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Athlete Highlight: RHP Jake Francis Velo is Up 10 mph Since Joining RPP

Jake Francis

Villanova Baseball commit Jake Francis is having another exceptional spring season. Jake started his training at RPP almost 2 years ago, in August of 2021.  At the time he was 6’ tall and 160 lbs., coming off a PBR event where his velocity was sitting 80-82 mph. Fast forward to this spring, Jake is at 180 lbs., sitting 88-90 and recently touched 91 mph. His velo is up nearly 10 mph.  This spring, in 51.1 IP, he has a 0.82 ERA and a 0.84 WHIP.  He has only given up 6 earned runs in over 51 innings.

How did he do it?

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Podcast #52: Attacking the Mental Side of Performance with Mike Huber

Today we’re sitting down with Mental Performance Coach Michael Huber. Mike is the founder of “The Freshman Foundation Podcast “, where he prepares and guides athletes and families through the mental side of performance through their athletic career / journey. Today’s topics include:

    • Mental and Emotional Blocks
    • Addressing “The Yips”
    • Sustainable Motivation

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Profiling Pitchers… The RPP Pitching Assessment

Most often, pitchers and position players associate their pitching velocity or exit velo with their mechanics. As our understanding of the body and technology has improved over the years, it is now more apparent than ever that your velocity ceiling, whether it’s pitching or hitting, is limited by your physical ability more than anything else.  Whether you’re a position player or a pitcher and your velo is stuck… let’s find out why.

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How to Build Athleticism in Young Athletes

A couple years ago, I wrote an article about youth strength training covering all the related myths and facts.  I have been asked several times since then what my young athlete should be doing if he or she is too young for the weight room.  There are four basic movements that every young athlete can master using their own body weight as resistance in order to better build his or her athleticism. Becoming athletic takes time at any age, but the good news is that young athletes have a higher window of adaptation at this age, allowing for giant leaps in athleticism over a short period of time.

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Athlete Highlight: George Mason Commit Shaun O’Keeffe (1.34 ERA) Velo is up 4-6 mph

George Mason commit Shaun O’Keeffe is having an exceptional spring senior season at Donovan Catholic High School in Toms River, New Jersey. In 36 IP, the lefty has registered a 1.34 ERA with 62 strikeouts and an Ocean County Championship for Donovan Catholic. Shaun began training with us last summer as a part of the Summer Throwing Program and continued his training throughout the fall and winter leading up to the spring season.  His velocity has improved by 4-6 mph, from sitting 81-83 to 85-87 mph.

How did he do it?

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Podcast #51: Maximizing Performance through Better Nutrition with Derek Lipton

Today we answer some big questions on the nutrition side with Performance Nutrition Coach and Sports Dietitian Derek Lipton (MS, RD, CSSD and CSCC). Topics Include:

    • Eating Strategies for “Hard Gainers”
    • Sleep and Hydration
    • 5 bullet points for a successful performance-based meal plan

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What is a Proper Load for Hitters? The Do’s and Don’ts

Hitting a baseball is a series of sequential and interconnected movements. Many of the issues hitters face at the plate begin early in the hitting / swing process. Today, we’re going to review several components of what we consider to be a proper “Load”.  If you don’t start your swing by loading well, chances are it may not end well either. Losses in bat speed, power, poor sequencing, poor swing metrics and poor “adjustability at the plate” are all examples of issues that can be initiated with a poor load. The way we look at it, there are a few things you should DO well and couple of things you should make sure you’re NOT doing:

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Athlete Highlight: Vincent Luther Velo is up 6 mph Since September (1.18 ERA)

Vincent Luther, Junior at Ridgewood High School in New Jersey, is having an excellent start to his 2023 baseball season. More than halfway through the spring, he has pitched 35.2 innings with a 1.18 ERA.  His velocity is up 6 mph from 78 in July 2022 to 84+ mph since he started training with us last September, which gave us a good amount of time to work on several different areas.

How did he do it?

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Understanding and Choosing TJ Procedures and Recovery Timeline with Dr. Casey Pierce

This week we’re sitting down with Dr. Casey Pierce, MD. He is a long time friend and one of my “go-to guys” when it comes to Tommy John repair. This is a must for athletes as well as parents in order to be better educated with the process. This week we discuss:

    • The various levels of treatment and procedures
    • The back-to-throw timeline for each
    • How to determine which treatment is right for your particular situation and why

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