"Just Do It!" ... With a Purpose

As a clinician and a coach, I am constantly looking for new and more effective ways to improve my athlete's health and performance. It can be extremely easy to get bogged down and lost in the many treatment options and training techniques that exist and continue to appear. All too often, I see programs and treatment plans that are either haphazardly put together or loaded with multiple activities for the same end. There does not seem to be a plan or purpose. I can be just as guilty about losing sight of the method to my madness. To keep focused on the task at hand, I ask myself a couple questions when developing overall general training plans and putting together the more specific daily activities: (1)What is my overall goal? (2) What are the need to do activities? In the treatment and care of injuries, athletic trainers and physical therapists use therapeutic modalities each with a specific reason for its use. Is there still an acute inflammatory reaction? Is there swelling? Are there soft tissue restrictions? Is there weakness? What is the underlying cause of the condition the athlete is in? Answering these questions will help outline the plan to answer the focus questions: "What is my overall goal?" "What are the need to do activities?"; and guide you to a purposeful treatment plan. The same is true with the performance training of athletes. "What is my overall goal?" "What are the need to do activities?" These questions can be answered by knowing other more specific details. What is the developemental stage of the athletes you're working with? What are the sport-specific demands (movement patterns, metabolic needs, strength requirements, etc)? What is the training cycle (in-season, off-season, etc)? Don't just do it. Do it with a purpose! David Yeager, ATC, CSCS Co-Founder BaseballStrengthCoaching.com

Game 6

If you did not see it, you probably have heard about it. Game 6 of the 2011 World Series was one that will be remembered for a long time. I was one of the fortunate to be there in person.

As a fan of the game, the first seven innings were horrible. The Cardinals had just as many errors as they did hits. They actually looked like little leaguers, dropping fly balls, throwing the ball around everywhere, and lack of communication. After that, everyone decided to show up and play. It was a roller coaster ride of emotions. The air was sucked out of the stadium when the Rangers hit back-to-back homeruns and later demoralized the fans when they tacked on another run an inning later. So much so, the season ticket holders sitting next to me left in the 7th inning (how on earth do you leave a deciding game of the World Series). Personally I was glad. They had nothing positive to say the entire ballgame. They hated the outfielder that dropped the ball. They hated the third baseman that dropped a routine pop fly (who by the way, was electric at the plate the entire postseason) and they swore at the pitcher that didn’t get the lead runner on a bunt play.

How many Cardinal fans were swearing at the outfielder when the ball dropped between he and the shortstop?

Have you ever played the game and yelled at a pitcher to throw a strike? Or scream at the catcher from the outfield to block the ball?

I can go out on a limb and say that the Rangers player did not purposely let that fly ball go over his head and hit the wall. I am pretty confident the Cardinal INF and OF did not miss those balls on purpose. The Cardinal’s catcher did not just let that ball go by him and let a runner move up.

Here is my challenge to you:
Invest in your teammates. I am very fortunate to still get to see this at the level that I work. They are still invested in the outcome of the team just as much as how they perform individually. Your individual success will help the success of your team. If your teammate misses a groundball that could have been a routine double play, but still gets a runner out – tell him nice stop. If your pitcher is struggling to find the strike zone – words of encouragement go much farther than you screaming at him to just throw strikes and kicking the dirt around.
Emotions can get the best of a person in a competitive situation. The really good ones are invested in their teammates and don’t show them up on the field.

Tying into what Brian said last week – watch yourself. Watch yourself, physically and emotionally. I am talking about your body language and your communication.

Chris Ham, MSA, ATC, CES
Athletic Trainer
Vanderbilt University Baseball

Watch Yourself

Have you ever watched yourself on video? This can be a very helpful tool in understanding yourself as a baseball player. Video has been used in baseball for decades to break the game and the player down. This tool has been usually used by only professional coaches, but don’t be afraid of taking a look at yourself. When viewing your video go in prepared. Take the instructions that your instructor or coach have been passing on and check yourself out. Be critical, this is the time to do it. Be honest with yourself, and take what you see and transfer it to the field.

Brian Niswender
Co-Founder BSC.com

Center of Mass in Hitting

I continue to hear arguments to where the weight of a player should be when they hit a baseball, is it out front is it back. The problem as I see it is not where it is from a philosophical stand point but from a scientific stand point. Can we determine where the weight should be based on biomechanics? Let’s take a look at a picture.

I made a few dots to look at an approximate location of the center of mass, they are in orange. The first dot is where the COM basically started and just after the point of impact the COM has moved back. So the COM is behind the front foot, but the majority of the player’s weight is being supported by the front foot as seen in the picture. So here is the contradiction that gets a lot of coaches and players. We want our weight back, but want it on our front foot. This is where a biomechanical explanation can help. In human movement the center of mass

ybe outside the players body and just because the weight of the player is supported by an arm or leg does not mean that is where the weight really lies. I hope that didn’t muddy the water. Just look at the picture, and then take a look at a few more pictures and in the majority of players that are at an elite level you will notice a trend. The trend will be that the COM is behind the front foot, no matter the distribution of the weight in the feet. Teaching a hitter how to control their Center of Mass both in the Performance Training Arena as well as while performing skills will increase the player’s awareness in space and increase cross over to the field.
I have included a variation of an exercise that is highly COM demanding that can increase a player’s power for hitting and lateral movement. The variation is a speed skater movement added to a lateral box hop. As you can see from the picture the players COM is probably outside the body, the weight is on one foot and moving in a lateral direction. If the players weight gets over the foot or drifts over the foot the player looses balance, just like in hitting a baseball. If the player drifts the player in most cases cant stay balanced which decreases his chances to hit.

Have fun with the exercise and take a look at those pictures and start looking at it from a scientific position and many times the problem will take care of it self.

Brian Niswender MA
Co-Founder Baseball Strength Coaching .com

Get out of the way

Are we getting in the way of true baseball performance training? I have read some very interesting commentaries on some exercises lately and have noticed some teams going to a very none aggressive styles of training, which leads to a very detuned baseball player. Why are we going down these roads? I have been in contact with many baseball strength and conditioning coaches that make comments like, most of the program is prehab, and very basic, but the reason is the funny part. As an organization we don’t want to be doing stuff that can potentially hurt a player. I’m sorry, do we need to wrap these men in bubble rap and play on a marshmallow field. I remember one coach that had a player, a very high prospect, which had a bit of a weight issue. As a pitcher he was progressing, but the teams had figured out that he could not get his big butt off the mound to field a ball, and so started bunting every inning. The strength coach involved started working with the player on basic agility drills and for the few weeks the player had lost a few pounds and gained a little quickness. This came to a halt when the field director attended a game and observed the activities. As he put it, we don’t want to risk him spraining an ankle or something, he just needs to do the basic stuff. REALLY, come on, bubble wrap! How about, can we bench, should we bench as baseball players, and again the funny part is the explanation I get every time I hear this comment. If we take the bar to the chest it puts to much strain on the shoulder, and this same coach will take a player put him in an incline and drop the arms and dumbbells past chest level. Do we not understand some basic mechanics? Just because it is a dumbbell doesn’t mean its ok to do anything we want. Come on, can we stop nit picking on little things that might have happened to one player out of a 1000. Lets get to the nuts and bolts, are the players really getting better or are we getting in the way of true progress and record breaking players (with out enhancement). I pose this to every baseball strength coach out there lets make sure we are not in the way!!!!!!

Brian Niswender
Co Founder BaseballStrengthCoaching.com

Where Bat Speed Comes From

The Major League All-Star Game is approaching and that means HOME RUN DERBY! This brings up a topic that I discuss often with players and coaches: Where does bat speed come from?

Many players and coaches spend a multitude of their training time emphasizing forearm, wrist, and hand strength and endurance in the belief that “strong hands = greater bat speed”. However, a 2004 study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research concluded that grip strength and bat velocity are not significantly related. So, where does bat swing velocity come from?

If you subscribe to the kinetic chain model of performance, the movement patterns of the baseball swing and the throw are very similar from the ground to the torso. The basic phases of the swing can be divided into the swing, launch, contact, and finish. The stance is highly individualized and emphasizes comfort and confidence for the hitter. The athlete is relaxed and balanced with a slight flex in his knees and elbow and both eyes on the pitcher. The stride and load take place simultaneously creating rhythm and momentum in order to harness potential energy with the weight back, ready to explode and initiate the swing. The back knee “triggers” the swing and the hand patch is down and directly toward the ball. The hips and torso continue to rotate to the contact point while the hands “stay inside the ball” and continue on the downward approach. The contact point is the strongest position of the swing. The body is balanced with the front side firm and closed while the back knee forms an “L”. The hips and shoulders are level with the chest positioned over the hips. From contact the bat head stays level as the hands drive “through the baseball” to get extension. During the finish, balance is the key.

The development of force and motion illustrated in the baseball swing progresses from the ground to the bat (proximal to distal). Through synergistic force production and interactive moments of the legs and hips and abdominal muscles, energy is stored and the Summation of Speeds creates a transmission of the energy through the core to the upper extremity where it is released through the bat. Placing most of the force development in the central core, allows small changes in rotation around the core to effect large changes in the positioning of the arms and hands. This creates higher angular velocities similar to the cracking of a whip and lets the muscles of the forearms, wrists, and hands be more directed toward precision and control rather than power production.

For those who continue to believe that grip and forearm strength is the key. I agree with you but, not for the same reasons. The baseball season is long. During the season, the typical hitter may take an average of 145 swings per day (early cage work, batting practice, pre-at bat swings, and during their in-game at-bat). The bat may weigh anywhere from 32-34 ounces. Over the course of a season, the hands get fatigued. It is important to maintain strength-endurance of the forearm, wrist, and hand muscles in order to prevent and limit fatigue. Particularly, because as discussed, the last link in the chain is the hands. If the precision and control muscles are not doing their job because their “tired”, then the maximum power and force cannot be transmitted through the bat to the ball.

Unfortunately many of the fallacies in baseball training programs continue to be taught to our younger players. It is important to remember that for the purposes of generating bat swing velocity and power, emphasis should be placed on the lower extremity and core rather than an over abundant amount of wasted time strengthening the forearms and grip.


Suggested Reading:

Hughes SS, Lyons BC, Mayo JL. Effect of grip strength and grip strengthening exercises on instantaneous bat velocity of collegiate baseball players. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2004; 18(2): 298-301.

Kibler WB, Press J, Sciascia A. The role of core stability in athletic function. Sports Medicine. 2006; 36(3): 189-198.

David Yeager, ATC, CSCS
Co-Founder
BaseballStrengthCoaching.com

Warming-Up: Too Much vs. Not Enough

The pre-game warm-up is one of the more contentious issues in high level athletics. A recently published article in the Journal of Applied Physiology suggested that power performance may be best served by a shorter, lower-intensity warm-up routine (Tomaras & MacIntosh, 2011). The researchers compared sprint cyclists performing two warm-up routines: (1) A 50 minute routine, progressing from 60-95% HRmax and ending with four sprints; and (2) A 15 minute routine, ranging from 60-70% HRmax, and ending with a single sprint. The researchers found that the shorter warm-up resulted in significantly less muscle fatigue and a higher peak power output.

Sprint cyclists and baseball players are different in countless ways. However, the researchers were effective in demonstrating that warm-up efficiency and recovery are important consideration for coaches before a game. Here are a few strategies for warming-up your position players, to prevent injuries, optimize performance, and prevent excessive fatigue.

Keep Players Moving:

Warm-up routines are not to be confused with static stretching routines for improving flexibility. Most of the benefits of a good warm-up (i.e. ↑ contraction speeds, ↑ movement economy, ↑ oxygen utilization, ↑ neuromuscular transmission, and ↑ muscle metabolism), derive from increasing the body’s heart rate, blood flow, and temperature of the muscles. The dynamic, or moving, portion of the warm-up (i.e. jogging, shuffling, carioca, squatting, lunging, arm circles, etc.) should make up the majority of the time allotted.

Keep Players On Their Feet:

Unless you are warming up a wrestling team, transitioning the team from standing, to sitting, to prone, and back to standing again takes up valuable time that players could be performing more sport-specific exercises. Baseball-specific exercises, including running mechanics drills, cross-over starts, torso twisting, and throwing, should be performed to facilitate the motor unit recruitment needed for maximal game performance. With the exception of sliding, baseball is always performed on your feet!

Progress Simple to Complex, Slow to Fast:

Warm-up routines should be progressed from smaller and slower, less taxing, movements, to more complex, faster, movements to ensure the safety of each exercise being performed. After a general warm-up, closed-chain dynamic flexibility exercises are most effective in reducing muscle stiffness while requiring the muscles to remain active in supporting the weight and posture of the body. Plyometric exercises (i.e. skipping, bounding, jumping, throwing, and swinging) should be performed towards the end of the warm-up to ensure that the muscles have been activated properly to sustain the eccentric stresses of decelerating the body.

Begin 30 Minutes Before The Game:

This amount of time allows for a general and dynamic warm-up to be completed with a coach in the first 8-10 minutes, throwing and sprint work in the middle 10-12 minutes, and individual preparation (i.e. extra stretching, mental focusing, etc.) in the 10 minutes leading up to the game. Not all athletes have the same weaknesses and imbalances. Nor do all athletes require the same level of muscle activation to perform optimally or injury free. Allowing a few extra minutes for players to mentally focus on the game ahead, get a drink, or relax is often overlooked when putting together the pre-game schedule.

Keep 3 Goals In Mind:

In professional baseball, most players have been active much of the day prior to the game. As long as players (1) Break a sweat by getting their heart rate up, (2) Alleviate any tightness in the hips, torso, and shoulders, and (3) Progress to game speed running, throwing, and swinging, they are likely doing enough to prepare the body.

Quality Not Quantity:

Focusing on dynamic, multi-joint, and baseball-specific movements can improve the quality of a pre-game warm-up. Excessively long or fatiguing warm-up routines should be avoided to promote season-long success.

Cited Source:
Tomaras, E. K. and MacIntosh, B. R. (May 2011). Less is More: Standard Warm-up Causes Fatigue and Less Warm-up Permits Greater Cycling Power Output. Journal of Applied Physiology, Published online ahead of print, link: 10.1152/japplphysiol.00253.2011.


Eric McMahon, M.Ed., CSCS
Minor League Strength and Conditioning Coach
Texas Rangers

Recovery from Baseball Activities

Recovery from a baseball game is easy. Let’s take a look at the facts. How long is the typical baseball game, at the pro level 3 to 3.5 hours, college 3 hours, high school 2 to 2.5 hours, little league 1 to 2 hours. These are just rough estimates but for the most part pretty fair, how much time minus the starting pitcher is there activity? Let’s break that down. Typically a player will get 3 to 4 at bats per game, and let’s say that each player will see on average 7 pitches per at bat. That gives the player 21 pitches to focus, swing and potentially get a hit. If that player gets just one hit in the game they will be batting .333. This player will now only have to run the bases once and the chances the player gets all the way around and scores are slim, considering that most baseball games are in the single digits. The maximum the player will run around the bases is 360 feet or 120 yards, basically the full length of a football field. How about running on defense? In the infield, if the player can cover 5 to 7 yards on either side of the position, the defender is doing good. That means the player covers 40 total feet. In most cases a player will get 7 or fewer balls hit to them per game. So, if they covered the total area just to one side of their position the player may run 140 feet in a game, or about 40 yards. Outfielders, on the other hand, must cover more space so we will go as high as 50 feet either side of the position. Again, if the player makes 7 plays, the player would potentially cover about 350 feet or about 116 yards. Let’s put this in context, on average let’s say the outfielder will be asked to run at 100% 240 yards in a typical game, the infielder will be asked to run 160 yards in a typical game. In most cases not even half of a lap on a track. So is the game really physically grueling, meaning energy expenditure and calories lost from activity high? The truthful answer is no, but why is the game so exhausting.

I’m going to throw something out there that not many coaches that I have been in contact with talk about, mental recovery. What is mental recovery? The ability of the mind to come back to a resting state is the best way I can describe this mechanism. Training a player to calm the mind,rest the thoughts, and allow the body to recover and heal from day to day activities. All the physical recovery is still very, very important. The body needs fuel and hydration and with out them the mind cannot focus. But, there is a lot of information on this type of recovery. I just want to get this concept out in the open and if anyone has been doing any work on this please let me know, we have started to do some work with this concept and so you may be hearing more from us in the future.

Brian Niswender MA, CSCS
Co-Founder
BaseballStrengthCoaching.com

The Great Mask Debate

It doesn’t take much to see the public’s increased awareness about the dangers and long-term effects of concussions in sport. Just read the paper or search the web and you’ll see where a state legislature or local school district has passed a law or approved a new rule regarding testing and return to play guidelines following a mild traumatic brain injury.

Likewise, the sport of baseball has also updated with the times. This season, Major League Baseball implemented the 7-Day Disabled List to be used exclusively with those players diagnosed with a concussion. MLB has also tightened its diagnosis and return to play guidelines. Both a physical exam and neuro-psychological testing that must be submitted to the league’s medical director prior to a player’s clearance to return to play.

With all the increased awareness, one of the first lines of defense in the prevention of these injuries is still the protective equipment. The catcher in baseball is perhaps the most susceptible to repetitive trauma both from foul tips and the hitter’s backswing. There are typically two types of masks that that a catcher uses: the traditional cage and helmet, and the hockey-style.

Currently, there is no published study that distinguishes one mask as better than the other. Students in an Experimental Mechanics Class at Kettering University have been working to find an answer. After testing both mask styles for frontal impact (simulating a foul tip) and side impact (representing a backswing impact), the students concluded “Overall, the testing would support the theory that a traditional style catcher’s mask would protect better against a foul-tip and a hockey style catcher’s mask would protect better against a hitter’s backswing.”

As a sports medicine provider who works with the baseball athlete, it has been my experience that far more foul tips are experienced than backswings. Although the engineering students suggest that the traditional mask system needs to be improved in the area of the helmet, I would still recommend the traditional cage system over the hockey-style mask for the prevention of repetitive trauma to catchers and umpires.

David Yeager, ATC, CSCS
Co-Founder
BaseballStrengthCoaching.com

Gaining Early Professional Experience

In any field of work there is a progression that takes place from learning the trade to operating independently. As strength and conditioning coaches we are very familiar with this process, having navigated our early careers as volunteer and interns before earning any compensation for our work with athletes. I have been very fortunate this season to have an intern working with me and my team for the first time. My goal in taking on an intern has been to make the experience beneficial for both of us. I can accomplish more with an assistant than I can alone. He can learn the duties and responsibilities of the field and gain experience working with high-level athletes. In becoming a mentor, I have realized quickly that mentorship is just as important a part of my career as were the times when I was volunteering to gain early professional experience. Looking back on some of the key points taken from my mentors has helped me in providing further perspective to my intern this season.

Professionalism- First and foremost, professionalism is a given requirement of any coaching position. The media is filled with examples of coaches who have overstepped their bounds or have acted inappropriately and have lost their jobs. However, the basis of professionalism is presentation. As an intern, present yourself as clean, organized, and on-time and you will be viewed as reliable. Your co-workers and athletes will assume you know the plan for the day and that you can assist them. The majority of internships in strength and conditioning will require you to tuck your shirt in. This can be a little strange at first when your work attire is shorts and a t-shirt. Get used to it. You will be the best looking one in the room!

Drills and Skills- Young coaches rely on their education to implement the drills they know, while veteran coaches rely on their experience to determine which drills work best for the team. As an intern, having an open mind is key in the progression from the text book to the field. Remember that not all drills work well in a team setting or are possible (or safe) due to equipment limitations. When given a choice of what drill to implement, ask first, “What skill am I aiming to improve?” and second, “How does this drill fit in the overall training plan?” Transition time and set-up are primary factors in determining which drill fits when.

General Career Advising- I first learned about what it took to become a strength and conditioning coach by searching for job postings in the field that I was interested in. Ultimately, this searching led me towards obtaining CSCS and USA Weightlifting credentials and a graduate degree. As a mentor, I try to look back on my educational experience and remember why I made the decisions I did. The process would seem black and white ‒ I was taking the next step towards my career with each college class, certification, personal training position, internship, and coaching position. At the time, however, there was definitely some grey. I took my first fitness position during my college summers, so that I would get a free gym membership to train for my upcoming football season. I took my first anatomy class because I thought I wanted to go to medical school. I performed an internship in cardiac rehabilitation before I decided that I wanted to work with athletes. Sometimes the professional choices we make are not on a career track, but rather a life track. As I have gotten older this has become more and more true. Focusing on your interests and skills is the best place to begin any career.

Eric McMahon, MEd, CSCS
Minor League Strength and Conditioning Coach
Texas Rangers

Plyometrics for Baseball

Over the years plyometrics have been named many different things from reactive training, explosive training, to neuromotor reactive training. No matter the name the priciples are the same if it is truly plyometrics, and for the sake of argument we will continue to use plyometrics for this specific training style in this blog. So the question is what is plyometrics?
One of the best explanations I have found explains plyometrics as: the ballistic actions which exploit the stretch-shortening cycle; exercises aimed at improving elastic/ reactive qualities of strength.(Radcliffe) These type of exercises should enable the athlete to achieve maximal rates of force development and increase muscle stiffness regulation in short periods of time.
What is the stretch-shortening cycle? It is the synergistic coupling of the eccentric and concentric actions of the muscle when rapid deceleration of the bodies mass is accompanied by the amortization (pause between changes of directions) and acceleration of the bodies mass in the opposite direction at maximal effort. For training purposes it is broken down into 4 parts or phases, the eccentric action, the amortization phase, the concentric phase and the distinguishing part of plyometrics the maximal effort and speed of the concentric phase. I put great importance on the maximal effort and speed during the concentric phase because without it the training becomes less effective as plyometric. Every exercise an athlete performs has the first 3 phases in some form, but the 4th quality makes the difference. Let me give you and example; I have heard many people call an exercise like jumping rope plyometric, but does it meet the criteria just set forth. No because it does not require maximal effort on the concentric phase as well as the eccentric demands are low in most cases. This does not require the body to recruit nueromuscularly in a maximal explosive manner, and so a plyometric exercise it is not.
In application for baseball I encourage coaches and trainers to see that every exercise can be plyometric if the 4 phases or qualities are met. This type of training should be very high intensity and so planning appropriate times for this training are very important to the baseball player’s performance. In most cases higher volumes of plyometirc training are saved for the off-season, but integration of a few exercises in-season can keep the player fast and powerful.

Brian Niswender
Co-Founder BaseballStrengthCoaching.com

Representation

As I begin this new and wonderful baseball season – there are a couple things that come to mind. Every year that I have been with Vanderbilt Baseball, we have opened the season on the road – west coast style (btw it has rained every year).

This is the first thing that is in the back of my mind when we hit the road for a game or weekend series. I am representing Vanderbilt Baseball and the University (and the Medical Center) – it is very apparent when everyone steps off the bus wearing matching travel shirts.

The players around me are a representation of our head coach. In my experience, there is a direct correlation between how the players are coached and managed and how they act when they are on the road for a baseball trip. I can’t speak for any professional organizations – but every professional athlete still represents their organization.

There have been many occasions when I am heading in to work a baseball game or even heading home from a ballgame wearing my team issued gear (trust me – people know the difference between team issued gear and gear at the store), when someone has asked me if I work for the baseball team.
More times than not, I will be a forgotten face in the line while I am grabbing a soda on the way home. However, if I were making a scene or causing a problem, they would probably remember the guy in the store that was wearing the Vanderbilt baseball gear. This has worked the other way as well – every year the baseball team participates in a charity walk and the people have this positive image of the players and the coaching staff.

The next time that you are on a trip remember what you actually represent. You represent your parents, coaches, teammates, school or university, and baseball as a whole – people do stereotype what kind of athlete you are. Yes, I know it’s a sad generalization, but once people have a bad experience with one particular type of something, they remember it for a long time (similar to a bad experience with food).

I am not saying that you need to be a prude when you are walking around your hometown, but remember that there are people that come to the ballpark to watch you play. You can be a competitor on the field, but a great person off. Remember you are representing a lot of different things.

Chris Ham, MSA, ATC, CES
Athletic Trainer
Vanderbilt University Baseball

Be A Sponge

I am going to piggy back on David’s topic earlier this month.

Dr. Hughston stated “As long as you’re still green, you’re growing. Once you’re ripe, you’re next to rotten.” Although David was speaking about an educational opportunity for those that are in the profession of bettering the overall performance of athletes, you might want to ponder this statement. Think about it for a minute.

As a professional, I live by this statement. As a quasi-athlete (I use the term lightly when I refer to myself as an athlete) I still live by this statement. As a husband, friend, etc. . . . . well, you get the point.

As an athletic trainer, continuing education is extremely important to our day to day activity. If anyone in the medical profession tells you that they have it all figured out – laugh at them, and then listen to what they have to say. I don’t have all the answers, and never intend to have all the answers, but I bet you I can find someone who has a good idea how to help out. I ask my officemate thousands of questions. That being said, I get asked a lot of different questions – a lot of random questions. Every morning that I come to the office, I make sure that I read something that could benefit me as an athletic trainer. I will read journal articles, blog posts, textbooks, etc. You can sort out the B.S. once you finish reading. If something happened at practice or a game the night before and I need to brush up on something – I grab one of my resources on the bookshelf and dive in. I am not ashamed to say that I go back and look to see what the literature says – physicians do the same thing.

As the quasi-athlete, I am the same way. I have been intrigued by triathlons ever since I can remember watching the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii. With the help of a buddy that has completed an ironman himself – yes that is the race that starts with a 2.4 mile swim, 120 mile bike, and a 26.2 mile jog (no big deal) - I am trying to absorb as much information that I can. What kind of training plans do they use? How do they fuel their bodies during their everyday training? How do they fuel their body during a 10 plus hour race? How many days do they train multiple times a day? What do I wear? When do I use the bathroom? When can I re-apply my sunscreen? Alright, it is a little bit of a system overload, but I have enjoyed trying to make myself better. I have a lot to learn when it comes to becoming a triathlete.

The best line that I have heard lately about being a good person - If you surround yourself with dogs, you’re going to end up with fleas.
As an athlete this is easy to do. Ask your coach, ask your teammates, ask those old alumni that come around. Read a book – I know it sounds bad – it’s not the worst thing in the world. I had a professional baseball player tell me that one of the best books he read about hitting was “The Inner Game of Tennis.” Although it was the first couple chapters he was speaking of – they got into more tennis based information later. Write things down – I have worked for the same coaching staff for just about five years now. I carry around a small notebook and take notes when I see fit – always a student. Don Meyer, an NCAA coach amongst the top in his profession before he retired, made his athletes a binder. It contained notes from team meetings, motivational quotes, articles, plays, and anything that Coach Meyer felt they needed to have at their disposal.

There are plenty of people to talk to – don’t be afraid to ask questions and be a sponge to soak up as much information (and double check it) so you can to become better at what you want to do.

Chris Ham, MSA, ATC, CES
Athletic Trainer
Vanderbilt University Baseball

New Year’s Resolutions (Recommendations)

Welcome back and happy New Year!

Every year we all make New Year’s resolutions or try to make personal goals leading into the new year or the new season. At this point I am hoping it’s not to start training for the season sooner – because you are getting ready to report back to class much quicker than you think. I will make a couple suggestions if you are looking for a couple goals for the upcoming year and season.

• Have a mental routine prior to your baseball activity – there are very few good athletes that just show up to the ballpark and turn it on. Most of them are preparing hours before they show up to the ballpark – mental preparation can help in many aspects of the game.

• Have a physical routine for your baseball activity – I know most people think runners and track athletes are pretty much crazy, but they have a set routine before they line up for a race.

• Get a massage – most parents are going to kill me for suggesting this, but soft tissue quality has an effect on your overall performance. There is a reason that massage and other soft tissue treatments are so successful and popular. Self-massage can be very beneficial – a golf ball, tennis ball, baseball, PVC pipe, and foam roller can help your legs out in the long run and can be an aid in the recovery process.

• Stretch your arm when you get done throwing – the benefits and effects of stretching have been debated and argued for as long as I have been around this profession. When, How long, mobility work, PNF stretching, etc, etc etc. Studies have documented the range of motion lost during an outing that a pitcher puts together. If you neglect to take care of this before you throw again, you are putting your shoulder in an awful position – a simple way to put it is to take care of your assets.

I can’t say that these things will give you the ability to throw 96 mph with sink, or give you the ability to hit .400 over the course of the season. It will help you feel better in the long run. Good luck this season it’s right around the corner.

Chris Ham, MSA, ATC, CES
Athletic Trainer
Vanderbilt University Baseball

Do You Know Where You Stand?

Where do you stand?

Do you know where you stand as far as your talent or potential as player goes? I have been working with baseball players for 13 years as a coach, and have been playing the game for 30 years, and this still seems to be a problem no matter where you go. Understanding where you are in your development can help you as a player set goals and have a realistic sense of what the future holds. Knowing where you are usually comes from experience, you have to get out of your little bubble and see what else is out there. I currently live in a cold weather state, being Colorado, and have found that many players have no idea where there talent really stands and in many cases think of themselves to highly, without real evidence. Let me give you a little personal example. When I was in high school and looking to go to the next level I was setting up tryouts with all sorts of programs and coaches from D1 to NAIA. I had been in my little bubble and had not really got out and tested my talent too much. Some of it had to do with the fact that my family did not have a lot of money, but I worked really hard and wanted to play. On my way to a try out for a D1 school in Kansas I decided to stop at some smaller schools as well. The first school I stopped at was a NAIA school that was very competitive in their league and region. I went through the tryout and felt like I did very well, I was excited to see what the coach would say. The coach started out by saying that I would probably not be playing at his school, I was instantly disappointed, what was I going to do; I was on my way to a D1 school to test my talent. Well before the disappointment set in, I think the coach could read my face and said, you will probably not play here because you are better then any player I have on my team now. Of course he was more then willing to take me, but this is fine example of not knowing where I really stood, so I could make the right choices of schools to visit. The D1 tryout went well and I was offered the chance to go there, but that is another story. As a player you need to get out and play with, or against some players from around the country or at least your region. You have to see how they play, how they look and perform. There are also many so called recruitment tryouts and camps. I use, so called, because you need to look at these with a grain of salt, is the tryout really a way to make money or is it really a talent camp for coaches. As a basic rule of thumb if the tryout camp is really expensive it is probably a fraud. As a player you should look for local camps, or schools that are having camps and tryouts. A program that we have started this year is providing players with a free evaluation camp every summer, the camp is free so no player has an excuse that they could not come. We cover everything from strength and conditioning to fielding, hitting and pitching. Each player receives a full evaluation or there skills as well as some tips on how they can improve. This has evolved into the winter evaluation camp where we bring in other professionals to also evaluate. These camps are more in-depth, and so have a small fee, but the fee is for paying for the professional evaluators and their travel to our location. Finding a good competitive team might also be a great way to help establish your talent and raise it to the next level. The experience of playing with players you have not grown up with and getting to locations you might not have gotten to without this team will help you as a player develop and be ready for the next stage. The challenge of the blog this week is to really evaluate where you are as a player and where you want to go. Be honest with yourself, and you will become a better player then you thought possible.

Brian Niswender
Co-Founder Baseballstrengthcoaching.com

Puppy Training: Trusting the Process

Like a majority of American families, I have a dog to take care of and teach some house etiquette in order to keep my sanity. When he was a puppy my wife and I had to potty train him just like any other puppy. Yeah, he had his share of accidents on the floor and we picked up a lot of poop on those days. It was a process teaching him to wait and go outside. We rewarded him and praised him every time that he went outside. My wife and I trusted that process of potty training and things have worked out.

One can say the same thing about resistance training, corrective exercises, rehab, weight loss, golfing, hitting a baseball – well you get the picture. I am an athletic trainer (would rather be called a movement therapist) and I do have some treatments that will have an athlete feeling pretty good going into a competition, but the results of the treatment don’t typically last. Modalities that are listed as “treatments” are really just band-aids on a ruptured aorta. I am talking about oral NSAIDS, cortisone injections, ice, massage, knee straps, physical therapy, and surgery - all reactive modalities. My athletes wait for issues to reach their threshold and its then when they start to perceive it as a problem. To be blunt – there will never be any modality or treatment that will overcome a dysfunctional athlete with a warped sense of reality with a few weeks or even days before their next competition.

When I would brag on my dog as a puppy he would end up whizzing on the carpet – I would be mad for a minute, clean it up , and take him outside. I made the time to help him out with the process of potty training and guess what - he’s a good dog. I know that if we all had the time (and the commitment of the athletes) that we could make some major adjustments in movement patterns. It’s a process – the runner that has been running for years is probably not going to fix an overuse injury in a matter of a few days. The same can be said about a pitcher with a sore shoulder. Trust the process!!

Chris Ham, MSA, ATC, CES
Athletic Trainer
Vanderbilt University Baseball

Snacks….good or bad?

Trick question, right? Snacks can be good or bad for the athlete---depending on what, when and how much you choose to eat. You can make snacks work for you—no matter what your athletic goals are. With just a little thought and planning, you can improve your energy, health and training in the off season using high nutrition snacks.

Snacking is a great way to add foods during your day that provide your body with immune-boosting nutrients and energy to fuel workouts. Snacks give you the fuel you need before your workouts to train effectively so adding in an energizing snack an hour or two before heading to work out makes good sense for the athlete. It’s hard to make the gains you want, in endurance or strength, if you have an empty tank! After hard workouts, snacks help muscles refuel, repair and rehydrate so you are ready for the next workout/training session---- whenever that might be. Snacks help you to maintain lean muscle, stay focused and improve your energy levels throughout the day.

When opting for snacks, it’s important to remember that they add calories, as well as nutrition. Although planned snacking is beneficial to athletes, it’s not permission to eat a limitless amount of whatever foods you want. Snacks need to be chosen with some thought or they can work against you and cause unwanted body fat and weight gain. The size of your snack should go along with the length and intensity of your workouts. Try to space them out every 3 hours during the day to boost your energy. Set a reminder on your cell phone to fuel up so that the day isn’t over and you are left wondering why you are starving and have no energy for your workout after school or work! Try to include two different food groups in every snack for longer lasting energy and add some fluids for hydration. Choose a high quality (whole grain) carbohydrate source that is low in fat and a small amount of protein from lean meat, nuts or low fat dairy.

Keep emergency stashes in your backpack or out of sight in your car. I keep mine in my trunk in a box designated as my “snack box.” Keeping them in the trunk of my car prevents me from taking a visible cue to eat when I’m not truly hungry or don’t really need those extra calories. It also helps prevent eating foods out somewhere that are just “empty calories” without any nutrition, because you don’t have the right food with you. These are the moments that matter. Your food choices between your meals will make a difference and ultimately affect your health and training----either positively or negatively. It’s your choice.

Try these simple snack ideas that support good health:

• Whole grain cereals or popcorn with 100% fruit juice
• Low fat yogurt or cottage cheese and fresh berries
• Cereal or granola bars and a V-8 juice
• Small bag of nuts (about 15) and handful of grapes
• Whole wheat fig newtons
• Quesadilla with a thin layer of fat-free refried beans and a sprinkle of low fat cheese or half a turkey sandwich
• 5-6 whole wheat baked crackers with a schmear of peanut butter
• Apple and a piece of mozzarella string cheese
• Chocolate milk and an orange
• Carnation instant Breakfast and a banana
• Baked chips and salsa and a fruit cup
• Mini bagel with low fat cream cheese
• Small bag of trail mix
• Baby carrots with hummus for dip

Kim Larson, RD
Sports Nutrition Consultant
BaseballStrengthCoaching.com

Don't Blow It!

How important is a first impression? As a baseball player it might be the only time you get to show a coach what you are made of. This is not limited to only your skills on the field but also what you are made of as a person. I have seen and heard many stories of how athletes have blown a great opportunity, and in the last 6 months I have witnessed 3 or 4 missed opportunities because the player doesn’t think it will matter. A word of advice, everything you do matters, from what you eat to how you dress. Let me give you a few stories.

I was at a camp watching a few players. This camp was hosted by a very well known coach at a college is Nebraska, which has a husker as a mascot. During a meeting with the players, the coach was explaining how the recruitment process goes and how it’s hard to see all the players out there. During this meeting the coach explained that while traveling to see players many times they are strapped for time and will only be able to stay a few minutes. During this time everything you do as a player can make or break you. If he saw a player during warm-up messing around, he would pack it up and leave and go to the next game. "Ladies and Gentlemen this is warm-up.", as he said. This might be the only time he has to see a player that day. If that first impression is bad, he may never return. Can you afford to make that impression?

Recently I had a player that had set up a try-out with a college coach. This player had 2 months after the summer season to prepare himself for the try-out. But what did he do instead? He decided to play golf. Don’t get me wrong. Golf is a great game. But, he did not touch a baseball for 2 months. When he returns to me before his try-out we had a week to prepare. Now, he failed to inform me 2 months earlier that he had set up this try-out. So, to my surprise we are trying to get some work done before that try-out. This player went to the try out with a minor sore arm and a weak bat. So how did the try-out go? Not so well. His arm was weak and lacked a lot of power. What will this coach do? We don’t know as of yet. But, did he put his best foot forward?

These are just a few examples and I could go on. But I think I have made the point. Please, if you get nothing else out of this blog this week, know that coaches are always watching. Take the time to prepare. That first impression could be your last impression.

Brian Niswender
Co-Founder Baseball Strength Coaching.com

Welcome to College!!

Congratulations! You were a very successful high school baseball player. Maybe you were lucky enough to garner some baseball scholarship money – good for you. You have packed your bags and maybe some of your high school trophies and highlight films – not recommended – and have made it to wherever your campus might be located.

You are on campus and realize that life is going to be pretty good. Baseball doesn’t start for a couple weeks; the girls are wearing their summer dresses and some are even laying out on the quad; life is good. The first day of class comes, and the first team meeting follows shortly after – man the recruiting process is over, Coach is mean, and these classes are going to be brutal. All in all, after the team meeting, Coach has the majority of the guys ready to run through a wall when he sets the expectations, the fall schedule, and starts talking about playing in Omaha in late June. You walk out of the meeting with chills and thinking that the team will do awesome this season – and no one has even touched a baseball.

Do you think you are ready?

I have had a couple of coaches break it down a couple different ways.

Coach A – “ Academics first (while holding up two fingers) and athletics second (while holding up the number one sign)!”

Coach B – had a more systematic approach and breakdown. “There are 24 hours in a day and it should break down like this. 8-3-6-4-3.”
• 8 hours of sleep – It’s a good solid number to shoot for, and your body will thank you.
• 3 hours to eat – Combining all meals and snacks (unless you eat like I do and try to grab anything as fast as you can between seeing athletes).
• 6 hours of baseball activity – No, this is not all organized activity, it includes early work in the batting cages and extra work spent on your defensive game. I won’t even start (yet) if your shoulder starts to hurt.
• 4 hours of class daily – Ok, I understand that you might be fortunate enough to not have class on Friday.
• 3 hours of free time.

Well, if I have done the math correctly, that is 24 hours. Wow, three hours of free time, that’s it? Those three hours are absolutely crucial. Coach B referred to that as F.A.T (four letter word-around-time). If your free time extends past three hours, where do you typically take the hours from? Sleep. If you aren’t getting enough sleep, then you are falling behind on the other areas. Then you are not performing as well as you would like on the baseball field, so you try to make up time in the cage. Then you are not doing so hot in some of your classes, so you decide to take a look at your buddie’s test sitting next to you in class – also not recommended. It seems to be a vicious cycle.
How will you spend your F.A.T??

Chris Ham, MSA, ATC, CES
Athletic Trainer
Vanderbilt University Baseball

Take some time off

Hello Again,

Sorry for the late blog this week, plans for the fall are falling into place and the baseball season is quickly coming to an end, which usually means the schedule is full of a lot of busy work. But with the summer season coming to an end it is time to start to think about the fall season for some and an extended off-season for others. Which ever season you are coming into it is time to take some time off, step away from the game and relax. Depending on which season you are coming into will determine the time off. We will just make some general guidelines when it comes to the active recovery time. When a player is getting ready for an off season they need to take at least 2 weeks off and up to 4 weeks of recovery can be needed if the player is healthy and no other problems are going to be addressed. This is a window and each player needs to make the choice of recovery time and some times that is determined by the start of the next season. The total time off needs to be planed so the player can again plan for proper progression into normal play again when the spring comes. I hope you can see where we are going; planning is the key to success. Planning everything down to recovery helps the player perform at their very best every season. If you noticed I used the word active recovery as well, when you are taking this break don’t be a couch potato, get out and do some activities you did not have the chance to do in-season. Some coaches may cringe, but go play some hoops, get on that wake board, go for a hike, and have some fun doing things not related to baseball. Your body and your mind will thank you. We will be addressing some off-season training topics in the next series of article topics. Get out and have some fun!!!!!