The number one question I get from high school coaches is how they should train their pitchers and position players differently. My usual answer is they most likely don’t need to be trained differently. They Need General Development Too many athletes at the high school level lack general development. It’s highly likely that most high school athletes have a very …
Regaining the Overhead in Overhead Athletes
Regaining motion following heavy doses of high intensity throwing cannot be overlooked. Throwing causes significant range of motion changes. Any movement activity causing significant muscle damage can alter movement in the days following. Pitchers throwing a large amount of pitches suffer significant eccentric stress, not only in the arm/shoulder but throughout the entire body. Joint distraction forces at the shoulder …
Scapular Stability in Motion
It’s no secret how important the scapula is in the health of an overhead throwing athlete. A stable scapula gives rise to a healthy and mobile glenohumeral joint. The human body is a stabilizing / mobilizing machine to create motion. Look no further than Mike Boyle’s Mobility/Stability Continuum article for clarification that summarizes the body’s organization in movement. If you’ve …
The Physical vs Skill Battle
Currently we see a huge overemphasis on skill development at the youth and high school level. Skill development in the form of lessons, select teams, showcases, practices all take precedence over actual physical athletic development. In many cases physical development lags greatly behind. There must exist a harmony between physical development and skill development. All too often many baseball athletes …
The Performance Block
The Foundation Program, which is detailed in the book Movement Over Maxes, is built around 3 blocks of development. Those blocks are titled Positions, Patterning, and Performance. Each has a specific place and purpose in the grand scheme of producing a well moving, strong athlete with a solid foundation for future development. The Performance Block is the final block in …
The Patterning Block
The Foundation Program, which is detailed in the book Movement Over Maxes, is built around 3 blocks of development. Those blocks are titled Positions, Patterning, and Performance. Each has a specific place and purpose in the grand scheme of producing a well moving, strong athlete with a solid foundation for future development. The second stage in the Foundation Program is …
The Positions Block
The Foundation Program, which is detailed in the book Movement Over Maxes, is built around 3 blocks of development. Those blocks are titled Positions, Patterning, and Performance. Each has a specific place and purpose in the grand scheme of producing a well moving, strong athlete with a solid foundation for future development. The Positions Block is the first stage in …
Program Movement Not Muscles
Athletes are in the business of efficient movement, and the best are incredible at controlling their body. Coordinated movement doesn’t come from something as simple as purely building muscle size. Muscles mean little individually without the ability to synchronize movement in the appropriate skill. Athletes that can move well aren’t always the most muscular and the most muscular guys don’t …
Conditioning and Baseball
Conditioning for baseball players has long consisted of LSD, long, slow, distance work. While slow aerobic work has it benefits, I tend to disagree that it is a useful technique for baseball athletes which leads up to the inclusion of tempo runs. Tempo runs tend to fill the gap between speed, aerobic fitness, and recovery. What are tempo runs? Tempo …
