In a game recently, our starting pitcher was dominant. If he had stayed in the game, we would have easily won. However, this pitcher is also the pitcher on his little league team, as well as his “other” travel team. I took him out and we lost. In the parking lot, an inquisitive parent asked – “Why didn’t you keep him in? I …
Introducing MPI
Below highlights the philosophies and views of the training arm within the Compete Academy – the Mavs Performance Institute (MPI). You can find more information about them here. Our View of Sports, Development and Training. Our primarily focus is in helping student-athletes advance to elite levels while developing and cultivating skills that will transcend beyond the playing field. The above …
PART I: Process – Fail Better or Fail Worse
The New Zealand National Rugby Team is one of the most decorated and successful sports organizations in the history of the world. Their dominance over the sport and their unique pre-game ritual – the “haka” – has led many to celebrate, study and fear the “All Blacks.” To many, the success of the All Blacks is simply a byproduct of …
Tennis and Pitching
GUEST POST: Rob Corsi Since we started a few years ago on our journey to understanding more about pitching, Rob Smorol (my MPI pitching partner) and I have received countless questions: some good, some bad, and some that made us think. One question and topic that we are asked about frequently is the relationship between pitchers and tennis players. The …
What’s Worth It Doesn’t Come Easy
Four years ago, I was out of baseball completely. Three years ago, an old friend asked me to coach his son and his son’s friends. Two years ago, I checked out a space for a potential training facility. During those last two years, I’ve slept less than clinically healthy, I’ve stressed more than I have in my entire life, I’ve …
The Fall of the American Swing
At 6’2, 215 lbs and without the modern advances of strength and performance training, Babe Ruth swung a 36 inch 54 oz wood bat: Looking back at the historical swings of Ruth, DiMaggio, Mantle, Cobb, Williams – most had similarly big movements. Movements that would be impossible for a youth athlete to have in our modern baseball landscape. “Too much …
Twitter Fingers and Lesson Scams
This is another one of THOSE posts. I’ve broken the post down into segments so feel free to jump through the numbers. Our facility and the hitting philosophy that is currently being employed under its roof – #LegKickNation – is admittedly contrarian. Due to this, there has been some vitriol espoused by conventionalists on our social media pages. Unfortunately, 140 …
One Summer Day…
Some recent conversations had me thinking of my childhood lately and trying to square some of my philosophies with my upbringing. Everyone has childhood stories that help shape who they are and I’m sure the forthcoming anecdote parallels some of your own stories. To be honest, I’d really love to hear them if you have the time (contact@competeacademy.com) Some context …
Nibbling On Mediocrity
Some of my students felt that the blogs were too wordy for them. So I’ve added a few summary notes as you go. As always, let me know your thoughts! Realistic Goals “Are we going to win a National Championship? Are we going to win a regional? Are we even going to get to a regional? No. But can we …
A Late Night Reflection
Since we started this little Compete project a year ago, I’ve kept a weekly journal. For me, reflecting on the week – the good, the bad, the ugly – and questioning everything we do to help student-athletes grow is an invaluable tool. More importantly, it has become part of my process. This weeks journal was noteworthy to me; because it …