Dustin Carter

This is for every athlete that makes excuses when it comes to his workouts. No more excuses. Enjoy.

Improving Baseball Speed

During the past several months, we have been training our high school baseball players to improve their speed. The most important teaching lesson that we have to continuously remind our guys is to be quick with the hands. This is an important trigger that helps with moving fast out of home plate or stealing a base. The proper arm movement allows for an action reaction that sets a chain reaction throughout the body. When teaching our players the proper technique, we make sure that the action is quick and simple. The quicker the hands the quicker the rest of the body will follow the action.

Jason Hadeed: Rest In Peace

This is a sad day for the training community. I'm sad to see such a great friend and vibrant spokesman for the field lose his life so early.

From Rivals.com newswire:

Jason Hadeed, age 33, and founder-owner of Elite Athlete Training Systems, was fatally shot late Friday night, Feb. 8, in the 200 block of King Farm Boulevard in Rockville, according to Montgomery County Police.

Rockville police responded to a report at 10:15 p.m. Friday and found Hadeed lying on the ground, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.

Hadeed was taken to an area hospital where was pronounced dead, according to police.

Michael Wayne Adams, 44, who lives in the 200 block of King Farm Boulevard, was taken into custody by the Fairfax (Va.) police department following a 911 call from an individual who provided the suspect’s name and who wanted to turn himself in.

Police later learned that Adams was an acquaintance of Hadeed, but the motive for the murder is still under investigation, according to police.

Hadeed was 33 years old and is widely considered one of the nation’s top trainers.

Hadeed founded E.A.T.S. in 1995 and trained several area athletes that have gone on to play at D-I colleges.

A former strength and conditioning coach with both the Washington Redskins and Baltimore Ravens, Hadeed was named as one of the top 100 Trainers in America by Men’s Journal two years in a row in 2004 and 2005 - he was also nominated this year as one of the nation’s top trainers.

Our thoughts and prayers go to his family. Jason was a father of 2 boys and a fund has been set up for them, all donations can be sent to:

The Jason Hadeed Children's Fund
6003 Loganwood Drive
Bethesda, Maryland 20852

5 Keys To Baseball Success

During the past 8 weeks, I have been training an elite group of high school baseball players getting ready for their senior years in high school. As we train and educate these players, it's important to make them aware of what will be expected from them at the next level.
So the most important aspect that a young high school baseball player will have to get used to as they move to the college level or the minor leagues is the total volume of work. Developing total body power, torso strength, shoulder integrity, mobility, and the proper mindset, should be the top 5 priorities for high school baseball players to focus on, as they prepare their bodies for the volume of work at the next levels.

Key 1: STRENGTH TRAINING
The main objective of a strength-training program is to aid in the prevention of injury to the shoulder, elbow, hip and legs, as well as, to develop a more powerful and durable athlete by increasing overall strength. You should concentrate on increasing overall strength with emphasis on the shoulder complex, low back, hips and legs. The upper body lifts in your program should be focused on the muscles of the upper back and posterior areas of the shoulder (decelerators of the arm). Remember that the majority of injuries in baseball are shoulder (cuff and labrum), elbow, core, low back, and hip related. Concentrate on improving strength in these areas during your training.

Nike Coach of the Year Clinic

I just got back from presenting at the Nike COY Football Clinic in Chicago. Craig Bundy and his staff did a tremendous job of hosting and making sure that everything went smoothly. If you ever get a chance to attend, I highly recommend it.

I spoke along side some great college and high school football coaches. I was the only strength and conditioning coach, so my talk was very well attended. But, I have to tell you, that it still amazes me how few programs have yearly organized strength and conditioning programs. Some schools don't have the resources, staff or facilities to make it happen, but it shouldn't be an excuse. I was glad to see many of the coaches in my presentation approach me during the weekend with a desire to learn more about how they could improve their own programs.

Here is a little overview of my presentation. My talk covered our four phase plan on developing the physical development of our athletes: Post-season, Off-season, Pre-season, In-season. Every phase builds upon the next one as the year progresses.

Post-Season:
1. Active Rest
2. Program Evaluation
3. Injury Assessment
4. Surgery-Rehabs
5. State of the Program

Off-Season:
1. Orientation Process
2. Expectations
3. Testing
4. Program Design

Pre-Season:
1. Football-Specific
2. Tactical Elements
3. Volume
4. Intensity

In-Season:
1. Medical Staff Relationship
2. Daily Injury Reports
3. Injured Player Adjustments
4. Strength Training
5. Conditioning
6. Recovery Techniques

I will be speaking at the Indiana Hall of Fame Clinic at Earlham College this coming Saturday. If you are interested and would like to hear some great professional and college colleges speak about how they make their programs work and be successful, this is the place to be this coming weekend.