“” My Beef with Select Team "Training" - Driveline Baseball

My Beef with Select Team "Training"

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Driveline Baseball runs our operations out of the North Seattle Batting Cages, and the facility hosts a few select teams that train there – including their affiliated league, North Seattle Baseball Association (NSBA). Since I’m there five nights a week training athletes and getting my own work in, I invariably run into the parents of the kids who train there. They often look into our caged-off weight room, see guys busting a sweat while they lift some heavy stuff, and ask me some questions.

Driveline Baseball Weight Room
Driveline Baseball Weight Room

Sometimes they ask about the pitching program we have guys on, and sometimes it’s about my background as a coach and trainer. When I ask them about their son’s training, they almost always tell me that their kid has training built into their select team’s cost. I’ll then ask them about the specifics of the training program, and it always includes the following:

  • Sprints
  • Long Toss
  • Bullpens
  • Plyometrics
  • Push-Ups

It never includes:

  • Proper strength training
  • Modern mobility/flexibility training
  • Good medicine ball work

Folks, letting your kids run around outside or sprint across a 50 foot batting cage is not “training.” It’s babysitting. “Conditioning” is the last thing baseball players need to be doing in the months of December and January – they need to develop a good foundation of strength, power, mobility, flexibility, stability, and grow as an athlete.

Every single select team that I’ve looked into (and there are tons in the area, because they make big money – but that’s another story…) does not partner with a solid trainer who understands baseball athletes. This is madness!

We have a few clients who play select-level baseball, and they came to us independently to train. Fortunately, the word is getting out – they go back to their team’s practices (which are firing up right about now) and have put on some muscle mass. They throw their bullpens and a noticeable change has happened – they have better control, better quality breaking balls, and a bit more zip on their fastballs. Our guys go into the cages and take batting practice, and they’re prepared from our training, having hit three times per week for the past few months. Our athletes have built up a ton of rotational power and strength, and it shows in the cages – their refined batting mechanics combined with the added power has them hitting lasers to the back of the cage all day.

And you better believe that we get calls/emails about it!

While the off-season is nearly coming to an end, that doesn’t mean guys can’t train hard in-season. We’re scaling back our group training to twice per week, cutting the cost, and changing the programming up to make it more sport-specific. So if you’re the parent of a select player who isn’t actually training and needs a real training plan, contact us today. We still have a few slots left in small group training.

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