Random Thoughts on Planning & Programming, Part 1

1. Great Coaching and Execution Are More Important Than The Program A good program coached really well and executed with precision is FAR more effective than the BEST program that is coached lazily and executed haphazardly. It’s important to understand and remind yourself of this both when you’re

Eulogy for My Mother; Lynne Burns

I cannot put into words the depths of, nor the layers of, what my mother meant to me – what she taught me – and who she was FOR me; for my dad; for my brother; and for all those that loved her – and were loved by her. I think that when

Stuff To Check Out: June Edition

Why You Should Lift Heavy Weights, Yes Even in Season – Tony Gentilcore Tony is one of the best in the industry and lays out the importance of still lifting heavy in-season for athletes. Why You Should Lift Heavy Weights. Yes, Even In Season 4 Lessons From Shoulder Surgery, 10 Years

4 Lessons From Shoulder Surgery 10 Years Ago

A decade ago, just after my junior season of my college baseball career ended, I had shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum. In some ways it feels like it was just yesterday; but really it feels like an entire lifetime ago. I think (and hope) I’ve learned and

Stuff to Check Out: May Edition

May the 9th. As I sat down to write this post it dawned on me that tomorrow will be the 10 year anniversary of my shoulder surgery following my junior season. A decade. Crazy. Man does time fly. I think the 21 year old me would be happy with where

Let's Talk About Self-Organization

The term ‘self-organization’ gets thrown around a lot. What does it mean? I think we can define it simply: the idea that if left alone with proper constraint drills, the athlete’s movements will improve without the need for external coaching cues. First, let’s preface this by saying that

Stuff to Check Out: April Edition

Hey guys, here’s my monthly instalment of podcasts, books, articles, etc. I think are worth checking out! Dr. Jim Loehr on The Tim Ferriss Show “The power broker in your life is the voice that no one hears. How well you revisit the tone and content of your private

Stuff To Check Out: March Edition

Stillness is the Key, Ryan Holiday I had already read Ryan Holiday’s other books: Ego is the Enemy, and The Obstacle is the Way, and enjoyed them but this is definitely my favourite of the three. Extreme Ownership, Jocko Willink I don’t know why it took me so

Stuff To Check Out: February Edition

Here’s a quick post highlighting some of the stuff I think is worth reading/watching/listening to from this past month. Ted Lasso (TV Show) I couldn’t have loved the show Ted Lasso more than I did. It’s simply incredibly heart-warming and also really funny. It shouldn’

4 Reasons Canadian Baseball Players Should Take A Gap Year

It is very tough for a Canadian kid to get a sizeable scholarship to play college baseball south of the border. For one thing – there’s almost no way you’re getting seen in person. So in order to earn an athletic scholarship that actually moves the needle financially you

Miscellaneous Coaching Musings: Instalment 1

“Tell your athletes what they need to know, not everything you know.” – Charlie Francis The above quote has long been a pillar in my coaching philosophy. We need to be short, sweet, and to the point. We need to give clear cues that provide the athlete actionable feedback. In the

The Stockdale Paradox Applied to Coaching

In Jim Collins’ book Good to Great he outlines something vital to success: possessing unwavering faith that you will in fact prevail in the end, combined with the discipline to confront your current reality no matter how brutal it may be. This is known as ‘The Stockdale Paradox.’ The name

Stuff To Check Out: January Edition

A very Happy New Year to everybody out there. Here’s some different stuff to check out if you’re interested. Good To Great was simply awesome. I took a ton away from it. The writer (and his research team) analyze a couple dozen great companies across a number of

3 Exercises If You Sit All Day

Here are three quick and easy drills you can perform with little to no equipment if you sit all day. Your neck and shoulders will thank you!

Stuff To Check Out November Edition

It’s been quite a while since I did a post like this, but decided to reboot it. First up, Matthew McConaughey’s appearance on The Tim Ferriss Show was just phenomenal. I actually re-listened to it and took notes because there was just so much wisdom in there. The

Something That Belongs To Only Those Who Play It (From The Archives)

*Writer’s Note: This is a post I wrote way back in September 2012. There is an excerpt in Ken Dryden’s novel The Game that might be my favourite few sentences strung together that I have ever read. “He asked me how I was, how the team was doing;

My Favourite Led Zeppelin Lyric

When I think of my favourite Zeppelin lyrics, there are many that come to mind. Stairway to Heaven has a couple: When all are one and one is all, to be a rock and not to roll. And: Yes, there are two paths you can go by But in the

4 More Lessons From Coaches I Had Growing Up

About a year ago I wrote a post with 5 lessons from coaches I had growing up. I was extremely lucky to have had so many excellent coaches in high school and college. I’ve decided to follow it up with four more lessons. 5 Lessons From Coaches I Had

Stuff To Check Out: May Edition

Watchmen (TV Series) I just finished this show and I absolutely loved it. It’s a little slow at first and then the last 4 episodes are phenomenal.   Forget About Setting Goals. Focus on This Instead This article (which is an excerpt from the book Atomic Habits) by James Clear

How To Make The Semi-Private Training Model Work

Whenever I sit down with a new athlete (or the parents of a new athlete) for their initial visit I explain how our training model at AHP works. No, it’s not 1 on 1 personal training. And no it’s not small group training either. Each athlete will receive

7 Effective Time Management Strategies

1) Do the most important task or two tasks of the day immediately. Don’t procrastinate.  If you could only get one or two things done today what is most important?  Complete them first. Then move on to what’s next. It’s sometimes easy to work on projects or

Hockey Hips

If you’ve trained even a few hockey players you’ll have noticed that the hips tend to be a real problem area.  This post is to outline why that is, a couple of the more common injuries they deal with in the lower extremity, and how to combat all

Minimalist Arm Care For Pitchers Part 2: T-Spine Rotation

You can check out part 1 of this series on external rotation here: Minimalist Arm Care For Pitchers Part 1: External Rotation   Today I want to talk about thoracic spine rotation, which is crucial for pitchers.  First off, check out this video on the pivot pick to help illustrate the

Minimalist Arm Care For Pitchers Part 1: External Rotation

This will be part 1 of an arm care series – geared towards throwers who have no equipment. Training the posterior cuff to get strong into external rotation is very important for throwers.  Why?  The external rotators (infraspinatus and teres minor) need to work really hard as the arm goes into

Stuff to Check Out: March Edition

Welp.  Who would have believed this?  To preface this I hope everyone is doing ok.  Stay healthy!  Since we all have more downtime, here’s this month’s edition of stuff to check out. The Dave Chang Show – Angela Duckworth This was a really good podcast (I love Dave Chang)