Today, I’m going to start pulling apart a few gems from some of the best received podcasts to-date. The first of this series includes gems from some of the best in the business:
It was great re-listening to these guys spread their knowledge across different areas of player development. Enjoy!
Continue reading “Podcast #65: Best of… Randy Sullivan, Nate Yeskie and Zach Dechant”
It’s no great secret by now that playing baseball year-round is not such a great idea, mentally (burn out) or physically (velo drops / injury). When we first started training baseball players around 10 years ago, just about everyone who played ball began their training in January. Athletes would show up desperately trying to get their velo up…. IN JUST 8 WEEKS! Back then trying to convince high school athletes to begin lifting weights in November was like pulling a cow through a keyhole. A few pitching coaches we worked with didn’t even believe in strength training for baseball players at all. Times have changed. Nowadays, more and more athletes begin their training right after “fall ball”, in November.
So, here we are, ready to rock the boat once again.
Continue reading “Why You Should Begin Your Training in the Fall for the Next Season?”
Note: Please note that at the end of this article there are two webpage links with access to exercise videos referred to throughout this article for novice and intermediate / advanced athletes.
Why it is important?
According to Escamilla JSCR ’12 Young athletes participating in a strength program increased velocity in a much safer manner than those who participated in a throwing program only.
Here is why!
Continue reading “Off-Season Training for High School Ball Players, the How , the Why and the When…”
Today I have an “Ask me Anything” round where I answer questions on:
Today we’re sitting down with DPT David Schwartz from Blue Iron Physio. Topics include:
Continue reading “Podcast #63: Rehabbing Athletes Back to Sport with Dr. David Schwartz”
Two pitchers both throwing 90 mph… are they both just as fast? Well, it depends. Just because a pitcher is hitting 90 on the gun does not mean that the batter sees 90, which is what matters most in the game. One of the main factors that affects how fast your pitch looks to the batter is your extension at release, more commonly referred to as release extension. How important is it? and what’s stopping you from maximizing the amount of extension you can get? Let’s dissect it…
Continue reading “Release Extension… Why It’s Important and How to Maximize It?”
Rising College Sophomore, Jackson Kammen joined us this summer for the 3-month college hitting development program. Jackson, a catcher at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania, had just finished his freshmen year. At 5’9” and 182 lbs. he is strong and physical. His plan for the summer was to increase his bat speed and exit velocity and generally improve his contact at the plate. He began his summer training in May, and needless to say, a lot has already changed since. Jackson’s bat speed has increased 3 mph while his exit velo now at 91-93, has also increased nearly 5-6 mph.
How did he do it?
Continue reading “Athlete Highlight — Gettysburg’s Jackson Kammen Exit Velo is up 5-6 mph”
Today we’re sitting down with Niko Leontarakis, RPP Director of Pitching, and talking about some common issues we see in pitchers and how it’s not always only about mechanics. Topics Include:
Presbyterian College commit Christian Charalambous finished his spring season with a 1.51 ERA touching 89 mph. Christian started his training at RPP over two years ago in November 2020, during his sophomore year at Bergen Catholic High School in Oradell, New Jersey. During the fall of that year, he was clocked at a Perfect Game event at 81 mph. Two years later and a spine fracture in between, he is now touching 89 mph.
How did he do it?
Continue reading “Athlete Highlight: Charalambous Back from Spine Injury Touching 89 mph”
Pro pitcher Jose Ledesma, a recent Graduate of the D1 baseball program at the University of Delaware, spent the past off-season training at RPP Baseball. During this time, he worked on just about every aspect of his craft, from improving his velocity to expanding his pitching arsenal. Fast forward to summer of 2023, pitching for the Sussex Country Miners of the Frontier League, he has pitched 50.1 innings with an ERA of 3.75 and 9 Ks/9. A year earlier, pitching for the Trenton Thunder of the MLB Draft League, he pitched 26.2 innings with an ERA of 5.06 and 5.1 Ks/9.
So… what changed?
Continue reading “Expanding Jose Ledesma’s Pitch Arsenal… A Game Changer”
