Guest Post: Developing A Hitter's Approach in the Off-Season

This post comes from AHP's Director of Hitting Development, Connor Burns. Enjoy! Was I on time? Was that a good pitch to hit? Far too many hitters get trapped in what we like to call, the "mechanical purgatory." Simply put, after every mishit the athlete thinks it was a fault

Small Hinges Swing Big Doors: Productivity Strategies

1.Write down your to do list the night before. Take the time to actually write out what you need to get done tomorrow. I also use a 1-5 scale for each item. This ensures I don't move on to any "3's" and "4's" until I finish all the "1's"

Avoid These Three Lies

1. "I'll start tomorrow." Do it today. 2. "I'll sleep a little more and just find the time during the day." No you won't. The time is now. When your alarm goes off. Get up. I find it helpful, right before bed to look at my schedule and make my

Stuff to Check Out: November Edition

1. The Baseball 100, by Joe Posnanski This is not your normal: this player hit .315 and his WAR was X so he's the 17th greatest player ever. No. The author certainly talks about each player's baseball ability, career highlights and statistics, but they're interwoven beautifully into fascinating stories about

11 Years Of Reflection

It hit me the other day I have been coaching athletes in the weight room (and on the field) for eleven years. This post is eleven pieces of insight gleaned from this time as a strength and conditioning coach, 1. Keep a journal! I cannot overstate the value this has.

7 Changes I'm Making To My Baseball Off-Season Programming

As the fall rolls along, I figured I'd share this post from a year ago. I'm really excited for yet another off-season with our baseball athletes. It's really hard to believe, but it's going to be my tenth winter training dozens of High School baseball players. It's always such a

Framework For Training Youth Athletes

In today’s post, I’m going to outline a few principles that make up the framework I utilize to train youth athletes, in the early stages of the training process. For the sake of today’s post I’m going to define ‘youth athletes’ as 14-17 years old. It’

Thursday Three: 3 Quotes

“All of the time I feel kind of trapped. Like I don’t know how I’m feeling. So asking someone else how they’re feeling seems kind of insane…” – Carmen Berzatto (The Bear) “It’s not what you’re capable of. It’s what you’re willing to do.

5 Strategies To Improve Your Catch Play

Do you take the time beforehand to create plan for your day’s throwing? Is each throw mindful, purposeful, or are you going through the motions? Here are a few ideas to make your catch play even better. 1. Vary Your Distances With Your Breaking Ball Catch 60 feet, 6

Thursday Three: 3 Quotes

“If he had any sorrow ‘it sat with its head under its wing,’ and he turned only his sunny side to the world.” – Louisa May Alcott (Little Women) “In your pursuit to become a great man, don’t forget to be a good one.” – Unknown “There is a solitude within

How I Train Baseball Players In-Season

Today’s going to be a quick post on how I structure the week of our baseball players while they’re in-season. First, a couple of overarching guiding principles: 1. If you stay ready you never have to get ready. Muscle soreness in-season is detrimental. However, novelty more than anything

6 Quick Hits on Growing A Business

6 years ago I incorporated AHP. Here are 6 quick hits on growing a business: 1) Be obsessed 2) Money can’t be the goal. It’s a byproduct of excellence 3) You CAN mix family & business 4) Get the right people on the bus 5) Create a vision & work

How To Evaluate Pitching Mechanics

1. Don’t Cookie Cut! Think of the best pitchers to ever toe the rubber. Pedro Martinez. Sandy Koufax. Greg Maddux. Randy Johnson. Mariano Rivera. Walter Johnson. Nolan Ryan. Clayton Kershaw. Roger Clemens. Bob Gibson. Tom Seaver. Justin Verlander. They all were very different in how they moved. It’s

Technique Vs. Mechanics: Integrating S&C And Skill Work

If you are a sport skills coach, a strength & conditioning coach, rehab practitioner, or any combination of the aforementioned, you are a movement coach. I want you to think of the best athletes regardless of their sport. They’re elite movers. They’re powerful; efficient; explosive. Often times their movements

Guest Blog Post: Driving Intent With High School Hitters

This is a guest blog post from AHP’s Hitting Coordinator (who also happens to be my brother) Connor Burns. In my still young hitting coach career one of my biggest combatants with players has absolutely nothing to do with mechanics. It actually has everything to do with the mind.

Stuff to Check Out: March Edition

1. Musashi (novel by Eiji Yoshikawa) “Please test the lowly Musashi with hardship. Let him become the greatest swordsman in the land, or let him die.” This nearly 1,000 page epic about the legendary Japenese swordsman, Musashi, is now one of my favourite five books of all time. Why?

5 Programming Strategies For Developing Athlete's Power In the Weight Room

No matter the sport, the ability to express power is the great separator. Connor McDavid is the greatest hockey player we have ever witnessed. Justin Verlander is arguably the greatest pitcher of his generation. Rory McIlroy is arguably the greatest golfer of his generation. Mike Trout is the greatest hitter.

Lessons I Learned From The Rustlers Baseball Academy

My two years with the Rustlers Baseball Academy in tenth and eleventh grade were arguably the most pivotal in my life. It was at this time I decided I wanted to play college baseball, developed a belief that I could, and really started to figure out what kind of person

In-Season Training Strategies For Hockey Players

This particular article is geared towards 15U, 18U, and Junior/College Hockey Players. 1. Prioritize Performance This is two-fold. On one hand, we need to ensure we are striking a balance between doing enough work to maintain the athlete’s strength and power, but on the flip side, not too

Why "Absolute" Human Performance

The maxima of all maxima. Sounds cool right? The maxima of ALL maxima. Have you ever wondered why AHP is named what it’s named? In 2017 when I knew I was going to open my own training facility I was obviously searching for the right name, but was kind

7 Principles on The Assessment Process

“Assess, don’t guess.” The assessment is the crucial first step to optimizing the training of your athletes. Here are seven ideas to help you crush your assessment. 1. The Assessment Is Your Opportunity to Build Rapport The assessment is the first impression. Ask questions and take a genuine interest

My Favourite Rolling Stones Lyrics

Send me dead flowers every morning Send me dead flowers by the mail Send me dead flowers to my wedding And I won’t forget to put roses on your grave Be the bigger person. Strive and be a better person. Try and see the good and past the bad.

Stuff to Check Out: December Edition

First up, is the book I’ve enjoyed the most in a long time: The Talent Code. I had read The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle a couple of years ago, and enjoyed it, but this one was exceptional. It’s a little bit Malcolm Gladwell-esque (that’s a compliment.

4 Lessons After 4 Years of Gym Ownership

Almost exactly two years ago, to the day, AHP moved into its own facility. And just over four years ago, AHP began (Nov 1, 2017). A lot has changed in the past two years. Back then the business was essentially still just a one person operation. Now we have two

Random Thoughts on Planning & Programming, Part 2

5. To Have Great Outputs You Need Great Inputs. In order to write great programs, you need to be constantly seeking to improve your craft through various forms of study. It’s akin to being a great writer – you need to have been extremely well read. For me I try