I just wanted to put out this quick note for my readers out there who may be baseball fans located near a professional baseball park. It's a listing of where the participants in this season's off-season program will begin the year. Please comment if you're located near one of these teams and plan on heading out to support our guys, as it's awesome to know when our players have a good audience cheering them on.
This list progresses from East to West, American to National League (by organizational affiliation):
Chad Jenkins – Dunedin, FL (Blue Jays High A)
Matt Abraham – Dunedin, FL (GCL Blue Jays)
Kevin Youkilis – Boston, MA (Boston Red Sox)
Jeremy Hazelbaker – Salem, VA (Red Sox High A)
Jeremiah Bayer – Salem, VA (Red Sox High A)
Matt Kramer – Ft. Myers, FL (GCL Red Sox)
Craig Albernaz – Montgomery, AL (Rays AA)
Kevin Moran – Kannapolis, NC (White Sox Low A)
Phil Negus – Kannapolis, NC (White Sox Low A)
Corey Kluber – Columbus, OH (Indians AAA)
Tim Collins – Kansas City, MO (Kansas City Royals)
Anthony Seratelli – Northwest Arkansas (Royals AA)
Kevin Pucetas – Omaha, NE (Royals AAA)
Crawford Simmons – Kane County, IL (Royals Low A)
Matt Perry – Lakeland, FL (GCL Tigers)
Ryan O’Rourke – Beloit, WI (Twins Low A)
Tim Kiely – Little Rock, AK (Angels AA)
Trystan Magnuson – Sacramento, CA (A’s AAA)
Shawn Haviland – Midland, TX (A’s AA)
Jeff Bercume – Phoenix, AZ (AZL Athletics)
Nick McBride – Hickory, NC (Rangers Low A)
Ryan Rodebaugh – Hickory, NC (Rangers Low A)
Chad Rodgers – Lynchburg, VA (Braves High A)
Cory Gearrin – Gwinnett (Braves AAA)
Tim Gustafson – Pearl, MS (Braves AA)
Steve Cishek – New Orleans, LA (Marlins AAA)
Matt Bouchard – St. Lucie, FL (Mets High A)
Chris McKenzie – Hagerstown, MD (Nationals Low A)
Bryan LaHair – Des Moines, IA (Cubs AAA)
Steffan Wilson – Huntsville, AL (Brewers AA)
Cory Riordan – Tulsa, OK (Rockies AA)
Dan Houston – Modesto, CA (Rockies High A)
Will Inman – Tuscon, AZ (Padres AAA)
Kyle Vazquez – Scottsdale, AZ (AZL Giants)
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It's been a few months in the making, but we just finished up a promo video about how we attack off-season baseball training at Cressey Performance for our professional, collegiate, and high school baseball players.
We'd love to hear what you think - and hopefully you'll like it enough to help spread the word on Facebook and Twitter. Thanks!
A big shoutout goes out to Jamie and Matt at Lasting Memories Videotaping; these guys do an awesome job, and we can't recommend them highly enough!
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I turn 29 today. And, while a lot of people look at birthdays as a reason to feel badly about getting old, I like to think of them as a reason to reflect on the cool stuff that's happened in the past year. Or, at the very least, I look at a birthday as good blog content! So, without further ado, here are 29 reasons I'm smiling on my 29th birthday.
1. I'm still not as old as Tony! (okay, that was wrong).
2. Several of our high school athletes have gone off to college and been among the strongest (if not the strongest) in the weight room. The really rewarding aspect of it, though, is that they have an appreciation for the fact that it isn't just about strength; it's about combining that strength with a host of other factors - flexibility, soft tissue quality, etc. - to stay healthy. I just love that they are informed consumers and advocates for themselves.
3. Lincoln-Sudbury Baseball has been #1 in the state, according to the Boston Globe Rankings. We train over 30 players who are currently in the LS program, plus quite a few younger guys and LS alumni.
4. Along those lines, LS junior Carl Anderson was batting .500 with 6HR and 21 RBIs through the first 11 games. He was also 4-0 with a 0.78 ERA and 25K in 18 innings pitched.
5.
Enough said.
6. A reader sent me a great article in response to myIs Pitching Velocity Really that Important?Blog: Change-up has become Great Equalizer. Awesome article!
7. CP athlete and Toronto Blue Jays prospect Tim Collins has 32 strikeouts in 18 innings pitched. Opponents are hitting just .206 against him. He also made a surprise cameo in the office at CP the other day on his only off-day of the month and hung out for the whole afternoon. Tim, one of our college prospects, and I all went over to watch a high school game in which a lot of our guys were playing. It's pretty cool to see pro and college ballplayers coming back to watch high school kids' games when it's usually the other way around! It makes me really proud of the camaraderie we've built among all our clients at Cressey Performance.
8. A buddy of mine is involved with Humblecock clothing (www.humblecock.com), so he sent me some free goodies. I like this stuff! I passed out a few samples to my pro guys and they loved it.
9. Brian St. Pierre, our first employee at Cressey Performance, is unfortunately leaving us at the end of this week as he returns to school to do his master's degree. While we're really bummed to be losing him, I can say that I'm really proud of how tremendous a job he's done for us since early 2008, when we first hired him. He's improved tremendously as a coach and really turned himself into an industry leader (actually just had his first article published at T-Muscle HERE). It's funny how good things happen for great people who work hard. Check him out at BrianStPierreTraining.com.
10. Recently, a local scout informed me that the Massachusetts baseball class of 2011 was ranked as the 5th best in the country. In other words, our juniors here in little ol' Massachusetts are competing with the likes of Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Texas, and North Carolina - where the populations are not only bigger, but they can also play baseball year-round. Whoever said that early sports specialization was necessary to compete with these big dogs doesn't understand development at all. While the Southern boys are having Tommy Johns and labral repairs in the winter, our guys are training their butts off and attacking things with a specific plan.
The results? At Cressey Performance alone, we have eight juniors verbally committed to play for Division 1 baseball programs - including Virginia, Vanderbilt, Boston College, and UCONN. And, there should be at least a half-dozen more on that list by the time everyone signs national letters of intent this fall.
11. Head over to Amazon.com and check out the reviews on Maximum Strength HERE. This sucker is getting more stars than an astronomy textbook!
12. It gets even better than that. In the next few months, I'll release a new product that'll blow the doors off of what I did with Maximum Strength. If you liked Maximum Strength, you'll LOVE this one. Subscribe to my newsletter at the right of this screen to be among the first notified.
13. Awesome!
By the way, when I was watching this video on YouTube, one of the recommended videos was Will Ferrell's 2003 Harvard Commencement speech. It is absolutely hilarious; talk about a way to make a graduation actually interesting!
14. In the past few months, I've gotten invitations to present in both St. Thomas and South Africa. For those of you who prefer visual representations of how sweet this is, please take note (respectively):
We still have to plan our honeymoon soon as well, so it's going to be a very sunny year for a couple of Bostonians!
15. It's getting to be that time of year when pitchers come in and act all surprised that they are hitting homeruns now. It just goes to show you that when you get more athletic, a lot of things fall into place - and not just in terms of pitching! Rotational power is rotational power; the hitting just requires more hand-eye coordination.
16. I've got my own office now! Unfortunately, it's still buried under boxes and clutter from the move, but it is nice to know that I have a little bit more organization coming to my life soon!
17. I am pretty darn proud of the Cressey Performance website. It's a huge improvement from our old one, and I'm psyched to have an online presence that reflects how much hard work we put into making CP a special place to train.
18. CP athlete and San Diego Padres prospect Will Inman has a 3.03 ERA through 38.2 innings pitched in AAA. Opponents are hitting just .221 against him. For those who aren't familiar with the Pacific Coast League, this is the single-hardest league in which one can pitch at any level of professional baseball. There are small ballparks and insane winds that turn pop-ups into 450-foot HRs. Will is doing awesome and we're all really happy for him; it's a lot of hard work rewarded.
19. This one really cracks me up. We uploaded this video of CP athlete Sahil Bloom back in October of 2007, and it's become the second most popular of all-time. The funniest part is all the 13-year-olds arguing in the comments section about how this is "just good for football players" and how they all throw 97mph at age 13.
The funniest part is that Sahil is now pitching consistently over 90mph - and doing so at Stanford. He's 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA through six outings in his freshman year. It's amazing that he's had this success just "training for football!"
20. The past year has brought some collaborative efforts for me that have been absolutely tremendous in not only enhancing my productivity, but also educating me (and my readers/customers). Matt Blake has brought a great new dimension to Cressey Performance with his pitching instruction and video analysis, and to EricCressey.com with his blog contributions. Nate Tiplady has been a huge addition to our programs with the Graston and ART services he provides to our clients. It was also great to collaborate with both Mike Reinold and Bill Hartman on projects for the first time, with Optimal Shoulder Performance and Assess & Correct, respectively.
At the end of the day, you are only as strong as your network, so I'd encourage you all to seek out collaborative efforts with other professionals who complement your skill set as well.
21. Slacker.com. This thing is an awesome source for music; I listen to it all the time when I'm at the computer writing programs.
22. Just got this feedback from a very happy Optimal Shoulder Performance customer:
"Awesome job on the OptimalShoulderPerformance DVDs with Reinold. I just finished watching them this past weekend (I need to get a life) and I found them extremely educational and helpful. I really thought the information you both provided complimented each other well. There were some variations to some movements that I will definitely be implementing into some of my programs."
While the financial side of things with product sales is nice, the thing that I actually enjoy the most is knowing that the information we're putting out is helping people to improve their bodies and stay out of pain. It's even better when I know it is helping a fellow fitness professional or some rehabilitation specialist, as it means that they're taking that knowledge to help more people beyond just themselves. At the end of my career, I really want to be known most for the always putting my athletes first and always doing my best to contribute to the body of knowledge.
23. On Tuesday morning, I had an absolutely terrible training session. I felt weak the entire time, and couldn't even stomach a shake post-training. About an hour later, every joint in my body hurt and I had a raging headache. That night, I was in bed early and was pouring sweat in my sleep.
I almost never get sick. We are taking once every 3-4 years. My attendance is so good at work that my business partner, Pete, has to force me to take days off. Surely, there is something to the idea that regular exercise and proper diet reduces one's likelihood of getting sick - and this is certainly demonstrated in the reduced absenteeism
Wednesday morning, I woke up feeling a ton better. It turned out to be a really productive day. This little experience reminds me that taking care of your body doesn't just prevent you from getting sick; it also helps you to bounce back quickly when the unavoidable illness happens.
24. CP athlete Danny O'Connor looks to run his professional boxing record to 12-0 this weekend at Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut. A huge CP contingent will be out to support him. Danny works his butt off five days a week at CP in addition to all his boxing training, and deserves all the success that comes to him.
25. Chris Howard is the newest addition to the Cressey Performance staff, and we're excited to have him on board. A former CP intern, Chris went on to massage therapy school and is now a LMT - on top of his CSCS and master's degree in nutrition. Needless to say, we're lucky to have a guy who brings so much versatility to our facility. I especially like Chris right now because he's motivated me to brush up on my anatomy knowledge since he just retook it all in school!
26. Bill Hartman is in town for a seminar at Northeastern this weekend, so it'll be a nice birthday present to catch up with him. He's joining us at CP today for the day. His blog is always full of good stuff, but chatting with him in person is even better!
27. Tony Gentilcore wrote a great two-part series called "It All Starts in the Kitchen." There are some great tips in there for those of you who might struggle on the diet side of things. Check out Part 1 and Part 2.
28. One of our pro baseball guys told me to check out the "Baseball Made Easy" series on YouTube, and it's absolutely hilarious. Check a few of them out:
29. I already knew I had the greatest girl in the world, but when she took me to a Sox game last night for my birthday for the third year in a row, I was reminded once again! Here we were last year - when I had more hair.
Just a quick heads-up on where some of the Cressey Performance minor league guys are winding up to start the season. If you're in their neck of the woods, get out and show 'em some love at your local ballpark.
Tim Kiely - (Little Rock) Arkansas (Angels AA) - Opening Day Starter Tonight
Jim Fuller - Savannah (Mets Low A)
Chad Rodgers - Myrtle Beach (Braves High A)
Will Inman - Portland (Oregon - Padres AAA)
Tim Collins - (Manchester) New Hampshire (Blue Jays AA)
Steffan Wilson - Huntsville (Alabama - Brewers AA)
Steve Cishek - Jupiter (Florida - Marlins High A)
Cory Riordan - Tulsa (Rockies AA)
Anthony Seratelli - Northwest Arkansas (Royals AA)
Kevin Pucetas - Fresno (Giants AAA) - Opening Day Starter Tonight
Shawn Haviland - Stockton (California - A's High A) - Opening Day Starter Tonight
Benji Johnson - Mississippi Braves (AA)
Craig Albernaz - Durham Bulls (Rays AAA)
Chad Jenkins - Lansing Lugnuts (Blue Jays Low A)
Kevin Nolan - Lansing Lugnuts (Blue Jays Low A)
We also have quite a few younger guys in extended spring training who will be assigned to short-season teams in a few months - or (hopefully) play their way up to A-ball teams.
Good luck, guys!
Today marks the end of one of the funnest "eras" of my life.
Back on September 9, we officially kicked off the pro baseball off-season with Tim Collins' arrival at Cressey Performance for his first training session of the off-season. Coming off a great season that included a promotion to Double-A at age 20 and a Blue Jays organizational pitcher of the year award, Tim was ready to get after it - and that's exactly what he did. From that day in September through February 6 (when he was called to Florida for mini-camp), Tim added 21 pounds to his frame while getting leaner - and increased his vertical jump by four inches (to 37.9 inches).
Tim was one of over 30 pro guys we had this winter. Results were typical.
Chad Rodgers (Atlanta Braves organization) went from 206 to 233 while adding just under three inches to his vertical jump. And he dominated "No Shave November."
Jeremiah Bayer (Red Sox organization) packed on muscle mass faster than just about any athlete I've ever seen - to the tune of 13 pounds in only two months - while adding an inch to his vertical. That's a 5.6% improvement in predicted peak power in a short amount of time - and one that is carrying over to the mound already.
Heck, Pat Bresnehan packed on 14 pounds and jumped 37.5 inches (a 6.3 inch) improvement - and got himself signed by the Mariners - after coming to us in the latter phases of his rehab period!
Craig Albernaz (Rays organization) increased his vertical jump by over five inches while adding seven pounds before heading to big league camp - and this is a guy who has always struggled to put on any weight, let alone good weight!
Cory Riordan (Rockies) and Steve Cishek (Marlins) win the awards for the longest commutes to train. Cory drove two hours to CP, and two hours home to Connecticut to get in his work with us - and he's got a new body and a lot more athleticism to show for it. Cishek wasn't far behind with his 1 hour, 45 minute commute from Cape Cod four times a week all the way up through January. I can say without wavering that both of them would tell you that the ride was 100% worth it.
Two other Braves guys - Derick Himpsl and Matt Kramer - also put in some great work that is already carrying over to the field.
Zach Piccola's headed to White Sox camp with a great few months of training under his belt alongside free agent Nick Asselin. Jim Fuller (Mets) committed himself to train like he never had before, and looks fantastic now. Another Mets guy, Tim Stronach, has busted his hump to get better alongside his rehabilitation from shoulder surgery.
Steffan Wilson leaned out and dramatically changed the way he looks and moves - and it helped get him a much-deserved call-up to big-league camp last week.
Kevin Youkilis had a great off-season as well - due in part to his love of pushing the sled. So far this spring, Youk's looked good (much better than his strength coach, as is shown below), and we're excited about the Red Sox season ahead.
Will Inman (Padres), Phil Negus (White Sox), and Kevin Nolan (Blue Jays) put in a great few months in the fall, and Steve Hammond (Giants), Kevin Pucetas (Giants), Nick McBride (Rangers), Benji Johnson (Braves), Matt Morizio (Royals), Justin Edwards (Cardinals), and Howie Clark (Blue Jays) made the most of all their visits to Boston this winter.
And, some "distance-based" guys of mine - Chad Jenkins (Blue Jays) and Anthony "A-Tan" Seraterelli (Royals) - made some excellent progress by following everything to a "T." A-Tan, Howie, and Morizio even made a hilarious video about their experiences (a joke, FYI):
One athlete, though, stepped it up big time on Thursday to set himself apart from all the rest. Tim Kiely (Angels) added 11 pounds and seven inches to his vertical jump, but his biggest claim to fame is that he took home the Gold in the first ever Cressey Performance Elite Baseball Olympics on the last day. Granted, the "Olympics" were limited to five participants who collectively agreed to not tell the most athletic guys of the bunch about the event ahead of time - but that doesn't mean that the boys didn't bring their A games! The Silver (5-lb) went to CP pitching coach Matt Blake, and the Bronze (2.5-lb) went to free agent Alex Szymanski. Shawn Haviland (A's) finished fourth, but he has a Harvard degree, and probably would have won if Sabermetrics trivia and word searches had been part of the contest. Here's the much-anticipated medal ceremony:
I am not sure where the championship belt fit in, but the entire day didn't make much sense, so it seemed right. Congratulations, Tim.
From these videos, a lot of people might think that we're all about goofing around - but that couldn't be further from the truth. Our guys have a good time, for sure, but it always comes after they've busted their butts in the gym. And, frankly, if we didn't have such great camaraderie and the guys weren't such good friends, the motivation to train would never approach the level it has. A good culture and outstanding results absolutely, positively go hand-in-hand.
Most of my writing on this blog is obviously geared toward educating folks on the training, research, nutrition, and other geeky science stuff. However, I should make it absolutely clear that all the knowledge in the world in these regards won't matter if you don't have a good culture established for your athletes and clients. They need to enjoy training and look forward to each and every session because they enjoy the process as much as the destination.
They need to be willing to come to you to critique the best man's toast they've written (happened this winter). They need to feel comfortable staying at your place if they're in town for a few days (happened multiple times this winter). They need to feel welcome spending Thanksgiving with your family (two of my athletes came home with me this past November). And, they need to respect you enough as a person to value your opinion as a professional. As the saying goes, they don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.
That's why most of our pro guys train six days a week from September/October all the way up until now, whereas many other places pro guys frequent consist of 3x/week "workouts" for the 4-6 weeks before spring training starts. And, I feel like it is one of many things that differentiates us from our competition (whatever that may be). We are about making athletes better, not just "working them out."
I'm proud of all our guys not only for their hard work this off-season, but for taking an ownership stake in Cressey Performance to make it something special now and in the future.
Thanks for an awesome 5+ months, guys. We can't wait to do it again.
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used by Cressey Performance Pitchers after they Throw!
1. First off, I hope everyone takes a moment our of their day today to remember all those who lost their lives in 2001.
2. I'd encourage you guys to check out a great article from Chris Shugart at T-Muscle on the topic of Vitamin D:
"D" is for Doping
A lot of you know that I've been a huge advocate of supplemental Vitamin D for about two years now, and this article outlines a lot of reasons why I'm such a fan.
3. It was a great night in Double A playoffs for a few CP athletes last night. Huntsville Star Steffan Wilson - just one day after a call-up from High A - hit a game-winning 3-run homerun in the opener of a five-game playoff series. Steffan is a corner infielder in the Brewers System.
At the same time, CP athlete and San Antonio (Padres AA) pitcher Will Inman picked up the win to even up their playoff series at 1-1.
4. Along those same lines, here are a few recent articles about some CP athletes:
Quinn Begins Southern QuestSize Doesn't Matter: A Conversation with Blue Jays Pitching Prospect Tim Collins
5. Check out this study, which reported a markedly different neuromuscular pattern in those athletes who ruptured ACLs as compared to those who didn't.
In a nutshell, at pre-screening, prior to a cutting maneuver, all five players who went on to rupture ACLs actually recruited more vastus lateralis (quads) and less semitendinosis (hamstrings). It isn't surprising that this would be an injury predisposition, as the hamstrings work synergistically with the ACL. Reduce hamstrings activity, and the ACL has to take on more of the stress. It's the same old Active vs. Passive Restraints discussion we've had in the past.
The bigger question, in my eyes, is why certain individuals showed this tendencies. Was it their builds (greater Q angles)? Prior training programs that may have omitted things? A combination of the two?
Interested in learning more? I highly recommend checking out Bulletproof Knees; Mike Robertson did a fantastic job with it.
It was a great Sunday all around yesterday.
First, my fiancee officially became a doctor. Yep, I picked a good one.
Second, Cressey Performance athlete Dede Griesbauer won Ironman-Brazil, setting a course record by ten minutes in the process. Congratulations, Dede!
Third, Lincoln-Sudbury came from behind to win their D1 second round playoff game, 8-7. CP athletes Justin Quinn, Derek Lowe, and Erik Watkins all hit homeruns for LS, and Watkins won it with a single with two outs in the ninth inning.
Fourth, CP athlete Sahil Bloom got a win and a save in Weston's D3 playoff win yesterday. Sahil struck out nine and walked none in 6.2 innings of work - and went 3-4 at the plate.
Fifth, on Saturday, Wayland upset the #3 seed to advanced to the second round of the D2 state baseball tournament.
Sixth, Tyler Beede pitched a shutout in his team's opening round win in the D2 state tournament on Saturday.
The week gets off to a good start today, as I'm picking up my new car, and a host of the college guys start training today as the New England Collegiate Baseball League kicks off. And, we've got two CP athletes (who also happen to be good buddies and off-season roommates) going head-to-head in a AAA match-up. Will Inman (Portland/Padres) will be facing Steve Hammond (Fresno/Giants) in Fresno tonight; I will be pulling for both to go eight innings of shutout ball and get no-decisions!
Rethinking Interval Training
I love interval training, but one of the problems we commonly run into - particularly if someone isn't prepared physically to sprint, or doesn't have a place to do it because of weather restrictions - is that repetitive, low-amplitude motions are our only options. In other words, it has to just be cycling, elliptical, or stairclimber. While slideboard work, medicine ball medleys, barbell complexes, and sled pushing definitely help to work around these problems, when it comes down to it, many of them still don't give certain folks the variety they need in their exercise programming.
In our Building the Efficient Athlete seminar, Mike Robertson and I spoke about the law of repetitive motion: I = NF/AR
In this equation, injury equals the number of repetitions multiplied by the frequency of those repetitions, divided by the amplitude of each repetition times the rest interval. While you can attack each of these five factors differently (and I will in a future newsletter), the take-home point with respect to today's discussion is that simply increasing the amplitude - or range-of-motion - in one's daily life can reduce (or eliminate) the presence or severity of overuse conditions.
For that reason, I often substitute one or both of two different training modalities for client's interval training.
The first is dynamic flexibility circuits with little to no rest between sets. In this scenario, we program 2-3 different mobility/activation drills for each inefficiency the athlete displays, and then combine them in a series of drills. Ideally, as many of these drills are done in the standing position as possible. Let's say a client has poor thoracic spine mobility, a horrific Thomas test, bad glute function, and poor hip external rotation. Here's what his circuit might look like:
a) 1-leg supine bridge
b) wall hip flexor mobilizations
c) 3-point extension-rotations
d) cradle walks
e) overhead lunge walks
f) walking spiderman with overhead reach
g) yoga push-ups
h) 1-leg SLDL walks
(you can find videos of many of these exercises in the Assess and Correct DVD set, and I'll have more information on the rest down the road)
Is this circuit going to completely "gas" an athlete? Absolutely not. However, it is going to make him/her better in light of the inefficiencies I outlined above - and you don't have to leave the gym exhausted to have improved.
The second option is to simply take a series of resistance training exercises with a corrective emphasis (sometimes integrates with the drills outlined above) and put them in a series of supersets. For these exercises, the load utilized should only be about 30% of 1-rep max. I outlined this option a while back in my article, Cardio Confusion. Here's an example I used with an online consulting client recently:
A1) Overhead broomstick walking Lunges (3x10/side)
A2) Push-ups (3x12)
B1) Face pulls (3x15)
B2) Body weight only reverse lunges (3x10/side)
C1) 1-leg SLDL Walk (2x6/side)
C2) Band external rotations - arm adducted (2x15/side)
D1) Behind-the-neck band pullaparts (2x15)
D2) Bowler Squats (2x10/side)
This series is preceded by foam rolling and a dynamic flexibility warm-up, and can be followed by more "traditional" interval training.
Like I said earlier, I'm still all for both traditional and non-traditional interval training. Initiative like I outlined above, though, can serve as a nice change of pace and work in corrective exercise while keeping the heart rate up. Be as creative as you'd like and you'll see great results; the sky is the limit in terms of the combinations you can use.
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Hey Gang,
It's a busy day around here as I try to catch up from the holiday weekend and finalize tax stuff, but luckily, I have a little content for you. This article from Brendan Hall in the Boston Globe features several Cressey Performance Athletes; check it out!
For High School Pitchers, No Grace Period
I'll be back soon with more blog content. Additionally, you might want to check out something new Joel Marion has up his sleeve. Joel's methods are definitely non-traditional, but it is hard to argue with results, and he has gotten them consistently for years with loads of clients. Check it out HERE.
I hope everyone had a great weekend!
EC
1. On Monday, pretty much every baseball game in the state of Massachusetts was rained out. To our delight, we had three of our high school baseball player show up at 2:30PM (they had the last period of school free) race in to get in training sessions before they headed to their 4:30PM indoor practice (in lieu of the game).
These guys actually thought that the game was going to be played the next day, so they were planning on having lighter days in the gym. When I informed them that the game had actually been pushed back to May, one of them looked up at me and said, "So that means I can just go crazy today?"
That, folks, is how you make a strength coach smile. And, it's also how you inspire a Random Friday Thoughts blog on "Things You Can Say to Make a Strength Coach Smile."
a. "I think cottage cheese tastes like poo, but I'm going to eat it anyway, because it'll make me diesel."
b. "I know that distance running is destroying my body, so I'm going to stop for real this time - unlike the last three times I promised to give it up forever." (cough, Steph, cough)
c. "Can you tell Tony to turn this techno crap off?"
2. John Berardi just ran a feature on Howie Clark, from the Toronto Blue Jays system. I just started to work with Howie about two months ago on his in-season training program, and this interview talks a lot about the interaction of his training and nutrition. Check it out HERE.
3. On a related note, here's a cool local article where I got a shout-out recently:
Pitch Count an Inexact Science
4. It wouldn't be baseball season in Boston without a drunk dude busting a move in the stands at Fenway. My girlfriend and I watched it live on Wednesday night and knew it was sure-fire blog material:
5. Here's a little compilation of where Cressey Performance pro baseball guys are starting out this season. If you live in the neighborhood of their ballparks, go check out our guys!
Chad Rodgers (Braves, LHP) - Myrtle Beach, SC
Will Inman (Padres, RHP) - San Antonio, TX
Tim Collins (Blue Jays, LHP) - Dunedin, FL
Shawn Haviland (A's, RHP) - Kane County, IL
Steffan Wilson (Brewers, 1B/3B) - Brevard County (Viera), FL
Steve Hammond (Giants, LHP) - Fresno, CA
CJ Retherford (White Sox, 2B/3B) - Birmingham, AL
Matt Morizio (Royals, C) - Wilmington, DE
Howie Clark (Blue Jays, utility) - Las Vegas, NV
Andy D'Alessio (Giants, 1B) - Norwich, CT
We've got a few more guys in extended spring training and independent ball who should find out their destinations shortly. If you know one of the guys above, though, get out and show 'em some love!
