I read several articles lately with negative comments directed against Scott Boras, agent for many high-level athletes, including Stephen Strassburg, the number one pick in the recent baseball draft. Because he usually demands large sums of money for his players he is often considered bad for baseball and other sports.
But is it because of agents such as Boras that such great sums of money are being paid to future, unproven athletes? For example, Strassburg has shown that he is a great pitcher by accumulating many strikeouts and never losing a game. But Virginia also showed that he can be beaten as witnessed in the college playoffs. Does this indicate that he is worth $20-$50 million? Read more… »
Youngsters who have not passed puberty are usually told not to do any weight training. Some of the reasons for this include: possible injury to the growth plates; their joints and muscles are not ready for weight training; and it can interfere with their growth pattern, menstrual cycle.
However, research shows that no negative changes occur in the growth patterns of youngsters aged 8-12 who undertake supervised weight training programs. Instead, they have stronger bones, muscles, and joints, better body composition, greater coordination, and fewer injuries. Read more… »
In another major article in the health section of the Union Tribune newspaper it was brought out that …(static)… stretching is essential before exercising. The expert quoted for this information was a personal training director at a major gym franchise. And, the article was taken from the New York Times news service!
This only proves that the misinformation is not limited. It seems to travel around to most of the major newspapers in different cities. To compound the problem, most of the health and fitness editors do not know very much about exercise. In other words, they are journalists first and probably have an interest in exercise as a secondary credential. Read more… »
The golf swing is usually thought of as a very complex skill. Because of this to date there has been not been a complete analysis of what is involved in the swing and how each body action contributes to the total swing technique.
It is possible to find some analyses of specific actions in the scientific literature but nothing of this nature has appeared in the popular literature. This includes popular golf magazines and books written by professional golfers. Read more… »
Even though most injuries can be prevented, athletes still continue to experience preventable minor and major injuries in their training and sports play. Many of the minor injuries are typically thought of as muscle pulls or strains. To get over the injury, the athlete typically stops or limits his activity until the injury is healed.
However, rather than the muscle being the culprit in the injury, very often, if not in most cases, it is the ligament and/or tendon that gets strained. Because blood flow to these structures is relatively poor in comparison to blood flow to the muscles, healing often takes longer than for a muscle. Read more… »
Many runners do substantial amounts of “core” training. The core training is done in the belief that it will assist them greatly during the run and especially at the end of the run, when fatigue begins to set in. Also the core training will enable them to maintain good posture and form during the run. To a good extent this is true.
However, in order to evaluate these statements it is first necessary to define what is meant by core. Originally core meant the lumbar area of the spine and the muscles that support and maintain it. This means the abdominal and lower back muscles. Today however, it appears that this definition is being greatly expanded. Read more… »
What does it take to be a high level athlete? If you listen carefully to the analysts during the Olympic games or other major competitions, perseverance and desire rank foremost to becoming a world-class athlete. There is no questioning the fact that these are important attributes and are prerequisites for success. However, by themselves they will never make anyone a world-class or other level athlete.
To become a great athlete takes a great deal of hard, miserable and tedious work. It is not by itself–fun! Anyone who goes into a sport to become an Olympic or professional athlete will soon find out that it is not fun and games, although it may appear that way. The game play seems to be effortless and easy, so that for them it is “fun.” However, it is amazing the amount of concentration and thinking that goes into playing on a high level. But this occurs only when the physical qualities are developed to their fullest and are commensurate with skill technique.
Read more… »
In the last 2-3 decades basketball has evolved to a new level, mainly because of taller and more explosive players and because of faster and quicker play in many situations. As a result, there have been changes made in relation to how many players are shooting the ball especially when executing a jump shot up as well as when shooting from a stationary position.
For example, to be able to shoot over an opponent’s head the arm is now raised higher and the shot is executed faster together with the elimination of some joint actions. This in turn changes the point and angle of release. It is now common to see the best players raising the elbow and shooting with only elbow joint extension and wrist flexion. In most cases the elbow is raised straight up so that the arm is perpendicular to the floor. Read more… »
It is not uncommon to find some athletes grunting, groaning, yelling, or screaming on every shot or display of force. Some say it gives them more power in their throw or hit and others say they need it in order to accomplish the act. Without it they are unable to execute as needed.
Screaming is most notable in tennis and it seems that there are always one or two top tennis players - usually women - who carry it to an extreme. You can hear them three or four courts away! But are such screams or yells necessary? Read more… »
In the recent baseball draft, the Padres selected many tall pitchers. The rationale for this is summed up in the following quote by Bill Gayton, director of scouting: “Realistically, if you have a 5-foot-10 pitcher throwing 95 mph and a 6-foot-5 pitcher throwing 95, you’re going to take the 6-5 kid. A lot has to do with downhill plane, angle and durability.”
Are these however, legitimate reasons for selecting a pitcher? I don’t think so! These reasons just tell me that the team does not closely analyze pitching technique nor do they do by mechanical analyses of pitching technique. These should be the main criteria for selecting a player. Read more… »
For years I’ve been telling athletes who throw a ball or an implement, that they must generate the power for the throw with the body and use the arm for accuracy. This was recently brought out in a statement by San Diego Padres pitcher Kevin Correia to explain his improvement.
He stated that “I’m using my body more to throw the ball. It’s easier to control.” Many people were surprised by this statement but if you closely examine it, it makes perfect sense. In fact, I am surprised that more pitchers have not learned this, especially on the professional level.
Read more… »
For the most part I ignore many of the strength exercises described in newspapers. The reason for this is twofold: first the information usually comes from a trainer who only has a general background in the intricacies of strength exercises and what they do for the body; second is that the articles are usually full of errors, not only in relation to how the exercise should be done but also the muscles involved and what the exercise is good for.
A case in point was a full-page article with the subtitle: “These back exercises will give you a solid support system.” However, the article had nothing to do with support of the back or more accurately, the spinal column. Instead, there were three exercises for stretching the back and three, almost identical, exercises for strengthening the upper back. Read more… »
Posted on Jun 12, 2009 under Backswing, Golf, Golf swing, Shoulder turn |
According to Golf Magazine, to make a more level shoulder turn lead the backswing with the right shoulder. It is stated that, “when the right shoulder turns back it pulls the left shoulder along for the ride.” Is this what really happens?
Your shoulders are not a rigid unit; you can move the left shoulder quite a few degrees with the right shoulder in place, or vice versa. Thus, to concentrate on only pulling back with the right shoulder, will not ensure that the left shoulder will also turn through exactly the same range of motion or postioning , unless you concentrate on keeping the shoulders rigid.
Read more… »
I’ve been reading about the trials and tribulations of pitcher Shawn Hill. He has had some of the top minds in orthopedic surgery – Drs. Lewis Yocum and James Andrews — review and discuss his problems but to no avail.
The bottom line is that the best doctors, who are best known for their operations on baseball players, and the medical and training staff of the Padres baseball team, have not been able to determine the cause of pain in his reconstructed right elbow. As a result, he remains on the disabled list. Is there nothing else that can be done? Read more… »
To find the many baseball swings lost in a season, it may be time to bring in a detective like Sherlock Holmes. It appears that the teams and their coaches are unable to help the players find their lost swings.
The number of lost swings seems to keep increasing since it is common to read about another player spending countless hours swinging the bat in order to find his swing. And it is not unique to any team or league. The concept that you should keep swinging to find your swing appears to be the only method that the teams use. Sadly, it is also the poorest way of resolving the problem. Read more… »
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