PLAYER DEVELOPMENT PART DEUX

Even if your sport of choice isn’t baseball, your expectation is that your team drafts athletic players, and your favorite franchise will ” coach ’em up”. Player development is crucial to the players progress from the amateur side to the professional side of the sport. Professional baseball has a long, grueling season. In college or high school baseball your team starts their best pitcher once a week, the Friday night starter is the man! An important part of development for starting pitchers is the introduction to the pro baseball timeline. The pitcher moved from once every seven days to once every five days. There is much less recovery time (33%), so areas like volume of throws, timing of long toss and bullpen days change. The schedule of weight training, arm care and conditioning also change. Relief pitchers must also adapt to routines that allow them to be available to pitch more frequently than they were accustomed to in college or high school baseball. Some pitchers change roles once into the professional ranks. This is where the growth mid set and long-term vision comes into play.

When a pitcher arrives in a development program the work begins immediately. Scouts have provided information about medical history, prior pitcher workload and any other pertinent information that would be beneficial is assisting the player in his or her new endeavors. The medical team performs an exam on each player, and we discover any limitations on that player. Physical therapists can also help determine joint integrity for the players and prescribe any corrective exercises to enhance player performance and health. A movement assessment is also done for each player. Here we can discover why a player/ pitcher moves the way they do. We can also find areas where a player can improve how he moves, workouts begin to be very individualized as different players have different needs. The strength and conditioning staff are also involved. We may discover strength deficits or areas of focus for the player. Everyone works together to put together a development plan for the athlete. A strength coach and nutritionist will work together, communicate with the player specific goals. A player may have a goal of weight gain or a goal to change his body composition through the training and a dietary plan. Why guess when you can assess? I have certifications in Functional Movement Systems simply to better understand the importance and general concepts of human movement. I also am certified in OnBaseU, it a fantastic group that is geared towards pitcher specific or hitter specific movement patterns. This group is huge on the PGA tour as well. Today’s athletes across the globe are setting world records in every type of event, I attribute these feats to more intelligent training, elite motion capture usage and the implantation of a well devised improvement plan. How athletes move is very important to how we teach them. Movement specialists can determine if the athlete is an Aerial mover or a Terrestrial mover. All of this information is useful in getting the most out of the athlete. There is no cookie cutter way for the pitcher to move on the mound, the good organization will develop pitchers with efficient deliveries. Good deliveries produce two or more pitches thrown on a downhill plane and increase the likelihood of staying healthy.

The athlete has a development plan for his arm care, strength goals, movement pattern training, body composition goals, he has been educated on recovery and sleep. Now, we need to develop his pitching plan and pitches. Pitching can be argued for days on end, but the fact is- the pitcher must get ahead in the count and make the batter swing at his pitch, period- paragraph. Getting ahead in the count becomes more refined at the most elite level and discovering one’s put away pitch will take some time (minor league innings). The athlete will also need a coach who is invested in the development process and a staff around the player who does not care who is given credit for improvement, just that the player progresses. A pitcher arrives on the scene with an arsenal of pitches. We want to make those pitches better, improve his command, improve how he or she will sequence those given pitches. Pitch tracking data is amazing. Without going into anything complicated I can tell you that pitch characteristics are measure by missile tracking technology, by Doppler Radar, sophisticated stuff, you get the idea. Analysts help the coach and the pitcher in discovering areas of growth and improvement in his repertoire of pitches. Today’s development team is all encompassing. Successful pitchers always are seeking a competitive edge. Designing pitches is one of them. Remember when we said we want to create an environment where failure is not fatal. Tom Browning, Mr. Perfect, was a friend, mentor, coach. Tom also authored a Perfect Game, the 12th in ML history, on September 16, 1988. His changeup was a pitch he developed after his first season. He told me that the first one he threw in a game ended up on the street for a long homerun. He was encouraged by his pitching coach to throw it again and again. This education and thought process led him to having a devasting out pitch in the Major Leagues. No data was needed in this instance. The goal is to teach each player the skills needed to be a successful major leaguer. Growth does not end when a player reaches the highest level. Teaching and player aptitude go hand in hand. Nick Saban once stated,” good players want to be coached, great players want to be told the truth”. Relationships drive talent growth. This is a missing piece in some organizations. On my end, I always wanted the athlete to be the most educated most prepared player on the field.

#coaching #baseball #development #growthmindet #process

Player Development Part I

What is player development, one may ask, It covers a vast variety of details. I have been involved with baseball player development since 1990, that is 34 years, nearly my entire adult life. I feel qualified to speak on this topic. Most of my time developing baseball players has been spent at the professional level, some 29 years. But I have also been involved at the high school level, the college level and with youth baseball and softball players. A Major League Baseball organization must develop their own talent to survive in this economic client the league finds itself in today. I learned many years ago from a well-known General Manager, the key to his successful tenure, SDSD. Scout, Draft, Sign & Develop. There are many facets to this process. Today’s game has come a long way since I began this journey in 1990. The way in which baseball scouts amateur players has changed in in digital era, the draft process has been upgraded, the signing of talent can be tricky but great organizations find a way to make their budget work. Ah, the development part, we will define development as “a process that creates growth, positive change, physical, mental maturity and where failure is not fatal.

When given players to develop, the most important cog remains building relationships with t players. Establishing a relationship of trust with the athlete a key to player growth. The player must know you care about them, their development and they trust you have their best interest at heart. The coach must have knowledge in the area he or she is teaching, as well. The coach needs to have a passion for their areas of expertise.

Assessment of an athlete is one of the first steps in developing a long-term development plan. Good player development programs have long term vision and do not allow short term obstacles to get in the way of player growth. In baseball, we have always measured. But the days of a stopwatch and a radar gun have been replaced by much more sophisticated tools. An athletes’ development is enhanced when the medical team, the coach and strength staff work together. The power of individualized exercise programs, strength programs and nutritional goals have enhanced player development. I would consider these participants to be under the medical umbrella, Team Orthopedic, Certified Trainer, Physical Therapist, Certified Strength Coach, Movement Specialist, Mental Coach, Nutritionist. That is quite an important team, and this group work must with the on field coaching staff to enhance individual player development. Let’s not forget a successful organization will have a team of data analysts, that can suggest ideas based on data findings that will enhance individual players development goals as well.

Regardless of what you have heard or read, the game is and will always be the best teacher. We as coaches, analysts are there to help the player learn from each game, each pitch, every situation and play. Good coaches use all the tools available to shorten the learning curve for their players from level to level of competition. Teaching organizational team defense (part of the development process) is paramount when joining any organization, High school, college, AAU or professional baseball. Quality organizations teach the team game as well as individual skills. A good organization will have continuity in what is taught as far as team defense, they will use the same verbiage and will execute the same way. Defense in baseball is different than other sports in the fact that we have the ball when we are on defense. Sound fundamentals are taught at the introductory levels and rehearsed and practiced at every level of baseball. One third of baseball games your team will outslug the other team and then one third of the time, that team will outslug your team. It’s the other one third of the games in which the team who executes the fundamentals best, wins those games. It is paramount to root each player in sound fundamental baseball. Some organizations are better than others when teaching fundamentals, keeping the drills fresh and to the point. Teaching responsibilities and holding the player accountable is crucial to team success. A pitcher for example, needs to do more than just throw the ball over the plate. He is responsible for managing the opponent’s running game, he must back up bases, he must know the bunt defense, he must be able to field his position and make all the throws to the bases as needed. These mentioned responsibilities are true in the lowest of the minor leagues to the major leagues. This is a small sample of team defense, but part of player development is learning how to defend, where do your responsibilities lie once a ball is put in play. The player knows the verbiage on run downs, relay throws from the outfield and on fly ball communication, wherever he moves within an organization.

Velocity Camp Highlights

Teaching young athletes arm care and proper throwing techniques

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Velocity is baseball’s hot commodity .

Velocity in baseball has become paramount, necessary and much sought after. Teams from travel baseball, travel softball, to high schools., colleges and of course, professional baseball. The athlete is also chasing improved . Everyone knows that velocity has become the top dog, the big attraction. The data supports the fact regardless of what some coaches may be spewing out. Velocity is very important.

Following our velocity training, plus 10 mph!⚾️🌶

The data shows us that the average fastball in the major leagues continues to climb each year. Analytics has shown us that when velocity goes up your value as a pitcher goes up. The question is why is velocity trending upward, is it better genes, non GMO foods, what? The answer lies within sports worldwide. Why do Olympic records fall each year? Athletes are running faster, jumping higher, swimming faster at every world event. In 1954, Roger Bannister did the unthinkable, he ran a mile in less than four minutes. The four minute barrier is now the standard for those running the mile, over 1.400 male athletes have broken the four minute barrier.

I have been involved in professional baseball for 34 years. The standard for the fastball has dramatically increased over the years. Regardless, why are these pitchers throwing harder than ever before. Well, the first reason is in the strength and conditioning field. For years, baseball was slow to adapt to these principles, thinking pitchers would get too bulky to perform well. The author of a major league record 7 no hitters, Nolan Ryan, wrote that he used to “sneak” from the Angels facility to the football facility to lift weights. Sounds like he was on to something (this was in the 70’s), he arguably has the best fastball ever. I can tell you that when strength coaches were introduced in to baseball clubhouses there was push back, resistance. Let’s just fast forward, today every major league team has two strength and conditioning coaches, each minor league team has a strength coach. The training plans have gone from ” don’t get any one hurt” to an aggressive plan individualized for each player based on specific needs and the position each athlete plays. I used to hear the risk/ reward phrase thrown out all the time, not any more. It is all about the reward.

The use of pitching labs, wearable devices that measure movements, extreme high speed cameras have also aided in better instruction. The slow motion footage of an athlete throwing is more accurate than any human eye, regardless of how well that eye has been trained. The wearable monitors have helped researchers and coaches better understand how the human body moves most efficiently and most powerfully. Research has taught those people in player development( coaches) that arm action can be changed successfully and coaches must address this subject for athletes who want to throw hard . The new age pitcher is learning how his body should move during a throw, what each body part is responsible for and when everything should happen. Sequencing, is a new word for baseball but it can be easily explained to any 10 year old. If we ask them what did they put on first, socks or shoes? If they did it in reverse order- well that just doesn’t work that well, right?

Velocity is being taught, this is a newer concept developing over the last decade. If you have a young athlete, check the facts and program out before you commit. There are NO short cuts. Elite throwing is a toe nail to finger nail movement. Strength, power, range of motion and direction are necessary to get the velocity gains one is looking for. It also takes time and a commitment. Do not allow short term obstacles get in the way of long term goals.

The basic four

The quarantine training balls. Each grip illustrated

This young lady learned a nasty slider in 30 minutes using the quarantine training balls

This power curve was enhanced with the feedback of RM’s quarantine training balls.

Filthy moving changeup grip was explained using quarantine training balls

Four seam fastball quick tutorial

One knee fastball drill emphasizes staying behind the fastball with the fingers, hand, wrist, chin and chest

The Learning Curve

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This time of quarantine I have searched for something fun to do inside this beautiful apartment. I also want to keep teaching everyone about baseball, throwing and pitching. We are going to introduce how to throw a curve ball correctly, while inside the crib. The most frequently asked question about the curveball has been; how old should my son or daughter be before they begin throwing the curve. Well, ASMI.org is the best place to find the answer to your youth pitching guidelines. Pitch Smart is also great, find it via Mlb.com.

Tracing the proper grip on my styrofoam baseball

We are learning to throw the curve properly using a styrofoam ball. It does not strain the arm, it is fun and it is educational. We taught Mom how to throw a nasty curveball inside the apartment. The grip, as you see from the video, is important. The emphasis is on the middle finger. The index finger is along for the ride. Use the side of your thumb so we can get the most spin possible. We have our grip, our release position at release ( think of holding a glass of water out in front of you.)

Now, let’s throw a few quarantine curve balls. Make sure to pick out a starting point- where we aim the ball- because your pitch is going to curve. A good curve breaks up to down, top to bottom or if you like it breaks from one o‘clock to seven o’clock, if you are right handed( face of the clock). Now, as we learned in the past, let’s grip it and rip. Enjoy and stay healthy

Curve ball. SLO mo

She learned a nasty curve in minutes

Let it Eat

This is a fun drill for any overhand thrower. Baseball or softball, young or old. On the included video, we did the drill inside a batting cage. It can also be done in a net in your backyard or there are so many portable nets I have seen on the baseball and softballs fields. I like this drill because it encourages athleticism and it promotes throwing fast. If your team has a pocket radar gun or some type of device to measure throwing velocity, use it. It makes the drill more fun for the players. The players I have seen make a competition or game out of it. One can keep score on who improves the most, not who only who throws the fastest. This often leads to your players towards learning the proper warm up, to practice away from the field, to do the band work that we are going to introduce and to improve their athleticism by moving fast. To do this drill get 40-50 feet away from the net. In our video, we were thirty five feet away from the net. Our player in the video, Payton, gained about 25 feet in his momentum moving forward. He used a simple step behind foot work, a simple shuffling of the feet. One can also use heel to heel shuffle forward. This is the footwork involved in throwing the ball across the diamond or throwing longer distances. The timing of the weight transfer is important when doing this drill and when throwing across the field. When the athlete improves their footwork and improves the timing of proper weight transfer, they will see an increase in velocity. That is a reason we want to measure and document each players throwing velocity and their increases. Remember the grip we use is extremely important as well. What else is important , come on? The throwing hand and arm working in the magic circle. This is a drill I like because it is enjoyable for the athlete, it teaches athleticism and it is a skill we can measure. Each coach can add his or her own twist to make the throwing drill more fun to his or her particular team. A fun fact for everyone, an elite throwers arm travels at 8500 degrees per second, meaning the arm would spin around 24 times before coming to a stop! Whaaat! This fact I read years ago in an article in popular mechanics about throwing velocity. Stay safe everyone and enjoy throwing the ball. It is for everyone.

The Triple Lundy Drill

This drill is one for developing powerful movement patterns for overhand throwers. We want to emphasize drills and exercises that cue the body in move in the most efficient and most powerful way possible. The good drills, like this one, can be done just about anywhere not only at the field. This drill does require that the catch partner be ready for some velocity so throwing in a net or fence at a short distance might be the best plan. In this drill we will make three aggressive faux throws to target in the direction we are facing and on the fourth cycle we will pick up our glove side foot and turn to the glove side and throw the ball fast to out net a short distance away. Accuracy is not the emphasis of the drill. This drill begins with the thrower in an athletic stance, feet shoulder width apart. The throwers hand are together at mid chest height, in a direct line with the chin and navel- remember center of mass? Of course, you do. Rotation of the upper body is an important part of this drill, make sure you are getting a nice turn. As we begin our cork screw turn the ball will separate from the glove, the hand will travel through the Magic Circle, the glove arm reach out towards the target, while remaining flexed and natural to the particular athlete. The glove arm will work back towards the body as the throwing arm unfurls forward with proper wrist snap and finish. We want the fake throws to be aggressively emphasizing arm speed. Make sure we get the same coil on the throw forward. Lift your lead foot as the ball seperates from the glove, stride towards the target and let the ball fly. Do this drill on days you want your athletes to work on velocity and power. I have had six players at a time in a batting cage doing it. Remember, the distance is short, it is for all ages, throwing into the net or fence is suggested. The drill is named after a good Rodney Dangerfield movie which has nothing to do with baseball but the movie is a classic.

Triple Lundy Drill

Triple Lundy

Hip hop

This drill is a good one to teach your athlete about weight transfer. It can be added to the other two throwing drills we have spoken about or to substitute in your rotation of drills to keep it fresh. During this drill your players need to back up a little because we are going to throw faster than in the other drills. Make sure your team is lubed up well and ready to let the ball go before starting this. To do this drill, we are going to hip to the lead foot, taking a small hop forward before hopping back to the throwing side leg. Now, we are going to teach our athlete to hesitate on that back leg for a short time. How long, about the time it takes to snap your fingers. Let’s talk about what the players doing during that hesitation. We should encourage them to really slow it down to “feel” the body weight loaded on the throwing leg side, And, we want to teach them to push down into the ground before driving forward. Wow, this is going to be enlightening, career changing to your athlete. It is something called ground reaction force, it is important to athletes, especially our pitchers and hitters. We will talk about that later in simplified terms. Let’s get back to executing the drill; we have hopped back, pushed down into the ground and now we begin to drive forward towards the target, our throwing hand separating from the glove-on time- our hands works the Magic Circle- back to forward in an efficient manner, unfurling forward as we release the ball out in front of your face, fingers behind the ball. The ball peels off the fingertips creating powerful backspin. When you watch the video, watch the lead leg, it stops or blocks your momentum from going any further this is extremely important. Have fun, doing this one. Take 10-12 reps and really slow it down when initiating this into your practices..

Hip hop drill

Hip hop OG style

grip it and rip it

Throwing an object is fun thing to do. Being able to throw a ball well, is a coveted skill. Throwing a softball or baseball with speed and accuracy is poetry in motion to me. Throwing is a full body exercise – a toe nails to finger nails movement- if you will. It takes some coordination to do it correctly. Before we begin I want to say how important it is to teach all your players a proper warm up routine and how important it is that we as coaches and parents insist that it is done before we throw the baseball, softball or football, every time. One of the most important parts in throwing is how we grip the ball. I have worked with 8 year old and 38 years olds, softballs and baseballs. So, size matters. Many young baseball players need to use three fingers to control the ball, softball players do that too. Once the fingers are long enough, two fingers is ideal for throwing a baseball. Where we grip the ball is important. The balls have built in seams for us to grip. We want the pads of our fingers across those seams so we can backspin their ball. Science tells us that a lot of spin is good and that the aid of the spin is important too. These start with the right grip. If we turn the ball so we are looking at the “backwards c”, we would love our fingers to lay across that C with the pads of our fingers caressing the top seam. Add a third finger there is your fingers are not long enough to control the flight of the ball when you throw it. One can also turn the ball to where the seams Re closest together and grip it there. The ball still rotates well with that grip and is good for smaller hands. The thumb goes underside of the ball, bisecting the ball down the middle. Once a thrower gets good, and fingers permit, we want to tuck the thumb so that the ball rests on the side of the thumb. This allows for less friction which means more spin. These are basic grips for all. Find the one that works for you; warm up properly, grip it and rip it.