I know many dads who are great at using athletics to build stronger relationships and improve their childโs skills.
While maybe the majority tell me โIโm just dad, they donโt listen to meโ
Here is what Iโve noticed the successful ones do ๐งต
Humbled to officially announce I have accepted a position with the Chicago White Sox Player Development Staff. Looking forward to see how God uses this in my life to continue to build meaningful relationships inside and outside of baseball while I pursue my passion of the game.
If you want to run a baseball facility I hope youโre ready to create rules people donโt follow (including adults) watch dads yell at 10yo, pick up a lot of water bottles, and be a storage unit for hoodies, gloves, shoes, you name it. Like you gotta love coaching THAT much.
THREAD: And will always be able to be done. Think of tech this way, If you went to a doctor and complained about your knee, it wouldnโt be helpful leaving the office simply knowing you donโt have an ear infection. Itโs never the โtechsโ fault it was used incorrectly.
Chicago Cubs Hitting Coach
@FoldenFastpitch
, and
@AcceleratedFas1
,
@delani_vest
from Blast are three extremely smart ladies. Talked a ton of shop this morning, brainstorming and asking questions. Always love having visitors, gets the brain firing.
Yeah.....weโre really big on front toss. ๐. Here we go with the assumption that because in youth players we build the engine first means we never work on consistency and donโt believe in consistency. Swinging consistently SLOW, simply in the name of consistency isnโt good either
@XenPenny
Nah man, just swing as hard a you f'ing can.. being consistent doesn't matter.. No doubt nice numbers for a 13 yo, wonder how close he gets to those EV numbers in a game and not front toss?
I canโt stress enough how welcome anybody and everybody is at our facility. Whether you work in professional baseball and are wanting to add to you skill set in technology, or whether youโre a โcompetitorโ down the street wanting to โcheck things outโ Mi casa es su casa.
Progression w/ Firm Flips
Cue: Pull Gap Nuke
Shortest Bat: Low & Away
Short Bat: Slightly less Low & Away
@GLBatCo
Short Trainer: Midde Down
Fungo: Up and In
Axe Trainers (End Loaded/Knob Loaded): All over
Game Bat: High Velo w/
@SpinballSports
or firm Overhand BP
Weโre so fired up to see all the coaches and players helping out during the downtime! Hereโs what weโve put together STARTING MONDAY, For players, coaches, and parents.
Today I heard: HS coach said Pitchers should be running 3 Miles everyday, then a private coach told same kid he shouldnโt be lifting heavy... yuck ๐คข
encouraging kids to fact find, research, and dominate their own development, while building as much context as possible.
Machine Progression:
-Normal Gamelike Velo
-Drop 5-8mph, and repeat a few times
-High Velo
-Drastic velo drop 15mph
-Gamelike Velo
***Adjust on consecutive barrels
(Players who report, โgetting too far out in frontโ)
Water bags arenโt new, but maybe they are becoming more mainstream.
Is 2024 the year of the water bag?
(Not an advertisement for tidal tank)
3 simplifications to understand some of their functions.
Hi. My name is Ryan. Your anatomy lesson for the day is that your hands canโt โswingโ they only move when you move another body part, and lots of body parts can move your hands. Thank you.
So many coaches talk about the mental aspect of the game, but few elaborate on specific strategies to help their players.
Here are 4 ways to engage with your players effectively in the mental skills arena. ๐งต
I got the chance to sit down with
@ClintHurdle13
the other day and he was a fountain of phenomenal insight.
Iโve learned when lifers talk, you listen.
Give the conversation a listen below. And then checkout
โGet the right people on the busโ
weโre hiring by the way.
Over the last year our former/current employees have been hired to:
-Coach college baseball
-Work for leading technology companies
-Work in professional baseball
Parents: multi-sport athletes are good,kids need it
Kids: I like other games other than baseball, itโs fun to be around my friends
Parents: therefore he will stay weak and skinny because heโs building โother musclesโ playing โsportsโ
Kids: why donโt I hit homers or throw hard
This is a great representation of how seriously I take myself. 31 Takeaways from 2019
@ABCA1945
in Dallas.
RT if you find yourself or your product in the post. I mentioned 20 people, and 8 products.
Nate is the epitome of a growth minded human being with compassion and empathy for every player and coach he interacts with. Combined with his understanding of baseball, and skill set with modern and traditional tools, this is a great edition to our team.
Humbled and Proud to announce I have accepted a position with the Chicago White Sox as a Minor League Quality Control Coach. Canโt wait to get to work!
@whitesox
In January of 2018
@ABCA1945
in Indy, I saw
@elite_baseball
walking through a hallway, I said โHey Justin!โ To which he stopped and I introduced myself, shared where I knew of them, the work we were doing, and then he invited me and
@PearsonNate
for appetizers and drinks
My suggestion to those who are using Rapsodo without blast.
1) Learn to really understand spin, and track LA buckets to get a better understanding of path
2) If you can afford a $4k Rapsodo you can also afford a $150 Blast sensor
3) Buy Blast and do step 1 anyway
๐คทโโ๏ธ
Remember that 13u team I told you about that let/made their own kids throw flips and feed the machines and didnโt overcoach? Hereโs a pic after their first tournament... weird... I think that plaque says losers...
10-14 hour days Mon through Fri, 10 hour Sat, 10 hour Sun tomorrow. If you want to do this full time I hope youโre ready to work. Not to mention crazy parents, payroll, taxes, web design, social media, I.T., Itโs really not that glamorous. Just be willing to do what most wont.
Finding articles that support your theory is called confirmation bias.
Having a question, making a hypothesis, executing a test, doing your own research is called science.
With that being said certainly donโt discredit others work. Weโre all standing on the shoulders of giants
We were moving some tech to our other facility and a 12yo said โare โweโ moving that to DeKalb?โ
โWEโ
He wasnt part of the moving process but itโs his facility as much as ours and he gets it.
Yes โWEโ as a group are committed to moving this item to DeKalb.
CULTURE BABY!!!
With over 100 registrations already! We have a healthy mix of youth, HS, college, and pro players, with coaches from all levels and parents! This Slack forum is gonna be a great place to engage not to mention this Zoom lineup! Register for FREE.
These are turning into simply โthe basicsโ ..... the basics..... much faster than you think, even if you think itโs fast.... itโs still happening faster.
Happy to announce Iโve accepted a Coaching position with the Chicago White Sox. Thank you to the Boston Red Sox Organization. Iโm forever grateful.
#SameGuyDifferentSocks
Iโm working on part of our website tabbed โStuff you should readโ it will have links to articles that are relevant specific to PD. While we have our own blog I want to showcase and utilize the great work of others. Drop a link in this thread with articles that are must haves! ๐
Our business is at the culmination of a cross-roads. We are going to weed out the families that get data back and ask โwhatโs the quick fixโ and when 4-6, or 8-12+ weeks of programming is suggested including lifting, they will move on to the โlesson guruโ and thatโs fine w/ me.
HIRING UPDATE:
After hiring additional part time hitting coaches/floor trainers, weโve decided to add one more โimmediatelyโ
This role will be 25-30 hours per week.
Email resumes to Ryan
@Johansenbaseball
.com
With 1 1/2 cages, weโll be employing a double digit staff.
Looking to hire a part time floor trainer for the offseason. (Can be an internship if necessary)
Location: South Elgin IL.
Requirements: High Energy, Open Minded, Baseball/Softball Experience. Able to work weeknights.
Strength and Conditioning background preferred
Really excited to talk about some of the work Iโve done with technology, to attach some objective metrics to some traditional cues, and share simple drills that not only help players increase the coveted โdamageโ but also become more โhitterishโ
Register your staff today for early bird IHSBCA Convention pricing. We welcome
@RPJ1317
Ryan Johansen, formerly of Chicago White Sox to talk hitting on Friday Jan 20th. You won't want to miss this talk on mechanics & hitting technology. He will also be at Hot Stove Friday night.
Unreal support here, thanks to everybody who commented, DM, called, texted and โlikedโ wasnโt anticipating that at all. Yโall are the real MVPโs. My family and I appreciate it greatly and we feel very blessed.
1. Connection over correction. Each moment is an opportunity to connect. Try giving a reassuring head nod, a smile, a wink, a fist bump, a hand on the shoulder, to replace moments where you may want to โcorrectโ
5. They embrace silence. Enough said.
6. Lastly, they are comfortable in their OWN skin. If their son/daughter goes 0-12 one weekend, they donโt feel uncomfortable at the water cooler on Monday or talking to their buddies. They donโt take it personally or feel the need to brag
13u team chasing nukes on double machine, swinging weighted bats, and small ball machine. Coaches laugh WITH them because they know itโs hard, still PR a bunch, two kids consistently over 90, one kid enters the National distance board... what an environment.
Excited to be speaking at Baseball Virtual Coaching Summit!
Coaches Helping Coaches
Check it out at
RT if you think others will find this helpful
#baseballvirtualcoachingsummit
2. They are detached from their son or daughters on field performance. They see their children as their own individuals who can win and lose at the mercy of the game, themselves, and their opponents. They arenโt disappointed by negative results. They are an unconditional SuperFan
Most โMulti-Sportโ families arenโt that at all, they are single sport families in different seasons. Focusing only on โskillโ
In Every โgameโ or sport, being bigger, faster, stronger, more stable, etc. is a good thing. Prioritize the weight room.
Also keep score at all levels
4. They rarely make statements
or offer their unsolicited opinion. They ask questions and give their children space to explore self reflection, and in turn allow the athletes to ask questions where they can provide feedback thatโs wanted.
Everybody needs a Nate Pearson, โGo fast alone, go far together.โ Wouldnโt have anything close to what we have now, much less opportunities like this without him. The glue that keeps my scatter brain together. Business partner, friend, family.
#BeDifferent
Huge S/O to my boy, mentor and business partner
@RPJ1317
The
@whitesox
got an amazing person!!! Canโt wait to see what you accomplish!!!!
#LETSGO
#Stud
Excited about our
@GLBatCo
bats that just came in, 33.5โ to 34.5โ 271, 112, and R2. Itโs nice to be able to put bats in guys hands right after fittings.
7yo & 8yo - Group of 6
Me: You get 5 pitches whoever hits the most homers wins and gets a prize
Kids: YYYYAAAAYYY
Me to winner: hereโs your prize
Winner: YYYAAAYYY
Losers: can I have a prize?
Me: no you lost
Loser
#1
: Iโm telling my mom
Me: Iโll tell her you lost
THREAD: We talk about the โlowest hanging fruitโ a lot after a bio-mechanical assessment. Whatโs the MOST important thing RIGHT now that is also potentially the SMALLEST and SIMPLEST thing we can work on, while giving the player the LEAST amount of โExtraโ info as possible.
3. They understand itโs not their journey. A lot of parents say โwe need to get him/herโ or โI need him/her toโ โฆ. Parents winning the relationship game donโt see it as their journey too. They see themselves as simply a resource, the one resource their kids can always count on.
Be on time, with force. The rest are details about efficiency, ideal scenarios, and personal bias. This is one of those obvious tweets we take for granted and forget.
Some free resources on our site, but
@EliteBaseballTV
,
@DrivelineBB
plus,
@clongbaseball
LPD, among others are available too. Iโd focus on the things you can control if limited to small spaces. Focus on movement, work you can do with a mirror, and body control in general. 1/2
FaceTiming my 2yo daughter and watching her act like her mom fires me up. Hope she grows up to be just like her. Gonna make for stubborn teenage years but itโs worth it for how it turns out in the end.
โYou donโt need the credit to impact the outcomeโ
โReal generosity is doing something nice for somebody who will never find outโ
Apply to Player Development. We can all be better.
Progression:
-Angled Flips w/ Plyo Balls (closed side) Cue: Oppo Gap Nuke, use
@GLBatCo
Long Barrel Trainer
-Stop Swings, Firm Flips straight on. Cue: Knuckle Pull Gap Nuke. Use
@GLBatCo
Small Barrel trainer
-OH BP w/
@Dynaswing
, Cue: Peak EV Game
-High Velo w/ Game Bat
14yo
@Keenan_O99
, 2024 Grad from
@sehsstormbb
and
@IllinoisIndians
typically puts on a show in the cages and โwowsโ our college and pro guys. With plenty more boxes left to check at the plate, a plus arm, and 80 grade work ethic and character he should be on your watch list.
A 7th grader just emailed me best advice for various things and my response was work hard. Secret sauce guys. Show up early, stay late, ask questions, be engaged, find mentors, struggle, lose, struggle, win, donโt take yourself too seriously and stay fixated on the goal.
I just read a quote in a non-baseball book that I think is a great response to moving forward in the baseball profession...
โNothing gets done tomorrow. Everything gets done today.โ
That will be always be a great starting point.
FOR RELEASE: Johansen Baseball Inc. is officially withdrawing its request and hashtag re: any type of sponsorship with
@FIJIWater
. While we appreciate all of your support we are excited to have found a new water that doesnโt quench your thirst.... but murders it.
#MyKindOfCrazy
Uncommitted 2020
@BRindhage
casually hitting homers off Spinball at 98mph, new peak Velo of 102.5. Video, Full data sets for HitTrax, Blast, and bio profile upon request. Looking to major in Actuarial Sciences, open to all levels.
Gave one of my best analogies ever to an 11yo kid today. My best stuff stems from the little guys. Helping them understand simply all the complicated research weโre doing. Cage time matters.
Theme of the day. You can be ineffective forcing players into moves that are aesthetically pleasing to the eyes, and you can be equally ineffective forcing players to be aesthetically pleasing on a graph, or in an app. โIdealโ โefficientโ and โreally goodโ are different things
If you missed any of our Daily Zooms from a few weeks ago, here are all the recordings in one place. Typically the first 15 minutes is a some sort of presentation or Q&A with REALLY good speakers. Enjoy!
THREAD: Context is important to me but letโs start with, Fast is NOT slow, and slow is NOT fast. But, people say that in baseball everyday, the analogy I think they are going for is the tortoise and the hare. The tortoise wins the race being smooth, controlled and consistent ๐
Just mentioned this ๐ฅ thread on this mornings episode of DATD. Pointed out the girlfriends, fiancรฉs, and wives who dealt with the grind hoping it would work out and supporting us through our insanity and passion are the real rockstars.
The Twitter-ers trying to roast this young kid and then getting dunked on is so comical. Kid looks like a savage to me. Keep in mind 2021 makes him a sophomore... in HS... heโs either 15 or 16yo throwing NINETY TWO! But whatever.... enjoy throwing strikes and preaching โcontactโ
Kid PRโs, calls buddy over, โIโm better than you LOOKโ buddy says โNO YOURE NOTโ goes back to lifting. Comes back today, PRโs harder than his friend from previous night... โha told himโ ....our middle school group might be my favorite. They are learning how to be absolute savages
I heard somebody say his teachers used to yell at him for holding the pencil โincorrectlyโ .....
He communicates on paper well, itโs very legible.
But itโs the โwrong wayโ
Apply this to both โanecdotal basedโ hitting instruction AND โdata basedโ hitting instruction.
๐งต In general, at the amateur level we teach too much detail and have unreasonable expectations of performance with an intent to give players a competitive advantage through knowledge.
However it tends to create too much noise making it difficult to perform at a high level. โฌ๏ธ
At our facilities we can perform some of the most advanced bio-mechanical and vision/reaction time assessments in the country. We have hundreds of youth and professional data. Do you wanna see where you stack up?