When are they supposed to improve?

So many players of all sports spend the entire year playing their sport. This is most obvious in baseball, soccer, tennis and basketball. My question to players, coaches and parents is this; When exactly are they supposed to get stronger?

Lets take baseball as a prime example. Almost half of all youth baseball players are on a travel team and the rest are on multiple clubs through out the entire year. As parents and coaches we place a lot of stress on them to constantly get better. But sometimes the stress to get better is placed upon players to the point of injury. Functional strength and power training will help prevent injury.

The video below is of Tiger's pitcher Justin Verlander doing a medicine ball throw, an exercise that we do as part of our power development cycle here at Pair & Marotta Sports Performance.



It is this type of training when done in-season that helps to keep athletes performing injury free all season long. Not to mention hitting home runs, throwing strikes and lighting up the basepaths.

To get involved with the programs at Pair & Marotta Sports Performance, give me a call at 661-912-9991 or email me aaron@pairmarotta.com

Empty - Reset - Clean

What a great weekend!! The Jaeger "Thrive on Throwing" Clinic was great!! We had an awesome turnout (45 baseball and softball players) and once we got going, it just seemed like everybody was excited to get going with the bands and start throwing!!

One thing I heard over and over from parents and coaches was that the initial talk from Alan Jaeger was worth its weight in gold. What he had to say about staying "in the present" and staying focused was indeed something that every youth player needs to hear. Not just because it will help him or her on the field, but because it will help you in life.

There is no way you can give quality effort if you are not focused on what you are doing. When you are in the batting cages you cannot be focusing on the big truck that just drove by, or the horrible a la carte pizza you had for lunch. You need to be in the present and focusing on seeing the ball.

The same goes when you strength train for baseball. You must stay focused. When you are going through the warm up, here at Pair & Marotta Sports Performance or pre-game on the field, you must focus. There is a purpose to the warm up and if you are not focusing on what your body is telling you, you will be missing out on a HUGE part of the training session. By focusing on form and technique of movement, you will teach your body to go where you want it to rather than you being dragged around by gravity and the other physics of baseball.

My final point today just repeat's what Alan talked about at Saturday's clinic: choose 3 key words to help you reset your focus. My words are

1. Empty
2. Reset
3. Clean
   

Those are the words I use to get re-focused. Whether I'm in the batting cages just having fun, or if I am lifting and trying to get stronger and build muscle. These are my words. Yours may be different. But they need to work for you.

I'll have pictures of the Jaeger Clinic up next week as I am heading out to Phoenix for the rest of the week. One quick note: Don't forget about the Player's Edge New Year's Mini-Camp. Some big names are going to be there and it's going to be a great 3 days of learning.

MisConceptions about strength training and baseball

Alright guys and girls,

You've heard so many things from your coaches; "pitchers shouldn't do upper body exercises", "you need lots of sit-ups for a faster swing", and the all-might "lifting weights makes you slow."

The truth is, many baseball coaches know so much about the sport and strategy of baseball, but know so little about movement for the sport. When addressing a swing, many coaches will say "your not turning your hips," when they are very correct. But what if the player has tight hip flexor's and literally cannot open his/her hips?

So I am going to address these things. for you briefly, but hopefully I will clear up these misconceptions.

1.Should pitchers do upper body exercises? Yes. Why should pitcher's not do pull ups and push ups and vertical pushes? These are all exercises that strengthen the shoulder, that create stability in the shoulder and over the long term can help prevent the muscular imbalances that occur with pitching 80-120 pitches per game.

2.Will sit-ups give me a faster swing or help me throw harder? No. To develop a faster swing or throw harder, you must develop the muscles that are responsible for creating a swing/pitch by strength training, and then training those muscles with a very quick tempo. When training for speed, tempo is almost more important than how much weight you use.

Note, the strength coach pictured here with Pettite, is no longer with the team. Who is? Click here.

3. Will lifting weights make me slow? This kind of builds on the question above and the short answer is no. Quite the opposite. Muscles cause contractions, if you have more muscle, more muscle will pull through a movement, creating a faster movement. Do you want to be faster? Then you need to get involved in a strength and conditioning program like our FAST Forward at Pair & Marotta.
We have a few opportunities for you coming up. The Jaeger Sports Baseball/Softball Throwing Clinic on December 13 and on January 1-3 we team up with Player's Edge Baseball Training for our New Year's Pre-Season Baseball Camp, where you'll learn about hitting, pitching, baserunning, speed development and core strength and stability. You'll also be doing exercises like this one Josh Beckett does (left).

Up and Coming Events...You're Going to Wanna Be Here

Hey all you baseball players...Pair & Marotta is teaming up with a couple of great Southern Cal baseball clubs to bring you some awesome events during the month of December!!

First...on Saturday December 13, Pair & Marotta, Bakersfield Baseball Academy and Jaeger Sports will be putting on a day clinic directed specifically at strengthening your shoulder, reducing injury and making you a better pitcher, catcher and overall baseball player. If you've never heard of Jaeger Sports, I suggest you look into them.

They have worked with hundreds of pro and college players including Dan Haren of the Arizona Diamondbacks, Barry Zito of the SF Giants and Joel Zumaya of the Detroit Tigers. If Jaeger Sports can help these guys, they can certainly help you!!



The second event we have coming up is when Pair & Marotta team with Players Edge Hitting. We will be hosting a 3-day baseball/softball intensive program directed at giving you the techniques to get faster on the base paths, get more power out of your swing, make cleaner contact and drastically increase your range in the field.




This camp will be held on January 1-3 and run from 9-1pm on each day. To sign up for either of these events, email aaron@pairmarotta.com or call 661-912-9991.

Space is very limited so be sure to sign up early and bring your friends!! You don't want them missing out on both of these exciting programs!!

What are you waiting for?

Watching the World Series has been just a blast, seeing as how the Phillies are up 3 games to 1. But one of the most interesting things has been the defense on both sides. In game 3 we saw a game to remember: a 45 year old pitcher Jamie Moyer made one heck of a play when diving to try and get Carl Crawford out and BJ Upton stole his way from first all the way to home!!

The speed at which these guys play the game is amazing. But to prepare for this type of play, players from both teams have been training in-season, post-season and they really hit it hard in the off-season. There is so much design that must go into a training program to make sure you are the best. And then after that, the best of the best.

So I ask, are you training to be the best? Or are you taking a "whatever" approach to baseball training? Right now at Pair & Marotta Sport Performance we are just finishing up our cycle where we have been training to add muscle. Our next phase is strength/speed focus. We are going to be doing a lot of speed training. Here is a quick sample of the type of stuff we have been doing.



If you aren't training like this, then you should be. It's fun, it's effective, and we guarantee you'll be faster. What are you waiting for? Stop by and sign up today!!

www.pairmarotta.com

Picking Up the Pieces and Looking to 2009

With the World Series starting tonight, the two best teams in Major League Baseball will square off over the next week. What will be left is one team riding a float down main street of their respective city, and the other picking up the pieces of a season that couldn't be finished.

And just like you need to be doing, they are soon going to start preparing for the 2009 season. They will start getting stronger, faster, quicker and more powerful. Because they want to last through the 2009 post-season.

A strength and conditioning program isn't just for the elite. It is for those who desire to be elite. It is for those who want nothing less than the most out of their body, and it is for those who don't consider the season a success unless they win their last game.

Pair & Marotta Sports Performance has the program you and your team needs. Our facility is specifically designed and set up to accommodate teams of over 25 athletes. If you want there to be no question in who the best team on the field is, you will find your self in here.

In order to be the best, you've got to train with purpose and with intensity. Or as we like to say, you need to Train Like You Mean It.

Like an Old T-Shirt

Baseball is a long season.  And like an old T-shirt you can get tired and worn. Playing more than 20 games a month is not an easy task when an athlete is involved in a strength and conditioning program. Imagine the ball player who isn't on a strength and conditioning program!!

How many pitchers this year have visited the disabled list? How many batters? How many ball players are out for the season? How many ball players have had their career's effectively ended due to injury this year? We may never know. There are a lot of injuries in baseball. Why do you think they have so many minor league teams? Because they have to constantly have a quality back-up for even the back-ups. Check out what Dustin Pedroia has to say about strength and conditioning.



But what if you were determined to not let the injury bug bite you? That would be a good thing right? Good, we are on the same page. Now where do you start? You start by getting involved in a quality strength and conditioning program at Pair and Marotta Sport Performance and Fitness.

www.pairmarotta.com

And not a strength program designed by just anybody. You need a program by somebody who has experience writing programs for baseball. Somebody who knows how the body works as a unit. Don't just trust anybody. Don't trust Joe Schmo simply because he "played at the level, and knows what it takes." Trust somebody who knows movement, can teach movement and can communicate effectively with their athletes. 

Just because somebody played a sport does not make them a good coach. There are plenty of ball players who are horrible coaches. And many of the best coaches never played the sport professionally or even at the collegiate level. But they understand the movement of the game and how to get the best out of their players.

Don't wait until college to get into a strength and conditioning program. Because odds are, everyone else on the team was on a structured program in high school. 

www.pairmarotta.com

We have a program with your name on it that will keep you healthy and playing at your best year round. Don't wait, we have already started our fall program.