Baseball as in any sport these days, has become a year round endeavor. This does not imply that other sports cannot be in the picture, but they must take a back seat to the program. The game has evolved over the years, as has the approach to success. As we look at what it means to perform at a very high level, it is clear that a player is only as strong as their weakest muscle and only as efficient as their worst movement. We believe that baseball is one of the most over played and under trained of all sports. Most coaches place a great emphasis on teaching but little is understood about maximizing performance and the corrective measures needed for the physical limitations.
 The Futures Program is not about promises… it is about giving serious, dedicated players an opportunity to get the genetic maximum out of their abilities and prepare these players for a chance at the next level what ever that may be. Many programs throughout the country make promises to players and parents that are impossible to make happen. No one can guarantee a scholarship to college, or tell you that your son will be drafted. The best that anyone can do is to develop you to your genetic max and to put that player in situations to be seen. The NHA includes one of the most technologically advanced athletic evaluation processes (TPI) in existence focusing on efficiencies and conditioning for the delivery and swing. Utilizing our physical screening process, we measure your ability to generate and transfer speed and power to determine the most efficient energy transfer throughout your body. We will isolate any physical limitations, correlate these findings to your technique and design a custom-conditioning program. “It makes no difference if you go to showcases, its what you take there that matters”.
 Swing and Delivery techniques are style that is as unique as a player's fingerprints. With TPI technology we utilize their proprietary MRI motion capture system to develop a three-dimensional figure of your movements including all of the rotational speeds of your body. This provides a precise picture of what is happening during your swing or delivery. We can then match your technique with your physical attributes to help you build a more repeatable and efficient swing or delivery.
NHA believes that equal if not more time should be placed on drills and conditioning to build strength, timing, rhythm and feel. In this program, we take the four performance absolutes and integrate them into a year round program. A Macro Cycle of training, skill work, and games. We address Biomechanical efficiency, Functional Strength and conditioning, Nutrition support, and Mental/Emotional preparation. Then you add recovery we call that closing the loop to performance. These areas encompass the next generation baseball player. We will become your baseball advisor and your personal trainer. We will provide you with all the guidance and instruction to get you to your next level.
Bio- Mechanical Instruction
Baseball mechanics are subconscious for the major league player they are burned into their brains like a computer program on a hard drive. The professional player isn't really conscious of all the individual motions that are occurring. The motion is learned and refined as well as written and rewritten through drills. This neuro-pathway programming is the key to skill work. You must learn to master the boredom of repetition.
Functional Strength Training
We will address the neuro-muscular system as a unit. The integration of this system rather than the isolation of individual muscles is critical during strength training. We will increase the ability to produce force, reduce force, and stabilize the kinetic chain. You will develop the optimum levels of strength, speed, and power. Functional strength training will be an off-season, pre-season, and in-season activity.
Mental/Emotional Preparation
Thinking versus feeling or the connection of mind and body, a kinesthetic awareness. Physical tasks of the body are driven by mental/emotional state of the individual. You can't do two things at once. When trying to do something we can only perform one task at a time with conscious effort. When we want to improve our mechanics, we must decide which part of the brain program needs to be rewritten at what particular time. Effective management of emotions and mental focus are critical to the health and performance of the player. This will be a very important part of our process in training and games.
Nutrition Counseling
Nutrition includes all of the materials needed to both supply energy and maintain good health in a very complex athlete with very specific and complex needs. What we want to accomplish is to provide the information necessary for the elite player to understand these needs well enough that, they can confidently make the appropriate decisions to meet their specific nutritional needs.
Recovery
Closing the loop is a pre-habilitation and rehabilitation process of the human body. Athletes prepare to compete, they compete, then (ideally) they repair from their competition before starting to prepare again. This routine must be managed game-to-game and week-to-week in micro cycles, as well as month-to-month and year-to-year in macro cycles if players are to have a chance at successful, and healthy careers.
About Steve Johnson
Steve is a Certified Performance Analyst specializing in striker thrower sports and holds a degree from the University of Maryland. He specializes in the Four Corners of Performance biomechanical efficiency, functional strength and conditioning, mental and emotional preparation, and nutritional support. We then close the loop to performance with the pre-habilitation and rehabilitation exercises as they relate to pitching and hitting. Over the years he has helped both the professional and amateur, reach their genetic maximum through this training method. This unique training program of functional strength training combined with cross-specific motor learning drills has made him one of the top coaches in the United States.
He is currently working with Dr. Tom House at the Rod Dedeaux Performance Center at the University of Southern California and Dr. Greg Rose at the Titleist Performance Institute in Oceanside Ca. Their research is on analyzing the biomechanics of the swing and pitching delivery. The goal is to isolate the physical limitations, as well as the development of the functional strength protocols for performance and corrective training.
Through his affiliations with Major League Baseball International Steve coached at MLB Camp Europe at the Italian National Olympic Training Center in Tirrenia, Italy. There he joined the MLB staff of Jim Lefebvre, Rod Carew, Bruce Hurst and many others in raising the level of play by teaching the Major League way to players and coaches from seventeen different countries. He also worked with the Chinese National Team as they prepare for the 2008 Olympics. Steve appears weekly on ESPN Radio as a Performance analyst and his work has been featured in such arenas as,MASN sports network, Lefebvre Training Center, Train the Swing DVD, and in the book he co-Authored with Dr. Tom House “The Art & Science of Pitching”.
 “Steve is a valued member of our group and his performance training is as good as anyone’s"
TOM HOUSE former player and coach with the Red Sox. Braves ,and Rangers. Currently coaching at USC
“Steve Johnson is probably the best at understanding how to get the most out of a player. As a parent I have trusted him to train my son who is now with the Dodgers Organization”
DAVE JOHNSON former player Orioles |
 “Steve is an expert on teaching the fundamentals of baseball and has worked with players at all levels”
JIM LEFEBVRE former Player, Coach, and Manager
Dodgers, Mariners, Cubs, Brewers, Reds, A’s, Giants
“Coach Johnson has had more to do with me playing at this level then any other coach“
Brad Kledzik
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Final Thoughts
I would like to thank you for your interest in our Futures Program. During my years as a player, coach, and trainer I am very excited about this program, more than any I have ever seen or been involved with. We have studied the best in the game to understand what makes them special and identify their physical limitations. Players are placed through a complete array of tests usually reserved for the best players in the world. By assessing a “total picture” of your body our team will recommend a program that will seamlessly integrate into your existing coach or team instruction to help you optimize your performance. I know this process will translate to success on the field and will get each player to their genetic potential.
Coach Johnson
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