As a 17 yr old I was throwing 84 - 86 mph. I was told by Bill Thurston, one of the best pitching coaches in the country, that I completely maximized every ounce of talent I had through my work ethic and mechanics and I should be satisfied. He felt that I just didn’t have the structure to throw any harder. It was a huge compliment (from a man who doesn’t give many) but not what I wanted to hear. After using the training methods from this program my fastball topped out at 92 mph. Many players have thrown harder but at 5’9” with a maximum vertical reach of 84” (short arms = poor throwing leverage!!!) I would say I did something right to get to that point.
I never set out to create a program or system for increasing a player’s velocity, rather I looked for THE MAGIC SYSTEM that would take me to a level that would allow me to play professional baseball. The journey lasted twelve full years. I knew I needed A VERY SPECIAL system considering that I was always undersized and only possessed an “average” fastball. During my career I never did find “the magic system” but I did find plenty of things that worked and didn’t work. The end result was being able to throw a baseball over 90 mph at 5’9” and earning a contract to play professional baseball. On my way I had quite a successful career for someone who many believed was just “too small” to be successful. I won 25 games and struck out over 300 hitters in playing for Massachusetts Division 1 powerhouse Cathedral High School. I stepped on the mound for nearly every big game over a 4 year period including going 6 – 0 in playoff games and winning 2 league titles, 2 western MA. Championships and one state semi-final game. (Cathedral High School sent 3 players on to play in the major leagues over only a 10 year period 1996 - 2006). I went on to have a successful college career (twice being named all-conference and played in the prestigious NECBL, producing an ERA of 1.00 along with 7 saves). I don’t list these accomplishments to brag as I will be the first person to tell you I just flat out wasn’t good enough to play major league baseball. I list these accomplishments and articles below to show what hard work and an intelligent program can do. Unlike a lot of “internet experts” I actually played and lived the game I teach. I walked the walk and I’m hopeful my experience can help thousands of players just like me have similar success.
After maximizing every ounce of potential I had in my body I came to the realization that it most likely wasn’t in my cards to play in the major leagues. I poured everything I could into that area of my life and I realized it was time to move on. I moved on to become a sports performance coach, opening my own facility (Powerhouse Training). During my time there I have trained athletes from every level. I have assisted high school athletes from nearly every major sport go on to play at the div 1 college level. I have worked with little leaguers and current major leaguers alike. I found out my calling was my ability to train athletes vs being an athlete myself. However; one thing is certain - being a player first helped me develop some of the most effective training methods for improving performance. Specifically, my journey to play professional baseball, along with my academic and coaching background, has allowed me to develop programs that get results. I am sharing these methods and the program that helped me reach my goal and I hope that this program can help thousands of players just like me reach their goal!
