DEALING WITH THE OBSTACLES

“BEWARE OF THE TIME BANDITS”

Time bandits are any distraction that take you away from your task. Time is a precious commodity. Our most successful alumni have all been masters of time management. If you want to achieve any goal you have to be willing to sacrifice the time and energy to make it happen. While the time bandits look innocent enough, they rob you of your opportunities. A time bandit could be: driving a car; a girlfriend;  or even a local community or school coach. Not all coaches and programs are successful at developing talent. They may win games, but not necessarily because they elevate anyone's skill level. If you have an abundance of talent, all you have to do is write a lineup and hope everyone does well. Great coaches win with players who never stop pursuing excellence. If you want to become the best ballplayer you can be, then continue reading and we will explain who we are and what we do to help YOU reach YOUR goals.

It's important for you to know who we are and how we are different from every baseball authority, organization and facilitiy in the area. We have been around longer than almost everyone else and we have never stopped pursuing the continually evolving scientific research in our field. We know our craft and we know how to instruct. We understand how to reveal a player's weakest links and how to teach them how to address them.

For over twenty-five years we have been successfully developing talented players. Since 1998, we have had the privilege of working with some of the best players in the region. Visit our alumni page and you will see hundreds of players who started with us as children. We are proud of the fact that so many have played at the college and professional level. Some are now college coaches. Their success speaks volumes to the high level of quality instruction provided by our staff. Many of our coaches came through our program, so they understand how to play the game, but more importantly, they understand how they were taught and they know how to teach. 

Playing experience is not the same as teaching experience. So many decent players should not automatically just become coaches until they learn diagnostics and how to instruct.  High quality player development does not happen by accident. It’s the result of guided, explicit and implicit learning. We work with highly accredited organizations to make certain that we are offering the best training available anywhere. Highly efficient biomechanics cannot simply be an opinion. 

SURVIVAL IN THE BASEBALL COMMUNITY

Currently, the baseball community is in the middle of an epidemic of arm injuries. It starts with the mismanagement of youth baseball players. Too many volunteers assume that they have the knowledge to safely manage young players. Most young players lack the functional strength to even throw off of a mound. Combine that, with the misinformation that comes from “conventional wisdom" (that”s the information you have heard so often that you accept it to be true) and these young players are at risk of injury. That's one reason why we also work with the medical community and are an "official orthopaedic partner" of the Rothman Institute, (a division of Jefferson Hospital.)

THE FRACTURED BASEBALL ENVIRONMENT

The baseball community is a conglomeration of wonderful people who give us opportunities to play the game we love and develop lifelong friendships. It also includes many "self proclaimed experts" who feel the need to be in control of the experience. Navigating a joyful path can be challenging. In short, everyone wants to be right. Everyone has an opinion and the basis of their background and that opinion is usually based on either "conventional wisdom" internet surfing, reading a book or just plain guesswork and personal opinion. Usually these folks will need to justify their beliefs by making someone else wrong so that they can be right. It may be well intentioned, but after all if someone is volunteering their time you can't expect world class instruction. Usually their credentials are limited to "played a little baseball," or less."  Rarely, are you fortunate enough to get someone with real instructional credentials. Don't get me wrong, without these volunteers we would not have youth baseball. Just be aware that in some cases it may not be the most "productive environment". In fact it may drive players away from the sport. Too many coaches, who all have "some" experience is also a potential problem. There needs to be one voice. When players are told how to do something there must be continuity. If three coaches all have three different ways of teaching the same thing it leaves the player totally confused.

PLAYERS BILL OF RIGHTS

• 1. Players have the right to objective, science-based information and instruction.
• 2. Players have the right to authentic, unconditional coaching.
• 3. Players have the right to a positive sports/life skills learning experience.
• 4. Players have the right to health first preparation, competition, and recovery.
• 5. Players have the right to have fun.

 

THE INTERNET - THE BASEBALL BUFFET FOR DO IT YOURSELFERS

It's not uncommon to seek answers by researching information on the internet. First and foremost, we consider it our responsibility to evaluate whether a player is at risk of injury. It's more than just looking at mechanics. It's understanding how the body responds to the activities you choose. The internet offers more misinformation in one environment than anywhere else. Everyone claims to be an authority yet most have no scientific research or medical data to back it up. Their credentials usually consist of "played some baseball." In many cases their careers also ended with an uneccesary injury. The National Pitching Association is the only entity certified by an Independent Review Board (IRB) consisting of members of the sports and medical community. News flash!...it is no longer necessary for you to re-invent the wheel. We have exactly what you want. Hundreds of hours of searching, experimenting and bouncing from one place to another will no doubt waste your athlete's time and energy and put them at risk of injury because "a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing." Every day we see more and more facilities offering a so called "Velocity" program which is just a conglomeration of generic "stuff" that sounds like it's a customized program. Beware of what you embrace without doing your homework. If it's free, then it's probably worth exactly what it costs.

SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH IS ENLIGHTENING. YOU SHOULD TRY IT!

Dr. Tom House is considered by many to be the “father of modern pitching mechanics.” He is the founder of The Rod Dedeaux Research and Baseball Institute (RDRBI) and The National Pitching Association (NPA). The RDRBI and NPA are renowned for their health and performance research and development. It includes three dimensional motion analysis of human movement, physical preparation, training to support rotational athletes, movement, identifying metabolic requirements of proper nutrition to fuel human activity, mentoring athletes, competition and mental/emotional management skills. These protocols have been approved by an independent review board (IRB) at the USC Medical School and are the only set of protocols approved by an IRB in the United States. Tom is also on the advisory board for the ASMI (American Sports Medicine Institute) as well as the advisory board for Titlelist for the golf community. Tom has also worked with nearly every NFL quarterback to help them compete at the highest level.

Our certified staff members are making players healthier. The by-product of this training has been increases in functional strength, health, throwing velocity, bat speed and the ability to drive baseballs harder and farther. Our players are getting healthier,  stronger and they are prolonging their baseball careers. The training works for both pitchers and position players. Our Team training sessions already incorporate some of these training techniques. The Academy has a program for everyone. Our goal is to “inform, instruct and inspire.” For more information please call:  215-672-7500.

We offer our Team Members the best training, at the best price because we are committed to their success. Our professional staff will train you through the entire off-season (from November through December), and when you continue through the pre-season (January and February), you will get the training you need at unbeatable prices.

Our members get to work with our staff on multiple disciplines ranging from: hitting, fielding and pitching to throwing, running, strength and conditioning and speed and quickness. We track your progress so that you know how to improve.

IN THE NEXT SECTION YOU WILL LEARN ABOUT THE ROLE OF A PARENT IN THIS PROCESS.