Home 2023 May

Pitch Grading: a Stuff+/CSP+ Case Study

Today, I've got a quick guest video blog from Cressey Sports Performance - Florida Pitching Coordinator Matt Hinkley. Pitch grading is a hot topic at the high levels of baseball right now, and while it can be super helpful for guiding players to best evaluate their pitching arsenal, it can sometimes lead you down confusing rabbit holes. In this video, Matt provides some context:

If you're looking to learn more about a short- or long-term visit to Cressey Sports Performance - Florida, please reach out to cspflorida@gmail.com. And, be sure to check out the CSP Pro Experience, a summer development opportunity we offer to pitchers who are interested in relocating to Palm Beach Gardens, FL to train with us regularly.

You can follow Matt on Instagram at @CSPFL_Pitching and on Twitter at @MH_CSP_Pitching.

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Exercise of the Week: Acumobility Ball on Quadratus Lumborum

I posted five years ago about How to Use the Acumobility Ball for Upper Extremity Health and Performance, so it seems long overdue for me to share one of the ways we're using it a bit further down the chain: on quadratus lumborum (QL). Here's a quick tutorial, courtesy of Cressey Sports Performance - Florida coaches Andrew Lysy and Ian Connors:

As a brief follow-up, take a look at the anatomy of QL, which has attachments on the ilium (pelvis), L1-L4 (spine), and 12th rib:

It can contribute to lateral flexion and extension of the spine, and also is a accessory muscle of inhalation. And it can hike the pelvis. In short, it'll often serve as a "fake" glute that substitutes lumbar extension (low back arching) and hip hiking for motion that should be occurring at the hip. It's a common player in extension based low back pain, and can limit thoracic rotation. QL trigger points can refer all over the place, too; it's not uncommon for it to present as a sciatica pain pattern, or even refer to the anterior hip.

It's a slam dunk when you see one hip that's hiked up on static posture assessment, and we'll follow this self-myofascial release drill up with some hip shifting drills based on what we see on our assessment (particularly with respect to hip rotation and straight leg raise). We'll usually integrate some positional breathing drills that emphasize posterior pelvic tilt as well. All that said, two drills that you probably can't go wrong with on this front are a lean away lateral line stretch (5 full exhales) and prone hip extension iso hold off table.

This one is a "keeper" in our daily warm-up series, so give it a shot and see how you like it. You can get one HERE.

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Spring Styles: 2023 CSP T-Shirt Options

We were overdue for a new CSP T-Shirt debut, so we figured we'd celebrate with a bunch of new colors in our classic home plate design! All shirts are $24.99 plus shipping. Just click on the bolded hyperlinks below to add them to your cart.

Indigo: XXL, Extra Large, Large, Medium, Small

White: XXL, Extra Large, Large, Medium, Small

Red: XXL, Extra Large, Large, Medium, Small

Light Blue: XXL, Extra Large, Large, Medium, Small

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