Strength in Numbers #40 We all struggle with something.   That's called life, but imagine you are doing something you love, something you have committed to since you were six years old, you make it, and then you lose your passion and step away?   This happened to one of the athletes I had the opportunity to work with,…

Strength in Numbers #39 Scouting used to be an art and not a science. Yet, baseball has adopted more objective insights in evaluating talent in the current landscape.  Scouting has expanded from ball flight characteristics such as spin rates, break charting, spin efficiency, throwing velocities, exit velocities, and launch angles to appreciate process metrics associated…

Strength in Numbers #38 In overseeing the performance of your athletes, are you for or against the thought of involving data? It's a question that many people in the baseball industry face.   Is more data useful data?  How do I know what data is the right data to go by in working with my athletes?  …

Strength in Numbers #37 It has been an incredibly busy week for us.  Our list of Certified ArmCare Specialists has been growing, and I am starting to get questions from students about running research studies involving our technology.   The best part of what we offer is that anyone can be a sports scientist.   Below are the main features in sports…

Strength in Numbers #36 Baseball and softball are similar in some ways but very different in others. Nothing is more evident than the pitching delivery between overhand and underhand.  When you look at the movements between both deliveries, softball deliveries start with the toes pointed toward home plate, opposed to baseball pitchers who have their toes oriented at 90…

Strength in Numbers #35 All 30 MLB teams evaluate their athletes' biomechanics, especially when it comes to scouting amateurs.   Although, what constitutes perfect biomechanics?  I have no idea because biomechanics research does not have enough evidence to link biomechanics to injury. And despite the overwhelming information that shows biomechanical attributes in high-velocity pitchers (here's a recent…

Strength in Numbers #34 We all need mentors who have been there and done that, who can teach you how to be more efficient, how to be more competitive, and who can guide you professionally and personally. It doesn't matter if you are an athlete or a coach. We all need someone, or a group…

Strength in Numbers #33 I remember the game that clinched my first scholarship offer. I was playing in downtown Toronto against a pitcher who was committed to the University of Pittsburgh and was also drafted. At the time, I was not drafted out of high school, so I was focused on playing college baseball and…

Strength in Numbers #31 Injuries are a part of every sport. The goal is to prevent them with training and consistent monitoring, and then conservatively manage the injuries that occur with little time lost from competition.   Working in MLB, I always read the "Treatment Report" more intently and skimmed the "Injury Report" unless I was…