What to look for in a strength and speed coach?

Bas3balldad, my son is in the same boat. We have so far been really lucky with trainers. The speed coach we knew, and the strength coach we sort of stumbled upon. Each works/ed with 2B 1 or 2 times a week, and he has "homework" that he does on his own.

The speed coach was a player that went to his HS, ran a 6.19 at PG, and last year broke the Royals minor league stolen bases record. When we heard he was available, there was no question we'd sign up. It was extremely inexpensive because he is a friend, and 2B cut his 60 time by 0.4 seconds in a month. Of course this coach is now back with his AA team, but 2B knows the workout and can do it on his own.

The strength coach is at our local fitness center. He was just one of the guys that worked there, and it just happened that he did an internship with the Diamondbacks and has a friend who is a trainer in the Red Sox organization. So he has 2B on the Red Sox strength program. He works with the trainer once a week, then goes to the gym after practice 3 more times during the week. And he eats 5 meals a day. It is making a difference. It is more expensive about $240 a month.

These guys are hugely different, but have One thing in common - a sincere desire to help the player get results.

Good luck!

So is one trainer who says he can make you faster and stronger a bad idea?

Not at all. The guy just has to know what he's doing - full range of motion, explosiveness, etc. I think what 2B is doing now with his strength trainer will just build on what he did in the fall with the speed coach. The thing about the speed coach is that there are techniques to running, and to running the 60 especially, that this guy was very familiar with. There's a good thread about speed in the HSBBW somewhere. But I believe strength will help speed, too.

The two are generally different…not always however. Don't travel an hour go find the track coach and get a reference for a sprinting coach. They are usually pretty inexpensive and they I have found they love to help out non track kids. He will help a lot on technique, and running specific workouts. The strength coach better know about Olympic type lifting with compound explosive moves. Many are football oriented so be careful. Jon Doyle has some good stuff as well. Like they say “make the squat rack your friend”.

We're in a smaller town so I usually figure I have to drive to get certain things. I asked my son if they do squats at school when weight lifting. It didn't sound like it was big on the list. When I was in high school we did squats, power cleans, and bench (not all the same day) then worked other stuff in. Squats wasn't my favorite but I did them twice a week.
We have an appointment with an athletic trainer that came highly recommended so we'll see what he has to say. This meeting is just an accessment.

I checked out Jon Doyle's website had some good info. but I wanted someone show him in person how to do the lift properly and safely.

Check out the SPARQ Baseball metrics: 30 yard dash, 20 yard shuttle, 3 kg medball toss, and vertical leap. Ask the trainer how he can help your son improve these metrics and make him more attractive to college teams and better at baseball in general.

I feel there are people out there who can train you for strength and speed. I don't think many of you would argue that Jon Doyle could do it.

I would agree with Kyle in that you should find someone who will be able to properly and efficiently increase all of the listed metrics above.

Well we met with the trainer feel pretty good about him. There was squat rack along with many other pieces of equipment some I don't recognize. There were some other HS baseball players in at the time we were there. They really seemed to by into the program. They knew what they were supposed to be doing and were doing it.
He took some measurements and ran him throw some tests. Based on what he saw that he could get my son under 7 sec in the 60 in very short order. He took measuremnents stretching his hips, hamstrings, and ankles. My son's legs are uneven and tight. With some work stretching out those muscles and proper warm ups and technique he should improve almost instantly. He's still going to work on everything else to improve all areas of course.

It sounds good to me but does that make sense?
Is it possible that stretching out the muscles would improve his time that quickly?

Ya creating more flexibility in an athlete is always a good place to start if you want to see quick results. Too many kids don't warm-up properly resulting in both injury, and lower performance levels. It sounds like your trainer is taking a good approach. You need to have a certain level of flexibility to do many exercises, many of which this trainer will probably have your son doing.

So to answer your question, yes becoming more flexible will have a direct effect on performance enhancement. However, creating more flexibility throughout the weeks will also broaden his training opportunity.

What to look for in a strength and speed coach?
The Basics:
1. Watch the instructor in action
2. Forget his resume
(He could have been a pro, but if he's no good, what good is that for you?)
3. Interview other clients
4. Look for improvements after you select your coach
5. Meet with instructor

Meeting Instructor:
1. Tell him your goals
2. See if this is an individual you are comfortable and your son/daughter is comfortable learning from
3. Ask him how he improves his athlete's abilities
(If he doesnt mention squating, olympic lifts, pre/hab work, med ball work, sprinting, and posterior chain dominant lifts...He probably isnt good)

Price: depends on the individual...if you can afford a good one then go for it but there are some excellent training dvds that will teach proper form.

Drive: Some people will not want to drive 45 minutes every week to train. Some wont have a problem with it...depends on the individual. Just know that off-season the target amount of lifting days is approximately three. (In-season is approx. two) One day a week is ok for some but not for others. Also cramming two to three hours of training in one day isnt very smart either.

As for Jon Doyle he is the best of the best when it comes to training. You can get some of his dvds for alot less money than a personal trainer and have the great form on the lifts that you need them. You can get a gym membership and then just use the proper form on lifts so you dont need a personal trainer...

I feel pretty good about this choice so far. I like the interaction so far. I've had a couple other people mention how good he was since our first meeting.

The funny thing is when I searched his name to find out more about him. His name showed up on an old thread on this site. Somebody was recommending him to somebody else.

I will probably order some tapes and stuff to increase my own knowledge but also be able to keep my son going when we can't do the personal trainer.

While creating more flexibility can have some short term effects a reputable coach will focus on the overall mechanics of movement with an emphasis on the start which includes but not limited to the start position, first step(s), acceleration, and transition to top end speed. This takes time similar to the mechanics of a swing.

One of the things that I look for in a trainer is somebody with a CSCS (certified strength and conditioning specialist) after their name.
Such as Dana Cavalea, CSCS... Strength and conditioning coordinator for the New York Yankees.

quote:

Originally posted by Bas3balldad:
My son wants to to get some extra work for speed and strength. He's not getting alot of it at the school. So I got some names of trainers but I'm unsure what to look for. My experience with hitting coaches was we tried a few out and went with the one my son liked. It worked out but I don't want to do that again.
Anybody have any advice?
What questions should I ask?
What to look for?
How to tell if he knows what he's talking about?
What should it cost?
How often should he go? We're about 45 minutes away from the closet one so I'm hoping once a week is good for now.

If you have a number of candidates in mind, the first thing I would do is tell each of them what your son's goals are for his development and then ask them what kind of program they might put together to help him achieve them. The answer's will vary, of course, but it will tell you a lot about what kind of value they can offer. The important thing, at least as a question of approach, is that the trainer is dealing with your son's goals individually.

Also, in my opinion, the coach that will show how he can help your son get faster and more explosive is a whole lot more valuable than the one that only offers general platitudes about getting "bigger and stronger." I can't tell you how many trainers I have heard (and truthfully, back in the day I probably was one) that preach about weight room this and that, but don't have a coordinated plan to make you faster and better in your sport.

Finally, I would ask any prospective trainer if he or she can tailor a program that recognizes that some of the workouts will have to be away from the gym. If that is a problem (and it shouldn't be), then that trainer isn't a good choice for you. Good luck with your search and please post what you decide. OBC