Zach Dechant
@ZachDechant
Followers
33K
Following
12K
Media
902
Statuses
6K
Assistant Athletic Director of Sports Performance, TCU Baseball, CSCCa-SCCC, NSCA-CSCS, USA-W. Product of Ransom KS
Texas Christian University
Joined February 2014
WANT TO ROTATE HARD?! Watch the front leg recoil back into the hips. This is the foundation for rotational power. The extension feeds the pelvis creating more torque and stability to rotate around!
29
506
2K
How an athlete handles the 20+ hours outside their sport is really what determines their success during the time spent training. Poor rest, nutrition, hydration can’t be overcome with just hard work.
8
743
2K
The weight room is the ultimate character revealer. Tells you everything you need to know about teammates quickly.
11
1K
2K
Crawling is a priority in our pitchers warmups. Don’t just limit these to forward backward. Make them move all over! Proximal stability distal extensibility.
32
206
2K
A method we use to add variety to speed work are called rabbit and coyote races. The rabbit must react to the coyote in the back. Team sports requires reacting to visual stimuli so it’s never a bad thing to use the eyes to train the body. Creates a fun competitive environment.
10
201
1K
For all the starting pitchers yesterday that need to start the recovery process off on the right foot…w/ low intensity extensive work.
4
111
1K
The best “agility” money can buy. Added the L screens on the 2nd rep for some variability. It’s not training. it’s FUN. #LTAD
21
187
1K
We don’t mind a good medball throw. But do they actually build “rotational power”???. Let me know what you think below or how you use them!!!
28
66
1K
It doesn’t matter how much you run. Pitching is a skill. Train the skill with gradual increases in volumes to go deeper in games.
14
149
1K
Arm care isn’t solely isolated band movements. Closed chain exercises for the upper body play a huge role!
16
98
1K
Yes you can and should train inseason. I still don’t get how this is questioned. Imagine two HS athletes. One lifts 3x a week for the 20 week inseason. The other doesn’t. Over 4 years of HS development the athlete that trained has had 240 more exposures. That seems significant!.
10
335
1K
There’s a constant battle in my mind that I’m wrong about every single thing I do with our athletes. Am I the only one?.
75
34
965
Pitchers are ATHLETES! Train them to be fast powerful and explosive.
10
192
933
How many high school pitchers are lanky and constantly told they need to gain weight and if they do their velo will go up. Then told to go run poles and 300 yard shuttles.
22
91
927
Pelvic rotation IS the sport. Once we lay the foundation with stabilization and grooving movement patterns. we advance by trying to hold the patterns with load.
7
92
917
The A series for us isn’t necessarily specific to building sprint mechanics. We use it for:.-specific warmup.-coordination.-extensive ankle/lower leg contacts .-groove arm drive.We superset each drill w/ buildups where the priority is technical execution and relaxation.
7
155
906
There’s good and bad with medballs. Some of the good is using them to be athletic in various patterns with rotation.
4
60
880
GAMEDAY lifts. Yes it can be done and still play well. @HunterWolfe12 hit 70% on the trap bar paired with two jump variations and a 36er on the pad. then hit a 101mph 400 ft tater to give the frogs a lead.
6
192
872
So and so can’t work out because (insert. they’re tired from yesterday’s practice or they played a lot this weekend or they have a sore shoulder). 🙄.I’ll just leave this here.
Seven years ago, Victor Assaf was a top Crossfit athlete. On the way home from a competition, he got in a horrible motorcycle accident. His body was changed forever. His mind was not. This is Victor Assaf today
10
251
842
During our re-intro phase we use extensive jumps from part of the @altis rudiment to start preparing the lower body for the more intensive jumps to come.
5
76
812
Too many HS coaches get carried away with wanting "baseball specific" lifts. There aren't any. Train your athletes to MOVE and watch them improve. The wt rm is general!.
12
288
805
What supplements should I use to get bigger and stronger?!?. Don’t miss a workout for two years and get back to me.
15
226
806
Imagine the opportunity lost in a HS athlete not training over the inseason. Compare that to one training 2 or 3 days a week over that same period. Over 20 weeks that’s 40-60 workouts. 60 consistent workouts can be a game changer.
11
460
796
It’s important to teach athletes to be able to accelerate from any and all body positions. Accelerations rarely happen out of controlled starts in team sports. Create athletic athletes that can self organize efficient acceleration angles from any orientation.
2
129
785
We jump our pitchers in a variety of planes and movement patterns. Let athletes be athletes. Get them away from the sagittal plane.
7
74
774
“Can’t train this fall cuz I need more looks.” . “You played in 45 tournaments this summer and 1400 college coaches all saw you throwing 84mph. More looks aren’t the answer!”.
18
187
764
I think the most underrated evaluation is just talking to your athletes. Ask them how are they doing on a daily basis. Not only can you get an idea of their readiness but you actually get to know your kids in the process. That’s where the real magic lies.
9
135
768
Adding in some directional changes to our extensive jumps. We do these barefoot to help build the feet and lower leg. Quick springy low intensity jumps to continue building the athlete not the baseball player.
3
72
754
Teaching pitchers to hinge is huge for incorporating the glutes to get pelvic rotation. No better way than @LantzWheeler core velo belt. Essentially tricking the nervous system by feeding the compensation of being quad and anterior push dominant!
10
145
740
Controlling the pelvis with the SL Hip Raise w/ half foam roller. Trapping the foam roller between the knee and elbow helps to engage the core / proper pelvic position and keep from compensating with the lumbar extensors and a lack of glute motor control.
4
93
711
Here’s something that will shock many. Our pitchers don’t run or do conditioning in-season. We do some buildups as part of our warmup to activate the CNS. And when we’re on the road we may do one day of tempo runs when we have no other options. Outside of that NO RUNNING.
18
91
712
Long duration ISO holds on the banded goblet squat are big for:.-opening up the hips.-controlling the femur.-lighting up the glutes.-creating torque thru the lower half. We will work up into the 8-10sec holds per rep. Feels like an eternity.
13
96
678
The 300 yard shuttle is an absolute waste of time for baseball. That is all.
12
55
671
Advice for young coaches. The perfect program doesn’t exist. You will constantly overthink it. Just start with something. Build evaluations into the training itself. Test analyze and make changes as needed. It will be an ever evolving process.
12
87
663
I feel like young strength coach should memorize this table.
12
60
669
Dads inquiring about baseball lessons for 4 and 5 year olds…they don’t need lessons they need you to play with them. Save that money and play with the game just the two of you…however it looks. 🤷♂️.
27
85
654
Young athletes. the weight room is the answer! How do I get faster? How do I throw harder? How do I hit it further? How do I. GET STRONGER!.
5
465
631
Here’s the magic pill for development and gains. CONSISTENCY.
8
223
625
We have 8 reps . 8 reps on this . Remember you have 8 reps. Set 1 lets go. How many reps ????
My biggest pet peeve as a strength coach in the weight room is when ________________.
19
103
626
Coaches are asking about inseason lifting during the week. day before games. day of games. You can lift any day of the week based on how you control the variables. Volume intensity and tempo.
8
106
633
Variety in our program to build armor for throwing athletes.
7
54
622
The 3 most important times for young athletes to add calories for weight gain. -BREAKFAST.-POST WORKOUT/PRACTICE.-BEDTIME SNACK.Find a way to get those 3. Lunch and dinner usually take care of themselves and now you’ve had 5 feedings throughout the day.
8
281
617
Recovery post game doesn’t exist. Think starting pitchers that threw 75-100+ pitches. Everything is stress including more band work lifting running etc. Add more stress to a system that is already depressed and you don’t magically raise the system back up. You depress it more.
25
98
606
Our ROTATIONAL HIP SERIES for teaching and training pelvic rotation on top of the femur. -Neuromuscular control of the glute max through pelvic ER.-Also assists in the ability to get into the hip.
12
84
580
Too many coaches make sprinting an afterthought in training or don’t have room for it on lifting days. Athletic development MUST be built around what happens on the field. and that means sprinting and getting FAST! Its a component of every field sport out there. Deadlifting isnt.
9
121
585
This is what makes me sick about youth sports. We’re testing 60s with 6 year olds??? Exit velos and pop times for kids who are just now learning the sport?!?! Money grab.
This is insane. This is flat out stealing money. And people wonder why the youth game is in such bad shape?! 6-13u have nothing to showcase. Unreal.
43
77
573
Baseball conditioning tests drive me crazy. Training to test is a waste of time. TRAIN TO PLAY YOUR SPORT not to pass conditioning tests.
12
143
548
The scapula needs to be trained to MOVE and MOVE WELL! It is not meant to be locked into place. Don’t think this means stability. Motor control throughout full ROM are vital.
6
89
551
Post game recovery for a starting pitcher doesn’t really exist. The body sees everything as stress including more band work/lifting/running/hot tub/etc. Adding more stress to a body that’s already been fatigued and stressed doesn’t magically raise it back up. It stresses it more.
19
62
550
Wanna throw harder this spring. START TRAINING!!!.Wanna hit it further. START TRAINING!!! . Lessons aren’t building the engine that drives the car. Lessons are the frame but without horsepower under the hood you’re not blowing anybody’s doors off. #DEVELOP.
4
229
538
Our pitchers SPRINT for time. Sprinting is too powerful of a neural stimulus to leave off the table. @lukesavage01
12
64
545
Developmental Frogs first week in the foundation program learning positions. This week was 30-45s holds on the ISO Series. A lot of excellent positions. @TCU_Baseball
5
39
550
We scaled speed sessions back this year from 3 to 2x / a week and I couldn’t have been happier. Faster athletes with less fatigue. Results spoke for themselves. COVID made me adjust and we may never go back. LESS IS MORE !!!.
4
26
542
BIG MISTAKES I’ve made over 15 years in S&C. 1. Believing Max Strength was end all be all.2. Decreasing training loads way too much.3. Thinking anatomy wasn’t all that important.4. Marrying exercises.5. Thinking in absolutes.6. Judging other coaches programs on paper alone.
12
80
520
I get asked all the time if sprinting comes before or after lifting. We prioritize our training based upon the speeds needed and consequently the CNS demand. No we never sprint after our lift. You won’t be fast when fatigued.
8
89
521
Say it louder please!.
3
92
518
If you’re not eating BREAKFAST daily don’t ask about supplements cuz you’re not really invested in GAINING WEIGHT. You’re invested in what’s convenient not what it what really takes.
4
307
518
Instead of cake for his birthday we ate IRON this am at UCLA. Game day primer with doubles in the 60% range and a few 70+% singles up to 438# to finish. HAPPY 21st BIRTHDAY @lukenb9 💪🏻🐸@TCU_Baseball #FrogLegs
8
173
515
I see no reason to use Olympic lifts with my baseball athletes when I can get a training effect with jumps from day 1. And we can gain more specificity in speeds planes and movement patterns.
21
53
510
Testing and training the glycolytic or lactic energy system (aka: 300 yard shuttles) with baseball players is the equivalent to kicking field goals to see if you’re ready to pitch off the mound. Don’t waste time testing or training something that has no bearing on the game.
10
112
491
Our acceleration complex for position players to finish the warmup are power skips for height and PVC accels. They compliment each other on big angles throughout the lower half.
5
41
492
We call these serratus walks and progress to them after a solid crawling progression. Greater SA recruitment with greater humeral elevation. Get that scap moving on the rib cage!
3
44
496
Soup can curls and water bottle flies won’t create or even maintain adaptation. but there’s one thing that will. Sprinting! Arguably the hardest quality to maintain without doing but easiest to develop without equipment.
4
178
490
If the weight room is the most important aspect of your program over the holidays you’ve got the wrong outlook. Ramping up skill development to match the preseason is what matters in the coming weeks. To do that you have to sacrifice energy elsewhere. THROW SWING and SPRINT.
6
54
493
I prefer 3x week in season. At that age the word maintenance shouldn’t even come into play. Most have nothing to maintain. THEY CAN ABSOLUTELY DEVELOP THROUGHOUT THE SEASON!!! Take advantage of their body maturing everyday!.
How many days per week do you think a HS player should be lifting weights IN-SEASON:.
10
161
491
Our starting pitchers don’t typically lift following a start. Here’s the process we follow.
4
44
491
Working on pelvic and glute control w hip airplane. A step in our progression into SL RDL. Focus has to be on locking rib cage to the pelvis
12
86
481
Sprinting has too many benefits not to do it with everybody…including pitchers.
8
50
488
By the responses I got on why our baseball athletes don’t use the Olympic lifts you’d think I called everyone’s mother a vulgar name. The Olympic lifts are just a tool like every other general lift in the weight room. A lift does not an athlete make.
23
44
476
The biggest issue I see at the HS level are athletes that train hard all offseason and then drop it all in-season because they’re “too busy.” Developing into the best athlete doesn’t happen with excuses…it happens with consistency…no matter how small.
11
151
486
I would love to know the amount of arm injuries to HS athletes in the fall vs spring. The fall is a arm killer. Long shutdowns…fast ramp ups. Random games. 💥💥💥💥.
16
65
479
A lot of coaches need to hear this!.
3
47
473
REAL WORLD ATHLETIC ADVICE I SHOULDNT HAVE TO GIVE .If you have early morning workouts the first thing you should be doing is drinking a glass (at least) of water upon waking. You’re dehydrated! Don’t compound the issue and risk an injury because of sheer laziness. 😣.
6
182
466
Our foundation program has made incredible gains this year in strength using nothing more than 4x5 on compound lifts with RPEs between 5-7 for the last 13 weeks. No percentages. We track numbers every week. Takeaways:.1-Training is testing.2-Consistency>high intensity.
7
43
469
Why does teaching proper movement patterns matter?! Because it carries over into all realms! You can’t escape. MOVEMENT MATTERS!!!
7
143
446
BASICS BASICS BASICS. Too many coaches want to overshoot what their athletes really need with fancy stuff. Teach them how to move! SQUAT HINGE PUSH PULL & BRACE There’s a total body balanced program right there!!! #MovementOverMaxes.
5
128
442
Just heard of a college pitcher that has a conditioning test when he gets back to campus in the fall. The test…a 10 mile run!!!! . I knew stupidity existed. I didn’t know it existed to this level.
33
32
446
High outputs with rest during the week and then replicates game demands for energy system work. Listen coaches. Gassers shuttles and 110s aren’t the answer. Absolutely non-specific.
For those of you interested in the Christian McCaffrey approach to high performance training in FB, you might want to listen to this.
1
117
444
Great coaching will outdo great programming any day of the week. The program doesn’t have to be a masterpiece if you coach the heck outta kids to do it right and focus on details. A great program without great coaching is just a sheet of paper.
4
94
441
We integrate Power-Speed drills into the specific warmup with position players. Always working on ARM DRIVE first and foremost.
2
118
434
Single leg RDL variations help build the posterior chain without the stress through the lumbar spine akin to bilateral movements. These are a staple for our athletes following pars fx and or disc issues.
10
27
436
We like some variations in our jumping to develop light load power.
3
35
433
Yes we handle weight on the front squat in-season. Dynamic and/or repetitive effort depending on the level of the athlete. GET STRONG then GET POWERFUL! .#3BlueU
5
77
428
Bounding can be a powerful exercise for the development of speed. -Usually reserved for my advanced guys. -They produce similar force and movements characteristics when compared with maximal velocity sprinting making it great tool to build speed.
6
45
424
As a young coach you can learn all the cool methods and schemes from a book you want but until you can ORGANIZE COMMAND and actually COACH 20-50 athletes at a time it won’t matter.
5
38
421
First week of loaded pelvic rotation is in the books. Position ➡️ Pattern ➡️Load .Pitcher @StormHbaseball with quality movement.
9
39
425
So many coaches ask “can we do speed work on off days?” Why do we relegate speed work to off days?! It’s the most neuromuscular taxing training athletes do. And also the most sport specific in many cases. It should be a focus. not a “when we have time outside the wt rm.”.
7
81
426
A hill I will die on is that most team sport athletes need less volume in the weight room than more.
19
50
423
One of my favorite to move the spine. We use this for pregame warmups and post throw recovery.
4
41
421
Watched an athlete…who because of finals this week was on his own… do 55 minutes of bicep work. Strength coaches will write an encyclopedia of a holiday program but when athletes are left to their own accord the mirror wins all day long 🤣.
11
24
419
I’m not a fan of having monthly blocks in team training. Block of Strength .Block of Power.Block or Speed. I would rather train them ALL…ALL the time and just manipulate which one gets more attention at times.
11
44
417
A gorgeous swing matters little when you have the strength of a wet noodle and can’t get the ball past the dirt. Less lessons and more physical development!.
10
180
402