Elite Baseball Development Podcast

In this episode, Eric talks about why variability is a bell curve that's particularly challenging to manage in a sport like baseball that, at times, demands so much precision. Learn about random vs. blocked practice and what long-term athletic development strategies parents and coaches can employ with youth baseball players.Support Our Sponsor: AG1

In this episode, Eric talks about the differences between favorable and unfavorable stressors and how they each drive different adaptations. Before you try to add something that may help, start by removing things that definitely hurt.Support Our Sponsor: 1stPhorm

In this episode, Eric talks about both causes of oblique strains and preventative strategies for rotational athletes looking to avoid them in the first place.

In this podcast, Eric discusses the challenges that come with over-recruiting the neck musculature during arm care exercises. He also shares some positioning and coaching strategies to reduce neck tone.Support Our Sponsor: AG1

In this episode, Cressey Sports Performance - Florida pitching coach Spencer Stockton and strength and conditioning coach Brandon Holup highlight actionable strategies for high school athletes to quickly make progress. Whether you're a player, coach, or parent, these recommendations can be difference makers!Support Our Sponsor: 1stPhorm

In this episode, Eric highlights important anatomical considerations in the throwing shoulder. Learn about arthrokinematics and osteokinematics and what they mean for keeping overhead athletes healthy.Support Our Sponsor: 1stPhorm

In this episode, Eric is joined by LSU Baseball Strength and Conditioning Coach Chris Martin. He discusses the differences in both job responsibilities and player development between professional and college baseball, reflects on his use of technology in his current role, and offers advice to up-and-coming players who aspire to compete at the Division 1 baseball level.Support Our Sponsor: AG1

In this episode, Eric shares three key considerations for developing baseball speed and agility programs.Support Our Sponsor: AG1

In this episode, Eric discusses the Law of Repetitive Motion, which helps to explain why traumatic and overuse injuries occur. The I = NF/AR equation can be an invaluable tool for programming and coaching healthy and injured athletes alike.

In this episode, Eric talks about the concept of recency bias and how it can lead athletes to make poor decisions with both their strength and conditioning and baseball preparation routines.Support Our Sponsor: 1stPhorm

In this episode, Eric interviews Cressey Sports Performance - Florida Director of Pitching Nathan Mirochnick. They talk about the wealth of information pitchers can draw from motion capture assessment of the pitching delivery, highlighting the key concepts of sequencing that underpin every healthy, high-level delivery.Support Our Sponsor: AG1

In this episode, Cressey Sports Performance - Florida pitching coach Ryan Conroy speaks to the importance of having a solid between-pitch routine and offers insights on how pitchers can go about establishing this crucial process for themselves.Support Our Sponsor: 1stPhorm

In this episode, Eric interviews world-renowned muscle physiology researcher Dr. Keith Baar to apply his tendon- and ligament-specific research to the world of baseball sports medicine.

In this episode, Eric discusses the importance of continuing to safely train athletes during post-surgical periods, including those involving immobilization. In particular, he highlights the benefits of the cross-transfer effect.Head to www.AncoreTraining.com and enter coupon code CRESSEY at checkout to save 10% on your order.

In this episode, Eric discusses spondylolysis, the clinical term for a stress fracture of the spine. These issues are commonly seen with adolescent athletes involved in extension and rotation sports, and he highlights causes, diagnoses, treatments, and prevention strategies for both spondylolysis and spondylolisthesis.Support Our Sponsor: AG1

In this episode, Eric speaks to the differences between training and competition maxes in strength sports like powerlifting, but applies these principles to developing pitchers.Support Our Sponsor: 1stPhorm

Eric is joined by Joey Wolfe, who shared a wealth of knowledge surrounding the development of catchers. From game-calling, to receiving, to blocking, to throwing, to pitcher and umpire relationship, this episode has a lot to offer for players, coaches, and parents.Support Our Sponsor: AG1

In this episode, Cressey Sports Performance pitching coach Ryan Conroy discusses the value of tracking velocity in throwing programs rather than just adhering rigidly to distance.Support Our Sponsor: AG1Use our PocketRadar link for 15% off at checkout.

In this episode, Eric welcomes Detroit Tigers relief pitcher Sean Guenther for an in-depth discussion on how he reinvented his career with a new pitching arsenal, a mentality shift, and a new awareness of why his stuff is unique and effective. He shares insights on Tommy John surgery rehab and speaks to key long-term athletic development strategies from his improvements during college baseball.Support Our Sponsor: 1stPhorm

In this episode, Eric highlights seven key variables to consider when examining the overall throwing-specific stress a pitcher encounters.Support Our Sponsor: AG1

In this episode, Eric chats with Alan Jaeger and Randy Sullivan about their proposed adjustments to classic long-term throwing programs after elbow and shoulder surgeries.Support Our Sponsor: AG1

In this episode, guest contributor and Cressey Sports Performance pitching coach Spencer Stockton discusses some of the key considerations for managing pitcher workloads. He digs in on "big rock" principles, the need for auto-regulation, and an awareness of when in the yearly calendar pitchers are most susceptible to injury.Support Our Sponsor: 1stPhorm

We welcome Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Tyler Phillips to the latest podcast for an awesome conversation on his path to the big leagues. Tyler speaks to his initial struggles in professional baseball as a high school draft pick, and adjustments he had to make as both a teammate and pitcher. He discusses the importance of mentorship from veteran players, and leaning on mental skills coaches to help with the sports psychology aspect of his preparation. Tyler shares lessons learned from Tommy John surgery rehab, and reflects on both training and pitching adjustments that have favorably shaped his path to the big leagues.Support Our Sponsor: AG1

In this episode, Eric - using the example of a CSP MLB pitcher client - highlights the need for peaks and valleys of various athletic qualities over the course of an athlete's long-term development. It's okay to take a step back to take two steps forward!Support Our Sponsor: 1st Phorm

We welcome Texas Rangers team doctor and renowned orthopedic surgeon Dr. Keith Meister for a conversation on baseball's injury epidemic. Dr. Meister shares how injuries have evolved in the overhead throwing athlete over the course of his career; outlines causative factors; and proposes some potential solutions to attenuate the problem.

In this episode, Eric shares some thoughts on making the most of inseason training. He digs in on the different approaches needed for beginner vs. advanced athletes, and how his perspectives have changed over the years on a few different inseason training considerations.Support Our Sponsor: AG1

Eric often gets questions from the parents of 9-12 year-old athletes about when and how kids should get started with formal strength and conditioning. In this episode, Eric discusses key considerations and outlines best practices for setting the stage for making progress and cultivating a favorable relationship with exercise for the long haul.Support Our Sponsor: AG1

In this episode, Eric discusses how the mathematical concept of order of operations can be applied to assessing, programming, and coaching at the shoulder.Support Our Sponsor: AG1

In this episode, Eric digs in on the concept of "scap loading," a portion of the pitching delivery that's been heavily misunderstood and, in turn, coached incorrectly by those evaluating pitching mechanics.Head to www.AncoreTraining.com and enter coupon code CRESSEY at checkout to save 10% on your order.

In this podcast, Eric outlines the challenges we face with training tall athletes, and highlights important training and nutrition strategies to employ with this population. Finally, he emphasizes the need for patience when training these athletes, as they are typically longer-term projects - but ones with very high (bad pun) upside.Support Our Sponsor: AG1

In this podcast, Eric discusses some of the findings from MLB's recently released report on pitching injuries, and shares his opinion on the most crucial takeaway and actionable items.Support Our Sponsor: AG1

In part 2 of this podcast series on assessments, Eric shares ten more important strategies for making the most of athlete assessments to set the stage for better programs and coaching interventions.Support Our Sponsor: AG1

In this podcast, Eric discusses important strategies for making the most of athlete assessments to set the stage for better programs and coaching interventions.Support Our Sponsor: AG1

Happy Thanksgiving!We're often asked by athletes what they should do for training when they're away from the gym for a bit, whether it's for a holiday, vacation, wedding, honeymoon, bachelor party, or something else. In this podcast, Eric discusses the merits of mixing in some training while you're on the road - and also highlights how to get in the most important work in the most efficient way possible. With the holidays upon us, this episode is timely.Head to www.MarcPro.com and enter the coupon code CRESSEY at checkout to receive an exclusive discount on your order.

In this podcast, Eric discusses how the impact of poor nutrition isn't often appreciated until it's too late in an athlete's career.Support Our Sponsor: AG1

Ever wondered why an athlete might have pain even though a MRI or x-ray was "clean?" In this podcast, Eric discusses some potential outside-the-box causes of weird sports medicine challenges.Support Our Sponsor: AG1

In this episode, Eric discusses the functional anatomy of the thumb and outlines its importance for both pitching and hitting - and how taking care of it can both improve performance and reduce the risk of injury in a baseball population.Support Our Sponsor: AG1

Cross-training is an important inclusion in any long-term athletic development model, but that doesn't mean that every athlete is prepared for every endeavor. Eric shares insights to optimize this key strategy for all strength and conditioning coaches and programs.Support Our Sponsor: AG1

In this episode, Eric outlines the factors that create the feeling of "tightness;" the difference between stiff and short tissues; and how some joints develop bony overgrowth over time.Support Our Sponsor: AG1

The weight room isn't just a place to get strong; it's also a realm in which we can build a rich proprioceptive environment and enhance transfer to sport skills - all while reducing the risk of overuse injuries.Support Our Sponsor: AG1

In this installment, Eric talks about some of the "bad outcome categories" you may see when rehabilitation programs aren't approached correctly. This is a follow-up to last week's installment relating to Tommy John Surgery rehabilitation failures.Support Our Sponsor: AG1

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Many folks think that Cressey Sports Performance only works with professional athletes, but the truth is that we have a long history of training kids in the middle, high school, and college ranks, too. In fact, since 2012, we've had 251 Major League Baseball draft picks from this amateur pool, so you could say that we've seen our fair share of "what works" for young athletes. Unfortunately, we've also seen what doesn't work, and that's the focus of today's podcast.Support Our Sponsor: AG1

We welcome Cressey Sports Performance chiropractor and manual therapist Dr. Ryan Hansen to the podcast to discuss all things foot and ankle. Ryan speaks to both the structure and function of the foot, with specific focus on common injuries in this region, and the impact of footwear.A special thanks to this show's sponsor, Marc Pro. Head to www.MarcPro.com and enter the coupon code CRESSEY at checkout to receive an exclusive discount on your order.

We welcome physical therapist and Proteus Motion Director of Performance Will Waterman to the latest podcast. Our first ever three-time guest, Will has some exciting Proteus data collection results to share. Will speaks to predictors of hitting and pitching velocities, and shares some compelling data that demonstrates how a rotational athlete's height may impact how they need to attack the force-velocity curve. We talk about "powerpenia" and male/female differences in power production trends as well. This is a great conversation that has already impacted the way I program for athletes.Support Our Sponsor: AG1

We welcome Wake Forest Pitching Coach Corey Muscara for a far-reaching discussion of developing pitchers. He speaks to leveraging technology, attacking hitters, optimizing pitch arsenals, and embracing outlier qualities. Corey also shares invaluable insights on college recruiting and how the transfer portal and NIL dynamic have dramatically changed the recruiting landscape.Support Our Sponsor: AG1

We welcome San Diego Padres outfielder David Peralta to the latest podcast for an awesome conversation on the hard work, adjustments, and perseverance it's taken for him to get to 10 years of MLB service time. David speaks to converting from a pitcher to outfielder; how hitting has evolved during his career; and key lessons he emphasizes to up-and-coming players. He also shares insights on the challenges young Latin American players face when they first enter pro ball.Support Our Sponsor: AG1

We welcome accomplished strength and conditioning educator, researcher, and practitioner Dr. William Kraemer to the latest podcast. With over four decades of experience, Dr. Kraemer shares a fascinating history of the evolution of the strength and conditioning and - just as importantly - insights on where it's headed.Support Our Sponsor: AG1

It's time for another listener Q&A! In this week's podcast, Eric covers three questions from our audience relating to scapular winging/dyskinesis, diminished pitching velocity, and toe spacers. A special thanks to this show's sponsor, Marc Pro. Head to www.MarcPro.com and enter the coupon code CRESSEY at checkout to receive an exclusive discount on your order.

We welcome University of Arizona Pitching Coach Kevin Vance to the latest podcast. In his first year with the Wildcats, the pitching staff improved dramatically and the team won both the Pac-12 regular season title and conference tournament. In this conversation, Kevin shares some of the key initiatives that drove this success, as well what important cultural adjustments they made to carry them out. We discuss the changing college recruiting landscape, particular with respect to the transfer portal and name-image-likeness dynamic. This is an excellent listen for players, parents, and coaches alike.Support Our Sponsor AG1

We welcome wildly experienced MLB pitching coach Dave Wallace to the latest podcast. With over five decades in professional baseball – beginning with a career of his own – Dave has served in roles ranging from minor league pitching coach all the way up to MLB General Manager. “Wally” has played an important role in the development and success of some of the best pitchers in the game since the 1980s, and in this interview, you'll see why he's so well respected across the game and still sought out for his expertise even as baseball has evolved tremendously. We discuss pitching non-negotiables, the current pitching injury epidemic, and important competencies for all coaches.Support Our Sponsor: AG1