A Whole Lot of BS

Barrett discusses how quickly an athlete can lose strength, power, and speed in-season and why it may be more important to continue to train with a professional in-season. 

Barrett discusses the 2 main reasons people do not train during their playing season and why each reason is invalid. 

During this time of year, we being to ramp up the throwing intensity with our athletes. In this Episode, we discuss 3 of the main benefits throwers will get from high intensity throwing.

In this episode, we discuss how to progress in the weight room when an athlete starts their on-ramping portion of their throwing program. 

In this episode, we will discus: 

1.Start slow and light 

2.Why percentages are better than using distances 

3.Using percentages as intensity 

4.Why feel is better than having a set number of throws

As we talked about in the last episode, strength is usually the bucket that overflows into the other buckets the most. But what do you do once you have filled the strength bucket? How do exercises like Med Ball throws and DB Squat Jumps fit in?  

The Strength Speed Continuum helps us understand the different aspects of strength training and how to best bridge the gap to get better results on the field instead of creating powerlifters.

For whatever reason, strength (in the traditional weight room sense) has gotten a bad name in the golf world. In youth and young professional golfers, strength is usually the bucket that, if filled, would overflow more into different areas.

One of our main concepts we talk about when programming for athletes is “Which bucket needs to be filled the most?” 

Usually filling up this bucket will overflow into the other buckets. 

With high school athletes, strength is almost always that bucket. By helping an athlete get stronger, they will be able to produce more force so they will increase in power and speed. Most of the movement limitations we see in high school athletes are also caused by lack of strength, so improving strength in certain areas should also help improve mobility.

What you do with the time that you are shut down can make or break your off season. We suggest you focus on these 4 ideas:  

1. LIFT  

2. Build Tissue Capacity Overhead  

3. No MB Overhead or Shut Put Throws  

4. 6 week program for direct shoulder/ arm strengthening

Along with many of the physical benefits mentioned in parts 1-5, we have also found there to be the mental aspect to be a huge benefit in shutting down. Athletes come back much hungrier and much more focused.

Macro Schedule for the Middle School Pitcher, we take a look at a normal schedule over the course of an entire year to evaluate if and when a pitcher could possibly shut down.

Macro Schedule for the High School Pitcher, we take a look at a normal schedule over the course of an entire year to evaluate if and when a pitcher could possibly shut down.

For this episode, we take a look at workload over a 2-3 year span and breakdown how planning your throwing and rest over a multiple year span gives you a better chance to succeed.

Not everyone NEEDS time off. It’s really hard to get better at throwing when you aren’t throwing. Check out the next part of the series next week when we discuss looking at throwing over a 2 year cycle.

I often deal with the question “Should I shut down?” Around this time of year. There are several factors that go in to that decision. Today, we answer the question “Do you have enough time to shut down” and discuss the time needed to go through a proper shut down and ramp up period.

On this episode, Kyle and I dive into the evaluation process.

We look at:

-Evolution of the Driveline evaluation

-Use of VBT for evaluation 

-How evaluation dictates programming 

And we finish the episode talking about the integration of skill training and strength and conditioning. This is something I am very passionate about and firmly believe that the strength and conditioning coach is not doing their job if they do not understand the skill (i.e. hitting, throwing, etc).

I am very excited to have Kyle Rogers join me for a 3 part series!

In part 1, we discuss:

-Kyle's background, baseball career, and his career path

-Pros and cons of strength and conditioning jobs in the private sector, college, and professional baseball

-Importance of the relationship between the skill coach and the strength and conditioning coach

In part 2, Josh and I discuss:

-How to approach re-opening once the pandemic is over

-DST Principles that have made them so successful 

-Strategy for social media 

-Business mistakes Josh has made and what he's learned from the mistakes 

-Importance of a sports performance facility having a business specialist 

Josh Graber is the Director of Business Operations for Dynamic Sports Training, a sports performance facility based in Houston, Texas. 

I wanted to have Josh on to talk about on how his company is handling the pandemic. 

We discuss:

-How to manage helping people while still needing to create income

-Strategies to continue making money without in-person training

-Relational vs Transactional mindset with clients 

-How to navigate the government small business loans 

We continue our fantasy baseball preview for the 2020 season we hope will still be happening. 

We discuss:

-Pitching Strategy: Starting Pitchers vs Relief Pitchers... Should you punt saves?

-Peter hates on Bud Black

-Love/Hate for hitters

-Catcher Strategy

-Sleepers

-Fantasy Obituaries: Cullen gives us 3 big names he considers to be completely irrelevant for fantasy this year

-MVP, Cy Young, and World Series Predictions 

OUR ANNUAL FANTASY BASEBALL PREVIEW IS BACK!

I am joined by my good friends and fantasy "experts" Peter Uihlein and Cullen Carstens to discuss the 2020 fantasy baseball season.

In Part 1, we discuss:

-Our keeper league: who we are keeping and why

-Auction league strategy

-Astros hitters: Who benefitted most from the sign stealing? Who will still perform this year? 

-Starting Pitcher Preview- Overall strategy for drafting Starting Pitchers, guys we like, sleepers, and bust 

Shane Greene is back for part 2! Make sure you listen to the whole thing to get an insight into how Shane's mind works...

In this episode, we talk about:

-Technology in baseball for player development and scouting

-Pace of play and robot umps: Is the square on TV the issue?

-Sign Stealing: where does trying to get an edge become cheating?

-Shane's personal goals for 2020

-Deep Question of Day

-Conspiracy theories 

Our first ever repeat guest, Shane Greene, returns to talk about his record setting April and 2019 All Star season.

We also discuss:

-Going from a rookie to a clubhouse leader

-All Star game experience

-Being traded

-Breaking out of a slump

- Being in a playoff race and playoff baseball

-How good Ronald Acuna is

-Shane's Soup Analogy

Produced by Ashton Nix

In Part 2, Brad discusses:

-Being injured for the first time in his career

-Dealing with being traded 

-Learning your body

-Strength and Conditioning and staying healthy

-Pace of play, robot umps, and possible changes for the game of baseball

-Use of technology in baseball 

-Rapid Fire Questions

I've been looking forward to having Brad Miller on the podcast for sometime now. I've always taken a lot away from my talks with him and found him to be very open and insightful about his training and the game of baseball. 

In part 1 we discuss:

-His high school career and the recruitment process

-His time at Clemson and the draft process his junior year

-Minor League life (specifically High Dessert)

-Big League Debut

-How he turned into a power hitter mid at bat 

It has been long overdue, but I finally sit down with my former teammate and the guy responsible for me starting RSP in Orlando, Brian Dempsey

Brian is one of the owners of Turn2 Sport and Performance. Additionally, he is a co-owner of Power Baseball, one of the premier high school travel baseball programs in the country.

Brian has a unique perspective because he has spent time as a high school coach, currently works in the player development side of things at Turn2, and has coached in the travel ball world for 10 years now and helped hundreds of baseball players move on to the college level. 

Brian and I discuss how to set up a 12 month plan for high school baseball players, including:

-Amatuer youth baseball schedule

-How to fit pitching and hitting lessons and strength and conditioning

-Should anyone throw year around? If so, who?

-Advice for 14u and younger parents and players

In Part 2, Gerry and I discuss his podcast and the business side of the sports performance company. 

We start with his podcast, Muscles and Management, and look at:

-  What made him start it

- The main thing have he has learned from it

-Advice for someone thinking about starting or just starting pod

Gerry has a business degree, so I pick his brain about:

-  His degree is in business. How does that help or hurt him?

-  Red flags that he sees gym owners do or don’t do 

- Besides producing results, what is the best marketing strategy for sports performance facilities?

Make sure you give Gerry a follow!

Twitter: @Challenger_ST

IG: Challengerstrength

Website: https://www.challengerstrength.com

On this episode, I sit down with New Jersey's finest, Gerry DeFilippo. 

We discuss:

-  His background and how he got into the strength and conditioning field

-  His evaluation process and how we applies the evaluation into the program

-  Importance of measuring and examples that you use that are uncommon i.e. timing hurdle jumps and sled chest pushes from knees

-  Training rotational athletes and being “sports specific”

Make sure you follow Gerry!

Twitter: Challenger_ST

Instagram: challengerstrength

Website: https://www.challengerstrength.com

Podcast: Muscles and Management

To shut down or not to shut down? 

On this episode, Barrett goes over the Pitch Smart guidelines and how he uses these guidelines to layout off-season throwing programs. 

He also looks into the different factors that go into deciding whether an athlete should completely shut down during the off-season and if so, the length of the no throw period. 

Finally, he talks about the Off-Season Throwing Program that is available in the link below. 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/15OkCcTVkcm2VIpveeJnB0vZFEdRpfe_bpKOfw8TW5Sc/edit#gid=1189135595

Link to the blog article mentioned in the pod. 

https://barrettstover.com/2018/11/23/off-season-throwing-schedule/ 

In part 2, Chad and I discuss:

-What hitting needs to do to catch up with today's pitching 

-Random vs Block practicing 

- Internal vs External cues 

-Weighted bat training 

-Entrepreneurship 

-Small Group Training vs 1 on 1 Training

-How to get started in Player Development in baseball 

Make sure you check out Chad on Instagram and Twitter @clongbaseball and on his website chadlongworthonline.com!

Chad is always putting on great info so make sure you give him a follow!

I was very excited to get the opportunity to pick Chad Longworth's brain. I've followed his content online for a few years now and become a big fan of not only his work, but how he's constantly looking to better himself. 

In part 1 we discuss:

-His playing and coaching career

-How he has adjusted his coaching philosophy

-How failure is often the catalyst for success

-How to own not knowing all the answers

-Using technology to generate results and evaluate yourself as a coach

You can find Chad on Twitter and Instagram @clongbaseball and on his website chadlongworthonline.com 

In Part 2 with Rob:

-We look at the all the new technology in baseball and how we can use that technology to enhance player development.

-Rob and I nerd out about pitch design

-Discuss youth training, and how to integrate Driveline's weighted ball program into youth development.

-What age is it ok to teach a breaking ball?

It was awesome to sit down and talk to Rob Hill from Driveline Baseball about his playing career and how he decided to get into player development. 

He has a very interesting story on how and why he started training with Driveline and how he eventually turned it into a career. 

No matter what field you are in, Rob's story will give you an idea of how to get your foot in the door and develop a skill set that is valuable to a company. 

We also talk about his recent velocity jump, and how, as a coach, experimenting on yourself is often the best way to learn. 

In this episode, Kevin and I discuss: 

-His current role as Co-Owner of DST

-How and why he incorporates his faith into his job

-Advice for aspiring strength and conditioning coaches

-Rapid fire questions 

Make sure to follow Kevin on Instagram and Twitter!  @thekevinpoppe

For this episode, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Kevin Poppe. Kevin is a co-owner of Dynamic Sports Training (DST) in Houston, Texas and Director of Operations at their North location. 

In Part 1, we talk about Kevin's background and his journey from being a college baseball player and Business major to a nationally recognized strength and conditioning coach. 

DST has played a huge role in how I set up and try to run Revolution Sports Performance so I was excited to be able to pick Kevin's brain. 

Make sure you give Kevin a follow on social media!

Twitter:   thekevinpoppe

IG:            thekevinpoppe

Matt and I discuss what we've learned through our experience in baseball over the years. We look back at what we would do differently if we had the knowledge we have now and how younger athletes should apply that advice to their career. 

On this episode, we continue looking at Matt Branham's experiences as a minor league baseball player.

We discuss his last spring training and the events leading up to his release. We also look at his short stint in an Independent League and his mindset when he thought he was done, along with his attempt to make a comeback. 

Matt Mounier is a former athlete who is now pursuing his passion of helping athletes transition to the real world. 

In this episode, we talk about:

-The struggles former athletes face when starting a job in the corporate world

-Why former athletes get pushed towards sales 

-The lack of available information to help athletes transition

-My personal favorite part: Matt's stories and tips from going through the interview process ~200 times

You can find Matt on social media:       

IG:             Matt_mounier

Twitter:    Matt_mounier                  

Medium: https://medium.com/@mattmounier

His book recommendations from the episode: 

Good to Great

The Energy Bus

The Third Door

Relentless

In Part 2 of the Dr. Szymanski interview, we look at the future of the sports performance field. 

We discuss how technology will affect testing and evaluation and influence the how rehab and strength and conditioning programs are executed. 

We also talk about changes Dr. Szymanski would like to see take place in our field, and we finish up with some advice for young strength and conditioning coaches and rapid fire questions. 

In Episode 10, I sit down with my grad school professor and mentor Dr. David Szymanski. He is one of the leading baseball researchers in the world and is currently the Department Chair of Kinesiology at Louisiana Tech University. 

For Part 1, we discuss Dr. Szymanski's background and experience, and how he went from pursuing a career as a baseball coach to the strength and conditioning field. 

I take a look back at how RSP came to be and discuss the "why" behind the business. 

In Part 2, Shane dives into the details of his first time being called up and first Major League appearance. We also discuss what he's learned in the big leagues and take a look into his personal life. 

Stay tuned to the end as we finish with the possibility of Shane being on the Bachelor and a special edition of Deep Questions. 

This is Part 1 of the series What Minor League Baseball is Really Like, where I sit down with Matt Branham and discuss in detail his 5 year minor league career. 

Part 1 focuses on the draft and signing process.