Sports Science Practices for Every Level of Sport
While Sports Science practices may look different between the professional and amateur ranks, there are, however, underlying principles that allow any coach to think and work like a sports scientist.
Sport Science: Data Collection or Data Acquisition? What is the Differnce?
Call the process what you would like publicly, what matters most is how you frame it in your own mind, as this will be what guides your processes and the interactions you have with your players.
Taking the Fear Out of Data Collection in Sport: Part I – Quantifying the Game
Yes, getting GREAT at data collection, maintenance, analysis, and monitoring can certainly be challenging. However, collecting meaningful information to answer your sport-related questions isn’t about being great – it is about being CONSISTENT.
And, to be consistent we have to understand the value that collecting data can bring to our knowledge of the game, and to the coaching of our athletes.
Can There Really Be Good in the Bad? A Brief Reflection on 2020
In one sentence, the irreconcilable tragedy of a journey ending too soon; yet in the very next, the infinite potential of beginning a journey anew; and, that is just one of the challenges making sense of 2020, isn’t it?
Finding the Strength to Face Depression and Anxiety
It has been quite some time since I have posted on my site, and nearly 2 years since I last wrote on the topic of mental health, depression, anxiety. I have waited so long to readdress this topic in long-form because the perfectionist in me has been looking for the right title, focus, and words…
18 Lessons Learned in 2018
Hard to believe that 2018 is nearly in our rear-view mirror. This year proved to be one of my life’s most challenging years yet. But, there is no growth without resistance, and for all of the challenging moments, there has been some significant professional and personal growth. I’ve learned a lot. More than I could…
Why I Train
I’m big on the “why”. If there’s one thing that really irks me personally, it’s eye wash — that is, doing things with no purpose, just for the sake of doing them. Sometimes in life you have to participate in eyewash, of course. But, when it comes to what I do in my own time,…
Assessments and Data Collection at the High School Level: Why, How, and When | Part I
Recently I spent some time with a few great high school coaches —one a performance coach, another a fundamental coach. Over the course of many discussions, the fundamental coach, a head football coach, asked me the following question: Of all the new things you’ve learned and come across lately in this industry, is there anything…
An Open Letter To the Coach or Athlete Battling Mental Illness:
Whether we like it or not, there indeed exists a stigma in athletics that players and coaches must be “mentally tough”, and that discussing mental illness is taboo. As a result, those who are struggling do so in silence for fear that they will be labeled soft, incompetent, or mentally weak. Recently, I posted some…
How Strength & Conditioning Can Help Enhance Player Development in High School Baseball
As most high school coaches have probably noticed, each year travel baseball has taken a greater foothold on the high school baseball landscape. Travel-ball has become a staple for nearly all ballplayers — what was once a summer-only tour for most, for many it is now a nearly year-round endeavor. While the travel circuit has many inherent advantages ,…
3 Things Amateur Baseball Players Can Learn From the Pros – Part I
In my coaching career thus far, I’ve been fortunate to collect diverse, yet highly concentrated experience in athletics; I’ve spent the better part of 8 years coaching a single population of athletes — baseball players — yet, have done so at various age and competition levels. Between the high school level, the travel-ball circuit, collegiate…
Ryan J. Faer 