A great video on a few NFL hopefulls looking to do anything they can to be drafted in the first round of the 2010 NFL combine. Great story put together by ESPN that I found extremely interesting. So if you missed it Enjoy! 

Begin by standing with dumbbells in your hands. Bring your arms out to the side to form a 90 degree angle and have your hands facing the floor. Exhale and rotate your shoulders so that your forearms are in-line with your ears. Hold briefly and then slowly lower to the starting position. Perform 8-15 repetitions. Move in a slow and controlled manner, and use a weight that allows you to maintain good form throughout the set.

Below is University of Florida and recent 2009 Minnesota Twin Draft pick Buddy Munroe performing External Shoulder Rotation’s

External Shoulder Rotation w/ Buddy Munroe from Brian Braziel on Vimeo.

The upper extremity is exposed to large amounts of stress in all sports requiring overhead motions. None more than baseball. “Pitching is an act of violence.” says Dr. Glenn S. Fleisig. Once the pitcher loads the baseball the arm rotates forward at 7,000 degrees per second. It’s the fastest measured human motion of any activity. While in the loading position to throw a baseball, the shoulder and arm bear the equivalent of about 40 pounds of force pushing down on the glenohumeral joint(Shoulder). Researchers at American Sports Medicine Institute, found out if the shoulder is pushed or pulled upon anymore than 40 pounds, the shoulder would blow apart. “That’s why you don’t see pitchers throwing 110 mph. The role in baseball is not to get the pitcher to throw faster but how to lower the risk of injury,” said Glenn Fleising (PhD. Researcher at American Sports Medicine Institute). Strengthening the muscles of the glenohumeral joint during the off-season and constantly maintaining strength during the season is a focal point for many Major League Baseball clubs. The External Shoulder Rotation is one of many exercise that helps maintain and strengthen the muscles of the glenohumeral joint.

The medicine ball chest pass is a great core and upper body strength exercise. Grab a medicine ball with both hands and hold it against your chest while assuming athletic position. Execute a two-handed chest pass and pass the medicine ball against a solid wall. Catch the ball on the rebound while trying to keep your core stable. Repeat this movement for the desired number of repetitions.

Below is 3rd Round 95th overall First Year Draft Pick by the Arizona Diamondbacks Keon Broxton performing the Medicine Ball Chess Pass.

During the Medicine Ball Chest Pass focus on:

• Explosive throws
• Do not favor one side while passing
• Don’t throw your thumbs down like a basketball chest pass

Major League Baseball Teams often use the off season and preseason to develop programs that focus on making improvement in movement skill and muscular development by improving joint stability and joint motion. This foundation will help reduce the chances for injuries, make further gains in strength and progress to complex movement patterns where higher intensity training can be implemented (1). If baseball players are unable to stabilize the (scapulae, vertebrae and hips) in a static position then advancement to dynamic situations requiring similar patterns of stability may create movement dysfunctions and the potential for subsequent injury(2). As a result, the initial phase of all baseball strength and conditioning programs should include exercises focusing on isometric stability, with a specification on pelvic, vertebral and scapular control. As baseball requires dynamic movement in the frontal, sagittal and transverse plane of the human body, the medicine ball chest press is a creative exercises that requires the athlete to stabilize one joint or body segment while moving another to produce better neuromuscular conditioning while still promoting local strength gains(3).

1. Hodges PW and Richardson CA. Inefficient muscular stabilization of lumbar spine associated with low back pain: A motor control eval of transverse abdominis
2. Jantzen KJ, Oullier O, and Scott Kelso JA. Neuroimagin coordination dynamics in the sport sciences. Methods 45: 325-335, 2008
3. McMullen J and Uhl TL. A kinetic chain approach for shoulder rehabilitation. J Athl Train 35: 329-337, 200

This drill is designed to improve your movement to the ball, improve your balance, and improve your ability to recover between points.

Recently I got the opportunity to take University of Florida’s former Number 1 and Winner of the 2009 $15,000 Netherlands F5 Futures, Greg Ouellette through the the Ground Stroke Test.

The Ground Stroke Test is designed to train you to move in the way you actually move on the tennis court when you play matches. This type of tennis specific training has been key in the work for players such as Jennifer Capriati, Pete Sampras, and Justine Henin-Hardenne.

The work/rest ratio to start will be 30 seconds of work and then 30 seconds of rest. This simulates the energy expenditure in points.

You are in the middle of the court, the drill is to run to the far cone, hit a groundstroke, and slide step back. Do this for 30 seconds, rest for 30 seconds. Top world class players can do 11-12 cones in 30 seconds.

Again do 3 sets.

Do the test for both the forehand and the backhand: 3 sets of 30 seconds with 30 seconds rest in between.

Congrats Keon for going in the 3rd round of the 2009 MLB Draft from Braziel Performance. We here at Braziel Perofrmance look forward to getting in a few workouts, upon completion of Rookie Ball.

Former Lakeland High athlete Keon Broxton, who was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks last week in the MLB draft, has signed with the team, according to his college coach.

Johnny Wiggs of Santa Fe Community College said Broxton signed earlier this week with Arizona for about $400,000 and is on his was out west to begin camp. Broxton was a third-round pick after spending one season at Santa Fe.

via The Ledger