Steven Thayer enters his fifth season in the Athletics organization and third year with AAA Las Vegas as sport performance coach. He spent 2023 in High A Lansing and 2022 in Low A Stockton in the same role. Prior to joining the Athletics organization, he served as sport performance coach in the DSL with the Giants in 2021. Before his time in professional baseball, he oversaw strength and conditioning programs for multiple varsity sports at Mater Dei High School. Additionally, he spent time as an assistant strength coach for Michigan State basketball and volleyball teams and as an intern with Cal football and Apple Wellness. A native of San Ramon, CA, he is a graduate of Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and has a master’s degree in kinesiology from Michigan State University. He holds nine certifications in the strength and conditioning field.

Topics covered in this episode:
-His journey (including working in the DR and corporate wellness with Apple)
-His best professional baseball story
-Current trends in the field
-Working in AAA Pacific Coast League

Quotes:
-"Baseball's my first love" (6:30)
-"A lot of the foundational stuff is the same. Everybody needs to squat, hinge, lunge, push, pull" (8:05)
-"It starts with the rapport. It starts with that getting to know the guy, getting to know that you care about them" (35:48)