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Why did Justin Willard get involved in baseball coaching?

In what ways have the Minnesota Twins changed in recent years?

How can you maximize individuals in a team setting?

How does Justin Willard access his players?

In what ways can a player’s skill faults be fixed?  

As far as proprioception, does it have to be sport specific?  

What is Justin looking for in a pitcher?

What does communication look like with his players?

Are their common problems that Justin sees?

How can coaches get players to implement individual corrections?  

How is the communication system within coaches established?

How do we develop command to help pitchers compete in the strike zone?

What is Justin’s advice to teach a lefty pick move?

What would a week look like for training a pitcher?

How can you prepare the pitcher’s body to throw?

How does rest and recovery work after a pitcher has been throwing?

How can you simplify data to make it accessible to players?

The ultimate goal is hit and miss.

What is the fine line between having too many pitches and focusing on go-to pitches?

What resources have Justin really excited right now?

What training routines keep Justin’s players motivated?  

Are there any books that Justin loves?

Baseball is an organism with many moving parts.

Justin Willard accesses players by rating their proprioception, mobility, stability, and mental capabilities.

70% of our brain is optical power.

The training goal is to ‘feed the flaw,’ which is to help players feel what their flaw is and overcorrect it.  

Tweetable Quotes:

“The people aspect is something that we as coaches often overlook. Helping people grow is a huge, huge aspect of coaching.” – Justin Willard (01:38)

“I’m going to put you in the best position to see the ball. That’s what we as humans do. We want to see.” – Justin Willard (09:07)

“If you can’t throw a change-up, it’s probably because you can’t get a proper extension of your arm. So, let’s work on the things that will help you get there.” – Justin Willard (20:55)

“You need to have all your information and your ability to communicate in one kind of central location.” – Justin Willard (22:09)

“I’m very big on restraint-based training, understanding and manipulating the organism, the task, and the environment.“ – Justin Willard (25:59)

“Throwing should be the easy part. Getting our body warm and ready and sweating, that happens before throwing.” – Justin Willard (36:41)

“I would rather have a guy with an 80-grade pitch and no command than a guy with a 40-50 grade pitch with phenomenal command.” – Justin Willard (40:07)

“If you boil down this whole player development process, you can’t just look at one sphere.”– Justin Willard (51:1)

Resources Mentioned:

Ahead of the Curve Podcast

Twitter: @AOTC_podcast

Linkedin: Justin Willard

Twitter: @JustWillard2