Showing posts with label coaching. Show all posts
Showing posts with label coaching. Show all posts
Thursday, June 28, 2012
"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
Monday, April 16, 2012
Is Your Baseball Coach In It For You? Or For Themselves?
This article comes from a member of BaseballStrengthCoaching.com's Network of Academies and Teams, The Baseball Zone. Be sure to check out this and many other informative posts from Canada's leading baseball training academy.
Is Your Baseball Coach In It For You? Or For Themselves?
Over the years I have seen and played for a lot of different coaches spanning various sports. Most of us have. And they can be categorized in many different ways – a yeller versus a quiet, thoughtful approach; more technical versus motivational; organized versus “winging it”; and so on. I submit to the readers now a new category – coaches that work for you versus working for themselves.
What I mean by this category is the following – does the coach ramble on and on with no apparent organization to their sermon, or do they come across as having a clear and concise goal for that particular session? The human mind – as powerful as it is – has a very difficult time being consciously aware of more than one new concept at a time. So is the coach focusing their efforts on a singular, EFFECTIVE goal or are they taking every opportunity to just spew information, whether germane to the overall intentions or not, just to show how knowledgeable they are to the masses? Is it truly about you? Or them?
In my opinion, the greatest coach who has ever lived (at least in North American contemporary times) is the college basketball legend John Wooden (did you know his favourite sport was baseball?). Coach Wooden called himself an average game coach but a great practice coach. Why? Well no matter how many championships he won (10 NCAA titles by the way) he maintained the humility and discipline to prepare for every practice. He even kept the practice plans for every single one he ever conducted until the day he died. He never thought he was too good to prepare. He had a clear and concise goal or goals for every practice and every drill, whether they were individual or team based. Certainly after 10 or 5 or even 2 or 1 National Championships he could have easily just cruised a bit and gone on without a plan wowing them every day with his knowledge and what he had accomplished in the past, right? But would that be serving the players or him?
Wooden and other great, genuine coaches are not victims of what some have coined “The Me Disease” – the belief that things happen (good or bad) because of who you are, not because of what you do. With Wooden it was never about who he was. It was about the responsibility he took in his position of leading young men, and developing and maintaining the constant effort and discipline it took to provide them with what he felt they deserved. It was about what he did and he knew how easily that could slip away if he started believing it was about who he was. It was that humility and LACK of self-importance that kept him so great for so long.
So the next time you are deciding on a new coach or deciding whether or not to keep a coach, ask them – and yourself – what they are doing for you when you are not working together. Are they taking time and putting forth great effort to synthesize, prepare and implement a development plan for you? Or not? Are they planning out the next practice or groups of practices for the team or group? Or not? Are they of the mind that it is an honour for them to be working for you? Or the other way around? Is success about what they do? Or who they are? Simply put – Are they in it for you? Or are they in it for themselves?
Good luck in searching for a coach you deserve. I hope this helps.
Mike McCarthy, Co-Founder - The Baseball Zone
Is Your Baseball Coach In It For You? Or For Themselves?
Over the years I have seen and played for a lot of different coaches spanning various sports. Most of us have. And they can be categorized in many different ways – a yeller versus a quiet, thoughtful approach; more technical versus motivational; organized versus “winging it”; and so on. I submit to the readers now a new category – coaches that work for you versus working for themselves.
What I mean by this category is the following – does the coach ramble on and on with no apparent organization to their sermon, or do they come across as having a clear and concise goal for that particular session? The human mind – as powerful as it is – has a very difficult time being consciously aware of more than one new concept at a time. So is the coach focusing their efforts on a singular, EFFECTIVE goal or are they taking every opportunity to just spew information, whether germane to the overall intentions or not, just to show how knowledgeable they are to the masses? Is it truly about you? Or them?
In my opinion, the greatest coach who has ever lived (at least in North American contemporary times) is the college basketball legend John Wooden (did you know his favourite sport was baseball?). Coach Wooden called himself an average game coach but a great practice coach. Why? Well no matter how many championships he won (10 NCAA titles by the way) he maintained the humility and discipline to prepare for every practice. He even kept the practice plans for every single one he ever conducted until the day he died. He never thought he was too good to prepare. He had a clear and concise goal or goals for every practice and every drill, whether they were individual or team based. Certainly after 10 or 5 or even 2 or 1 National Championships he could have easily just cruised a bit and gone on without a plan wowing them every day with his knowledge and what he had accomplished in the past, right? But would that be serving the players or him?
Wooden and other great, genuine coaches are not victims of what some have coined “The Me Disease” – the belief that things happen (good or bad) because of who you are, not because of what you do. With Wooden it was never about who he was. It was about the responsibility he took in his position of leading young men, and developing and maintaining the constant effort and discipline it took to provide them with what he felt they deserved. It was about what he did and he knew how easily that could slip away if he started believing it was about who he was. It was that humility and LACK of self-importance that kept him so great for so long.
So the next time you are deciding on a new coach or deciding whether or not to keep a coach, ask them – and yourself – what they are doing for you when you are not working together. Are they taking time and putting forth great effort to synthesize, prepare and implement a development plan for you? Or not? Are they planning out the next practice or groups of practices for the team or group? Or not? Are they of the mind that it is an honour for them to be working for you? Or the other way around? Is success about what they do? Or who they are? Simply put – Are they in it for you? Or are they in it for themselves?
Good luck in searching for a coach you deserve. I hope this helps.
Mike McCarthy, Co-Founder - The Baseball Zone
Monday, August 15, 2011
Minimizing the Risk of Injury in Little League Players
It’s that special time of the summer again when young players flock to Williamsport, Pennsylvania in search of the Little League World Series Championship. Watching the games on television, you can’t help but notice the young pitchers and pay attention to how many pitches they throw and the types of pitches they throw. At the youth level, it seems that the pitchers who excel are the ones who are able to learn to throw a breaking ball. At that age, it is difficult for the hitter to recognize and hit that pitch. So, often the pitcher uses the curveball or slider frequently. Recently, in the media, there has been a lot of discussion regarding overuse injuries of the youth pitcher. The conventional wisdom was that throwing the curveball at too early an age would lead to injury in the young pitcher. However, research done by several authors in the past couple of years contradicts that idea.
A couple of studies done by The American Sports Medicine Institute (Birmingham, AL) and Connecticut Children’s Medical Center (Farmington, CT) were done to evaluate and compare the biomechanical differences between the fastball, curveball, and change-up pitches. Both studies demonstrated that the stresses to the shoulder and elbow joint were greatest when throwing a fastball as compared to the other types of pitches. The authors concluded that throwing the curveball may not be responsible for the rising injury toll in young pitchers.
So, if it’s not the type of pitch, then what is responsible for what seems like an epidemic of shoulder and elbow injuries in the young baseball athlete? The answer, yet again, may come from research done at ASMI in Birmingham, Alabama. Three main risk factors seem to be more responsible for contributing to a young pitcher’s development of pain and injury: Improper Mechanics, Fatigue, and Overuse.
Improper Mechanics
I’ve wrote about this area in many of my articles and blogs, but it bears repeating again. The overhead pitching motion is a fine-tuned sequence of movements in body segments originating from the lower extremities and pelvis, progressing through the trunk, and culminating in the smaller, less powerful upper extremity structures. The better and more efficient the thrower’s mechanics, the better the chances of reducing stresses on the shoulder and elbow. Mechanical faults that alter the timing of the sequencing of events or place the body in an improper position can result in increased upper extremity forces and torques. These increases in joint stresses can lead to an increase in subsequent risk of injury. Even though the curveball, by evidence of research, is less stress full on the elbow and shoulder than the fastball, the pitch should still be taught by a qualified pitching instructor. Too often, a volunteer coach or parent attempts to introduce the breaking ball to a young pitcher. Without proper knowledge of the pitching motion and the specific grips and key teaching points, the athlete may learn incorrect technique which may surely elevate his risk of potential problems.
Fatigue
The ASMI study notes that young athletes who pitch with arm fatigue or throw more than 85 pitches per game are more likely to require elbow surgery. Younger, less experienced pitchers are unable to maintain their accuracy or level of performance as they become fatigued. The fine-tuned chain of events necessary to execute the throwing motion is altered and creates timing delays and compensations in movement and muscle activation patterns which may ultimately result in an increased risk of injury. Fortunately, many youth baseball programs have adopted limits on pitch counts per outing and mandated specific lengths of rest prior to returning to the mound.
Overuse
Along with the number of pitches per outing, the length of a young player’s “season” also impacts his risk of potential shoulder or elbow injury. Adolescents who pitch more than 8 months out of the year are also several more times likely to require arm surgery. 8 months out of the year?! This seems absurd to me. The Major League Regular Season is only 7 months long and these are mature, seasoned, developed, and conditioned pitchers. If you enjoy playing baseball, that is fantastic! It is a great game. But as a youngster, go out and play other sports too. Learn how to move, run, cut, jump. Develop your overall athleticism. As you get older, then you can begin to focus on a sport that best suits your talents. If it’s baseball and pitching, then having a better foundation of athleticism can only help you.
The moral of the story is that if your son is going to throw the curveball, he should learn how to throw it correctly. It is important to learn how to identify when he is beginning to tire and be sure to allow for adequate rest and recovery between outings. Finally, avoid overuse by allowing your young player to become a multi-sport athlete. This will allow the body physically and mentally rest from the repetitive stresses of baseball and help to develop a better physical foundation for athletic performance.
David Yeager, ATC, CSCS
Co-Founder
BaseballStrengthCoaching.com
A couple of studies done by The American Sports Medicine Institute (Birmingham, AL) and Connecticut Children’s Medical Center (Farmington, CT) were done to evaluate and compare the biomechanical differences between the fastball, curveball, and change-up pitches. Both studies demonstrated that the stresses to the shoulder and elbow joint were greatest when throwing a fastball as compared to the other types of pitches. The authors concluded that throwing the curveball may not be responsible for the rising injury toll in young pitchers.
So, if it’s not the type of pitch, then what is responsible for what seems like an epidemic of shoulder and elbow injuries in the young baseball athlete? The answer, yet again, may come from research done at ASMI in Birmingham, Alabama. Three main risk factors seem to be more responsible for contributing to a young pitcher’s development of pain and injury: Improper Mechanics, Fatigue, and Overuse.
Improper Mechanics
I’ve wrote about this area in many of my articles and blogs, but it bears repeating again. The overhead pitching motion is a fine-tuned sequence of movements in body segments originating from the lower extremities and pelvis, progressing through the trunk, and culminating in the smaller, less powerful upper extremity structures. The better and more efficient the thrower’s mechanics, the better the chances of reducing stresses on the shoulder and elbow. Mechanical faults that alter the timing of the sequencing of events or place the body in an improper position can result in increased upper extremity forces and torques. These increases in joint stresses can lead to an increase in subsequent risk of injury. Even though the curveball, by evidence of research, is less stress full on the elbow and shoulder than the fastball, the pitch should still be taught by a qualified pitching instructor. Too often, a volunteer coach or parent attempts to introduce the breaking ball to a young pitcher. Without proper knowledge of the pitching motion and the specific grips and key teaching points, the athlete may learn incorrect technique which may surely elevate his risk of potential problems.
Fatigue
The ASMI study notes that young athletes who pitch with arm fatigue or throw more than 85 pitches per game are more likely to require elbow surgery. Younger, less experienced pitchers are unable to maintain their accuracy or level of performance as they become fatigued. The fine-tuned chain of events necessary to execute the throwing motion is altered and creates timing delays and compensations in movement and muscle activation patterns which may ultimately result in an increased risk of injury. Fortunately, many youth baseball programs have adopted limits on pitch counts per outing and mandated specific lengths of rest prior to returning to the mound.
Overuse
Along with the number of pitches per outing, the length of a young player’s “season” also impacts his risk of potential shoulder or elbow injury. Adolescents who pitch more than 8 months out of the year are also several more times likely to require arm surgery. 8 months out of the year?! This seems absurd to me. The Major League Regular Season is only 7 months long and these are mature, seasoned, developed, and conditioned pitchers. If you enjoy playing baseball, that is fantastic! It is a great game. But as a youngster, go out and play other sports too. Learn how to move, run, cut, jump. Develop your overall athleticism. As you get older, then you can begin to focus on a sport that best suits your talents. If it’s baseball and pitching, then having a better foundation of athleticism can only help you.
The moral of the story is that if your son is going to throw the curveball, he should learn how to throw it correctly. It is important to learn how to identify when he is beginning to tire and be sure to allow for adequate rest and recovery between outings. Finally, avoid overuse by allowing your young player to become a multi-sport athlete. This will allow the body physically and mentally rest from the repetitive stresses of baseball and help to develop a better physical foundation for athletic performance.
David Yeager, ATC, CSCS
Co-Founder
BaseballStrengthCoaching.com
Sunday, June 26, 2011
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
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
Sunday, April 17, 2011
A New Attitude
As an athletic trainer and strength and conditioning coach, my role is to prevent injuries and enhance performance through the improvement of overall and sport-specific athleticism. Since I started my career in the strength and conditioning realm, my tendency is to attack injury prevention and reconditioning from a performance training philosophy. As I entered the athletic training field, I found myself approaching performance enhancement through functional / injury prevention strategies.
I’m old enough that my education seemed to be set against the backdrop of the “old school” tough love approach and the transition into the “new school” evidence-based approach to training / reconditioning. So, I understand when players make comments like, “My goal is to stay out of the training room this year.” Or, when coaches chide a player for being on the treatment table or in the whirlpool tub, I can relate to the coaching philosophy. But, at the same time, I can understand the big picture of the sport-specific dynamics and my role in the sports performance team.
Baseball is primarily a repetitive stress and overuse injury type sport. An athlete who avoids the training room because of pressure or the belief that if he reports a complaint, then the athletic trainer will keep him off the field is backward. The opposite is routinely true. When a player waits to report an injury that began as a nagging little discomfort and has progressed to a more significant pain that hinders or affects his performance on the field, it’s too late. By then, the athletic trainer or medical professional often has no other recourse than to “shut down” the player from activity to allow for rest, healing, and recovery. When in reality, early communication and assessment between the athlete and the athletic trainer could more than likely allowed for continued sports participation while at the same time addressing the physical needs of the injury.
We need a new attitude.
When I meet with my teams and newly arriving players, I feel that it is important to stress my underlying philosophy that the athletic training room should be viewed as an extension of the weight room and ultimately, the field. As I mentioned, my role is to help players stay on the field and perform at their optimal level. When the sports medicine team has a strong understanding of the sport-specific needs of the athlete from an injury prevention and performance standpoint, programs can be adjusted and fine-tuned through specific techniques in the training room. Therefore, the athlete can get the most out of their performance training and this training can hopefully provide greater carryover on the field.
What about “The Training Room Rat”?
Besides the athlete who needs encouragement to approach the medical team and communicate small issues before they become large, there is the other end of the spectrum that consists of the player who is constantly requesting and needing attention. The role of the athletic trainer in this case is to provide education and initial guidance to allow the player to transition to the weight room and become an active participant in his performance training programs.
David Yeager, ATC, CSCS
Co-Founder
BaseballStrengthCoaching.com
I’m old enough that my education seemed to be set against the backdrop of the “old school” tough love approach and the transition into the “new school” evidence-based approach to training / reconditioning. So, I understand when players make comments like, “My goal is to stay out of the training room this year.” Or, when coaches chide a player for being on the treatment table or in the whirlpool tub, I can relate to the coaching philosophy. But, at the same time, I can understand the big picture of the sport-specific dynamics and my role in the sports performance team.
Baseball is primarily a repetitive stress and overuse injury type sport. An athlete who avoids the training room because of pressure or the belief that if he reports a complaint, then the athletic trainer will keep him off the field is backward. The opposite is routinely true. When a player waits to report an injury that began as a nagging little discomfort and has progressed to a more significant pain that hinders or affects his performance on the field, it’s too late. By then, the athletic trainer or medical professional often has no other recourse than to “shut down” the player from activity to allow for rest, healing, and recovery. When in reality, early communication and assessment between the athlete and the athletic trainer could more than likely allowed for continued sports participation while at the same time addressing the physical needs of the injury.
We need a new attitude.
When I meet with my teams and newly arriving players, I feel that it is important to stress my underlying philosophy that the athletic training room should be viewed as an extension of the weight room and ultimately, the field. As I mentioned, my role is to help players stay on the field and perform at their optimal level. When the sports medicine team has a strong understanding of the sport-specific needs of the athlete from an injury prevention and performance standpoint, programs can be adjusted and fine-tuned through specific techniques in the training room. Therefore, the athlete can get the most out of their performance training and this training can hopefully provide greater carryover on the field.
What about “The Training Room Rat”?
Besides the athlete who needs encouragement to approach the medical team and communicate small issues before they become large, there is the other end of the spectrum that consists of the player who is constantly requesting and needing attention. The role of the athletic trainer in this case is to provide education and initial guidance to allow the player to transition to the weight room and become an active participant in his performance training programs.
David Yeager, ATC, CSCS
Co-Founder
BaseballStrengthCoaching.com
Saturday, March 12, 2011
If Sliding Head First Were Faster, World-Class Sprinters Would Dive Across the Finish Line!
The 2011 baseball season started with tragedy at Arizona State University. While sliding head-first into second base during an attempted steal, freshman player Cory Hahn collided with the knee of the fielder and suffered a fractured neck and is reportedly paralyzed.
Though there are injury risks with feet-first sliding, it is commonly believed that the more devastating injuries are associated with head-first slides (i.e. cervical spine injuries, shoulder dislocations, and other elbow, wrist, and hand trauma). Yet, coaches continue to teach, and players continue to attempt head-first sliding because they believe it is a faster baserunning technique.
The truth…IT’S NOT. A 2002 study proved once and for all that at all levels, there is no difference in speed between head-first and feet-first sliding. The authors concluded that in fact, feet-first sliding may even be slightly faster.
Kane SM, House HO, Overgaard KA. Head-first versus feet-first sliding: A comparison of speed from base to base. The American Journal of Sports Medicine. 2002; 30(6): 834-836.
As I mentioned, there is injury potential to the lower body with the feet-first technique (i.e. ankles, knees, hips, and hands), but these are not considered to be in the same class of severity as those associated with the head-first method. It can be argued that when the feet-first slide is taught correctly and practiced, the potential for injury is low – particularly now with breakaway bases, etc.
NEVER SHOULD A PLAYER SLIDE HEAD-FIRST INTO HOME PLATE!
David Yeager, ATC, CSCS
Co-Founder
BaseballStrengthCoaching.com
Though there are injury risks with feet-first sliding, it is commonly believed that the more devastating injuries are associated with head-first slides (i.e. cervical spine injuries, shoulder dislocations, and other elbow, wrist, and hand trauma). Yet, coaches continue to teach, and players continue to attempt head-first sliding because they believe it is a faster baserunning technique.
The truth…IT’S NOT. A 2002 study proved once and for all that at all levels, there is no difference in speed between head-first and feet-first sliding. The authors concluded that in fact, feet-first sliding may even be slightly faster.
Kane SM, House HO, Overgaard KA. Head-first versus feet-first sliding: A comparison of speed from base to base. The American Journal of Sports Medicine. 2002; 30(6): 834-836.
As I mentioned, there is injury potential to the lower body with the feet-first technique (i.e. ankles, knees, hips, and hands), but these are not considered to be in the same class of severity as those associated with the head-first method. It can be argued that when the feet-first slide is taught correctly and practiced, the potential for injury is low – particularly now with breakaway bases, etc.
NEVER SHOULD A PLAYER SLIDE HEAD-FIRST INTO HOME PLATE!
David Yeager, ATC, CSCS
Co-Founder
BaseballStrengthCoaching.com
Monday, January 31, 2011
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
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
Sunday, January 9, 2011
"It Ain't Easy Being Green" - Kermit The Frog
As a student-athlete, it helps to have mentors that can provide you with guidance along your path through developmental milestones and athletic achievements. For me, one of those mentors was Dr. Jack Hughston. Considered by most as a pioneer in the field of sports medicine, he was among the first to provide medical coverage to collegiate athletic programs.
When I arrived for my freshman year of college on the campus of Auburn University, I was fortunate enough to receive a scholarship as a student athletic trainer and Dr. Hughston was the university’s Team Physician. As a student, it didn’t take me long to be introduced to his favorite saying:
“As long as you’re green, you’re still growing. Once you’re ripe, you’re next to rotten.”
This saying has stayed with me throughout my entire career as an athletic trainer and strength and conditioning coach. It has reminded me that once, I think that I know everything that there is to know about my profession, then I’ve missed out on a lot of new information. The sports medicine and sports performance fields are always changing and evolving and it is important to continue to grow a base of knowledge, develop new concepts, and fine tune my training philosophies and programs. It is also important to pass on that knowledge to others.
David Yeager, ATC, CSCS
Co-Founder
BaseballStrengthCoaching.com
WEBINAR PRESENTATION: Functional Training and Progressions of the Shoulder and Upper Extremity in the Overhead Athlete
January 11, 2011 (8:00PM - 9:00PM Central Time)
Featured Speaker: David Yeager, ATC, CSCS Co-Founder, BaseballStrengthCoaching.com Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and professional baseball Athletic Trainer
Course Objectives:
- Define function, functional training, and the components of sport-specific training in baseball.
- Describe the criteria for beginning or advancing exercise / activity progressions.
- Describe the general characteristics and key components of the overhand throwing motion.
- Explain the Kinetic Chain Concept as it relates to exercise training in baseball.
- Define the goal and key components of sport-specific shoulder girdle training.
- Illustrate sample exercise progressions for the overhead throwing athlete.
To Register and receive an email with the link to the presentation, log on to www.baseballstrengthcoaching.com.
When I arrived for my freshman year of college on the campus of Auburn University, I was fortunate enough to receive a scholarship as a student athletic trainer and Dr. Hughston was the university’s Team Physician. As a student, it didn’t take me long to be introduced to his favorite saying:
“As long as you’re green, you’re still growing. Once you’re ripe, you’re next to rotten.”
This saying has stayed with me throughout my entire career as an athletic trainer and strength and conditioning coach. It has reminded me that once, I think that I know everything that there is to know about my profession, then I’ve missed out on a lot of new information. The sports medicine and sports performance fields are always changing and evolving and it is important to continue to grow a base of knowledge, develop new concepts, and fine tune my training philosophies and programs. It is also important to pass on that knowledge to others.
David Yeager, ATC, CSCS
Co-Founder
BaseballStrengthCoaching.com
WEBINAR PRESENTATION: Functional Training and Progressions of the Shoulder and Upper Extremity in the Overhead Athlete
January 11, 2011 (8:00PM - 9:00PM Central Time)
Featured Speaker: David Yeager, ATC, CSCS Co-Founder, BaseballStrengthCoaching.com Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and professional baseball Athletic Trainer
Course Objectives:
- Define function, functional training, and the components of sport-specific training in baseball.
- Describe the criteria for beginning or advancing exercise / activity progressions.
- Describe the general characteristics and key components of the overhand throwing motion.
- Explain the Kinetic Chain Concept as it relates to exercise training in baseball.
- Define the goal and key components of sport-specific shoulder girdle training.
- Illustrate sample exercise progressions for the overhead throwing athlete.
To Register and receive an email with the link to the presentation, log on to www.baseballstrengthcoaching.com.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
What's Your Max?
This blog has two purposes, one is asking the question do we really know what our athletes maxes are? And second if we don’t know, are we doing our athletes a disservice by not testing them?
I ask the question do we really know what our athletes maxes are because I have been noticing a trend that more and more schools are using estimated maxes. In the past, this technique was used mostly in high school at the freshman and sophomore level but it has been slowly moving to the older athletes and I have been hearing it is being used to a greater extent in the college ranks. I am not saying the technique should not be used. It has many uses and is a great tool. But, when it is the only technique used, I believe we are not giving the athletes a true look at what their maximal strength is. I have been getting more and more athletes through my program both in person and athletes that I plan programs for that give me these estimated maxes but cannot really lift that weight. Many times I have found the athlete to be 20-30 and even 40 pounds off the estimated weight. This can be very significant considering that if the athletes max was say 250lbs and they could really only do 220lbs. This is more then a 10% mistake, and if these maxes are used for calculating workouts through out the week, in most cases the athlete would not be getting the proper stimulus.
This leads into the next question. Is this a disservice to the athlete? In my opinion the answer is yes. If they do not perform true maximal’s at least a few times a year, the athlete may never know where they really stand and when they move onto the next level have to move backwards in order to move forward. This can be very frustrating. In many instances, if we are able to get the athlete on track and work from their true maxes, the athlete sees greater gains in shorter periods of time, as well as, giving the athlete a greater confidence in their lifting ability.
I just want to leave you with one more thought. As coaches, would we be ok if we used estimates of speed or velocity????????
Brian Niswender, MA, CSCS
Co-Founder
BaseballStrengthCoaching.com
I ask the question do we really know what our athletes maxes are because I have been noticing a trend that more and more schools are using estimated maxes. In the past, this technique was used mostly in high school at the freshman and sophomore level but it has been slowly moving to the older athletes and I have been hearing it is being used to a greater extent in the college ranks. I am not saying the technique should not be used. It has many uses and is a great tool. But, when it is the only technique used, I believe we are not giving the athletes a true look at what their maximal strength is. I have been getting more and more athletes through my program both in person and athletes that I plan programs for that give me these estimated maxes but cannot really lift that weight. Many times I have found the athlete to be 20-30 and even 40 pounds off the estimated weight. This can be very significant considering that if the athletes max was say 250lbs and they could really only do 220lbs. This is more then a 10% mistake, and if these maxes are used for calculating workouts through out the week, in most cases the athlete would not be getting the proper stimulus.
This leads into the next question. Is this a disservice to the athlete? In my opinion the answer is yes. If they do not perform true maximal’s at least a few times a year, the athlete may never know where they really stand and when they move onto the next level have to move backwards in order to move forward. This can be very frustrating. In many instances, if we are able to get the athlete on track and work from their true maxes, the athlete sees greater gains in shorter periods of time, as well as, giving the athlete a greater confidence in their lifting ability.
I just want to leave you with one more thought. As coaches, would we be ok if we used estimates of speed or velocity????????
Brian Niswender, MA, CSCS
Co-Founder
BaseballStrengthCoaching.com
Monday, November 15, 2010
The Best Energy Booster - Breakfast
One of the best decisions an athlete can make is to start the day with breakfast. Why you ask? Because your body is actually in a starvation state when you get up in the morning. Your metabolism has slowed to an almost stand still because it has not been fed in 8 to 12 hours or so, it acts to conserve energy by slowing all metabolic processes down. If you don’t fill your gas tank with some nutrition and energy you won’t be able to run your machine (your body)well. Your body and your brain need fuel to get it revved in the morning and prepare for thinking and the demands of physical activity. Between 10-30 percent of people head out the door in the morning with a low tank of gas because they skip this important meal. Omitting breakfast is a favorite practice of teenagers and gets worse with age. Amost 60% of teens in high school skip breakfast more than 3 times per week! Don’t be a statistic…learn how to eat smart.
There are some tangible health benefits to eating breakfast, according to research, so consider this:
Breakfast eaters...
...Are healthier. They are more likely to get more nutrition and essential vitamins and minerals, as well as fiber, in their diets.
...Tend to have better control of their weight. Studies show that breakfast skippers often overeat the rest of the day because of excessive hunger so they are more prone to being overweight.
...Do better in school because they have improved concentration, longer attention spans and they achieve higher test scores.
...Have better school attendance (and are tardy less).
...Have better hand to eye coordination, which is a critical element of success in sports.
...Fuel their sports training and practices better because they are supplying their muscles and liver with the right fuel (carbohydrates) to perform their best.
I often hear comments like, “I’m not hungry when I get up” or “I don’t have time to eat breakfast” in the morning. To that I reply, do not expect or wait to feel hungry when you get up in the morning. And breakfast doesn’t have to take more than a few minutes. Cereals are a great choice if they are not sugar-laden ones. Choose those with 3 or 4 grams of fiber (bran cereals like Fiber One, Oat Bran, Bran Flakes and Raisin Bran are even higher in fiber) and less than 9-10 grams of sugar per serving. Always look for whole grain on the box and select fortified or enriched cereals that provide iron, an important mineral for athletes. Here are some quick and easy grab and go breakfast ideas along with some others that will combat breakfast boredom at home!
-Bagel with peanut butter, 100% fruit juice
-Dry cereal like bran flakes with a banana and skim milk
-Breakfast burrito (2 eggs scrambled in microwave oven for 1-2 minutes, stirring) made with eggs, sprinkle of shredded low fat cheese and topped with salsa. Roll and go!
-Fresh orange, low fat mozzarella stick, dry cereal in a Ziploc, hard-boiled egg, applesauce, low fat chocolate milk.
-Carnation Instant Breakfast made with low fat milk (I like to throw a banana in and whirl in the blender, with a few ice cubes for a healthy milkshake before a tough workout!)
-Homemade smoothie made with fresh or frozen fruit, low fat yogurt/low fat milk or instant dried nonfat milk powder.
-Low fat cottage cheese with pineapple (no sugar added) with a whole wheat English muffin.
-Omelet with spinach, mushrooms, low fat cheese, tomato juice, and whole wheat toast
-Oatmeal (instant works!) with a handful of craisins and almonds on top, low fat milk
-One of my favorites: Low fat yogurt and fruit (think berries) parfait with a scoop of grape nuts or healthy granola in a plastic cup to go.
-Apple smeared with almond butter and topped with raisins, cereal bar
-Canadian bacon (or lean ham) and low fat swiss cheese on a whole wheat English muffin for a breakfast sandwich
-Clif bar (in a pinch) and 100% orange juice
If you want to be on the fast track to better health and performance, include breakfast in your nutrition game plan. Check out the Eat Right Tips from the American Dietetic Association’s website at www.eatright.org for simple, speedy and good-for-you breakfast ideas and power up with breakfast!
Kim Larson, RD
Sports Nutrition Consultant
BaseballStrengthCoaching.com
There are some tangible health benefits to eating breakfast, according to research, so consider this:
Breakfast eaters...
...Are healthier. They are more likely to get more nutrition and essential vitamins and minerals, as well as fiber, in their diets.
...Tend to have better control of their weight. Studies show that breakfast skippers often overeat the rest of the day because of excessive hunger so they are more prone to being overweight.
...Do better in school because they have improved concentration, longer attention spans and they achieve higher test scores.
...Have better school attendance (and are tardy less).
...Have better hand to eye coordination, which is a critical element of success in sports.
...Fuel their sports training and practices better because they are supplying their muscles and liver with the right fuel (carbohydrates) to perform their best.
I often hear comments like, “I’m not hungry when I get up” or “I don’t have time to eat breakfast” in the morning. To that I reply, do not expect or wait to feel hungry when you get up in the morning. And breakfast doesn’t have to take more than a few minutes. Cereals are a great choice if they are not sugar-laden ones. Choose those with 3 or 4 grams of fiber (bran cereals like Fiber One, Oat Bran, Bran Flakes and Raisin Bran are even higher in fiber) and less than 9-10 grams of sugar per serving. Always look for whole grain on the box and select fortified or enriched cereals that provide iron, an important mineral for athletes. Here are some quick and easy grab and go breakfast ideas along with some others that will combat breakfast boredom at home!
-Bagel with peanut butter, 100% fruit juice
-Dry cereal like bran flakes with a banana and skim milk
-Breakfast burrito (2 eggs scrambled in microwave oven for 1-2 minutes, stirring) made with eggs, sprinkle of shredded low fat cheese and topped with salsa. Roll and go!
-Fresh orange, low fat mozzarella stick, dry cereal in a Ziploc, hard-boiled egg, applesauce, low fat chocolate milk.
-Carnation Instant Breakfast made with low fat milk (I like to throw a banana in and whirl in the blender, with a few ice cubes for a healthy milkshake before a tough workout!)
-Homemade smoothie made with fresh or frozen fruit, low fat yogurt/low fat milk or instant dried nonfat milk powder.
-Low fat cottage cheese with pineapple (no sugar added) with a whole wheat English muffin.
-Omelet with spinach, mushrooms, low fat cheese, tomato juice, and whole wheat toast
-Oatmeal (instant works!) with a handful of craisins and almonds on top, low fat milk
-One of my favorites: Low fat yogurt and fruit (think berries) parfait with a scoop of grape nuts or healthy granola in a plastic cup to go.
-Apple smeared with almond butter and topped with raisins, cereal bar
-Canadian bacon (or lean ham) and low fat swiss cheese on a whole wheat English muffin for a breakfast sandwich
-Clif bar (in a pinch) and 100% orange juice
If you want to be on the fast track to better health and performance, include breakfast in your nutrition game plan. Check out the Eat Right Tips from the American Dietetic Association’s website at www.eatright.org for simple, speedy and good-for-you breakfast ideas and power up with breakfast!
Kim Larson, RD
Sports Nutrition Consultant
BaseballStrengthCoaching.com
Sunday, October 24, 2010
No Muscle Memory!
In this week's installment of BaseballStrengthCoaching.com's blog, I want to take a minute to discuss one of my pet peeves. Recently it seems that I have heard quite a few professionals discuss the concept of "muscle memory". While I understand the concept, as exercise science professionals we should know better. There is no such thing as "muscle memory"! Muscles do not have memory control centers. The actions of our muscle tissue are controlled by conscious and subconscious brain functions.
Sports performance skills such as running, throwing, striking, catching, jumping, landing, and stop and turn activities require coordinated muscle recruitments of multiple joints and planes of movement. During the developmental period of infancy, we learn how to recruit various muscle groups in order to stabilize and balance our bodies (raise the head -> rollover -> sit up -> stand). As we continue to grow and mature, we learn basic loco motor skills such as scooting, crawling, and walking. Still later in our development, we progress to more fundamental movements such as traveling skills (climbing, galloping, jumping, running), object controls skills (kicking, throwing, striking), and balance movements (dodging, rolling). All the while, the brain is programming and saving these movement patterns for future use. With practice the patterns are fine-tuned and enhanced.
The Central Nervous System (CNS) is not programmed for isolated muscle function. When a motor task is necessary, the CNS recalls the pre-programmed patterns of movement that were learned during our developmental years. During sports activities, the body has to compensate for the pre-programmed movement patterns and react to gravity, momentum, and ground reaction forces. This pattern of muscle activation and movement programming has also been seen in recent visualization research.
Rather than referring to this process as "muscle memory", which by definition is not possible, I like to use the phrase "subconscious memory". Subconscious memory more accurately reflects the motor responses.
David Yeager, ATC, CSCS
Co-Founder, BaseballStrengthCoaching.com
Sports performance skills such as running, throwing, striking, catching, jumping, landing, and stop and turn activities require coordinated muscle recruitments of multiple joints and planes of movement. During the developmental period of infancy, we learn how to recruit various muscle groups in order to stabilize and balance our bodies (raise the head -> rollover -> sit up -> stand). As we continue to grow and mature, we learn basic loco motor skills such as scooting, crawling, and walking. Still later in our development, we progress to more fundamental movements such as traveling skills (climbing, galloping, jumping, running), object controls skills (kicking, throwing, striking), and balance movements (dodging, rolling). All the while, the brain is programming and saving these movement patterns for future use. With practice the patterns are fine-tuned and enhanced.
The Central Nervous System (CNS) is not programmed for isolated muscle function. When a motor task is necessary, the CNS recalls the pre-programmed patterns of movement that were learned during our developmental years. During sports activities, the body has to compensate for the pre-programmed movement patterns and react to gravity, momentum, and ground reaction forces. This pattern of muscle activation and movement programming has also been seen in recent visualization research.
Rather than referring to this process as "muscle memory", which by definition is not possible, I like to use the phrase "subconscious memory". Subconscious memory more accurately reflects the motor responses.
David Yeager, ATC, CSCS
Co-Founder, BaseballStrengthCoaching.com
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
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
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
Monday, October 4, 2010
Athletic Destinies Determined By Age 10
I recently came across this article. This is something that I really try to preach to young athletes. I'd be interested to hear some other opinions.
David Yeager, ATC, CSCS
Co-Founder, BaseballStrengthCoaching.com
LeBron James was 10 years old once. By that age, he was on his way to becoming the LeBron James we know today, and he was helped by playing football, according to expert trainers who agree that a range of play activities between age six and 10 helps build a broad base of athletic motor and coordination abilities.
Each year hundreds of kids come through Scott Moody’s AthleteFit facility outside Kansas City, and dozens of them finish high school with collegiate sports scholarships.
“If [kids] don’t develop those manipulative motor skills at that age, that 6-10 window, then they don’t have the confidence necessary to participate,” said Moody. As a result, their overall fitness goes down, further dropping confidence. “It’s this downward spiral that most people never come out of.”
Moody joined more than 100 trainers from across the U.S. and Canada at a recent National Strength and Conditioning Association Youth Training Symposium in Chicago (see him presenting on TRX Suspension Training in the photo above). They discussed how in an overweight yet sports-obsessed culture, trainers are making a difference in how kids get started in athletics.
Patrick McHenry, a high school strength coach in Castle Rock, Colorado, talked about a tall, strong basketball player who could shoot and who looked like he might be great, but as a senior he lacked footwork.
“Was it too late? Yes, for him.” McHenry said. “If we had had him during his sophmore or junior year we could have helped him, but would he have been the best? No.”
Rick Howard, director of athletics for the School District of Philadelphia, gets requests from teachers and coaches for lowest-common-denominator training programs to meet the needs of, say, a third-grade physical education class or a girls’ softball team.
“It’s not that easy,” he tells them. “You really have to know everybody on that team, what they’re good at, what they’re not good at.” Mostly he sees sports instruction and training for kids that winds up reinforcing what they’re already good at, “Kids that are fast, keep them running.”
Reinforcement has run amok in cases where young athletes are opting to specialize in one sport at a young age. In the worst cases, according to McHenry, they run the risk of overuse injuries.
“We find they’re missing their window to all of those motor skills that are going to help them athletically later in the game,” said Moody.
“Girls’ soccer players have trouble tracking the ball in the air,” he pointed out, “because they never played volleyball growing up, they never played softball growing up. They didn’t get used to tracking objects out of the air.”
Mike Nitka is an editor for the trainers’ association journal and a Wisconsin high school wrestling coach. Motor skills in older people, he said, “can be developed, but not at the highest level possible because Mother Nature is trying to give us the biggest assist possible, and these are the windows” for that.
“I have a sign in my office,” Nitka said, “Volleyball players play volleyball. Athletes play anything they want.”
Article taken from news.medill.northwestern.edu.
David Yeager, ATC, CSCS
Co-Founder, BaseballStrengthCoaching.com
LeBron James was 10 years old once. By that age, he was on his way to becoming the LeBron James we know today, and he was helped by playing football, according to expert trainers who agree that a range of play activities between age six and 10 helps build a broad base of athletic motor and coordination abilities.
Each year hundreds of kids come through Scott Moody’s AthleteFit facility outside Kansas City, and dozens of them finish high school with collegiate sports scholarships.
“If [kids] don’t develop those manipulative motor skills at that age, that 6-10 window, then they don’t have the confidence necessary to participate,” said Moody. As a result, their overall fitness goes down, further dropping confidence. “It’s this downward spiral that most people never come out of.”
Moody joined more than 100 trainers from across the U.S. and Canada at a recent National Strength and Conditioning Association Youth Training Symposium in Chicago (see him presenting on TRX Suspension Training in the photo above). They discussed how in an overweight yet sports-obsessed culture, trainers are making a difference in how kids get started in athletics.
Patrick McHenry, a high school strength coach in Castle Rock, Colorado, talked about a tall, strong basketball player who could shoot and who looked like he might be great, but as a senior he lacked footwork.
“Was it too late? Yes, for him.” McHenry said. “If we had had him during his sophmore or junior year we could have helped him, but would he have been the best? No.”
Rick Howard, director of athletics for the School District of Philadelphia, gets requests from teachers and coaches for lowest-common-denominator training programs to meet the needs of, say, a third-grade physical education class or a girls’ softball team.
“It’s not that easy,” he tells them. “You really have to know everybody on that team, what they’re good at, what they’re not good at.” Mostly he sees sports instruction and training for kids that winds up reinforcing what they’re already good at, “Kids that are fast, keep them running.”
Reinforcement has run amok in cases where young athletes are opting to specialize in one sport at a young age. In the worst cases, according to McHenry, they run the risk of overuse injuries.
“We find they’re missing their window to all of those motor skills that are going to help them athletically later in the game,” said Moody.
“Girls’ soccer players have trouble tracking the ball in the air,” he pointed out, “because they never played volleyball growing up, they never played softball growing up. They didn’t get used to tracking objects out of the air.”
Mike Nitka is an editor for the trainers’ association journal and a Wisconsin high school wrestling coach. Motor skills in older people, he said, “can be developed, but not at the highest level possible because Mother Nature is trying to give us the biggest assist possible, and these are the windows” for that.
“I have a sign in my office,” Nitka said, “Volleyball players play volleyball. Athletes play anything they want.”
Article taken from news.medill.northwestern.edu.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Pull With Your Back
As coaches, we strive to achieve the maximum benefit for our athletes in the shortest period of time. Often, we see athletes performing an exercise correctly but not receiving the outcomes they should. Perhaps, this lack of outcome stems from the lack of appropriate focus on the performance of the exercise. For me, one of those exercises is the Lat Pulldown / Pull-Up exercise.
The primary muscles that are engaged during this exercise are the latissimus dorsi, rhomboids, teres major, and the lower trapezius. Their function is to adduct the arm and draw it closer to the pelvis. During the throwing motion, these muscles act as large decelerators to counteract the distraction forces at the glenohumeral joint. The muscles of the hand /forearm flexors, as well as, the biceps brachii are considered secondary movers during the Lat Pulldown exercise.
One of the common mistakes that I notice when athletes perform this exercise is that they over-emphasize their grip and as a result pull down using the smaller muscles of the arms. As I mentioned, the primary focus should be placed on the larger musculature of the back. Using mental cues can improve the mind-body connection. When coaching these athletes, I find it helpful to use the mental cue, “Pull with your back!” to emphasize the proper performance of the Lat Pulldown exercise. This will make an immediate impact in the technique by locking your “lats” into activation. To check this technique, the coach can place his hands on the athlete’s shoulder blades and feel that the pulldown movement is being initiated by their depression and retraction.
Focusing on the proper muscular activation while performing a movement can help to insure maximum benefits are achieved. “Pull with your back!” can be used for any exercise that requires the large upper back muscles to perform (i.e. seated row, bent-over row, etc).
David Yeager, ATC, CSCS
Co-Founder
BaseballStrengthCoaching.com
The primary muscles that are engaged during this exercise are the latissimus dorsi, rhomboids, teres major, and the lower trapezius. Their function is to adduct the arm and draw it closer to the pelvis. During the throwing motion, these muscles act as large decelerators to counteract the distraction forces at the glenohumeral joint. The muscles of the hand /forearm flexors, as well as, the biceps brachii are considered secondary movers during the Lat Pulldown exercise.
One of the common mistakes that I notice when athletes perform this exercise is that they over-emphasize their grip and as a result pull down using the smaller muscles of the arms. As I mentioned, the primary focus should be placed on the larger musculature of the back. Using mental cues can improve the mind-body connection. When coaching these athletes, I find it helpful to use the mental cue, “Pull with your back!” to emphasize the proper performance of the Lat Pulldown exercise. This will make an immediate impact in the technique by locking your “lats” into activation. To check this technique, the coach can place his hands on the athlete’s shoulder blades and feel that the pulldown movement is being initiated by their depression and retraction.
Focusing on the proper muscular activation while performing a movement can help to insure maximum benefits are achieved. “Pull with your back!” can be used for any exercise that requires the large upper back muscles to perform (i.e. seated row, bent-over row, etc).
David Yeager, ATC, CSCS
Co-Founder
BaseballStrengthCoaching.com
Friday, September 17, 2010
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
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
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Athleticism or Skill?
In February when the NFL Combine was in full swing, I discussed the validity of evaluating athleticism and its correlation to the draft and future performance. Here we are in June and it’s time for Major League Baseball’s Amateur Draft. This makes me want to revisit the idea of “athleticism” and ask the question: Should teams draft athletes and try and make them baseball players? Or, draft baseball players and attempt to improve their athleticism?
The answer: Yes
Let’s make 2 assumptions for the sake of this discussion. First, high school players have the raw athletic abilities needed for sports performance. They lack the sport-specific skill development and experience of the more expert player. In this discussion, the high school player would be considered the “athlete”. Second, the college player possesses greater playing experience and skill development. These athletes would be considered the “baseball player”.
According to Baseball References’ Draft Database, an analysis of the players from the 2000-2005 draft classes provides a couple of interesting points:
1. College position players are better bets to reach the Major League level than high school position players; and
2. High school pitchers are better bets to reach the Major League level than college pitchers.
As mentioned, the college position player has greater sport-specific skill development and possesses a broader base of playing experience to allow him to adjust and adapt to the professional levels. With regard to the pitchers, perhaps the high school athlete has less wear and tear on his throwing arm as a result of a younger age and less cumulative innings / pitches (Although this may be a topic for another time – youth travel baseball). More than likely, the high school player also participates in other sports. The multi-sport performer tends to be a more well-rounded athlete with the many physiological tools and traits needed in each arena.
When working with the high school pitcher, more emphasis should be placed on proper throwing mechanics and delivery efficiency, as well as, teaching the overall knowledge of the game (i.e. fastball command, development of off-speed pitches, pitch selection and sequences, and identifying hitters’ weaknesses, etc). Care should be taken not to neglect the young pitcher’s athletic gifts and continue to enhance and maintain these traits. However, the sport-specific skills take precedence.
The more experienced and developed collegiate position player, can use athletic development to aid and fine tune the performance of his sport-specific skills. Speed and agility drills may be used for balance and footwork enhancement, along with the overall improvement of fielding range and baserunning abilities. Development of lower extremity and core strength / power / stability may provide continued improvement with regard to bat speed and power at ball contact.
So, the answer to my introductory question seems to be “yes”. It just depends on what position the player is being drafted to perform.
David Yeager, ATC, CSCS
Co-Founder
BaseballStrengthCoaching.com
The answer: Yes
Let’s make 2 assumptions for the sake of this discussion. First, high school players have the raw athletic abilities needed for sports performance. They lack the sport-specific skill development and experience of the more expert player. In this discussion, the high school player would be considered the “athlete”. Second, the college player possesses greater playing experience and skill development. These athletes would be considered the “baseball player”.
According to Baseball References’ Draft Database, an analysis of the players from the 2000-2005 draft classes provides a couple of interesting points:
1. College position players are better bets to reach the Major League level than high school position players; and
2. High school pitchers are better bets to reach the Major League level than college pitchers.
As mentioned, the college position player has greater sport-specific skill development and possesses a broader base of playing experience to allow him to adjust and adapt to the professional levels. With regard to the pitchers, perhaps the high school athlete has less wear and tear on his throwing arm as a result of a younger age and less cumulative innings / pitches (Although this may be a topic for another time – youth travel baseball). More than likely, the high school player also participates in other sports. The multi-sport performer tends to be a more well-rounded athlete with the many physiological tools and traits needed in each arena.
When working with the high school pitcher, more emphasis should be placed on proper throwing mechanics and delivery efficiency, as well as, teaching the overall knowledge of the game (i.e. fastball command, development of off-speed pitches, pitch selection and sequences, and identifying hitters’ weaknesses, etc). Care should be taken not to neglect the young pitcher’s athletic gifts and continue to enhance and maintain these traits. However, the sport-specific skills take precedence.
The more experienced and developed collegiate position player, can use athletic development to aid and fine tune the performance of his sport-specific skills. Speed and agility drills may be used for balance and footwork enhancement, along with the overall improvement of fielding range and baserunning abilities. Development of lower extremity and core strength / power / stability may provide continued improvement with regard to bat speed and power at ball contact.
So, the answer to my introductory question seems to be “yes”. It just depends on what position the player is being drafted to perform.
David Yeager, ATC, CSCS
Co-Founder
BaseballStrengthCoaching.com
Friday, May 21, 2010
Use It or Lose It!
This is probably one of my biggest pet peaves and an issue that I spend a lot of time discussing with athletes each year. And, if you've heard this from me on several occasions, I apologize. But, being that we are knee deep into the season, I thought that I would take a minute and review a simple concept.
Deconditioning, also called detraining is simply the effect of losing fitness when you stop training. The Principle of Use / Disuse is one of the main principles of conditioning. The concept is that “if you don’t use it, you lose it”. How quickly you lose fitness depends on how fit you are, how long you have been training, and on how long you stop.
Many people stop exercising at times for many reasons. It is not uncommon for baseball players to train intensely during the winter months and significantly decrease or stop training altogether once the season begins thinking that they will be able to maintain their fitness level throughout the summer. I hear it time and time again, "I really work hard in the off-season so I don't need to now." However, this thought process simply doesn’t work. With the overall length of the baseball season, the day-to-day grind of playing / practicing almost everyday, and the physical stress of throwing / swinging, it is almost impossible to maintain your strength and conditioning levels throughout the entire season without some sort of plan. Studies show that deconditioning begins in about 2 weeks if training is stopped altogether. Once lost, it takes nearly three times as long to recondition as it took to “detrain”. After 3 months following the end of training, researchers have found that athletes lost about ½ of their aerobic condition.
Top Ways to Maintain Your Fitness Level
(1) Don’t quit completely. At a minimum, performing 1-2 high-quality, high-intensity training sessions each week can help maintain your fitness level.
(2) Account for the body’s ability to adapt to training. DO NOT keep doing the same routine over and over. Adjust your training plan to gradually progress the training loads and intensities in order to avoid, detraining, overtraining, and injury.
(3) Using a variety of different exercise techniques, while staying true to the training goals and performance needs, can help to limit overtraining, enhance motivation, and increase training adaptations.
(4) Continue training (well-body conditioning, cross training, etc) through injuries.
David Yeager, ATC, CSCS
Co-Founder, BaseballStrengthCoaching.com
Deconditioning, also called detraining is simply the effect of losing fitness when you stop training. The Principle of Use / Disuse is one of the main principles of conditioning. The concept is that “if you don’t use it, you lose it”. How quickly you lose fitness depends on how fit you are, how long you have been training, and on how long you stop.
Many people stop exercising at times for many reasons. It is not uncommon for baseball players to train intensely during the winter months and significantly decrease or stop training altogether once the season begins thinking that they will be able to maintain their fitness level throughout the summer. I hear it time and time again, "I really work hard in the off-season so I don't need to now." However, this thought process simply doesn’t work. With the overall length of the baseball season, the day-to-day grind of playing / practicing almost everyday, and the physical stress of throwing / swinging, it is almost impossible to maintain your strength and conditioning levels throughout the entire season without some sort of plan. Studies show that deconditioning begins in about 2 weeks if training is stopped altogether. Once lost, it takes nearly three times as long to recondition as it took to “detrain”. After 3 months following the end of training, researchers have found that athletes lost about ½ of their aerobic condition.
Top Ways to Maintain Your Fitness Level
(1) Don’t quit completely. At a minimum, performing 1-2 high-quality, high-intensity training sessions each week can help maintain your fitness level.
(2) Account for the body’s ability to adapt to training. DO NOT keep doing the same routine over and over. Adjust your training plan to gradually progress the training loads and intensities in order to avoid, detraining, overtraining, and injury.
(3) Using a variety of different exercise techniques, while staying true to the training goals and performance needs, can help to limit overtraining, enhance motivation, and increase training adaptations.
(4) Continue training (well-body conditioning, cross training, etc) through injuries.
David Yeager, ATC, CSCS
Co-Founder, BaseballStrengthCoaching.com
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
The Energy Balance Equation
As a Performance Enhancement Coach, I am frequently fielding questions from athletes who are trying to gain weight. What kind of workout should I do? What supplements should I buy? How much protein should I take? What kind of protein should I take? All of these questions can and should be addressed. But, there is one question that should be asked before all others…How many calories do I need?
The concept of weight management through Energy Balance is not a difficult one to convey. First, if an athlete’s goal is to maintain his weight, then the amount of energy (calories) that he expends through activity and exercise must equal the amount of energy he consumes (food). If his goal is to lose weight, then he must expend more energy than he consumes. And finally, if the athlete’s goal is to gain weight, then he must consume more energy than he burns. This is the most important issue in weight management – even before I begin discussing protein, carbohydrates, supplements, etc. Gater et al. (1992) demonstrated that athletes who participate in a strength training program and consume more calories than they expend show higher muscle mass gains than athletes with a neutral calorie balance.
(+) Energy Balance = Weight Gain
(-) Energy Balance = Weight Loss
(0) Energy Balance = Weight Maintenance
Even though this is not a difficult concept to convey, it definitely is not as easy to put into practice. For me, the first thing that I ask the player to do when dealing with weight management goals is to keep a weekly diary of what he is eating and drinking, so that I have an idea of how many calories that he is consuming. From there, we discuss the player’s daily calorie expense based on his daily practice, training, and performance activities. The biggest thing that I’ve found over the years is that most players do not have a good grasp on how many calories they need during the day or how many calories they actually take in.
23yo Male / 6ft Tall / 200lbs 3,114 Calories
The average professional baseball player requires 3,114 calories just to fuel his normal bodily functions at rest and maintain his current body weight. The need increases to between 3,600 and 4,100 calories per day to fuel the body for the addition of daily baseball activities. It is important to also understand that a player’s calorie needs will change based on the time of year (off-season, pre-season, or in-season), within a given week (5-day Starting Pitcher Rotation), or according to his role on the team (Starter vs. Reliever, or Everyday Player vs. Bench Player). Consuming up to 100-500 more calories per day than you are expending will provide you with the energy needed to gain strength and increase your lean muscle mass.
How do you gain weight? Above all else, make sure that you have a positive calorie balance.
David Yeager, ATC, CSCS
Co-Founder, BaseballStrengthCoaching.com
The concept of weight management through Energy Balance is not a difficult one to convey. First, if an athlete’s goal is to maintain his weight, then the amount of energy (calories) that he expends through activity and exercise must equal the amount of energy he consumes (food). If his goal is to lose weight, then he must expend more energy than he consumes. And finally, if the athlete’s goal is to gain weight, then he must consume more energy than he burns. This is the most important issue in weight management – even before I begin discussing protein, carbohydrates, supplements, etc. Gater et al. (1992) demonstrated that athletes who participate in a strength training program and consume more calories than they expend show higher muscle mass gains than athletes with a neutral calorie balance.
(+) Energy Balance = Weight Gain
(-) Energy Balance = Weight Loss
(0) Energy Balance = Weight Maintenance
Even though this is not a difficult concept to convey, it definitely is not as easy to put into practice. For me, the first thing that I ask the player to do when dealing with weight management goals is to keep a weekly diary of what he is eating and drinking, so that I have an idea of how many calories that he is consuming. From there, we discuss the player’s daily calorie expense based on his daily practice, training, and performance activities. The biggest thing that I’ve found over the years is that most players do not have a good grasp on how many calories they need during the day or how many calories they actually take in.
23yo Male / 6ft Tall / 200lbs 3,114 Calories
The average professional baseball player requires 3,114 calories just to fuel his normal bodily functions at rest and maintain his current body weight. The need increases to between 3,600 and 4,100 calories per day to fuel the body for the addition of daily baseball activities. It is important to also understand that a player’s calorie needs will change based on the time of year (off-season, pre-season, or in-season), within a given week (5-day Starting Pitcher Rotation), or according to his role on the team (Starter vs. Reliever, or Everyday Player vs. Bench Player). Consuming up to 100-500 more calories per day than you are expending will provide you with the energy needed to gain strength and increase your lean muscle mass.
How do you gain weight? Above all else, make sure that you have a positive calorie balance.
David Yeager, ATC, CSCS
Co-Founder, BaseballStrengthCoaching.com
Monday, February 15, 2010
The power of "Power Talk"
“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”
-William Shakespeare
As I sit here watching the Olympics this week, I can’t help but think about the countless hours of training and practice that these athletes put in for only a handful of competitions a year and this ultimate event only once every four years. With so much time between competitions, they remain motivated and push on to achieve their dreams of Olympic gold.
Yet, how many of us work with athletes, both young and more mature, each day that it is a chore to motivate them for each practice or training session? The Olympians are at the pinnacle of their sport and still find the will and resolve to perform their necessary day-to-day routines. Most of our athletes still have a long way to go before they reach their elite levels. Even some of those who have cracked the professional ranks, still require a significant amount of our energy to nudge and drag them through their training sessions and put in at least enough effort to get something out of their workouts. Why do athletes often view these activities as a necessary evil? A colleague of mine said it this way, “It’s like some of them just don’t want to work.” I usually put it a different way. They just don’t understand the importance of the “behind the scenes” work and day-to-day grind that can have a huge impact on their on-field performance.
Shakespeare asks, “What’s in a name?” Language is a systematic means of communicating ideas and feelings. The words that we use should clearly designate our purpose and direction. The subconscious mind records everything. A person’s experiences provide a context for the emotions and behaviors that result from the words that are expressed. If an athlete has a history of negative experiences related to training or is constantly bombarded with negatives in his environment, then this will ultimately lead to negative thoughts, emotions, and behaviors about training and workouts. For example, when a coach uses conditioning as punishment, this serves to frame strength and conditioning as something the athlete should not want to do. Our mission should be to provide an environment both physically and with the language that we use to motivate and encourage our athletes to strive for their best both during competition and during their day-to-day routines.
I read an article several years ago that really got me thinking about the concept of language and positive self-talk. The article described a shipping company that was losing almost a million dollars per year in late, damaged, and wrong shipments. They hired a consultant to analyze their warehouse operations and to recommend changes that they could make in order to maximize their profits. After a couple of months the consultants made only one suggestion…change a word. What the consultants determined was that in the warehouse, the workers were segregated into different roles (packers, loaders, drivers, etc.). These roles isolated the workers and limited their interest in the work they performed. The consultants suggested that the company do away with each of the workers’ designated roles and replace them with a single job description, “craftsmen”. The shipping company took the advice and began referring to each employee as a “craftsman”. They even altered their training and business manuals to refer to “craftsmen”. Over time, the company began noticing big changes. The employees began taking more pride and ownership in their work, warehouse morale improved, and the next year’s analysis showed that the money the company was losing due to poor work and shipping errors was virtually gone.
What are some words that we can change in our business? Since reading the article, I have made the following power changes to my language when I’m communicating with athletes:
Strength and Conditioning >> Performance Enhancement
Practice >> Training Session
Rehabilitation >> Reconditioning
Coaching Staff >> Performance Team
Professional baseball seems to also begun to embrace this concept of “Power Talk”. Many teams shun the negative, second-tier persona of the minor leagues by referring to it as “player development”.
David Yeager, ATC, CSCS
BaseballStrengthCoaching.com
-William Shakespeare
As I sit here watching the Olympics this week, I can’t help but think about the countless hours of training and practice that these athletes put in for only a handful of competitions a year and this ultimate event only once every four years. With so much time between competitions, they remain motivated and push on to achieve their dreams of Olympic gold.
Yet, how many of us work with athletes, both young and more mature, each day that it is a chore to motivate them for each practice or training session? The Olympians are at the pinnacle of their sport and still find the will and resolve to perform their necessary day-to-day routines. Most of our athletes still have a long way to go before they reach their elite levels. Even some of those who have cracked the professional ranks, still require a significant amount of our energy to nudge and drag them through their training sessions and put in at least enough effort to get something out of their workouts. Why do athletes often view these activities as a necessary evil? A colleague of mine said it this way, “It’s like some of them just don’t want to work.” I usually put it a different way. They just don’t understand the importance of the “behind the scenes” work and day-to-day grind that can have a huge impact on their on-field performance.
Shakespeare asks, “What’s in a name?” Language is a systematic means of communicating ideas and feelings. The words that we use should clearly designate our purpose and direction. The subconscious mind records everything. A person’s experiences provide a context for the emotions and behaviors that result from the words that are expressed. If an athlete has a history of negative experiences related to training or is constantly bombarded with negatives in his environment, then this will ultimately lead to negative thoughts, emotions, and behaviors about training and workouts. For example, when a coach uses conditioning as punishment, this serves to frame strength and conditioning as something the athlete should not want to do. Our mission should be to provide an environment both physically and with the language that we use to motivate and encourage our athletes to strive for their best both during competition and during their day-to-day routines.
I read an article several years ago that really got me thinking about the concept of language and positive self-talk. The article described a shipping company that was losing almost a million dollars per year in late, damaged, and wrong shipments. They hired a consultant to analyze their warehouse operations and to recommend changes that they could make in order to maximize their profits. After a couple of months the consultants made only one suggestion…change a word. What the consultants determined was that in the warehouse, the workers were segregated into different roles (packers, loaders, drivers, etc.). These roles isolated the workers and limited their interest in the work they performed. The consultants suggested that the company do away with each of the workers’ designated roles and replace them with a single job description, “craftsmen”. The shipping company took the advice and began referring to each employee as a “craftsman”. They even altered their training and business manuals to refer to “craftsmen”. Over time, the company began noticing big changes. The employees began taking more pride and ownership in their work, warehouse morale improved, and the next year’s analysis showed that the money the company was losing due to poor work and shipping errors was virtually gone.
What are some words that we can change in our business? Since reading the article, I have made the following power changes to my language when I’m communicating with athletes:
Strength and Conditioning >> Performance Enhancement
Practice >> Training Session
Rehabilitation >> Reconditioning
Coaching Staff >> Performance Team
Professional baseball seems to also begun to embrace this concept of “Power Talk”. Many teams shun the negative, second-tier persona of the minor leagues by referring to it as “player development”.
David Yeager, ATC, CSCS
BaseballStrengthCoaching.com
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Testing Athleticism
February marks another rite of passage for aspiring athletes. Every year, sports performance “gurus” prepare their athletes for the National Football League’s combine. Professional football prospects and team representatives descend upon Indianapolis, Indiana. There the athletes are put through a battery of physical drills and psychological tests attempting to identify elite players, determine their draft status, and predict eventual success on the field. Yet, according to a study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research (Kuzmits and Adams, 2008), there is no consistent statistical relationship between combine tests and professional football performance. This is consistent with studies in other sports, such as handball (Lidor et al, 2005), rugby (Gabbett et al, 2007), and ice hockey (Vescovi et al, 2006). These studies noted that only the players’ skills, not their physiological characteristics were predictors of their playing ability. In other words, the only true measurement of an athlete’s performance on the field… is his performance on the field.
This is not to say that testing of athleticism does not have its’ place. Vern Gambetta defines athleticism as the ability to execute athletic movements at optimum speed with precision, style, and grace in the context of the sport or activity. These characteristics are all related to movement efficiency. Therefore, athleticism, by its’ very nature, aids and fine-tunes the performance of sports skills.
Analyzing athletic properties can provide a profile of an individual’s strengths and weaknesses. This is particularly true if the results are compared to the player’s performance. For example, let’s say that a right-handed pitcher is tested in the “5-10-5 Agility”. His score is rated as average when compared to other players of his performance level. However, further investigation notes that this pitcher is 0.1 seconds slower when moving to his left compared to the right. In terms of performance, the pitcher’s coach routinely works with him on locating his fastball to the far corner of the plate. One explanation of the pitcher’s poor performance on this task may be a lack of hip mobility when rotating his pelvis and trunk to the left. Decreased hip rotation can disrupt the sequential timing of events needed to place the throwing arm in the correct position to execute the throw. This ultimately results in poor efficiency of the movement and limited precision of the outcome (i.e. the inability to hit the outside corner of the plate).
Although athleticism may not predict future success in sports, it can be a useful tool in the enhancement of the skills needed for successful sports performance.
This is not to say that testing of athleticism does not have its’ place. Vern Gambetta defines athleticism as the ability to execute athletic movements at optimum speed with precision, style, and grace in the context of the sport or activity. These characteristics are all related to movement efficiency. Therefore, athleticism, by its’ very nature, aids and fine-tunes the performance of sports skills.
Analyzing athletic properties can provide a profile of an individual’s strengths and weaknesses. This is particularly true if the results are compared to the player’s performance. For example, let’s say that a right-handed pitcher is tested in the “5-10-5 Agility”. His score is rated as average when compared to other players of his performance level. However, further investigation notes that this pitcher is 0.1 seconds slower when moving to his left compared to the right. In terms of performance, the pitcher’s coach routinely works with him on locating his fastball to the far corner of the plate. One explanation of the pitcher’s poor performance on this task may be a lack of hip mobility when rotating his pelvis and trunk to the left. Decreased hip rotation can disrupt the sequential timing of events needed to place the throwing arm in the correct position to execute the throw. This ultimately results in poor efficiency of the movement and limited precision of the outcome (i.e. the inability to hit the outside corner of the plate).
Although athleticism may not predict future success in sports, it can be a useful tool in the enhancement of the skills needed for successful sports performance.
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