Coaching and teaching - many through the mortgage process and others on the field

Category: Coaching (Page 3 of 9)

Baseball Dynamic Warm-Up | Flexibility and Stretching

One of the major performance enhancers for baseball players is muscular flexibility – and I bet that’s the last thing that players work on.  Players take loads of batting practice, fielding practice, do long toss – and spend a great amount of time on strengthening on the field and in the weight room.

But what about flexibility to both improve performance and prevent injury?

Well, I’m linking to a KBands Training article that outlines a great warm-up stretching protocol that all baseball players should check out here – Baseball Dynamic Warm Up – Flexibility and Stretch

I’d invite you to check out the video, as well!

Here’s an excerpt:

“All baseball players need to warm up properly before performing high impact activities or speed and agility training. Static stretching was considered the norm in the past, but in recent years static stretching has become an addition to the everyday dynamic stretch routine.”

“Baseball players must stretch their hip flexors, quads, hamstrings, calves, trunk, glutes, IT bands, groin, and upper body. Each and every muscle throughout the body is used to maximize a baseball player’s performing potential”

The Mental ABCs of Pitching

H.A. (Harvey) Dorfman’s book – The Mental ABCs of Pitching: A Handbook for Performance Enhancement – is one of those classic mental game pieces.

My friend Jordan Zimmerman (ZB Velocity) turned me on to Dorfman’s book, as he said it helped him become a mentally strong pitcher and was crucial to his success as a professional pitcher.

He still uses it today in his teaching…he told me he keeps going back to his highlighted and dog-eared copy.

Here’s the Amazon link, and I highly recommend that pitchers pick up a copy!

Brief Biography

Dorfman was best known as an mental skills/sports psychology coach who worked in education and psychology as a teacher, counselor, coach, and consultant. Prior to starting a business as a mental skills coach. he also wrote for a local paper, taught English, and coached basketball at Burr and Burton Academy in Vermont.

He earned World Series Championship rings by serving as a mental skills coach for the 1989 Oakland A’s and the 1997 Florida Marlins. In 1999, Dorfman became a full-time consultant teaching the skills of sport psychology and staff development for the Scott Boras Corporation, an agency that represents professional baseball players.

Through his books and his teaching experience, he helped thousands of people get more of what they wanted from life through his tough love and clear insight. Some baseball greats give him credit for their success in life as well as in baseball.

Editorial Reviews

When Harvey left our organization to go work for Florida, we didn’t even try to replace him because, quite frankly, his legacy was already throughout our system. All of the players and coaches and staff he touched over the years… had become imbued with his philosophy and approach to the game. They have become Harvey’s disciples.

-SANDY ANDERSON, former President and General Manager, Oakland Athletics, former Executive Vice President, Office of Major League Baseball, currently General Manager, New York Mets.

When you talk to Harv, you get the truth from him, whether you like it or not. He always says, ‘I don’t care about your feelings. I care about your actions.’

-TIM BELCHER, former Major League Pitcher and Pitching Coach.

He’s truly amazing. It’s clear most people don’t want to hear the truth about themselves, but Harv gets in your face, uses a few choice words to get your attention, and he’s got you.

-AL LEITER, former Major League Pitcher, currently Studio Analyst and Commentator.

Harv is absolutely unique. He’s for real – a straight shooter. He gives it to you right on the line, whether you like it or not. Not many people can – or will – do that.

-WALT WEISS, former Major League All-Star Shortstop, currently manager of the Colorado Rockies.

Baseball Training During Your Covid-19 Off-Season

This has been an absolutely crazy year for sports, considering all that’s happened with the Coivd-19 pandemic. 

I feel terrible for all of the players who have had their season cancelled – this is unlike anything we have ever seen in our lifetimes.

Considering these circumstances, players must continue to work and get better, even though there may not be organized activities.

With that in mind, I’m linking to a fantastic piece by Brandon Voth and Robin Heilskov  on how to handle this unexpected sabbatical.  They have plan outlines and video and you can find all of that here…

Photography © 2019 olivejuicestudios.com. All rights reserved.

“As health care providers, we see this as a perfect opportunity for athletes to focus on proper pre-season preparation, injury prevention, and optimizing your baseball performance.”

Photography © 2019 olivejuicestudios.com. All rights reserved.

“In order to reduce the incidence of overuse injuries in youth baseball players, focus on 3 key areas: safe management of pitching volumes, baseball-specific exercise to improve mobility and strength, and correct improper techniques.”

Again, do check out their site and pass it on to others!

Building Mental Toughness in Baseball

I’m linking to a very important article from Dr. Gene Coleman on building mental toughness in baseball. Dr. Coleman is a strength and conditioning consultant in the MLB and has written numerous articles on the mental and physical sides of the game.

This article comes from the Professional Baseball Strength and Conditioning Coaches Society and I invite you to read the entire piece here…

I’ve highlighted and quoted some of the key passages that I believe would be most useful for players:

What is mental toughness?

Webster’s dictionary defines, mental toughness as “the ability to consistently perform toward the upper range of your talent and skill regardless of competitive circumstances.”

That’s actually a pretty good definition.

“Coaches say that mental toughness is resilience; the capacity to recover quickly from difficulty, failure, and defeat. Many sports scientists say that mental toughness is an acquired positive mindset.”

What are the characteristics of mentally tough athletes?

“Mentally tough athletes have clarity of mind and firmness of purpose. They desire to be great, and settling for good is never an option. They know how to win and stand tall in the face of adversity.

They make fewer mistakes and possess a work ethic, winning mentality and self-confidence. Mentally tough performers refuse to be intimated. They are able to stay focused and manage pressure. They hate to lose, but don’t dwell on defeat.

They accept losing as an inevitable consequence of meeting someone better on a given day. They are gracious in defeat and positive about the future. They believe in themselves and are positive about the future.”

How do you become mentally tough or tougher?

“This is the million or sometimes the multi-million-dollar question. There are a number of effective approaches that baseball players can take to help develop and improve mental toughness.

There are number of excellent sports psychologists that can help as well as reputable self-help books, articles and internet websites. There are also a few basic things that all players can do that have been shown to be effective first-steps to include the following:

Control what you can control

Nolan Ryan says that you should never lose because the other team was better prepared than you.

The only thing that you can control is how you prepare for the game. That includes how much sleep you get, timing, frequency, size and quality of meals, emotions, body language, mental state, work ethic (consistency of skill work, physical conditioning and recovery techniques), body language and response to success and failure.

Randy Johnson said that he went from being a good pitcher to a great pitcher when Nolan Ryan helped him control his emotions and body language both on the mound and in the dugout.

Nolan explained how his body language and emotional response to failure could have a positive effect on the opposition and negative effect on his teammates.

Once he understood this and was able to control his negative thoughts, poor body language and emotional outbursts, his mental attitude, confidence and performance improved significantly.

Are you the guy who shrugs his shoulders and puts his head down when you give up a run or a teammate makes an error? Do you sit in the corner of the dugout after you make an error or strikeout with the bases loaded, or are you the guy who says “my bad – get him next time,” stands up and supports your teammates? Your actions and reactions can affect not only your performance, but that of your teammates and opponents.

Controlling what you can control is an effective first step to improved mental toughness and performance. You can help your team by being a good teammate, getting on base, making a play in the field, expanding the opposing pitcher’s pitch count, advancing on a passed ball, etc.

Help comes in many forms. At the MLB level, most managers ask their players to do three things to help the team win: 1) be on time; 2) be a good teammate; and 3) respect the game. They don’t ask for shutouts, game winning hits, hi-lite plays or home runs.

A good teammate has a good work ethic, takes care of his body, shows up early, stays late, has a team-first attitude, doesn’t sulk when he fails or gloat when he succeeds, doesn’t point fingers, picks his teammates up, accepts blame and gives credit.  If you are on time, a good teammate and respect the game, the other things will take care of themselves.”

Have a Positive Attitude

“Your attitude and emotions can affect how you and your teammates perform both on and off the field. Don’t let your performance affect your attitude and emotions.

Coaches, teammates, parents and fans should not be able to tell what kind of game you had after a win or loss. Remain even keeled after both wins and losses. Be happy after a win and determined after a loss, but don’t get too high or too low after either.

Be disappointed and determined after a loss even if you had a great day. Good teammates are able to control their emotions and have a positive attitude even under unpleasant circumstances.”

Dictate your attitude

“Don’t let your personal or team performance dictate your attitude. Having a positive attitude makes you look good in the eyes of your coaches, fans, parents and teammates.

Be in control of your attitude when you show up to the field, during the game, after the game and on the ride home. Leave what you did yesterday in the past. You can’t change it. Don’t worry about the future. You can’t control it.

Control what you can control. Stay in the present, trust your preparation and make the most out of the game in front of you.”

Do the Hard Things First

“Determine your weakest skill and work on it first both at home and during practice.

If you are having trouble with backhand plays, work on them first when your body, mind and reactions are fresh. Don’t save them for last when you are fatigued.

Fatigue inhibits performance. Avoid doing the most important thing when you are tired. If you are having trouble with your breaking ball, work on the spin first at a shorter distance, say 20-feet.

A sprinter who is having trouble with his start, doesn’t run 100-yards every rep. He shortens up and works on getting out of the blocks and his first 3-4 steps. If you can’t control the spin at 20-feet, throwing 60-feet won’t make it better.

The same goes for hitting, catching balls in the outfield, blocking balls behind the plate and running the bases. Work on what you are having trouble with first. You going to be only as good as your weakest link.

Working on your strengths will not improve your weaknesses. Identify your weakest links and address them head on the first thing every day. Work smart. Have a plan, execute the plan, reevaluate the plan and make adjustments when and where needed.

If you are a catcher and having trouble blocking balls, determine if it’s your lack of skill or lack of strength and mobility. Your body is a 3-link chain – 1) your hips and legs, 2) core and 3) upper body, arms and hands. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. You initiate force in the lower body and transfer it through the core to the chest, shoulders, arms and hands.

You can have the fastest hands in the league, but if your legs or core are weak, you will not have the strength, mobility and speed to get your body in the right position for your hands to do their job. Conditioning enables an you to put your body in the proper position to effectively perform the drills enough times (reps) to improve performance.

If you are not in shape to do the drills properly and repeat them enough times to enhance performance, you are wasting valuable time. Get in shape to do the work and then work on the things that you can’t and don’t like to do first.

If you are lifting weights, do the exercise you like least first when you are fresh. If you wait, chances are you won’t want to work on your weakness or you will not give it your best effort. When you choose to do the hard things first, you develop mental toughness and the game and life become easier.

When you choose the easiest first, you get mentally weaker and the game and life become harder.

Developing and improving mental toughness and effective performance is not a quick fix. You can’t microwave toughness or skill. You can, however, focus on what you can do on a daily basis to make yourself and the team better. The goal should be to make your team more successful, and this starts by making yourself better.”

Off-Season Baseball Strengthening and Flexibility

I’m linking to a great article from COR (a California based physical therapy firm) that outlines specific, baseball related strengthening and flexibility exercises.   

Baseball is unique in that many typical weight training exercises can be counterproductive, as players really need to stay flexible, but strong at the same time. 

Doing bodybuilding type work can actually be detrimental, as you can’t play baseball effectively if you are muscle bound!

Many of these exercises shown in the COR sequence are similar to what Jordan Zimmerman uses with his ZB Velocity and Strengthening program – and you can find our more on that here…

Here’s their concept:

Let’s explore what makes great exercises for baseball players. You need to know which exercises are blunders so you can pick the best for your performance and your body. Great exercises for baseball players do the following:

  • Train the entire body
  • Improve explosive power
  • Strengthen and protect the shoulder
  • Improve mobility of the thoracic spine
  • Improve ankle, trunk, and shoulder mobility

What exercises should not be are painful. Don’t shy away from soreness, but don’t fall victim to the ridiculous myth – “no pain, no gain.”

Baseball players need to focus on balance, explosive power, agility, and rotational power. Strength-training helps baseball players achieve these results, but only if the exercises are done properly and with the mechanics of the game in mind.

What baseball players need to avoid are exercises that exhaust only certain muscles, such as muscles in the shoulder. Doing so causes significant imbalances and leads to injury instead of success on the field. Baseball is a full-body sport, so the greatest exercises for baseball players must address all the muscles, not just a select few. 

I highly recommend that you go through this link and take a look at the exercises and make them part of your routine. 

« Older posts Newer posts »

© 2024 The Lending Coach

Theme by Anders NorenUp ↑