Justin Bucko is in his third season in the Cincinnati Reds organization, his first at Class A Dayton. Last year, he served as strength and conditioning coach at Rookie Billings. Following an internship in the Olympic sports department at the University of Maryland, he worked for the AZL Reds in 2017. Justin played 4 years of football at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, where he completed his Bachelor of Science degree in physical education-health promotion, then became the head strength and conditioning coach of Milwaukee Lutheran High School before taking an internship with the University of Wisconsin. Following that internship with the Badgers, he began a 2-year stint volunteering at Georgetown University while he obtained his Master of Science degree in exercise science-sports performance training from Concordia of Chicago. Justin resides in Madison, WI with his wife, Marie.

Topics covered in this episode:

-His article on the PBSCCS website (Making the Most of Your Off-Season)

-His best professional baseball story

-Psychological Safety

Quotes:

-"Taking stock of your annual plan is how you're going to grow as a professional" (9:35)

-"Have a plan for your off-season" (14:39)

-"You can't let your pride of what you think is best get in the way of what is actually best for the athlete" (27:24)

If you would like to learn more from Justin, you can read his article on the PBSCCS website:

http://baseballstrength.org/making-the-most-of-your-off-season/