Many folks think that Cressey Sports Performance only works with professional athletes, but the truth is that we have a long history of training kids in the middle, high school, and college ranks, too. In fact, since 2012, we've had 251 Major League Baseball draft picks from this amateur pool, so you could say that we've seen our fair share of "what works" for young athletes. Unfortunately, we've also seen what doesn't work, and that's the focus of today's podcast.

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We welcome Cressey Sports Performance chiropractor and manual therapist Dr. Ryan Hansen to the podcast to discuss all things foot and ankle. Ryan speaks to both the structure and function of the foot, with specific focus on common injuries in this region, and the impact of footwear.

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We welcome strength and conditioning coach Luka Hocevar to the podcast for a thorough discussion on a variety of physical preparation topics, ranging from coach development, to program design, to athlete assessment. Luka also spoke to some key factors that contribute to so much athletic success in his native country of Slovenia as well. If you’re an up-and-coming coach, you’ll find this to be an extremely beneficial episode. And, if you’re a player, Luka’s story will yield a lot of perspective on how hard you have to chase your dreams.

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Pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals Daniel Ponce de Leon joins Eric on the show to discuss his unorthodox collegiate career, his journey to the big league stage, and the details of mastering his craft.

Precision Nutrition's Director of Nutrition Brian St. Pierre touches on the foundational principles of high quality nutrition and elaborates on his journey as a dietitian delivering life-changing, research-driven health and fitness coaching.

President of HAS-Motion, Director of Research at C-Motion, and CEO of Theia Markerless Dr. Scott Selbie joins us on the show to discuss the history of biomechanical modeling in baseball, the power of data science, specifically predictive modeling, for the health and performance of athletes, and where the future of biomechanics is headed.

In this episode, physical therapist Tanner Allen elaborates on establishing pre- and post-throwing routines.

15 weeks ago Eric went under the knife for a meniscus repair on his left knee. The procedure has turned out to be one of his most coveted continuing education experiences, and in this episode, he highlights the 10 lessons he has learned in the process of his recovery.

Reliever for the LA Dodgers Jimmy Nelson talks about his progression and breakthrough into the big leagues, developing elite feel for spinning various pitches, his mentality for consistently dominating the best hitters in the game, the compounding nature of his injury history, and why he is known as a recovery rockstar at CSP.

Reliever for the Cleveland Indians Nick Wittgren discusses his transition to becoming a pitcher-only in junior college, advancing the ranks of minor league baseball, developing his pitch mix to an MLB caliber arsenal, and his training and throwing routine in and out of season.

2020 NL Comeback Player of the Year Daniel Bard talks about his journey to being a 100 mph arm, his battle with command and brief hiatus from playing, and what it took to resurrect his career and join the Colorado Rockies.

This week’s podcast might be the most important one that I’ve ever done, as it outlines a list of questions that I think every baseball family should have in the back of their minds as they approach the college recruiting/selection process. At Cressey Sports Performance, we’ve worked with countless high school kids who’ve gone through this process, and we’ve learned a lot of the norms, seen a lot of the common mistakes, and helped a lot of folks navigate these challenging times.

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Orthopedic surgeon at Andrew's Sport Medicine and Orthopedic Center who works in affiliation with the WWE, USA Cheer, the Birmingham Barons, and Troy University Dr. Jeffrey Dugas talks about the evolution of elbow surgeries from a surgical perspective and optimizing the rehabilitation process post-procedure.

Joining Eric on this week's episode is Mike Boyle, a leading expert in Strength and Conditioning with a career spanning over four decades. He co-founded Mike Boyle Strength and Conditioning in 1996, focusing on training athletes from junior high to professional levels. Before this, Boyle was the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach at Boston University for 15 years and has since served as an assistant coach, primarily for the ice hockey team. He has also worked with the Boston Bruins, the 1998 US Women's Olympic Ice Hockey Team,  and for the World Champion Boston Red Sox. He shares good insight into long-term athletic development, inseason training, and training your own kids.

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For the 2nd episode of our Sports Medicine Series on the EBDP, prolific orthopedic surgeon, professor, and researcher and Minnesota Twins Medical Director, Team Physician, and Director of High Performance Dr. Christopher Camp explains:

- his research into sports injuries, specifically in the throwing arm

- what the most common injuries are for baseball players

- why shoulder injuries are on the decline in baseball but elbow injuries are increasing reciprocally

- why more attention needs to be paid to the adjacent joints of injury sites

- the alarming fact that injury rates in youth players are increasing at a faster rate than those of professional athletes

- selling athletes on injury-prevention programs

- differentiating between UCL repair and reconstruction

- rethinking the methods of Tommy John surgery

- understanding the demands of UCL in the throwing motion

- how active restraints aid in the acceptance of force across the elbow joint

- ulnar transposition: when should medical professionals do it?

- the normal adaptations of the throwing shoulder and why no throwing arm will look healthy on an MRI

- Dr. Camp's algorithm for deciding to perform shoulder surgery

- concerns and considerations for Bennett Lesions

- Bicep-Labral Complex injuries and how sports medicine professionals can better manage the complexity of these injuries in throwing populations

- thoracic outlet syndrome and how our understanding of this injury has evolved in recent years

- what the most valuable measures for assessing the shoulder are

- why we should care about total motion at the shoulder as opposed to internal rotation deficit

- looking beyond the motion of the shoulder and into the the trunk and lower extremities for answers regarding arm injuries

-what exactly he hopes to research into the future including: optimizing Tommy John surgical practices and individualizing rehabilitation programs

Welcome to our Sports Medicine Series on the EBDP! On today's show, renowned PT, author, and speaker Kelly Starrett talks:

- becoming a savage generalist before specializing as a coach

- the power of connecting inputs and outputs for creating lasting change in our clients

- understanding when enough strength is enough and why to prioritize regaining and recoordinating ROM

- social media strategies for success in the fitness industry

- why simplification reigns supreme for creating consistent habits

- strategies for managing movement-related issues, like hyper mobility

- the language of strength and conditioning

- the shortcomings of his early coaching career and the lessons learned on the path of professional development

- the power of walking for systemic health

- mobilizing a sedentary youth

Eric Cressey sits down in this monthly Q&A to discuss if early sports specialization is worth the investment, what the potential risks and rewards for specializing early, and how parents and coaches alike can facilitate the best development for their athletes.

CSP-MA Director of Performance John O'Neil sits down with friend and Performance Coach for the Atlanta Hawks Ty Terrell.  Ty's professionally journey demonstrates the power of gaining experience as he has grown from his roots of coaching youth sports camps to now developing athletes at the highest level of basketball.  He discusses the need for coaches to develop a large sample size and find the true value in executing reps in their craft. Ty dives into the details of assessment and how he uses the squat specifically to understand a client's ability to unload and load their joints, and he goes on to highlight the movement competencies of elite throwers. Ty believes that all complexities of movement can be boiled down to basic, foundational principles, and he discusses the structuring of his model for movement, designing exercises that translate to performance, and implementing new learnings into practical application with clients. Ty further explains that the science of coaching is nothing without the art of it mentioning how coaches can better build rapport with athletes, evaluate an athlete's performance needs, and leverage professional networks to develop as a coach. At the end of the day, Ty emphasizes his passion for movement and developing athletes, his gratitude to the trenches, his prior experiences, and life-long mentors, and the lessons learned for building a model for movement.

Rising star for the Oakland A's Jesús Luzardo discusses his high school tribulations with Tommy John, gaining a competitive advantage by dialing in his nutrition, the development of his slider in pro ball, and how he differentiates his 4-seam and 2-seam fastball.

Former Red Sox star Kevin Youkilis talks about developing discipline in the box, making the real-time adjustments that matter at the plate, the power of being versatile defensively, the current complexity bias in professional baseball, and making youth athletics fun again.

Bill Hartman, renowned physical therapist and co-owner of IFAST Physical Therapy, discusses how his perspective has changed since first entering the world of rehabilitation nearly 30 years ago, what is infrasternal angle and how can we use this assessment tool to impact performance, how much strength is too much strength for athletes, and how professionals can continue to evolve their craft and remain curious learners.

Former big leaguer Tom Koehler discusses developing a grinder's mentality, learning to differentiate his curveball and slider, consistently starting in a 5-day rotation for nearly 8 years, and the capsular shoulder injury that ended his career.

Owner of Champion PT, senior medical advisor to the Chicago White Sox, and award winning physical therapist Mike Reinold sits down with Eric to tackle two of the most pressing baseball performance topics: the loss of shoulder internal rotation in throwing populations and the sleeper stretch, weighted ball training and maximizing your throwing development, and how Mike's research provides clarity in these areas.

It’s time for another listener Q&A, Eric covers three questions from our audience in this week’s podcast that touch on Sleep Tracking, Work Capacity, and Tendinopathy Wordplay.

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Renowned mental conditioning coach and strategic advisor for elite athletes and organizations alike Trevor Moawad discusses what the current shortcomings of sports psychology are, why unconditional positivity is not the answer for developing an elite mentality, how truly impactful negativity is and why individuals need to eliminate it from their life, and what is influence and how parents and coaches can better shrive, guide, and influence their players.

Research Director of ASMI and renowned biomechanist Dr. Glenn Fleisig talks about being at the forefront of integrating biomechanics into the world of baseball, his research and what science tells us about the mechanics of throwing, where the future of biomechanics is heading, and what areas of study the industry should work to close the gap on in baseball.

Eric answers 4 listener-submitted questions including: what the best recovery drills are after pitching, how collegiate pitchers should adjust their throwing and training to prepare for the 2021 season, what advice he has for S&C coaches looking to specify in the development of baseball players, and what the focus of high school athletes' strength training should be, sport-specific or more general.

Pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers Josh Lindblom highlights finding his identity as a reliever, his experience playing baseball in the KBO and how this experience influenced his game, managing a huge usage spike in 2015, and the progression of his pitch arsenal through his career, including the development of a splitter and cutter.

Dusty Blake Pitching Coach at Duke University discusses the transformation of Duke baseball under Chris Pollard, the true definition of being blue collar, effectively using Trackman and other data resources for impacting player performance, maximizing the college recruiting process, and relying on brutal honesty and conviction to routine as the means for performing consistently.

First-base coach for the San Francisco wants Antoan Richardson dives into being the Bahamian baseball player to play in the MLB and the culture of baseball in the Bahamas, developing the skills of base stealers and outfielders, scoring the game winning run on Deter Jeter's final hit in Yankee Stadium, and how is is working to be ambassador for his home country, specifically through Project Limestone.

Speed training specialist and consultant for multiple professional and national teams Derek Hansen sits down with John Oneil to talk maximizing speed training, coaching sprint technique, rehabilitating hamstring strains, and simplifying his coaching philosophy.

Eric Cressey sits down to talk about the key factors of player development that need to be considered as baseball restarts, what lessons we can learn from others around the world who have already started playing baseball again, what insights we can gain from previous shutdowns in sports, such as the 2011 NFL Lockdown, how professionals can most appropriately manage players’ workloads as they ramp up to full competition, and how coaches can best transition their athletes into playing baseball again safely.

Reliever for the Oakland A's Lou Trivino talks about his transformation from an 89 mph starter into a 99 mph reliever, how adding a coil to his delivery allowed him to create more tension in his throwing motion and find untapped potential in his arm, how developing a cutter changed his game, how throwing a good cutter is less about grip and more about approach behind the pitch and feel for the ball out of the hand, and how he prepares for the demands of throwing daily at the big league level.

Kolten Wong second baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals talks about the culture of Hawaiian baseball and how his father has influenced his baseball career, how understanding his strengths and remaining versatile as a defender have allowed him to find continued success in baseball, how players can improve their defensive skills and manage the details of the game to develop an edge defensively, and how he prepares physically and mentally to remain one of the best defenders in baseball.

We welcome recently retired 13-year MLB veteran first baseman Eric Hosmer to the latest podcast. We discuss his path to being a #3 overall MLB draft pick, and what made him not only a fast riser through the minor leagues, but also a guy who immediately “stuck” in the big leagues. Eric speaks to how a young Royals team ascended to a World Series championship, and how the game evolved – especially for hitters – over the course of his career. He also reflects on what strategies kept him durable, and how various coaches impacted him along the way.

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Join Eric Cressey and CSP-FL pitching coaches, Mark Lowy and Brian Kaplan, as we sit down with Corey Kluber, Blake Treinen, Adam Ottavino, Brandon Kintzler, Mike Soroka, and Steve Cishek to discuss the nuances of throwing an elite two-seam fastball.

Head of Athletic Performance and Science for the Irish Rugby Football Union Nick Winkelman discusses his interest in the art of coaching, how coaches can better train both the physiology and psychology of athletes, how professionals can maximize interventions with clients through their use of language, how coaches can leverage analogy, an athlete’s language, and emotional hashtags in the learning process to enhance memory, and where internal and external cueing fit in an athlete’s movement development.

NY Yankees Quality Control Coach and Catching Coordinator Tanner Swanson highlights the key competencies of elite catchers and how new data is redefining the significance of receiving, why coaches should prioritize teaching catchers to block and throw from their best receiving position, how catchers can find balance between comfort and functionality in their stance, why blocking should be emphasized as an extension of receiving, and how catchers can better command the bottom of the strike zone.