Details Matter When Creating Patterns of Success By Gene Coleman, Ed. D., RSCC*E Being on time matters. Being focused matters. Being a good teammate matters. Following directions matters. Doing the little things matters. Doing things the right way matters. Respecting your parents, siblings, teachers, classmates,...

Half-kneeling Hip Flexor Stretch By Brennan Mickelson MS, CSCS, RSCC, Seattle Mariners Players who sit a lot in class, as well as parents, coaches and umpires who sit at work and while driving can have excessive exposure to anterior pelvic tilt and tightness in the muscles that flex the hip. The hip flexors help...

It’s Not the Arrow, It’s the Indian By Gene Coleman, Ed. D., RSCC*E, FACSM During his more than four decades with the Astros as a player and coach, whenever a teammate would swing and miss what looked like a hittable pitch and then look at his bat to see if it had a hole in it, Jose ‘Cheo’ Cruz would call out...

Do Energy Shots Actually Work? By Leslie Bonci, RD Energy shots are not going away anytime soon. Companies that produce them generate over $7 billion in annual revenue. You know the spiel:” Down a 2-oz energy shot and you’ll be greeted with a refreshing, sustained boost in energy and no unpleasant side effects.”...

The Ride Home After the Game Does it Make Youth Baseball and Softball More Fun? By Catherine Pearlman, Ph.D., LCSW SIDE BAR: During a rehabilitation assignment in June of 2006, Roger Clemens and his son Koby were teammates on the Houston Astros A-Ball affiliate Lexington Legends. Roger pitched and Koby played third...

ARM AND SHOULDER INJURIES IN ADOLESCENT PITCHERS Research in the Am J Sports Med found that adolescent pitcher who had shoulder or elbow surgery violated at least one Pitch Smart Guideline by: Pitching significantly more months/year Pitching significantly more games/year Pitching significantly more...

Two-Point Standing Start for Acceleration By Agyei Augustine, CSCS, MAT and Gene Coleman, Ed. D., RSCC*E The two-point standing start is a good drill for improving first-step power and acceleration. Because most of the weight is on the lead leg, it also helps you keep from taking a “false” step. Speed coaches say...

RESEARCH Wong, R, et. al. Relationship between lower body extremity power and fastball spin rate and ball velocity in professional baseball pitchers. J Strength Cond Res. 37(4):823-828, April 2023. Lower extremity power has been hypothesized to increase ball spin and velocity during pitching in baseball. Purpose: The...

Undersized Pitcher With Below Average Stuff is in the HOF What the Scouts Did and Didn’t See in Greg Maddux By Gene Coleman, Ed. D., RSCC*E, FACSM Early years. Greg Maddux was born in San Angelo, Texas in 1966. He spent much of his childhood in Madrid, Spain where his father, Dave, was stationed in the US Air Force....

YOUTH SPORTS CREATINE? The question for this post is from the father of a 16-year-old athlete who said: “My son plays two sports (baseball and football) and one of his coaches said that he should consider taking creatine to increase size, strength and athletic performance. 1) What is it? 2) Does it work? 3) Is it...