ACWR 1.5 nearly triple soft-tissue injury risk in the following 7 days. Tracking ACWR weekly is the single most effective injury-prevention habit a pitcher can adopt.

Why GPS measurement changes the game

Until recently, the only way to track long toss distance was self-reporting — eyeballing how far you threw or pacing it off. Two problems:

1. Self-reported distances are systematically inflated. Studies on similar self-reported athletic metrics show 15–25% overestimation on average. Your "300 ft throw" is probably 240 ft.
2. You can't compare across sessions. Different fields, different lighting, different markers — no consistent baseline.

GPS-measured distance solves both. Your phone uses real satellite positioning to lock a "Point 0" at session start (averaged to ±3 ft accuracy), then measures the actual distance you walk between throws. Every throw lands on a real satellite map of the field with the verified distance.

LongToss Tracker is the first app built specifically for this. Phone in your pocket, throw, walk back — every rep is captured automatically. No buttons. No guesswork.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Skipping warm-up. The most preventable injury cause. Don't throw past 60 ft until your arm is warm.
• Ignoring volume. Most arm injuries come from volume spikes, not single max-effort throws. Track ACWR.
• Pull-downs with poor mechanics. Pull-downs are max-effort. Fatigue accumulates. If your release point starts dropping or you feel arm pain, stop.
• Going for distance every session. Recovery matters. Most programs alternate high-volume + low-volume sessions across the week.
• Throwing in extreme cold without proper warm-up. Cold weather increases injury risk significantly. Add 5–10 minutes to your warm-up below 55°F.
• Comparing your distance to social media. Self-reported numbers online are wildly inflated. Track your own progression against your own baseline.

Frequently asked questions