Pitching Performance Canada
1510 Birchmount Rd Toronto, ON, Canada

Last night we got to see what 2018 RHP James Mienkowski (@jamesmienkowski ) would throw on his first blend day onto the mound. It turns out that he's 7 MPH faster than he was October 25th (4 months). With 2 months left to blend, throw bullpens, and get outdoors, I think we can safely say that we're happy with his results.

Pain Culture in Baseball I _______________________________________ Too often we find players are confused by questions like "can you describe your pain?" Or "is it painful?". At no fault of their own, they've never been educated on what pain actually is, how different sensations can be described, and why all of this matter to them. . In a sport that is so pain focused, with TJ almost treated as a right of passage to high velocity, this is a significant problem. It is my belie...f that our obsession with pain, terms like popping advils like candy (literally calling them candy) and treating pitchers elbows as fragile entities are all overlooked contributors to the rise in TJ cases. How is that possible? I'll explain shortly. . In this mini-series, I am going to try and provide some clarity to pain science concepts in the hopes that coaches, players and parents can better handle this culture of pain in baseball. The gap between education and being educated is staunch and needs to be addressed. ---------------------------------- Reminder: we offer manual therapy at PPC so if you're hurting and need help us. See more

The pursuit of mastery is one of the foundational philosophical stances that Pitching Performance Canada was built upon. As Robert Greene stated in his aptly titled book Mastery, . The time that leads to mastery is dependent on the intensity of our focus. . Indeed, the intent and attention that we bring to our training dictates the speed of our learning process. Performing fifty repetitions without focus, attention, knowledge of performance outcomes or feedback is simply wa...sted time. It's not just 'maximum intent, lift as heavy as possible, and recover hard'. It takes patience, experience and attention to nuance. . This concept extends beyond each throw or squat in a training session and leaks into the realm of coaching. As coaches & therapists we can refine our skills and abilities by improving this focus. Performing manual therapy with rapt attention and an outcome measure can improve our haptic perception. It can lead to better outcomes. Intently observing, and intervening when necessary, every throw in a warmup will lead to improvement in doing so. . It is easy to become complacent. To just sit on a bucket while instructing. To focusing on carrying a conversation while you are treating. To go thru the motions. It is much, much harder to bring humility, patience, and rapt attention into training each and every day: for weeks, months, and years. . We do not claim to have all of the answers, and do not support those who claim they do. We are humbled in our failures each day; we have chosen the path to mastery. See more

. Constraints III Over the course of an off-season, players train in the weight room, perform hundreds of skill acquisition drills and refine their approach on the mound. Heading into season, they have solidified a ‘movement solution’ pattern to the ‘movement task’ of pitching a baseball. This solution emerged thru the interaction with organismic, environmental and task constraints. .... A pitcher’s throwing pattern, unique and specific to the constraints on which it was built, is performed thru-out the season. As we have mentioned throughout the previous two posts, these constraints and our emergent behaviour is dynamic - it is open to change. . From an organismic constraint standpoint, this is a key consideration for health and performance. That is, we know that throughout the season players are prone to quick and near immediate changes in range of motion - hips and shoulders specifically. . If we let these changes go unchecked, then a number of potentially unfavourable outcomes may arise. As a result of altered organismic constraints, our ‘movement solutions’ may change - we may begin to stress tissues in alternative ways in which they weren’t prepared for. Alternatively, we may produce the same behaviour, but with less ‘movement options’ we may be prone to repetitive strain. . At Pitching Performance Canada we teach our athletes to screen themselves for organismic constraints & provide spot checks ourselves throughout the season. It is a significant priority for us. . If you want to learn more, contact us via email. No DM’s. See more

[New Post: stop spinning your tires - get a proper assessment] TARGETED ASSESSMENTS -> SPECIFIC INTERVENTIONS. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------... If you aren't assessed, you don't know where you stand. If you don't know where you stand, you cannot apply the appropriate intervention. If you cannot apply the appropriate intervention, you are letting development happen by chance. Way too many players fly by the seat of their pants. The truly 'elite' have an understanding that they need a plan. They try to program their own lifting (and technique). They just go off what they see online. They get in 'extra' work without having a plan or strategy. Have you ever asked yourself... - Do you have any idea if you're 'strong enough'? - Do your joints have enough range to improve mechanics? - Are you imposing enough of a stimulus to actually gain MPH? The elite high school player has a limited time frame to improve the ability needed to advance to the next level. Don't waste the short and valuable time that you have. Get a professional opinion. http://wp.me/p7Q1RD-b9

Mobility Monday 05: . Solidifying end range control . It is not enough to simply improve end range of motion. Once we attain a new range, it is imperative to progressively and dynamically challenge or train it. That is, in order for neuroplastic change to occur and for it to 'stick', we must continue our work at end range.... . One of the ways in which we can do that is with Hovers. In this example, I am using a ball as a task constraint for achieving end range hip abduction. I am challenging myself to dynamically control getting into and out of end range by clearing the ball. . Please do not view this drill as a means to improve end range. That is not its purpose. . Here's what we've gotten thru thus far . Identify limitations with an assessment. Use PAILS / RAILS to create new ROM.. Solidify control of end range with increasing neurologically challenging exercises. . This is a basic description (not medical advice) and it's application varies per person / day / assessment, hence why assessment is so freaking important. . If you need help, ask us! See more