During the past year several showcases announced partnerships with technology companies, whereby participants skills are measured during their events. We’re not talking about the usual 60-yard dash. We’re talking about esoteric topics like vertical bat angles of a swing and spin efficiency levels on a pitch. On the one hand this is great news for the game. Technology is changing baseball for the better and the data can be invaluable for both training and evaluation. On the other hand, although I am a big believer in tech and the value it brings, there is an issue. Continue reading “What to Do With All the Data Coming Out of Showcases?”
Educating Your Staff… The Palooza Experience
For the past few years, I’ve had the privilege of presenting with some of the brightest and innovative minds in baseball. Always being a big believer in educating my coaches and athletes, last year, I brought two of my coaches from RPP along with me to listen and learn when I spoke at Pitch-A-Palooza. If you’ve never heard of it (hard to believe), Palooza is Lantz Wheeler’s 3-day extravaganza that brings together 500+ (it grows every year that I’ve presented there), forward-thinking coaches, trainers, PT’s and data/tech analysts.
The “take-home” for my guys was so beneficial that it prompted me to bring 5 of them this year. My strength coach, 2 pitching coaches, my hitting coach and a data intern all accompanied me to grab some knowledge and just as important bond as a unit. Palooza is somewhat of a “meeting of the minds” looking to both listen to and share with each other different mind sets on making players and coaches healthier and more efficient at what they do. It’s a welcome break from the world of social media we live in where many times, people troll each other’s posts simply to stick out their chest and criticize each other.
At the end of the event, I asked my guys for their impressions and their favorite presentations. Here is their feedback. Enjoy… Continue reading “Educating Your Staff… The Palooza Experience”
The Best of 2019 – Top Pitching and Hitting Related Articles
By Nunzio Signore (BA, CSCS, CPT, NASM, FMS)
Continuing with the most popular articles of 2019, here we go with Part 2 of this series, the most popular:
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- Pitching
- Hitting
- Other-Related Articles
Continue reading “The Best of 2019 — Top Pitching and Hitting Related Articles”
The Best of 2019 – Strength Training Articles
By Nunzio Signore (BA, CSCS, CPT, NASM, FMS)
As we get closer to a new year I would like to look back and get a bit reflective. A few years ago, I started a series in which I posted the most popular blogs of the year. These are the articles that received the most traffic, according to our hosting statistics. It seems to be a favorite of everyone, so here we go again with the most popular of our strength training articles for 2019. Continue reading “The Best of 2019 – Strength Training Articles”
Creating Stability and Better Energy Transfer in the Swing
I was sitting with our Director of Hitting Evan Klugerman yesterday and he brought up a great point regarding efficient sequencing and mechanics when looking at K-Vest data. While collecting data for our high school guys, he was surprised at how many inconsistencies there were in sequencing from swing to swing within the same player profile, as compared to the MiLB guys he had been testing last year with the Orioles. I thought it would be a great quick blog. Continue reading “Creating Stability and Better Energy Transfer in the Swing”
Top 10 Things to Do to Get Recruited for College Baseball
There’s no doubt the baseball college recruiting process is a maze. Parents and players often don’t know where to begin. There is really no road map and no guidelines. Hopefully, this article will help put some parameters around what needs to get done before and during the summer months.
Here’s my list of Top 10 things to do during the summer to get recruited for college baseball. I have attempted to list these in series. Much of this might seem basic, but you’d be surprised how many parents ask us “where should we begin?”
Continue reading “Top 10 Things to Do to Get Recruited for College Baseball”
Case Study (Sean Hard): How to Throw a Changeup
Rapsodo pitching cameras measure critical data points for instantaneous feedback. At RPP, we utilize this technology to further the development of the pitchers that train at our facility. Out of the numerous metrics Rapsodo measures, we specifically focus on three topics:
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- Spin Axis
- Horizontal Movement
- Vertical Movement
These metrics allow us to get a feel for how well a pitcher is able to manipulate the baseball and create movement among the different pitches in his arsenal. Continue reading “Case Study (Sean Hard): How to Throw a Changeup”
How to Train for Athleticism in Pitchers
In order to effectively train for athleticism in pitchers we first need to:
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- Understand Key Points in the Delivery – Understand the key points in the delivery and how to develop effective power by training it in the weight room
- Addressing Energy Leaks – Identify and fix energy leaks (mechanics / disconnects)
- Customizing Throwing and Strength Training Programs – Be able to assess what “type” of pitcher we are dealing with in order to effectively train them to produce optimum power to throw a baseball
Let’s get started… Continue reading “How to Train for Athleticism in Pitchers”
New Jersey’s Most Comprehensive Baseball Training Facility
RPP Baseball is a high performance baseball training facility located in Paramus (Bergen county), New Jersey. From the weight room to our pitching and hitting programs, we utilize the latest in technology, in a holistic and data-driven approach which allows us to assess, train and re-assess players on an ongoing basis. Our athletes are walking testimonials as to the power of our highly customized programming. Below is a summary of our extensive services for pitchers and baseball players: Continue reading “New Jersey’s Most Comprehensive Baseball Training Facility”
Blast Motion Baseball Metrics, Rotation, Angles and Power
In my previous internship before RPP, part of my responsibilities included watching Minor League baseball games. After my first few games, I noticed a recurring trend, every player wore a Blast Motion Baseball sensor during the game. As I saw more organizations’ Minor League teams, not all had their players wear the sensors; however, the idea behind it was simple, data collection.
At RPP, we use Blast Motion sensors for the same purpose, and this allows us to help identify and develop athletes’ inefficiencies. The only difference is we do not have the ability to collect data from athletes’ in-game at-bats. Therefore, we collect data from batting practice at our facility and are still able to get a good picture of what an athlete does well, and what they struggle with.
Continue reading “Blast Motion Baseball Metrics, Rotation, Angles and Power”