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Baseball Pre-Season Workouts

January 8, 2017 / Tom Bonetto

The high school baseball season is right around the corner, as most programs out west start in February…and there’s still time to make sure that your body is ready for the season.

Your body must be ready to handle the ups-and-downs of the condensed 20 game season.

I’ve compiled a number of links that the baseball minded will find worthwhile and I highly recommend that you check them out.

The first is a piece with accompanying video from Stack.com regarding a 6-week pre-season program. Their program utilizes medicine balls to build baseball specific strength.

“Developing stronger baseball-specific movement patterns comes with a bonus: it helps to prevent injuries. By improving often-hurt areas like shoulder and back muscles before camp starts, you’ll reduce your chance of breaking down over the course of a long season.”

http://www.stack.com/a/6-week-baseball-workout

From the HSBaseball web – they talk specifics about particular muscle groups that get used more than others. During pitching and batting, it’s the chest and shoulders, particularly the rotator cuffs, pecs and triceps. Players also need good torso strength, i.e., a strong back and abdomen – and leg power will get you going with those bursts of speed needed to run bases.

Jeff Holt, a fitness trainer and owner of Personal Health and Fitness Inc. in Hendersonville, says a training regimen for softball should focus on improving overall strength and flexibility.

http://www.hsbaseballweb.com/pre_season.htm

Here’s a great PDF from WPA Baseball for both players and parents.

Youth baseball has become increasingly competitive over recent years, joining other sports in which athletes are frequently exposing themselves to overuse injuries.

They state that pre-season conditioning should start 8-12 weeks prior to the start of your season and give a great outline of what that training program should look like.

http://www.wpabaseball.com/files/SportsPerfArticles/Conditioning(1).pdf

Finally, here’s a great Sports Illustrated article on Evan Longoria that highlights his specific pre-season workout regimen.

“It’s taken a lot of years for me to understand what my body needs,” says Longoria. “I don’t want to put 500 pounds on my back and squat because it doesn’t translate for me on the field. My workout program is tailored to being baseball strong.”

It goes into very specific detail that is eye-opening for those who think baseball players aren’t in great shape!

http://www.si.com/edge/2015/03/18/training-evan-longoria-workout-rays-third-baseman

The views expressed are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of American Financial Network, Inc

Shopping Mortgages – A Primer

January 3, 2017 / Tom Bonetto

Simply put, mortgage rates are the interest rates assigned to a home loan. These rates are actually based on the price of mortgage-backed securities (MBS), which are bonds backed by U.S. mortgages. These rates vary between conventional, FHA, VA, USDA, and jumbo loans – and by mortgage lender.

How Mortgage Rates Are Created

Mortgage rates are “made” based on bonds traded in the mortgage-backed securities (MBS) market. Similar to corporate bonds, mortgage-backed bonds trade all day, every day – and their pricing changes constantly.

In general, as the price of a mortgage-backed bond changes, so do mortgage rates. This is true for conventional mortgages backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage bonds; and for FHA loans, VA loans and USDA loans, which are backed by Ginnie Mae mortgage bonds.

The price of a mortgage bond is based on supply and demand. All things equal, when Wall Street’s demand for mortgage bonds increases, mortgage bond prices rise, which causes mortgage rates to fall.

A large number of U.S. consumers research mortgage rates every day. Most just want a ballpark figure to help do the math on what buying a home would cost, or to see what a home refinance would look like.

Others need more details on particular mortgage rates – most importantly, when they’re close to making a decision about what to do next.

To everyone, though, getting a good, low rate should be a major focus. A mortgage is not something on which you want to overpay, as paying “too much” for the most valuable asset you own isn’t a great idea!

For an in-depth review of this process, check out Dan Green’s article at The Mortgage Reports for more….

How To Be A Good Mortgage Rate Shopper

Mortgage rates move randomly, and change with little or no advance warning. When you’re shopping for a mortgage, then, it’s important to know the nuances – and also to have a plan.

This means understanding that shopping for a mortgage rate is really about shopping for a mortgage rate and its associated closing costs. You can’t get one without the other.

A mortgage lender should never quote you a rate without telling you the fees that go with it – so pay attention when you get your quotes – because an extremely low rate means nothing if your closing costs are ridiculously high.

There are two ways to shop for mortgage rates, then.

1. You can shop for a particular mortgage rate that you want

2. You can shop for a particular closing cost that you want

Sure, you can try to shop for both at the same time, but why bother? Don’t get caught-up in the game of trying to have it both ways – because you can’t – and here’s why:

When you can isolate a single loan variable for comparison such as “cost” or “mortgage rate”, it’s really easy to know which mortgage lender is giving the best deal.

As an illustration, let’s say you want a rate of 5.00%. That’s your “fixed” variable. All you have to do, now, is to ask mortgage lender for their lowest closing costs, assuming a 5.00% rate.

Whichever lender offers the lowest costs is the lender with the best overall price.

Or, to work it the other way, let’s say you want a zero-closing cost mortgage. In this instance, closing costs are your fixed variable — they’re $0.

To find the best mortgage lender, then, simply ask each lender what the interest rate would be assuming no closing costs whatsoever.

The lender with the lowest rate is the lender you choose, providing they offer the service levels that will allow you to close the transaction on time! If you can’t close on time, that’s more out-of-pocket costs to you, the borrower.

Choosing The Right Lender

The best mortgage lenders will help you understand the complexities and help you choose the right mortgage for your circumstance.

Is it a low payment that you are looking for? Well, then paying a discount point or two will lower that interest rate and reduce your payment.

Are you a little short on cash for closing costs? Well, choosing a higher interest rate can give you that much needed closing credit that can offset some of those costs!

Again, make sure to reach out to the right lender and take the time to outline your current wants and needs.

Realities Facing Homeowners and Renters

December 26, 2016 / Tom Bonetto

Regardless of whether they rent or buy, folks will be paying more to do so, according to second quarter data released by the Census Bureau, which also shows the homeownership rate in the U.S. is at the lowest level in more than 50 years.

The percent of households that are owner-occupied, known as the homeownership rate, was 62.9 percent in the second quarter, the lowest since 1965. The rate is 0.5 percentage points lower than the second quarter of last year and 0.6 percentage points lower than the rate in the first quarter of 2016.

“Tight housing inventory from a lack of new construction continues to create affordability challenges, particularly at the lower end of the market,” Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae’s chief economist, notes in an economic outlook note.

Less for More

A chart from the Census Bureau shows how rental asking prices have continued to rise through the last two recessions. Meanwhile, home sale asking prices, which have been rising this year, are recovering from the major drop during the last recession.

The median asking rent for vacant units was $847 in the second quarter, according to the Census Bureau. The median asking sales price for vacant sale units was $164,500.

Median asking rent for vacant “for rent” units shown with gray bars that indicate when the economy was officially in a recession. (Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey/Housing Vacancy Survey)

More Households Forming

But overall household formation has been relatively steady, thanks to renters who are going out on their own, the Wall Street Journal points out. Renter-occupied housing units surged by 967,000 in the second quarter to 43.9 million units from 42.9 million units in the second quarter of last year.

Meanwhile, owner-occupied units fell by 22,000 units to 74.4 million units in the second quarter compared to the same period last year.

Homeownership rates were highest for older households. Occupants aged 65 and older had a homeownership rate of 77.9 percent. The rate was lowest for those under 35 years at 34.1 percent.

Older Millennials Looking to Buy

Whatever is holding back renters from buying, whether it’s fewer starter homes or incomes, preferences may change in the future, leading these renters to become buyers.

Between 2010 and 2012, homeownership rate gains stabilized for young adults through their late twenties and early thirties, and between 2012 and 2014 homeownership rate gains were larger than the increments for previous generations passing through the same age range during the housing bust, according to Fannie Mae’s Economic and Strategic Research Group.

Find out more from Fannie Mae’s Home Story here

The views expressed are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of American Financial Network, Inc

Why the Sudden Increase in Interest Rates?

December 6, 2016 / Tom Bonetto

I’ve been receiving a good number of questions from both buyers and agents regarding the movement in interest rates. Many have been asking why the relatively big increase over such a short time frame and what does the future hold?

I’ll try to give a brief synopsis and link to a few articles for those who want to take a deeper dive.

Inflation Fears

In essence, worries about higher inflation have been a main factor fueling the big bond market selloffs (which brings mortgage rates up) over the past month. The process accelerated after the U.S. election in early November. The reason: investors have bet that the prospect of expansive fiscal and economy policy from the new U.S. administration would lead to stronger growth and higher inflation.

Secondly, the Federal Reserve has strongly hinted that it will raise interest rates next week. Economic growth remains slow and steady, and inflation measures are relatively non-existent – but Fed officials are increasingly convinced that things are now good enough.

Their concerns about moving too soon are giving way to worries about waiting too long, and the possible inflationary pressures that come along with it.

The Fed would rather err on the side of caution rather then risk inflation.

Many argue that the more-than-likely rate increase is actually priced into the current market – and it was the election that brought it into focus sooner rather than later.

Here’s a look at the 10-year treasury yield (a very good directional marker to interest rates) over the last 6 months:

Notice that yields are nearly a full point higher that the summer lows.

Does that mean you missed the boat if you didn’t act in October? Hardly.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see rates continue to tick upward over the next 30 days, but I believe things will begin to normalize in 2017. As mentioned earlier, upward inflationary measures are not really there.

More importantly, when you look at mortgage rates right now versus historical averages, we are still WAY below the norms. This is really a great time to buy and borrow.

Here’s a funny story that can give some perspective on the current situation. When I married by beautiful bride nearly 25 years ago, I got an absolutely smoking deal on a loan for our condo. It really was unheard of at the time. The rate….9.5%. That’s right, anything under 10% back then was considered a steal.

For more:

Min Zeng from the Wall St. Journal does a fine job of analyzing the situation here

Binyamin Appelbaum and Kevin Granville of the New York Times talk about the upcoming interest rate increase here

The views expressed are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of American Financial Network, Inc

Quality At-Bats

December 2, 2016 / Tom Bonetto

One major flaw in the great game of baseball is the way we’ve been measuring and evaluating a player’s performance. Similarly, most players will tell you how well their season is going based on what their batting average is at a given point in time.

I believe that this is a mistake – as you can do everything correctly as a hitter and still make an out. How do you account for that?

Well, many coaches today are utilizing a different type of evaluation – the Quality At-Bat.

Cliff Godwin, former assistant coach at Ole Miss and current head coach at East Carolina University gives a great definition of the Quality At-Bat. He said, “A Quality At-Bat is an at-bat that makes a positive contribution towards our team goals.”

There are numerous ways that to have a Quality At-Bat:

Executing a Hit & Run, Sac Bunt, Sac Drag, or Squeeze
Executing a Bunt for a Hit
Walk, HBP, or Catcher’s Interference
Moving a runner from 2nd base to 3rd base with 0 outs
Driving in a run from 3rd base with less than 2 outs
Any RBI (Sac fly, 2 out RBI, etc…)
All hard hit balls (NOTE: All base hits are not QAB’s. i.e. bloop hits.. We want HARD contact!)
8+ pitch at-bats
When you can see 4 or more pitches after you are down 0-2 in the count

“Make a hard out, perform an offensive fundamental, throw any at-bat up there of eight pitches or more, a good bunt — not a bad bunt but a ball put on the ground where somebody’s got to make a good defensive play, a walk,” Clint Hurdle, Pittsburgh Pirates Manager

Justin Dedman – Lee University Hitting Coach

One of my favorite coaches, Justin Dedman at “Hitting Mental” has a post worth viewing regarding his definition and planning for the Quality At-Bat:

“Hitting is challenging, which is why we love it, but when a hitter is consumed with stress about his own stats, fearful of future performances repeating past failures, or distracted by expectations, hitting has become nearly impossible. A focus on QABs allows a hitter to stay focused on simplifying the game.”

Here’s Justin’s list:

No one on base, first inning? I should be focused on reaching base, nothing more. Get a good pitch to hit, and I will maximize my chances of making a HARD CONTACT.
Developing toughness in practice, and the mechanical savvy to hold your ground on an inside pitch, allows a hitter to react appropriately in-game and take an HBP.
Acquiring plate discipline in front toss and batting practice allows a hitter to avoid weak contact more often, see more pitches, and improve his chances of coaxing a BB.After a foul ball and a close call for strike two, we find ourselves down 0-2. Battle your way from 0-2 to seeing 4+ pitches! You have just flipped the script on the pitcher! Now, many pitchers are begging to get any ball put in play, as they don’t want their pitch count to continue to skyrocket.
Any executed bunt, slash, hit and run or run and hit is a QAB! These are huge skills to master. Executing these skills keeps an opposing defense, pitcher and manager on the defensive, and alleviates the pressure to get hit after hit by only swinging against good pitchers.
With a runner at second base and 0 outs, it’s great to advance the runner from second to third, but this is situational. I should not give away at-bats in an effort to manipulate and push the ball back side. Our offensive goal is to score as many runs as possible each inning, not just one run, unless we are in a “tight and close” scenario.
Any time you get an RBI while making an out, that’s a QAB. Let’s not focus on perfection. An RBI ground out may not be ideal, but it’s quality. These aren’t called Perfect At Bats! Of course, hitters must be taught which situations ask for them to potentially sacrifice a more aggressive approach for something simpler that more consistently gets the run home. Most situations with a runner at third and less than two outs create this QAB opportunity.
Hits aren’t QABs, but 2-strike hits sure as heck are. To get a two-strike hit, a hitter must take advantage of a mistake or fight his way to getting a pitch he can handle to score the run.
Lastly, any at-bat that ends with 8+ pitches is a QAB, regardless of the result. The average number of pitches per plate appearance in MLB in 2015 was 4.30. Having an 8 pitch AB has a similar impact on a pitcher to having faced an extra hitter.

The True Believer and Preacher – Steve Springer

One of the priemer mental coaches regarding the Quality At-Bat is Steve Springer – and his website called qualityatbats.com. I’d highly recommend that you visit Steve’s site and grab his CD – his mental approach is spot on.

He’s worked with a ton of big league players and coaches – and he’s really brought the concept of the Quality At-Bat to the forefront of baseball today.

For example, what if during a game a hitter goes 0 for 4 on the night and the at-bats go like this:

1) Line out to the shortstop

2) Ground out to 2^nd base that moves a runner to third with no outs

3) Grinds out a long at-bat by fouling off pitch after pitch late in the game, which ultimately leads to the opposing team having to go the bullpen

4) Scores a run from third with less than 2 outs by weakly grounding out to the middle infield that was playing back.

This player normally would consider the as 0 for 4 but in the Quality At-Bat system he would be 4 for 4. Players view their performances much differently through this system and it won’t lead to as much stress and frustration, which we know, are performance crushers.

I’d invite you to change your perspective on hitting performance metrics. Don’t forget the end goal is to help your team win! It’s not just about personal statistics anymore….

The Lending Coach

Page 65 of 78

Baseball Pre-Season Workouts

http://www.stack.com/a/6-week-baseball-workout

http://www.hsbaseballweb.com/pre_season.htm

http://www.wpabaseball.com/files/SportsPerfArticles/Conditioning(1).pdf

http://www.si.com/edge/2015/03/18/training-evan-longoria-workout-rays-third-baseman

Shopping Mortgages – A Primer

How Mortgage Rates Are Created

How To Be A Good Mortgage Rate Shopper

Choosing The Right Lender

Realities Facing Homeowners and Renters

Less for More

More Households Forming

Older Millennials Looking to Buy

Why the Sudden Increase in Interest Rates?

Inflation Fears

Does that mean you missed the boat if you didn’t act in October? Hardly.

Quality At-Bats

Justin Dedman – Lee University Hitting Coach

The True Believer and Preacher – Steve Springer

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