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Athlete Highlight: Susquehanna Infielder Hmielewski Gets a 9 mph Pickup in Bat Speed

Tyler Hmielewski, infielder for Susquehanna University, joined us last summer for the 3-month college hitting development program. His objectives were to improve his overall performance at the plate by becoming more explosive while improving his adjustability to help make more consistent contact for extra bases.  In June, Tyler started the program at 5’9” and 148 bs. His Rotational Acceleration was 6 g(s) and his bat speed was 59 mph.  By the end of the summer, Tyler weighed in at 162 lbs. (a 14 lbs. increase), his Rotation Acceleration had improved to 16 g(s) and bat speed was up to 68 mph.

How did he do it?

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Podcast #67: Assessing and Profiling Pitchers in the SEC with South Carolina’s Bill Anderson

We recently had the pleasure of taking a trip down to the University of South Carolina to assess and evaluate their entire pitching staff. Today we’re sitting down with Bill Anderson, Director of Sports Performance at the University of South Carolina and revisiting the process. Topics Include:

    • What is strong enough
    • Plyometrics, the missing link
    • Mobility and its relationship with mechanics

Continue reading “Podcast #67: Assessing and Profiling Pitchers in the SEC with South Carolina’s Bill Anderson”

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Pitt Commit Doganiero (from 83-84 to 87-89, T90)… Power of Assessing and Re-Assessing

Antonio Doganiero

Pitt Baseball commit LHP Antonio Doganiero (Class of 2024) started remote training with us here at RPP in October of 2022. At the time, he was 6’ and 167 lbs., sitting 83-84 mph. Fast forward to this past August, he was weighing in at 177 lbs. (10 lb. gain) and his fastball is now sitting 87-89 and T90. After nearly a year of gains, it was time for a re-assessment.

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Podcast #66: Staying Authentic and True to Yourself with Maryland Head Coach Matt Swope

Matt Swope

Today we’re sitting down with Matt Swope who was recently appointed Head Coach for Maryland Baseball. Coach Swope is no stranger to the “Terps culture”.  Topics include:

    • Using caution when making mechanical adjustments
    • When to use tech and when not to use tech
    • Key points when examining “character” during recruiting

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Podcast #65: Best of… Randy Sullivan, Nate Yeskie and Zach Dechant

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:

    • Randy Sullivan – Owner Florida Armory
    • Nate Yeskie – Pitching Coach at LSU
    • Zach Dechant – Strength Coach at TCU

It was great re-listening to these guys spread their knowledge across different areas of player development. Enjoy!

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Why You Should Begin Your Training in the Fall for the Next Season?

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.

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Off-Season Training for High School Ball Players, the How , the Why and the When…

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…”