college baseball

We sit down to drop some knowledge bombs on our velo programs, the myth of the softball vs baseball swing, and why we think private 1 on 1 training could be bad for you! We also touch on:

-Why lessons need to be about personal growth and mental toughness as much as they are about mechanics and development

-Should pitchers shut down for a period of time after fall season?

-Why athletes consistently need to be put in uncomfortable environments to succeed

2019 1st Round MLB Draft Pick for the Cardinals, Zack Thompson, sits down with us to talk pitching, his path to the MLB Draft and Minors, and his willingness to learn from everyone and work ethic that . Some Key Points Include:

-How his velocity jump in High School did not happen at a steady increase month to month, his hard work on the field and in the weight room "clicked" one spring jumping from low 80s to low 90s.

-Why his perfectionist attitude toward his mechanics on the bump, and his technique in the weight room, set his foundation for velocity and ability to pitch

-Why he loves the squat and feels it transfers to the mound from the weight room

-The Sacrifices he made during HS to work on his craft and his game and develop into a next level pitcher.

-His Recruiting Process that ultimately led to him choosing Kentucky

-Why understanding how to "Pitch" and not just "Throw as hard as possible, allowed him to have one of his best outings as an SEC Pitcher. 

-How his pre-game routine and long toss differs from traditional long toss enthusiasts because of his focus on mechanics.

-And Much More!

In this episode we touch on the current situation with Fernando Tatis Jr, as well as dive DEEP into the Strength Training Process; what it does for players, the sports nutrition side of it, choosing between skill vs strength, and how to choose the right Strength Coach! Some Topics Include:

-Current Event Topic of The Day -Fernando Tatis Jr Situation
-When to start Strength and Conditioning?

-What it’s done for us and our clients?
-Why is Strength and Power Important?  
-Time Is limited, which to choose?
-Give you examples of players changing their game with Strength Training
-Touch on Sports nutrition and give you a sample day of eating for ballplayers!

We sit down today to answer a lot of questions we've had from parents over the years on when to start baseball lessons as well as how long to commit to the development of youth athletes.

We also touch on:

• Why you need to "Buy the Nice Steak, and Not the Cheap Walmart Steak"
• Why signing up for lessons needs to be a minimum of a 3 month, weekly commitment
• Why paying for Lessons is an "Investment" and Finding a good coach with character is a must
• How we organize pitching development for the youth level to the HS and College Level and the differences in the off-season focus for each age group.
• Why Strength, Power, Velocity "AKA" Athletic Development, Should Always Be Priority

2020 5th Round MLB Draft Pick Zach Britton

Former Louisville Baseball Star and 5th Round MLB Draft pick, sits down and talks hitting, the 5 Round MLB Draft Process, and more! Some of the topic include:

-Zach talks about the importance of keeping his barrel in the zone for as long as possible.

-He runs through his cage routine that helps his swing stay true!

-He shares the adversity he went through with injuries at Louisville and how he became stronger through it.

-He dives into detail his approach at the plate early in the count vs late in the count.

-The importance of confidence and why you must feel that you are better than the pitcher at all times!

In this episode, we dive into some of the misconceptions that parents and players have when they starting hitting lessons. Some of the topics include:

-How parents set their athlete's up for failure

-How parents negatively affect the athlete's perception of success

-How we see through parents and players when they answer questions

-How being committed to weekly sessions is best

-Why grit and mental toughness is just as important mechanics

-How our first day of lessons goes with clients

-Why saying "I don't have time" to work on hitting shows you are mentally weak

We sit down today to talk about summer baseball for the Indiana Bulls and the Louisiana Knights as well as the strengths and weaknesses we are seeing in players after quarantine now preparing for start of travel baseball season. 

Some other Topics today include:

Timing for hitters and how they can improve it quickly.

How to Prepare and Develop Pitchers during Summer Baseball.

How to know when and why certain players transition into a Pitcher Only during summer ball.

Why Mental Makeup is even more important this summer.

How Recruiting is affected by corona virus.

Leaving Reviews for the Podcast.

Former Atlanta Brave Jeff Francoeur sits down with us to discuss his story as a big leaguer, how Andruw Jones and himself prepared as Gold Glove Outfielders, the mental game, and touched on if the MLB will play this 2020 season! Jeff also touches on his pregame hitting routine when he played, as well as how his belief in God and faith helped him through adversity in life.

Coach in the Seattle Mariners Organization, Eddie Paparella, sits down with us to talk hitting, launch angle, and creating a competitive environment for hitters' development! He dives into his story and injures and how it shaped him into a better coach as well as the importance of hitters to develop under a new school and old school approach. He stresses the importance of creating a competitive game like environment for hitters to maximize their growth.

Former Ball State Baseball Recruiting Coordinator talks in detail with us about the recruiting process for High School Ballplayers. He dives into what he looks for in players; the tools, character traits, and strong qualities he needs to see in prospects. We talk about the different rate of development each athlete may have as well as the rules when being recruited.

Brewers' Pitcher Josh Lindblom shares his story as a professional athlete that got him to where he is today with the Brewers. He touches on his path from College to MLB to KBO back to the MLB. He dives in deep and talks adversity as well as the mental game of pitching where he shares the importance of feel and knowing who you are as a pitcher in order to maximize your ability in this game. 

Former D1 Player at Coastal Carolina and Bowling Green St University, now Coach and Graduate Assistant at University of Northwestern Ohio talks about weaknesses and struggles catchers have from the HS levels to Collegiate Levels. He talks about ways catchers can improve those weaknesses and give everyone his favorite drills at the position, drills you can do during quarantine, and catchers to watch in the MLB today! 
 

Sean Laird | Owner of Laird's Training LLC in Indiana  
Website: www.LairdsTraining.com  
Facebook: https://bit.ly/2Vk7H80  
Instagram: https://bit.ly/3ezBUrs  
Twitter: https://bit.ly/3ezUmjO  
YouTube: https://bit.ly/2XMJDwb   
eBook: https://amzn.to/2XNDRKQ   

Adam Heisler | Owner of Heisler Heat Baseball Academy in Alabama
Website: www.heislerheatbaseball.com   
Facebook: https://bit.ly/3brw7SM  
Instagram: https://bit.ly/3anchXw  
Twitter: https://bit.ly/2XMsJxI  
YouTube: https://bit.ly/2RQx1QR

2019 1st Rd Draft Pick Kody Hoese talks how his hitting developed over the years from high school to college and into his 1st year in the minors and the importance of knowing himself and what he does best to grow as a hitter. He talks about his development as a SS into a 3rd Baseman and speaks on the importance of versatility as a ballplayer in order to get on the field in college! He also dives into the importance of his nutrition and weight training that allowed him to get stronger and helped develop his power.

Sean Laird | Owner of Laird's Training LLC in Indiana  
Website: www.LairdsTraining.com  
Facebook: https://bit.ly/2Vk7H80  
Instagram: https://bit.ly/3ezBUrs  
Twitter: https://bit.ly/3ezUmjO  
YouTube: https://bit.ly/2XMJDwb   
eBook: https://amzn.to/2XNDRKQ   

Adam Heisler | Owner of Heisler Heat Baseball Academy in Alabama
Website: www.heislerheatbaseball.com   
Facebook: https://bit.ly/3brw7SM  
Instagram: https://bit.ly/3anchXw  
Twitter: https://bit.ly/2XMsJxI  
YouTube: https://bit.ly/2RQx1QR 

*SHOW TIMESTAMPS FEATURED AT THE END*

In this episode Gerry welcomes in Philadelphia Phillies pitching consultant and Driveline Baseball assistant pitching director Bill Hezel on the show.

To start, Bill and Gerry discuss the importance of communication and presenting data and facts when engaging in the debates that sometimes occur in areas of pitching and pitching conditioning.

Then, Bill gives some insight on what pitchers can be doing during this uncertainty and off time to prepare themselves and stay ready as best they can.

All that and more on this episode of Muscles and Management!

Timestamps

4:45 - Running & Arm Injuries

8:20 - Helping Coaches 

10:00 - Letting Athletes Have SOME Freedoms

13:00 - Explaining Details To Young Athletes

21:00 - Relationship Building

24:15 - Lifting Heavy & Injuries

30:00 - Why Pulldowns are Effective

37:35 - Unteaching Bad Habits

45:00 - Training Styles Based on Age for Pitching

55:00 - Be Cautious of Incorrect Information Online

58:12 - Giving Answers to Athletes that Stick

1:01:15 - The Disconnect Between Pros and Coaches Who Aren’t Former Pros

1:09:45 - Bill’s Final Thoughts

Episode 1 covers the purpose of this podcast, how they train and prepare hitters for season, and how they help develop their hitters' timing. They also dive into training athletes in 2020 and talk about the  "New School vs Old School" Baseball Development approach as well as introduce the #HARD90 Baseball Challenge for ballplayers to utilize during the COVID-19 Quarantine and carry over into season to help them develop mentally and physically into a stronger version of themselves on the field.

Sean Laird | Owner of Laird's Training LLC in Indiana  
Website: www.LairdsTraining.com  
Facebook: https://bit.ly/2Vk7H80  
Instagram: https://bit.ly/3ezBUrs  
Twitter: https://bit.ly/3ezUmjO  
YouTube: https://bit.ly/2XMJDwb   
eBook: https://amzn.to/2XNDRKQ   

Adam Heisler | Owner of Heisler Heat Baseball Academy in Alabama
Website: www.heislerheatbaseball.com
Facebook: https://bit.ly/3brw7SM  
Instagram: https://bit.ly/3anchXw  
Twitter: https://bit.ly/2XMsJxI  
YouTube: https://bit.ly/2RQx1QR

Dan Hicken and Frank Frangie look forward to a new baseball season with a great Gator team and consider the basketball team's NCAA Tourney worthiness. 

Even pro-athletes struggle with balance! Former Major Leaguer Mark DeRosa tells his story about getting into sports as a kid, continuing it through college and making a career out of it.  After retiring he has had to find a new balance which he discusses here.

In this episode Gerry sits down with TJ Ward. TJ played college baseball at Division 1 University of Hartford having a very successful playing career and leading Hartford to their first conference championship in school history. TJ is now one year removed from his college career and hopeful of getting signed by an affiliate of a Major League Baseball team. He currently balances his baseball playing career in the USPBL while also serving as the hitting coach for Division III Ramapo College in New Jersey.

TJ discusses his college recruiting process, things all players should look for and why no player should ever look down on or shrug off a school no matter how small or unknown.

In addition, he gives great insight on dealing with adversity and failure at the college level and the importance of finding a veteran player to learn from. 

Finally, Gerry and TJ get into what has made their training together effective, and finish off with a look at how TJ uses data and analytics both for his own swing and career and in setting lineups and working with college hitters as a hitting coach.

All that and more on this episode!

Today’s show is a double header of sorts as we welcome 2 guests ~ Matt Jones and Peter Koriniak; 2 men one from the United States and one from Slovakia who share their stories about how they came to love the same country and how they both chose to follow God’s leading in their lives through faith.
You can learn more about Matt and Peter on our website at https://www.wonderfultotell.com/episodes 

In this episode, Gerry has a chance to sit down and talk to Hasani Whitfield, co-owner of Gamers Baseball Academy and Untamed Baseball in Northern New Jersey and head coach of Division Two Caldwell University.

Hasani enjoyed a successful playing career at Caldwell University before he ventured out into the world of travel baseball as he started Gamers Baseball Academy and a group of travel teams, which would eventually form what is now known as Untamed Baseball.

From touching on what goes into owning a baseball training facility and travel organization to handling the role of head coach in college, this episode has it all. Hasani dives into what it is like to balance business and customer service in the world of baseball and how that impacts his most important job, that of a coach.

In addition, this episode takes a look at the rise of technology in baseball and baseball development and how Hasani has implemented the tech in both the world of college and travel baseball. 

Lastly, Hasani discusses what he looks for in prospective players when he is recruiting, and how important it is to be able to develop players who are willing to work and fit the mold of a program. Also, get an in depth look at how the market for travel baseball has become over saturated and how that has changed the path of development.

All this and more on this episode of Muscles and Management!