By Phil Wade
Director of Operations, PBR Indiana

Recently PBR Indiana has partnered with Force Barbell Sport Performance, a company located in central Indiana that is dedicated to the pursuit of all performance and physique goals for all high school, college, and professional athletes.  Force Barbell has consistently trained MLB, NFL, and NBA athletes.  In addition to working with professional sports, they have trained numerous collegiate athletes, including All-Americans in football, basketball, baseball, track, and many other collegiate sports.

“We are excited to have partnered with PBR Indiana.  This is an excellent opportunity for us to continue with our mission of helping athletes achieve their dreams and change their life through movement.  If you goal is to simply make your high school baseball team, or win a Cy Young, we are here to get you to that next level,” said Force Barbell Co-Owner Dan Brown.

Force Barbell will be working with PBR Indiana this year at our events, running performance measurements for all of those players that attend.  Brown recently wrote the following piece answering questions on why performance measures are important and why they are beneficial in helping athletes reach that next level.

                                           Performance Measures For Baseball Players

                                               By Dan Brown, Force Barbell Co-Owner

Recently we have been getting a ton of emails asking questions about sport performance measures.  We wanted to answer some of these questions.

For high school baseball players sport performance measures can make the difference in the pursuit of a scholarship, or even better, a major league contract. 

Here is the problem; most young athletes have no idea what these measures are, or how to improve upon these measures. 

Let us start with the most basic question, what are sport performance measures?

The quick, dirty answer to a rather complex question is this.  A sport performance measure is any measure that a coach/recruiter/scout, can look at to aid in the evaluation of a player outside of the on the field skill of a baseball player.

For instance, although in baseball you will never run a 60-yard dash, coaches would want to know how fast you run 60, and this gives them an idea of your overall speed.

Are sport performance measures that important?

Measures of sport performance are vast.  They can range from vertical jump testing to functional movement screens (FMS), to basic height and weight measures.  No matter what the test is, you should always perform your best. Every coach will put a greater emphasis on certain measures.  Some want to see speed, others strength, so no matter what make sure you are prepared.

Let me give you a scenario to demonstrate the importance of testing measures.  A few years ago we were at a combine event.  A scout was looking at two athletes with almost identical statistics.  Both athletes had similar performance measures scores, with the exception of one, the FMS.  After the FMS was completed, the athlete who measured better on the test was the athlete they offered a scholarship to.

Also, take this into consideration.

As an athlete looking to take your game to the next level you have to realize one thing; you are a commodity. Every university or professional organization wants a return on their investment. Not only do they want a return on their investment, but they want to make sure they have the best possible investment.  Scouts are going to leave no stone unturned when it comes to evaluating a future investment. Scouts and coaches alike want to know how big, fast, and athletic you are.

What is all of the craze about the FMS?

This may be the single best question we have received.  This question came from a high school baseball player in a small town in Indiana.  I love the notion that anyone anywhere can hear about the FMS.

The FMS stands for the functional movement screen.  The FMS concept was developed by Grey Cook and Lee Burton. The test is designed to, in a timely manner, give a comprehensive evaluation of an athlete’s mobility and stability relationships.  The aim of the test is to determine an athlete’s readiness for movement and to provide a numerical value in determining risk/readiness for training or competing.

Although there is a no sole predictor of injury, the FMS does a good job of alerting the evaluator to the relative possibility or threat.  Generally speaking if you score low on the test you will be at greater risk for injury, or greater risk for under-performing.

The FMS has become popular because it is an easy to use tool.  There are many ways to assess someone’s mobility/stability.  In general we will FMS our athletes and if they score poorly in a certain area we will assess in greater detail.  For the majority of athletes the FMS will tell you all you need to know in terms of mobility/stability.

What is the point of performing the vertical jump and broad jump?

This is another excellent question.  The vertical jump and broad jump are very useful tests.  The test determines one’s ability to produce force and power in a short amount of time. 

This test can be very useful. Suppose I am a scout and I put the radar gun on a pitcher who is throwing 90mph.  I then put them through the FMS and VJ test and realize a lack of mobility in the hip is limiting power output.  As a scout I could interpret that to mean that with the right coaching and with a few small changes I could have that pitcher throwing closer to 94mph, due to the increase in lower body power out-put. 

My personal opinion is that the VJ is the most underappreciated test in baseball. Many times baseball players underperform in this aspect, which means a team’s strength and conditioning coach can make a lot of headway in terms of developing the athlete’s raw power.  This translates to more home runs, more leaping/diving catches, more stolen bases, and more explosion off the mound.

The final question I would like to address is this.  I have received a few questions that surround a turn-and–run type test, or a change of direction (cod) test.  These tests are designed to evaluate how well you move in space.  Again this test gives the evaluator a gauge of the individual’s athleticism.  The sport application for this test could be interpreted as an athlete having to turn and run to get to a ball, or even an athlete’s ability to recover from a false step.

I hope this brief Q&A helped.  If you have anymore questions you would like answered on a one-on-one basis please email us at [email protected] and visit our website at www.forcebarbell.com/