Folks, it is time to face reality.

[theboro]

FAU made it finals of the regional before losing 15-0. Which further proves that Sun Belt schools could never survive in the WAC where you need an unthinkable amount of pitching depth.

Sun Belt schools in regionals - 3
WAC schools in regionals - 1 (of which was not Tech)

Further proving how delusional you are in your thinking that the WAC is a better conference.

ULL went 2 and through in the SBC tournament but got in by way of being co-regular season champs.

Fresno went to the tournament title game in the WAC (after winning the league regular season) and still got left out.

Quick go tell the selection committee how wrong they are (and for the last 23 years when the SBC has gotten multiple teams into the tournament.)

[tenacious_dog]

Thebozo, why are you here?

On behalf of Bozo, I take issue with that remark!

You see, I knew Bozo. Bozo was a friend of mine. This clown is no Bozo!

[LookingForResults]

Poor, poor Bozo. Always trying to compare himself to us. Hey Bozo, ever wonder why no one from this board ever tries to compare us to you?????

[GatorDawg]

Sun Belt schools in regionals - 3
WAC schools in regionals - 1 (of which was not Tech)

Further proving how delusional you are in your thinking that the WAC is a better conference.

ULL went 2 and through in the SBC tournament but got in by way of being co-regular season champs.

Fresno went to the tournament title game in the WAC (after winning the league regular season) and still got left out.

Quick go tell the selection committee how wrong they are (and for the last 23 years when the SBC has gotten multiple teams into the tournament.)

Again notice what exactly I am saying. Does the Sun Belt have talent? Yes. Is it a good league for baseball? Yes. But no Sun Belt team would survive 4 game series in the WAC. FAU 0 Florida 15 is case in point. Now maybe the WAC would do a better job of getting teams in if we played 3 game series (would also let us use our 4th pitcher for midweek games like most teams instead of using him for conference games).

[SixWings]

The last three teams the WAC added were laughed out of the SBC.

And each either played in a Bowl game or a NCAA Basketball tourney game this year. What exactly is your point? That your conference lost three soon-to-be productive members?

I'll admit that the WAC is not even the best non-aq conference- it's behind the MWC and even CUSA in some respects. Maybe it's time you admitted the 'belt is the worst.

Just say it. It'll make you feel better.

[irongrip]

My observations of the last 6 seasons is that we've done a decent job recruiting considering all things. In recent years the problem has been with keeping our starting pitchers healthy. Injuries are part of the game but it seems to me that we've had way too many of our pitchers going to the disabled list. Many injuries have happenned in the weight room. I don't want to point fingers but we should first take a hard look at the strength & conditioning program that our pitchers follow. Nex't, I would look at the throwing routines and schedules (early season and off season pitch counts, etc ). I believe that Sim should keep his job but make whatever moves necessary to remedy this injury plague of our pitchers. We've had fantastic offensive teams and had huge potential these past 6 years (save what has been going on with our pitching staffs)

There have been NO major injuries in the weight room. However, there are always risks when you lift weights or play any sport. If there is a minor injury, such as a strain of a muscle, that's to be expected when athletes are trying to push themselves to perform better. You would be fooling yourself to think NO ONE would ever get hurt while in the weight room or playing the game. The job of the S&C coach is to keep the athletes healthy, powerful and on the field. That is their job! If athletes get hurt while they are playing the game, that is not directly linked to their S&C program. Maybe there were pre-existing problems that they never talked about so that they could earn and keep their scholarships. Maybe their mechanics of throwing are the problem and it is putting stress on the elbow or shoulder. And, if you would ask Dr. James Andrews (top baseball surgeon in the country) he would say, "Every player only has a certain number of throws in their arm."

Maybe you think you know what goes on in the weight room, but in case you don't, here is the general outline of what they do...A warm-up, rotator cuff exercises, squat and plyometric jump, a hamstring exercise, an multi-joint upper body pull movement, a multi-joint upper body push movement (position players use barbells and pitchers use dumbbells with a neutral grip), they choose what biceps and triceps exercises they want then they do forearm work followed by either trunk rotational work, traditional abs or bridges. This is all done in 60 minutes 3d/wk.

The Louisiana Tech Baseball Team follows an undulating periodized program that starts with hypertrophy development, transitions to maximal strength and then to power. In the off season this is done 3 times a week (2 hard days, 1 light day), during the in season the players lift twice a week (1 hard day, 1 light day). You can find my husband's philosophy on the NSCA's website and look for the strength and conditioning articles that he has written. His passion is baseball training because he played it and coached it at the college level. He is only interested in making baseball players better! He NEVER wants them doing anything that could be detrimental to their performance on or off the field. He is continually asking the guys how they are feeling and if they need to make any changes or modifications to their programs. And if the coaching staff informs him about a hard practice day, then the workout is adjusted for the players consideration.

What's funny is that after I told him about your post, he laughed because this year they did LESS in the weight room than in any of the prior years he has been here. Oh, and there was NO testing of the athletes 4 times throughout the year like we have done in the previous years, although that information was presented at a the NSCA National Conference and Baseball Specific Conference to educate others about baseball strength and conditioning. So, before pointing fingers, please go directly to the source and he will be happy to inform you as to what he does and why. You can find his contact info on the Tech website under the College of Education, Dept. of Kinesiology...shoot just google him - just type David J. Szymanski, PhD

[irongrip]

Jericho got his double hernia maxing out on a gameday (Friday) in February of his sophomore year. To top it off, he was misdiagnosed by the team doctor. Instead of getting the surgery and rehabbing for 6 weeks,he was put through painful rehab (for the alleged groin strain) for the remainder of the season while pitching and playing right field. He couldn't "push off" effectively from the rubber when he pitched and the pain affected his swing also. When they tell you it's nothing serious, you play through the pain. He was on fire at the plate until that injury. Check it out.

WOW... WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND WOULD MAX OUT ON A GAME DAY??? I sure as hell know HE didn't. Their test dates were in September, December, March and May - NOT February. My husband's research is important to him, but not at the expense of the players, coaches or program!

[irongrip]

You are on to something with comment bolded above. Injuries do happen and generally more pitchers than position guys in baseball as a whole. If you go back beyond past 3-4 years, our pitcher injuries have been no more than national average. S&C guy has been on board officially 4 years. He has been at Tech longer. A former Tech coach chose not to use him when he was coming around and wanting to apply a lot of his techniques. He had contacted former university and HC there told him they had to limit using him and what he does as pitchers were always hurting beyond normal and guy could be a little eccentric (sp?) every now than then back then. I too have seen trend recently versus past 10-15-20 years. Once guys are with pitching coach at field for the limited hours they get weekly, it really doesn't vary too much school to school, just higher level schools get better prospects.

This is touchy subject as Sim really likes Strength and Conditioning guy that is a professor and comes cheap, but not all things work for pitchers in weight room as for position guys. There are a lot of good things he brings to table in visual aids and running breakdown, etc. However this is area I would look at, if I were Sim and adjust as you think and not just from S&C guy, even though can be touchy at times.

This is not to blast anyone, but area to look at and make adjustments by talking to other Mid-High D1 about their S&C guys and what they do with pitchers versus position guys as they don't or shouldn't be doing the very same exercises. Again, this is not for a bunch of folks to take off on just because that's what they do best.

Later, less frequent to site now into summer as many of you.

Ok, now it's your turn...
You have no idea what you are talking about!!!!! Yes, he has been working with the team for 4 years and has only been here for 5 years. He has never had any contact with any former Tech coach...please explain that one. IF there was any contact to his former University, you would find out that he was NOT limited in any way, shape for form. He was hired directly by the HC as the Exercise Physiologist/Strength & Conditioning Coach. While doing this for 5 years, there were NO S&C related injuries. He was with the baseball team on a full-time basis, morning workouts, afternoon practices, evening workouts, and travel. As for his pitchers, he had a starting pitcher's program, a middle-relief pitcher's program, and a closing pitcher's program (you can find his articles outlining these programs on the NSCA website).

If by eccentric, you mean cutting edge of research, trying to make players perform better, designing individual programs for them, using specialized equipment to accomplish his goals, then YES he is definitely eccentric and PROUD of it because of his position as a leader in the baseball strength and conditioning world.
And you are correct in saying that he comes cheap...try volunteer! He would love to spend more time with the team during their practices and games and of course with their travel. His full-time job as a professor and in the Dept. of Kinesiology keeps him from doing that. Oh, and he also likes to spend some of his time with me and our 2 boys. Touchy subject indeed.
As for making contact with other Mid-High DI S&C guys that would be great, but there might be a chance that some of those guys have made contact with my husband already. I can also tell you that he has had MLB S&C coaches contact HIM with ideas and suggestions about their programs as well as other coaches around the country. Just yesterday, he received an email from one of his former athletes from his previous university. This athlete asked my husband if he could help his brother with a workout program (his brother is a junior at a DI baseball powerhouse). The athlete remembered the workouts my husband had him on when he coached him 6 years ago...guess he left an impression. This athlete also mentioned to my husband that the year after we left the university, he had problems with the other workouts he was put on. Also, just yesterday, a former Tech pitcher left my husband a message by phone about putting together a workout program for him...guess he left an impression on him too. ALSO, we saw a Tech pitcher in the grocery store yesterday and he told my husband how much he appreciated all his work he has done with him over the past few years in the weight room.

So, I will say to you as I said to falcon...please go to the source before you start posting FALSE information on this message board. He will be more than happy to let you know why he trains the Tech baseball team the way he does. I'm not a bunch of folks, I'm just one person who wants the facts to be stated correctly because when it comes to baseball strength and conditioning, that is one of the things that Dr. Szymanski does best!!!

[mentechsters]

Interesting.............

[Designated Hitter]

Ok, now it's your turn...
You have no idea what you are talking about!!!!! Yes, he has been working with the team for 4 years and has only been here for 5 years. He has never had any contact with any former Tech coach...please explain that one. IF there was any contact to his former University, you would find out that he was NOT limited in any way, shape for form. He was hired directly by the HC as the Exercise Physiologist/Strength & Conditioning Coach. While doing this for 5 years, there were NO S&C related injuries. He was with the baseball team on a full-time basis, morning workouts, afternoon practices, evening workouts, and travel. As for his pitchers, he had a starting pitcher's program, a middle-relief pitcher's program, and a closing pitcher's program (you can find his articles outlining these programs on the NSCA website).

If by eccentric, you mean cutting edge of research, trying to make players perform better, designing individual programs for them, using specialized equipment to accomplish his goals, then YES he is definitely eccentric and PROUD of it because of his position as a leader in the baseball strength and conditioning world.
And you are correct in saying that he comes cheap...try volunteer! He would love to spend more time with the team during their practices and games and of course with their travel. His full-time job as a professor and in the Dept. of Kinesiology keeps him from doing that. Oh, and he also likes to spend some of his time with me and our 2 boys. Touchy subject indeed.
As for making contact with other Mid-High DI S&C guys that would be great, but there might be a chance that some of those guys have made contact with my husband already. I can also tell you that he has had MLB S&C coaches contact HIM with ideas and suggestions about their programs as well as other coaches around the country. Just yesterday, he received an email from one of his former athletes from his previous university. This athlete asked my husband if he could help his brother with a workout program (his brother is a junior at a DI baseball powerhouse). The athlete remembered the workouts my husband had him on when he coached him 6 years ago...guess he left an impression. This athlete also mentioned to my husband that the year after we left the university, he had problems with the other workouts he was put on. Also, just yesterday, a former Tech pitcher left my husband a message by phone about putting together a workout program for him...guess he left an impression on him too. ALSO, we saw a Tech pitcher in the grocery store yesterday and he told my husband how much he appreciated all his work he has done with him over the past few years in the weight room.

So, I will say to you as I said to falcon...please go to the source before you start posting FALSE information on this message board. He will be more than happy to let you know why he trains the Tech baseball team the way he does. I'm not a bunch of folks, I'm just one person who wants the facts to be stated correctly because when it comes to baseball strength and conditioning, that is one of the things that Dr. Szymanski does best!!!

Thank you for the information and your perspective from that side of it.
Some original thoughts and reply to falcon not to be lost when this was brought up as another area along with several to look at. Bottom line is they look at everything to see if they want to adjust one thing or another season to season.

This is touchy subject
not all things work for pitchers in weight room as for position guys
There are a lot of good things he brings to table in visual aids and running breakdown, etc.
This is not to blast anyone, but area to look at
Again, this is not for a bunch of folks to take off on just because that's what they do best.

Nuff said.

[TYLERTECHSAS]

I would slowly walk out of this room guys.

[irongrip]

So you don't consider a double hernia a major injury? Jericho maxed out (squats) in the Tech weight room on Friday Feb 23,2007 and played the rest of the season with a double hernia. When he came up with the symptoms we tracked it back to that day.I am glad to know that coach Szymanski has backed off and found the right workout for the baseball athlete. Like I said, he has done a lot more good than harm so hopefully the " try this and try that" period is over.

Mr. Jones...no, I don't consider (nor does the medical field consider) a double hernia to be a major injury. However, I do agree that it is a painful injury to play with. I had double hernia surgery myself. A major injury would have prohibited him from playing that night, however, he did play that night.

Once again, the team has NEVER lifted on Fridays during the season much less do a 1 rep max squat. PLUS, the team did not do their testing in Feb, they did it in March and May (I have all of the numbers documented for the testing). All of our in-season training has been done on Monday (their off day), and on Wednesday or Thursday depending on whether they had a Wednesday game. Jericho had some pre-existing lower body injuries that kept him from completing all of the tests that we did in December 2006 including a 1 rep max parallel squat. Therefore, if he did squat in February, it wasn't on a Friday. It would have been either on a Monday, Wednesday or Thursday to test where his leg strength was because he was trying to get back into a consistent lifting program that had percentages to go by when performing his squats. Jericho himself agreed to test his leg strength so that we could determine what amount of weight to use for his program.

I haven't "backed off and found the right workout for the baseball athlete", I've been implementing essentially the same program throughout the entire 4 years that I have worked with the team. The only testing we conducted this year was squat, bench and 1 arm DB row in Sept. and Dec. No other testing went on throughout the year.

I'm 43 years old and have been training baseball players as a collegiate coach and Strength & Conditioning coach since 1992. Since I've been doing this for 18 years I am very confident in what I do. While I’ve been here at Louisiana Tech there has been no "try this try that" period. My strength training is proven to be successful over numerous years and numerous research studies with both high school and college athletes.

I am sorry you're still upset about your son's injury, but it would be greatly appreciated if you would not criticize my S&C program when you truly don't know what has been going on. I would hope you would understand this and understand that I am only trying to help the Louisiana Tech baseball players because of my passion for the game and my desire to help other young men get to a higher level.

For anyone else reading this, how many professors do you know working at any Division I school anywhere in the country that would wake up at 4:30 in the morning 3 times a week for the last 5 years to help train athletes for free? If any of you believe I am doing this only to use the athletes as guinea pigs, then you are sadly mistaken. I am trying to help the Louisiana Tech baseball players perform optimally and in the process, use the information collected to assist others who train baseball players around the country so that they can feel confident that they are providing a safe training program for their athletes.

I'm sure my wife will continue to post on this message board, however, my time here is done. If you or anyone would like to contact me, I would be thrilled to discuss what we do and why we do it.

Sincerely,
David Szymanski

[TYLERTECHSAS]

I told some of you guys to turn around and walk slowly out of the room. This guy knows his stuff.

[mentechsters]

Irongrip---1
falcon----0

Round 2......

[Champ967]

I think somebody just got schooled.