If you want to continue to get better, you need to continue to develop. Too often, development is an after thought. Athletes specialize too early, prioritize weight over movement, and don’t train properly.
Everything is about immediate success and little time is spent focusing on the long game. Your development shouldn’t just help you get better today, but for the future.
Today, I have 3 ways for you develop as a player, not just today but in the future.
1. Be an athlete first.
Coaches are always looking for the best athletes. The best athletes are more versatile and can play anywhere. It’s why some college coaches scout all short stops. They believe they’re great athletes, so they can play anywhere.
Baseball players often get targeted as non-athletes, especially pitchers. To be honest, this couldn’t be farther from the truth. Especially in today’s game and where it is headed, you better be an athlete or you will get left behind.
The more athletic you are, the more you will able to grow as a player. If you don’t spend time being a better athlete, your ceiling doesn’t continue to grow. So, instead of spending all of your time on skill development, spend more time on being a better athlete. This will allow you to be able to do more when it comes to your skills training.
So remember, the better athlete you’re, the more versatile you can be and the ability to adapt and become a better player.
2. Learn to Move and Move Well
You know those athletes that are really athletic, but don’t look like they’re even trying? Those are the athletes that usually move well. On the other side, baseball players are the best compensators and find a way to get things done. While this may work, doesn’t mean you don’t want to continue to work to get better.
You don’t want to be the guy compensating, you want to be the guy who looks like your barely working. Good movement often looks effortless, but produces high performance.
So, at the end of the day, quality movement trumps everything. The better you move, the better you will be able to display your skills, whether it throwing, hitting, sprinting, or jumping, but also keep you from compensating.
Athletes need to get stronger, because strength helps improve performance. With that, it’s important to remember that you have to focus on movement over numbers. There is no need to chase strength numbers at the cost of movement, it wont help your game.
Good movement comes from learning how to squat, hinge, lunge, row, control your core, skip, shuffle, jump and sprint. These are all movements that your body goes through when performing your skills. When performing these movements, it shouldn’t take away from your skill development, it should add to it.
3. Sprint
There is nothing that is more athletic or produces more force then sprinting. Unfortunately, too much time is spent running long distance.
You sprint in games, so it is important to spend time training for it.
Learn to sprint, get faster, and improve your performance
With sprinting, it’s important to remember less is more. Too much sprinting becomes conditioning and thats wont help you get faster. 1-2 sessions a week is all you need, especially early on.
Conclusion
The goal should be to continue develop, so you can continue to grow as a player. Spend a little less time focusing on skill training and spend more time on developing as an athlete and your performance on the field will get better.
If you have any questions, let me know. If you want to receive more training info, sign in below.
https://app.convertkit.com/forms/designers/826705/edit
