Ahead Of The Curve with Jonathan Gelnar

Rick Strickland- Owner of Rick Strickland Baseball, St. Louis Cardinals Hitting Consultant

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Quotes
The difference between good and bad hitters is their ability to time.
Our BP is like what they see in the games, they dont go 10/10 and they struggle a little bit.
 
Contact
Twitter- @swingrehab
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Dillon Lawson- MiLB Hitting Coach, Houston Astros

http://www.slugfestcoachesclinic.com/
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Quotes
Decision making in practice is a non negotiable for me. We have to get guys off cruise control and just taking swings to take swings while not being engaged.
Every time I step into the box im expecting to do damage. We dont want to produce timid hitters, we want confident hitters expecting to do damage
Contact 
@DLawson_Astros
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Matt Lawson- Hitting Coach and Recruiting Coordinator, Missouri State University

http://www.slugfestcoachesclinic.com/
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Quotes
Its a priority for me to never lose sight of what its like to be a player.
The game REQUIRES us to make adjustments and adaptations based on how they're trying to get us out.
Contact
mattlawson@missouristate.edu
@mattlawdog
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Derek Florko AKA Sabercoach- Axe Bat Manager of Hitting and Assistant Coach for the Abbotsford Cardinals and Yale Baseball Academy

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Quotes
We test 3 things for power. A vertical jump A seated med ball chest pass and sit up med ball throw
So many times in my career I would try and get kids to do a certain movements and I’d get frustrated because they couldn’t figure it out. Now I’ve come to the realization that everyone moves differently.
Rotational strength and velocity is one of the most important things there is in throwing and hitting.
If you aren’t strong and you dont have the intent to throw/swing hard, not alot else matters because those are the two big foundations.
I love using a broomstick or PVC so the kids can actually focus on moving better rather than trying to hit all the time.
I think external cues within a team setting would be the way to go. Tell them to hit oppo home runs
Resources
Baseball Savant
Driveline
TPI 
Altis
Contact
@sabercoach
insta 
Website
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Pete Savage- Head Baseball Coach, Reno HS (NV)

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Quotes 
We want to raise our competitive level as a tea above our talent level every year
Practice is the lifeline of our program. 
Our obligation as a coaching staff is to organize the most efficient competitive fun filled practice as possible 
If our jobs as coaches is just to go out and win a game we’re pretty short-sided
The most important skill we can teach our players is how to be a good teammate, because it translates to every other part of life.
Our players earn everything they have in our program
We're all doing the same things. BP, Arm Care, ground balls, but its HOW we do it. Thats the separator. 
Resources
ABCA
Ken Ravizza
John Savage
Contact
petes@savageandson.com
Cell- 775-690-9316
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DJ Edwards- Owner/Director of Performance at Push Performance (CO)

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Quotes
Movement is key. Our goal is to train the athlete, not just the baseball player
One thing we can all do is get our players breathing better. 
Joint placement dictates muscle function
We want to dominate the sagittal plane
We want to set PR’s in season
I dont like bands or sprint work post throwing. You aren’t going to make a marathon runner run after he’s done. You’re taking an already exhausted muscle system and exhausting it more.
Resources
Eric Cressey
Loren Landow
Chris Dunn
Dr. Zach Harmon
Dr. Nick Thurlow 
Contact
Dj@performanceco.com
IG
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Ryan Starwalt- Head Baseball Coach, Crescent Valley HS (OR)

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Quotes
Building a baseball player isn’t always exciting, so getting them to internally compete with themselves and the game has to be a priority.
We teach our upperclassmen to bring the next group along. The older kids job is to get the younger kids as educated as quickly as possible.
Its important for kids to ask questions.
#1 in building a better baseball player is getting them to love the game. They learn to love it so they can learn to love the work.
The first 10-15 minutes of our practices, the players are on their own. So they’re expected to have a plan each day on what they’re wanting to work on.
We almost never take traditional rounds of BP. Our guys are just up there to crush a baseball. Hit it where its pitched and run like crazy.
Resources
Craig Hyatt 
Rob Friedman
Twitter
Ted Williams Book
Moneyball
Baseball Coaching Bible
Oregon State Practices 
Casey Fisk
Ryan Parker
Connor Dawson
Steve Carter
Donald Ecker
Dustin Lind
Contact
Twitter
Email
541-908-3622
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Hitting Round Table with Doug Latta, Curt Nelson, and Cody Atkinson

Subscribe on iTunes  Subscribe on Stitcher Subscribe on Google Play Doug Quotes We dont chase results. We chase the ability to move in balance and take an effortless swing. The human body is the strongest and most efficient in a position of balance. Curt Quotes The more information we can spread about good swings, the more our game is going to progress in the right direction and especially for the players which is what its all about. Timing is the most important thing, always Cody Atkinson We’ve got to learn to time for best fastball and adjust on the fly without taking panic swings. An athlete will self organize if you give them the right things to focus on. Contact Doug Latta Ballyard6@gmail.com Curt Nelson Curtis2819@gmail.com Cody Atkinson Cody.atkinson@centralia.edu Website and Social Media sites for the show www.aotcpodcast.com Twitter @aotc_podcast Facebook Ahead of the Curve Coaches Facebook group Instagram aotc_podcast
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John Gelnar- Former MLB Pitcher, Pittsburgh Pirates, Seattle Pilots, Milwaukee Brewers

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Keanon Simon- Head Baseball Coach, Mustang HS (OK)

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Quotes
We play wiffleball in the fall. One because its fun and two because it helps our kids be competitive. 
We chart with a point system in batting practice
4 points for a home run
3 for a gap shot
2 for a line-drive 
You’ve got to hit the ball well to be able to get your points
 We have big brother/little brother program. Every senior gets 3-4 kids and the seniors have to communicate and and all expectations of the program.
(On player responsibility)  I tell our guys that we dont punish you, but we do hold you accountable to be a better man and a better baseball player.
Until we start scrimmages, all of our teams practice together. We break them up into 4 groups and they rotate around to 4 different stations coached by 2-3 different coaches. That way all of our players get coached by all of our coaches.
We all want our players to go out and be leaders, but what have we done to teach them what that looks like?
Its really hard to lead if you’ve never been taught
 
Resources
Heads up baseball and 2.0
Craig Groeschel leadership podcast 
7 keys to leadership
Contact
Simonk@mustangps.org
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