Today was an interesting experience. I took my entire 16U team to a sports training facility in downtown Montreal to be assessed and screened by certified athletic trainers. It was not your traditional fitness testing. It was what we call a “functional assessment”. They are basically testing and screening the body to see if the … Read more
Coming back to coach at the 16U level is an interesting experience. I realize more than ever than kids today want results now. If it doesn’t work right away, it’s no good! Why is that? They are used to getting everything right away. They live in a world with… – Instant chat – Instant texting … Read more
One of the things I am doing with my new 16U team this fall is put all of my athletes through a functional assessment. I hear you: “What the heck is a functional assessment?” Let me give you an analogy. When you intend to buy a used car, before you pay for it, you take … Read more
One of the many questions that I get from softball players doing dynamic warm-ups for the first time is: “Is it normal that I’m sweating and feel like I am working out?” My answer is always: “Yes and No. Yes, because you aren’t use to the exercises yet and it’s working the muscles that needs … Read more
Yesterday, I was telling you that I did a phone consultation with the coach of one of the best 18U Gold team in the USA. And during our discussion, we talked about the fact that doing home workout videos isn’t ideal for softball players. Following yesterday’s email, many reacted and sent us comments about the … Read more
Most coaches and athletes recognize that getting in shape plays a key role in achieving top performances at the elite level. For most, conditioning is conditioning. It doesn’t matter what you do, as long as you sweat a bit and get some muscle burn, you’re getting in shape and that’s all good! While it’s better … Read more
Yesterday, i was doing a hitting session with my team. I was teaching the “inside-out” concept. It’s a bit technical without being that complicated. After the “theory” and “dry swing” part of practice, we got into a circuit with stations. One of the stations was a tee station. And as I do usually, I walk … Read more
Yesterday, I told you that if you want to get faster, you need to get stronger. Let me tell you why. Muscles do produce forces. When you apply forces to the ground with strong and powerful steps, the ground gives you back that energy. Basic principle of physics. Think of it this way. If you … Read more
Even though I consider myself very knowleable in the area of speed, agility and quickness (probably more than 98% of people in the softball world), I took my team to see a top speed and agility coach. The guy who own that facility is considered by many in the sports conditioning and fitness field to … Read more
Most softball players are now in the off-season. What should you with that time? 1) You recover and regenerate for a few weeks; heal all injuries and recharge the batteries (mentally and physically). Don’t jump right away into heavy training if at all possible. Give yourself some time off. 2) Work on the fundamentals – … Read more