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5 Things I Would Have Done Differently Raising My Young Ball Player

They say hindsight is 20-20.  Well, it’s true.  There are always things we could have done better.  I wish I knew back then what I know now.  When I look back at some of the mistakes I made raising my son in the world of youth baseball, frankly it bums me out.  Don’t misunderstand me, he did very well and played ball at a relatively high level. But, looking back there are definitely a few things I would have done differently.  Here we go… Continue reading “5 Things I Would Have Done Differently Raising My Young Ball Player”

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Physics of Baseball… Ball-Bat Collision

physics of baseball

With a Rapsodo Hitting camera finally here at RPP, it’s time to start talking physics of baseball on the hitting side.  We’re going to start this series of articles by going over the point of contact, where the bat meets the ball.  We all know that a baseball hit hard at the right place can do a lot of damage.  But the art and skill of doing so can be a difficult process.  So, let’s review what happens at the point of collision, where 90 mph pitches meet 90 mph bat speeds. Continue reading “Physics of Baseball… Ball-Bat Collision”

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Baseball Strength Training Periodization and Continuum

Baseball training periodization

Setting athletes up for success in their respective sports requires not only great programming, but great timing in regard to where a player is in their training year. Let’s face it, everyone wants strength and speed and a well-designed program should deliver on both but at the right times.  Baseball training periodization is not dis-similar from other sports, and a strength-speed continuum is the best way to get from there to there. Continue reading “Baseball Strength Training Periodization and Continuum”

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TJ, Taking a Negative Situation and Running with IT

The first trip to the disabled list can leave a young athlete searching for answers. Any athlete worth his weight loves to compete, so when that part of your life gets affected in a negative way, it’s important to get your head together and keep marching. Unfortunately, the “you should just stay out of the weight room for a while” slogan that some (not all!) doctors deliver doesn’t give the athlete much incentive to keep the rest of his body in shape while the injury is healing. After all, we can still make significant improvements in strength without moving the injured limb. Continue reading “TJ, Taking a Negative Situation and Running with IT”

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Pitch Development and Design… Pitch-by-Pitch

pitch design

1. Pitch Development and Design… Basics

Tomorrow’s elite pitchers have to learn and take advantage of the implications of data analysis.  Advancements in technology have brought data to the doorsteps of commercial baseball facilities and the future will be never be the same.

When pitchers are moving at rapidly increasing speeds, observing and evaluating a pitcher’s movements with high speed data capture can be truly eye opening. The amount information can be overwhelming at first, but as you begin to grasp it, the aha! moments begin to accumulate. We are discovering things about pitchers that were unfathomable just a year ago without this technology.  Pitch Design is here and it will change how tomorrow’s pitchers will be trained… [click here]

Continue reading “Pitch Development and Design… Pitch-by-Pitch”

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Baseball Strength Training When Throwing Ramps Up…

baseball strength training

When you get past the on-ramp stage of a combined baseball strength training and throwing program and get into the more high intensity throwing portion, you need to keep a few things in mind. For the few guys that still need to gain muscle/weight, we’ll handle them a bit differently in the weight room but that’s for another blog. For most of our guys that have packed on muscle, this means that weight room work from a volume and intensity perspective can and should be scaled down. Continue reading “Baseball Strength Training When Throwing Ramps Up…”