IDENTIFYING & ADDRESSING WEAKNESSES

SKILL TRAINING:  It’s naturally efficient.

Whether it’s your throwing program, strength training or the generally flow of a team practice.  It’s easy to understand that goals, priorities and organization lead to the most efficient use of time.  When it comes to skill/drill work, coaches and/or players rarely have trouble managing these three aspects of life, especially in relation to their weaknesses.

It all begins by identifying weaknesses then addressing them accordingly.  For example, from a team stand point, if your defense has been lights out, but your offense has struggled to put the ball in play and manufacture runs.  Likely goals get set and priorities shift slightly to help improve your offensive short comings.  Followed by organizing your offensive skill and drill work to reflect those goals and priorities.

The same is true for skill/drill work on an individual player level.  It’s pretty simple to identify when a particular skill or drill exposes an outlying weakness.  The fix for which is natural and simple; devote more time to that particular weakness for that particular player.

For coaches and players at high levels this comes naturally.  It doesn’t require a lot of thought, analytics or charting.  When a player lacks a skill or struggles in a drill it’s typically easy to physically see the problem.  Then, on the fly and without even realizing it, set goals, priorities and organize accordingly (e.g. – a hitter struggles with off-speed and the “bounce drill”, solution, mix in more off-speed and “bounce” pitches).

Essentially these measures are the personalization of skill training.  Coaches and players make these efforts because eliminating individual player weaknesses, ultimately eliminates team weaknesses.  The easier it is to identify a weakness, the easier it is to set goals, organize and priorities to address and fix the identified weaknesses.

Throw Smart Mobile App: Fist to Fist Assessment Page.

PHYSICAL TRAINING:  It is tougher to fix weaknesses you can’t easily see!

Having that insight helps in the understanding that the same is true for physical training.  Every athlete is only as strong as their weakest link.  So by personalizing each player’s physical training to eliminate weak links.  It maximizes the individual player’s ability to perform, thus ultimately improving the teams ability to perform.

However, when it comes to physical training, coaches and players at all levels rarely implement this same personalized approach.  Because unlike skill, which is quickly identifiable through sight, thus personalization can be implemented on the fly.  Physical competence requires more in depth assessment and analysis.  Followed by a more complex diagnosis and prescription process.  Which in most cases is time consuming and inconvenient.

It’s like identifying a cut to the skin vs a break in a bone.  One is simple to see the other is more complex and usually requires technology to effectively and efficiently identify.  The EXACT same is true for physical training.

Before the x-ray machine, anything outside of a compound fracture, would have been virtually impossible to efficiently diagnose and treat.  Technology, like the AI within our Throw Smart app; streamlines assessing, eliminates the need for manual charting, and has automated the diagnosis and prescription process. Gone are the days personalized physical training is complex, inefficient or unachievable.  Throw Smart AI technology has created an age where personalized physical training should be the new standard for any thriving baseball/softball player or program.