This summer, CP2 had the opportunity to work with a local high school baseball program. When talking to the head coach, I need his input on what is important to bettering his athletes. If you have been in this industry for any time, you already know the answer to that question; “We need our kids to get bigger, faster, and stronger.” No pressure right!!? Usually, in many cases (unless you are a strength coach at a school,) you get to pick ONE of those!
With time being the finite piece to the equation, we had 90 minutes, 3 days per week (15 training sessions) in order to make some gains for these baseball players. When brainstorming with my assistant, we decided to work on speed for these athletes. In doing so, we would test 10 yard sprint times with a timing system every workout and then Rank, Rate, and Publish for the boys to see the next workout.
For more information on this, please read this article by Tony Hollar. It goes into more detail on how he developed this idea to keep his athletes accountable.
We had 51 kids for camp and were fortunate enough to use the high school weight room for our testing and workouts. Our training program was broken down into these pillars:
Movement Prep: Tissue Preparedness for Training
Plyometric: Educating the efficient absorption & production of Force
Strength Training: Giving these boys mass and a bit of confidence
Energy System Development: We are training thoroughbreds…not plow horses
Cool – Down / Breathing: When Batman is done, needs to turn back into Bruce Wayne
Due to time constraints, we wanted to keep it progressing and forward. Timing the athletes was done prior Movement Prep. From a logistics stand point, it just fit better at the beginning of the session. We were confined to the weight room for this and made due with what we had. After every training session, we would rate, rank, and then publish their times for the next training session.
It didn’t matter if you were already fast or on the bottom, athletes were always trying to be better than before. Camaraderie AND competition rained supreme during training. The times got better and the athletes got faster. Best part is we did very little physical coaching. The athletes “self organized” and learned to put more force into the ground, not be so rigid in the arms, and dorsiflexed the ankle complex reflexively. Quality time was spent on other coaching elements (landing mechanics & shin angles during warm up; lifting quality during the strength sessions).
The Strength Training component was done in the weight room. Depending on the strength and athletes training age, our big lifts we focused on were Front Squat or Goblet Squats, Split Squats / RFESS, Incline DB Presses, and Pull-ups. Core training started with more exercises built to aid in stabilization of the trunk to being able to dynamically use that core to produce baseball power.
As for Energy System Development as it pertains to baseball, we kept it VERY simple yet as sport specific as possible. Baseball’s energy system currency is mostly alactic (meaning it happens very quickly and sport occurs in less than 10 second intervals). No matter how fast and explosive an athlete or sport is, we cannot JUST use a single energy system.
Our training goal should be to improve the rate of PCr resynthesis through an improved rate of local oxidative metabolism (Tomlin & Wenger,2001). In fact, the review indicates that training results should conclude with an ability to “supply more energy through the phosphagen and aerobic systems, thus decreasing the reliance on anaerobic glycolysis, and thereby stemming the rise in hydrogen ions (H+; these are the culprits for the burn you feel when doing very intense exercise) during high intensity intermittent work.” In fact, Tomlin & Wenger provide some compelling evidence that there is a close link between aerobic ability and replenishment of PCr stores. This suggests an ability to maintain short-term peak power longer over time, above and beyond what would be possible through anaerobic glycolysis. I will dive deeper into the Energy System Development in the next blog.
By bolstering up the aerobic base, athletes are better able to recovery during a game or after a training session. Our first 2 weeks we worked on developing a general aerobic base. We used the 300 yd shuttle set at the 20 yd mark (15 trips) for this. Work to Rest was around 1:3 and progressed to 1:1. Week 3 we started more high end / max speed training. We switched to 5 reps of 60 yard sprints. We would give them ample time to recover and then to go again. Average time for the 60 was anywhere between 6 – 8 seconds. Recovery was 90 seconds or more (Work : Rest = 1 : 12+). Week 4 we would keep it 60 yards but had it a speed cut (about 30 degree cut) and Week 5 was a strength cut (90 degree cut). By changing the angle of the cut, we change the demand for the athlete adding intensity to the tissues.
After Conditioning, we would spend about 5 to 7 minutes doing some light stretching and worked on breathing to pull the athletes back into a more relaxed state. At CP2, Recovery is one of our pillars and is vital in the short term and long term success of the athlete. By calming down the system, it is better able to start recovering form the stresses you just gave them. During this time, we have them move into their end range of motions and breath. I make sure to also discuss during this time the importance of good / better nutrition habits and the power of sleep.
