The old adage of “Why do we lift?” couldn’t play a more important role for this blog. The typical response to that question is “to get stronger.” That answer could not be more wrong. We lift to perform better on the field. It’s easy to prove this with pitchers as we can find some linear correlations between an executed Connected Performance strength plan and decrease in arm pain and increase in velocity. However, prior to this season we never had examples of how position players would benefit from our programming. The numbers these athletes put up in their season compared to their previous seasons are quite remarkable.
Vaun Brown: Outfielder, Florida Southern
Vaun came to us with extremely raw talents. Having already possessed a great foundation of strength and speed which resulted in a sub 7 60 time and a 90+ arm from the outfield. After splitting time with other outfielders for 3 and a half seasons, Vaun was eager to get the most out of his career. Therefore, he sought out Connected Performance to learn how to pitch and become a two-way player.
Over the next five months, we focused on grooving movement patterns and taking his raw athleticism and transferring it to the mound. We were able to leverage his already whippy arm action and introduce a better way to move down the mound. We coupled this training with some of our advanced workouts as Vaun’s body was already strong enough. Our goal was to make a more dynamic, adaptable, reactive athlete. This was the key differentiator for Vaun’s overall performance. In just a short time all of his metrics made a large jump. Even better, the results were clear. Not only did he develop a 94-mph fastball but the statistics at the plate and in the field speak for themselves. Vaun proceeded to lead the league in home runs and average while receiving the Conference Player of the Year Award and All-Region First Team. See the link to career lines.
(Credit: FSCMOCS.com)
Harry Witwer-Dukes: Utility, Ohio University
Harry’s story is a unique one. Starting out as a D3 infielder Harry worked his way into a starting role while receiving All-Conference and All-American honors after 3 years in undergrad. In his final year of undergraduate work, his season was canceled due to COVID. Determined to play his final year somewhere Harry was able to receive a scholarship at Ohio University. However, he was self-aware that in order to step on the field and earn a starting role he had some work to do.
Harry was consistently 81-83 across the diamond, limiting him not only from the outfield but from the left side of the infield as well. In our initial assessment, we determined that Harry was insufficient on external rotation, had poor pec quality, and multiple flaws in his throwing movement patterns. Similar to Vaun, Harry was already physically developed but could not exhibit a large production of force at end ranges of motion. Therefore, we trained Harry to work through extreme motions creating a more elastic “rubber band” effect. The results? Harry solidified himself at the corners of the infield and batting third while finishing top 15 in both batting average and slugging percentage in the MAC.
Our training program has allowed pitchers and position players to discover their untapped potential. Want to be our next success story? Email Training@Connected-Performance.com for more information.