All of these gimmicks posted publicly are setting a terrible precedent for the future of development. Stop putting timelines on development. Stop guaranteeing success. Peak velocity is not as important as the floor. Specific context is more important than fake velo environments.
I have an athlete who worked 21 days straight and was not sleeping well. He came in to pulldown and we noticed he was marginally down in velocity. We took a deload week and now he has to text me every night when he goes to bed and every morning he wakes up.
Something I messed up on early in my coaching career was how to develop left handed pitchers.
A couple situations in particular where everything I thought & taught ended up being wrong.
I took some guys & totally pushed them in the wrong direction.
Here at
@TreadAthletics
, we have been experimenting with a.) identifying a late arm action & b.) implementing solutions
Although it is not always as simple as an instant fix, let’s jump into a real world example of addressing a late arm action with one of my current athletes.
Stuff+ models can be useful to take out the guessing game in Arsenal development with pitchers.
Let’s dive into what Stuff+ is and how it can be utilized:
Every day our pitchers pick up a ball they finish off catch w/ 5 throws of the catch play game.
1 point to the chest, 2 points to the head.
New rule: Anything besides a FB, 2 points to the chest, 3 points to the head
Here are this weeks leaders:
With the move in date set and reality starting to hit I am ecstatic to announce that I have been hired by
@TreadAthletics
as a Performance Coach.
-
This is a dream job for me working with the holistic approach and…
Shane McAlinden was top 50 in the country last year in BB/9 at 2.2 BB/9. College average last year was 4.7 BB/9 per Trumedia.
@shanemcalinde20
walked only 15 in 60.2 IP.
Preston had topped 95 but his average velo would be all over the place, mid 8’s, upper 8’s, no where near sitting 5. This summer he cut down walks, struck out more guys, & dropped his batting average against. Finishing games sustaining velocity. Yesterday he PRed at 95.5 & avg 92
If you’re posting on social media about how hard you are working, you are not working hard enough. Hard work does not guarantee success but without it you can guarantee you won’t be successful. Be better.
David Villegas elevated heaters
To the upper 1/3 of the zone
@DavidVillegas49
had a -3.29 Vertical Approach Angle (VAA). College average to the upper 1/3 is -4.64.
He averaged 20IVB, 12HB on these fastballs. T
his lead to a 42.9% IZ Whiff to the upper 1/3.
Thank you so much! You guys have been so awesome to me I couldn’t have asked for a better staff to work for. I can’t wait to watch the continual growth of such a great facility.
#BobHarrisBaseballSchool
After reading an interesting article
@SamEades13
shared with me about classifying pitches based off of their role I dove into who landed 0-0 curveballs well in college baseball:
Something I have learned to be an effective strategy in coaching is trying to get my point across without speaking in paragraphs. A practical example of this was with
@ReidBertram2
It was an absolute honor to work underneath you. Watching and learning from you will be something I will be able to carry with me for life. You prepared me very well to be able to work with the greatest athletes in college sports. Very appreciative of everything you’ve done!
Proudly & sadly we are losing one of our greatest assets
@Jlis_McBuckets
as he takes a position with a prestigious D1 program. He was beyond anything I imagined & irreplaceable. Bc of this we are looking for a highly motivated instructor with the following qualities:
The importance of elbow extension in the deceleration pattern:
Many throwers who go through elbow trauma end up losing range of motion acutely. It is very important to establish & regain full range of motion in order to eliminate compensation patterns up the chain.
I had a dream recently that I discovered this ground breaking idea that I couldn’t wait to share; If I could get volleyball players to long toss they would increase external rotation and ultimately hit the ball harder. Correlation? Maybe? Don’t knock it till you try it.
“Show me your friends I’ll show you your future” -
@ZHunter28
Surround yourself with people who share common goals and characteristics. Be around those who will hold you to a higher standard. Good will never be good enough. Growth is linear.
This weeks catch play point leaders. New but not surprising winner
@dante_jaxx16
@HundChristopher
made a late surge at the end of the week. Probably throwing cutters at the face.
After leading the last couple of days
@jackleary6
rounds out the top 3.
I’m an extremely young coach..but I cringe at things I did with my athletes when I started a year ago...even six months ago. If I ever stop evolving at a similar rate, that would be a good time to re-evaluate wtf im doing
Process > results
People have gotten better since the beginning of sport because of the above mentioned things & buy in to what they are doing.
Not a guaranteed cookie cutter plan given to the masses.
Hard work
Consistency
Good coaching
Buy in
Culture
Accountability
Time management
Nutrition
Recovery
Education
I am missing more. The point is, timelines and expectations of growth produce negative mindset towards development.
Using a bridge drill to drive movement change:
Julian Murray started training with us 4 months ago. While going through his mechanical analysis, I noticed Julian was too linear down the mound resulting in early pelvic rotation and inefficient arm action timing.
@Nico_Dandini
Interns are not slaves. They are future co-workers & friends in the industry.
I quickly realized that coaches did not want to see me slaving out to kiss their ass. They actually wanted to see if I could coach, handle a floor, & knew what I was talking about.
UNCW RHP Matt Gaither joined us 4 weeks ago topping 96 in his pulldowns. Today he hit 104.9 MPH 🔥🔥🔥
He's been working with Performance Coach
@Jlis_McBuckets
on fixing his direction.
This is so huge. So many coaches are too quick to jump on something and bring people down. Most of the time you are only seeing a fraction of what goes into a players program and what you think is wrong might work for someone else. Don’t let that ego get in the way y’all. 🩹
⠀
Tread Athlete and high school senior
@coleleaman12
hit a PR of 92.8 MPH (92.5 shown here) in his bullpen today here at Tread HQ 🔥 He works with Performance Coach
@Jlis_McBuckets
🤝
#TreadFam
While I’m on the topic I’ll keep going;
I’ve been victim to it too and part of the problem. I apologize to the baseball world.
Lastly, muscle, ligaments, and tendons take time to adapt to stress. Gaining velo quick can sometimes lead to injury because the body isn’t ready
"I knew I had more to give to this game. If I was going to leave, it was going to be on my terms."
RHP
@coatsjacob
graduated un-drafted throwing 91-92 mph.
By January he was throwing 95-98 mph and was signed by the Houston Astros.
This is his story.
(Part 1 of 2)
A huge take away for me was that there a million different variations within every drill. The ability to adapt the drill to the individual is the tricky part. Though, when this is done right the progress is unbelievable.
@TreadAthletics
is a special place.
Coach’s post from
@Jlis_McBuckets
A deeper dive into one of the many reasons I got into coaching:
My junior year of college a couple of my teammates noticed me doing somethings we didn’t do as a team before fall practices (MB throws, different plyo drills, etc...)
I Can’t thank you enough. It’s been an unbelievable ride. 6 months later i finally look a little more swole than you considering my mechanical disadvantages.
The end of something special? No. The beginning of something special. Had to get an obligatory awkward pic with
@Jlis_McBuckets
before he leaves for
@TCU
to learn under the tutelage of the great
@ZachDechant
you’ll be missed my friend, It’s been a pleasure to work with you, /1
Playing summer ball should not be as sought after as college coaches make it out to be. The fall season and the spring season combined only leave about 8 weeks of development in the winter.
UNCOMMITTED ALERT! Reid Bertram (2021) fastball sat 83-86 and touched 88 from the left side. Projectable frame and has a spot up breaking ball striking out 4 of 5 batters.
Dillon Champagne is a unicorn.
Tons of deception with delivery, slot, & tummy plus.
Champ throws cut ride fastballs.
Can sweep the slider.
Cutter plays like a gyro slider. Can get vert around 5 if needed, he has really good feel for supination.
Collegiate baseball players need to either A) train B) find a place or org. to train with or C) find a group of people to get after it with. If shit hits the fan there could potentially be a two year gap between competition. Are you going to sit on your ass or give a shit
Tread Athlete and Arkansas State RHP
@Tyler_Jeans
sat 91-93.4 in his bullpen today. He sat 90-92 this past season before joining Tread earlier this month.🔥
Still lots to clean up mechanically and otherwise - shooting for 95 by the fall 👀
Coach:
@Jlis_McBuckets
Tread Athlete and Western Kentucky RHP
@Mason_vinyard
sat 91-94 mph, with a bullpen PR of 94.7 mph during his mound velo session here at Tread HQ.
Previous best was 91 mph 👀
Tonight we had an open house/Christmas party/blowout for
@Jlis_McBuckets
before he heads to
@TCU
we had a 6yr old and a d1 lefty pumping 92 & everything in between and it was glorious
People who have coached hundreds of athletes for several years that see annual growth and tracked data inherently know more about the process of development.
Anyone can write a “good” plan & give it to 1,000 guys & some of them will get better.
@tim_cronin2
I had a full ride to a Division 2 but turned it down to go to Heidelberg. People look at me like I’m crazy for putting myself in a situation to play in the D3 World Series and have success rather than taking an offer from a shit D2 on an awful campus
“Cues” are just analogies that should be understood through past experiences. Giving an athlete a cue to a movement they have never done does no good. Self organization isn’t a thing without experience of what is supposed to be organized.
Mason and I have been working together for three years now. While shut down during COVID Mason grinded to add velo. Getting up to 94 consistently that next spring at Western Kentucky. After another dominant year at WKU he was signed as a UDFA by the Yankees.
Before I started doing T&Bs, drop steps and janny drills, I:
-Threw Slow
-Wasn’t Handsome
-Snored
-Didnt have a GF
Then, once I started the drills, I:
-Threw Hard
-Slightly more handsome
-Snored (but more quiet)
-Didn’t have a GF
Implementing the cue of “building up speed into ball release” into his routine had significant impact on his sequencing leading to a new mound velo PR of 94.7 mph! For context, Mason was 90-91 mph during bullpens this past summer.
Big things coming from him this off-season!