Every year thousands of athletes around the world are hurt playing the sport they love. This is an unfortunate truth about athletics, injuries do occur. However, with modern day science and technology, being “on the shelf” isn’t what it used to be. Athletes are returning from injury (including cases that would have been considered career threatening in the past) quicker than ever, and they are finding revolutionary ways to train and stay sharp during their recovery.
In the past year alone two of the premiere shortstops in Major League Baseball, Didi Gregorious of the New York Yankees and Cory Seager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, suffered torn ulnar collateral ligaments. Resulting in Tommy John Surgery and a lengthy recovery for both marquee players. Another Yankee, Aaron Judge, has missed a significant amount of time with an oblique injury. Even the most popular minor league baseball player on the planet, Heisman Trophy Winner Tim Tebow, was out of commission for six weeks with a broken hamate bone in his right hand.
So the question is, what do the best baseball players do to stay sharp when the injury bug strikes? How do the most dedicated ballplayers prevent the accumulation of rust on their baseball skills?
The short answer - continue to work hard! Video study sessions, data analysis and potentially - training with MaxBP! Life is full of tough breaks and the same can be said about sports, but the way we bounce back defines our character and ability to succeed.
Without question, training and staying sharp while injured is more challenging than when an athlete is functioning at optimal health. But, that doesn’t mean that it can’t be done. Sometimes it takes a little thinking outside of the box (and state of the art technology doesn’t hurt), but where there is a will, there is a way! Our team at MaxBP believes that our reaction training provides some of the best opportunities for injured athletes to continue developing their game, and here are several reasons why:
- Give the injury time to heal properly - For injured players unavailable for full participation in the batting cage, practicing with a MaxBP machine has far less impact on the joints and body than facing live pitching. This serves is an ideal stepping stone during an athlete’s rehabilitation process.
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Small Ball Training - The idea behind MaxBP’s small ball concept (training with golf sized wiffle balls) is that if you practice hitting using a smaller ball and a smaller bat, attempting that same task with larger objects will be easier. MaxBP offers a variety of speed options, allowing realistic simulation for any player at any level. Breaking pitches? Got it covered. The MaxBP Pro machine features cutter, slider and curveball options from the right and left side. For players unavailable to swing a bat, practicing tracking drills at different speeds with different pitch types can be very effective. Athletes with one injured arm can find great value in MaxBP’s one-handed hitting drills. - Vision Training - MaxBP is proud to be partners with Slow the Game Down (STGD) Vision Training Tools, which provides all athletes (injured or not) with a variety of opportunities to develop superior eye-mind-body reactions so your game speed performance will be enhanced. These products include strike zone locators, jelly bean colored wiffle balls, Eye-Trac and visual performance training tools.
- Time and efficiency - Whether a player is hurt, injured or healthy MaxBP features the most efficient training capabilities on the market. For players looking to hit until their fingers blister - MaxBP can handle that. For athletes with a tight schedule, who need to squeeze every last minute out of their practice time - MaxBP is as efficient as it gets
- Portability - For the past decade athletes have had the opportunity to enjoy MaxBP at home and on the road because of its user-friendly portability. This allows athletes (even those suffering from injuries) the ability to manipulate the machine with ease at practice and to-and-from a game site.
Ballplayers everywhere, don’t fall victim to the injury bug. It’s been known to take athletes out for weeks, months, years - and in the worst cases, forever. Let MaxBP bridge that gap between injured player and difference maker.