Dr. Yessis Sports Training Blog

In the last few years, I have had several magazines turn down my proposal for an article in which the main premise for hitting well was that the downswing (forward swing) determines the power and accuracy of the hit. According to their experts, power and accuracy is determined by your backswing and initial preparation, not the down or forward swing. Backswing in this case means the preparatory movements to bring the club, bat or racquet backward before you swing down or forward to contact the ball. Is this emphasis on the backswing valid? Read more… »

A major newspaper in San Diego, presents contrasting opinions on a “major” issue every week. Major issues have included who is the better team, who is the better coach, should the coach be fired, how long or short should women tennis players’ skirts be, and other similar issues. Just recently, they had one on who is worse for college basketball? Bobby Knight or Bob Huggins? And who would you rather play with, Tiger Woods or John Daly? In each of the opposing views, examples and opinions are enumerated. They may make for interesting reading but are they really issues? To argue that one person or one team is better or worse than another or to give your opinion as to why a certain player is better is merely b.s. The reason for this is that when there’s a discussion on any topic based on opinion, it invariably must be b.s. The only time an issue is not b.s. is when it is presented with backed up data (facts), preferably based on science or the best that we have from the practical world. Issues as mentioned above when “debated” with opinion are best suited for the bar room, as they are great for arguments since they will never be resolved. Read more… »

With the football draft coming up, many articles are appearing describing the strong and weak points of each prospective recruit. If you look carefully at the comments being made by coaches, scouts and general managers,you will see that they are different for almost all of the athletes even though they are for the same position.

For example in regard to comments made about tight ends you csn find the following: For Dustin Keller, “He moves fluidly, shows good balance in his feet and good body control to stay on his routes through contact. Not an every-down player. Not very elusive.

In regard to Martin Rucker, He is a “natural athlete with a big frame and very long arms. Good movement skills. Is instinctive and has a knack for finding open areas when a play breaks down. Does not factor into the blocking game”.

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When watching tennis matches, I am constantly amazed at how the commentators always state the obvious such as “It was a great shot.” Yes, the ball was placed very well, but was the execution of the hit good? This is never addressed. How well the player executes the skills, how well the player moves on the court, how well he serves, aside from what the radar gun says, are never addressed. This shows that the commentators do not understand what is involved in execution of the different shots, but merely where the shot goes and if the shot was executed. Is this an analysis or a mere observation? Another brilliant statement heard during a football game was that the safety or cornerback’s job was to prevent touchdowns. Is it solely their responsibility? Don’t the other players have anything to do with it? In fact, this is the objective of the entire team, not of any one or two players.

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