Whether it be the daily commute or early morning cardio, cooking dinner or doing the chores, walking the mall or relaxing poolside on a weekend – podcasts are a great way to conveniently sneak in a little extra learning for the week. In this weekly installment, I share with you a shortlist of listen-worthy podcasts – old and new – to check out this week. Enjoy!

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Baseball Strength Podcast

As a former professional baseball strength coach and a baseball-lifer since the age of four, there is probably nothing that I enjoy than talking baseball performance training and science. So, when I came across a podcast named “Baseball Strength”, obviously my ears perked up, and of course I immediately downloaded a bunch of episodes on the spot.

Upon listening to a few segments I realized just how much the host, Austin Womack, and I had in common as far as passions and ideologies.

Austin has interviewed quite a few influential, interesting, and knowledgeable personalities from the baseball training world. The podcast is relatively new, but I am excited about future guests.

For more from Austin Womack and Baseball Strength Podcast, follow Austin on Twitter @WomackStrength and visit his website here.

Although there are a ton of great episodes, I chose the following two installments to share because they happen to correspond well – from a timing perspective – with a trip I recently took to Driveline Baseball in Kent, Washington. At Driveline I spent a couple of days meeting with and learning from one of the most knowledgable, innovative, and opinionated people that I have ever met in baseball – Kyle Boddy. Although Kyle has been known in some circles as the “Weighted Ball Guy”, he is certainly way more than that, and so too is Driveline Baseball more than just a weighted baseball program. Ballplayers, coaches, and fans of sport-science can stand to learn a lot from Kyle – and not just his philosophies, but also his outlook on the game of baseball and life.

Austin’s interview with Kyle lasts nearly two hours, so he as divided it into two segments. I have included both below, each with a brief synopsis. Enjoy!

BSP – Episode #004: Kyle Boddy Interview – Part 1 – Development Strategy | Building Culture Around Intent

Kyle Boddy, former “data scientist” and current President of Driveline Baseball, delves more into the business-aspect of Driveline. This includes his path from working with software to working with pitchers, his biomechanics lab, the research-focus that drives his company, and the direction that he sees baseball, Driveline, and research going in the near future.

BSP – Episode #005: Kyle Boddy Interview – Part 2 – Why Weighted Implements Work | Perks of Data Collection

Austin and Kyle discuss more of the science behind pitching, baseball performance training, and throwing programs in this episode. It also directly addresses the perceived “negatives” of weighted baseballs, Mike Reinold’s article entitled, “Are Velocity Programs to Blame for the Rise in Pitching Injuries” (and Driveline’s Response), and who stands to benefit the most from intensive throwing programs.

One of the most impactful lines of the entire podcast, and really of anything that I’ve encountered pertaining to weighted ball programs, is this question posed by Kyle, as he says:

“[Coaches] say, ‘Let him grow into his velocity’ … And, that’s fine, if you have a kid that throws hard. But, those same people who say that – are they going to be there when a kid is 18-years old, and is only throwing 81 mph and has lower-tier JuCo offers? Are you going to be there for that kid? We see it all of the time. We see kids who say, “I was told I was going to grow into my velocity, and now I’m at a D-III and I can’t even get anybody out.’ “

For more from Kyle and Driveline, be sure to follow them on Twitter @Drivelinebases and visit their website here.