Here we are in the middle of the travel season and now you feel like you are wearing down when you should just be hitting your stride. Tired, slow, dragging, no energy, no bat speed, no fastball? There may be some reasons why.

First, school just ended a week or so ago. You were used to getting up at a certain time, eating at a certain time and going to bed at a certain time. Now you are staying up later, sleeping longer and maybe not eating as exactly as you were before. Your internal clock is a little mixed up and your body is telling you so.

The time you spent in school is now replaced with video games, playing at a friend’s house, swimming or any multitude of outdoor activities that you associate with summer. Your body was used to the school agenda and cannot take the overload and/or underload and your baseball skills have diminished because of it.

Not to worry. Time to get back on a schedule. Be aware of your new sleep habits. Going to bed too late? Cut it back. Sleeping too long? Try and go to sleep at the same time and wake up at the same time. When you throw off your sleeping patterns, your body will have to adjust. That will affect your play. During school it was easy. Now there may not be anything to get up for, so you sleep later. Pick a reasonable time to go to bed and a reasonable time to get up, and stick to it.

Same with your new eating habits. Mom and Dad may not be around to make the same lunch or breakfast. Breakfast is now at 9:30 instead of 7:30 and lunch may be a snack at 2:00. Here comes game time at 5:00 and you’re hungry but have not had anything substantial to eat all day. That will affect your play as well. Make sure you are eating the right foods to properly maintain your body.