Dealing with Concussions: A Guide for Coaches and Parents

By Carly | January 28, 2013

This wasn’t exactly my original plan for article #2 in my coaching series, but with Colin Kaepernick leading the 49ers to the Superbowl in Alex Smith’s place, I’m reminded that we all need to talk about concussions—in fact, I don’t think we can really talk about concussion safety enough.

For any of you who don’t follow football, Alex Smith began this season as the 49ers starting quarterback, and was doing pretty darn well before suffering a concussion mid-season. He wasn’t out of commission for long, but Colin Kaepernick did so well in his place that Smith lost his job, for no reason other than that he got hurt. I could rant on and on about concussions in professional football and how having to worry about losing your job if you have one is not a good situation…but we’ll keep this about coaching and parenting young athletes.

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Does Lifting Weights Make Girls Bulky?

By Joe Bonyai | January 16, 2013

One of the main concerns young females have about starting a lifting program is that they will get “bulky”. To be clear, lifting weights does not make you bulky. However, I know it’s going to take a lot more than me saying it to convince hundreds of female readers that it’s true. Maybe a message from Miss America 2013 will help?

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Repetitive Use Injury Prevention and Treatment

By Carly | January 14, 2013

As a softball player, you’re always at some risk for injury by sudden accident—getting hit by a pitch or a hit ball, sliding awkwardly, colliding with another player, etc.—and there usually isn’t anything you can do to prevent this type of injury. It’s just part of the game. However, as you probably know, that isn’t the only way you can get hurt. Repetitive use injuries, or sudden injuries that result from an inherent weakness in the body, affect a tremendous number of athletes across all sports. Today we’re going to discuss how they happen, how to avoid them, and how to deal with them if you get one.

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Changes to Fastpitch Power In 2013 and 3 Core Training Videos

By Joe Bonyai | December 20, 2012 |

Over the past few weeks, many Fastpitch Power followers have demonstrated their support for our website. Knowing this, I’m still deciding to change the format of my posts in 2013. I explain exactly why in this week’s video and kick start this new style of content with three videos that reveal a VERY different perspective on core training.

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The Best Exercises for Softball. Period.

By Joe Bonyai | December 12, 2012

If you’re an athlete, parent, coach, or trainer, take ten minutes and watch this video. I explain why old school strength training exercises are the best choice for softball players. There’s no fluff or sales pitch. This is exactly what I believe and practice. In this video, I redefine squats, deadlifts, olympic lifts, and jumps in softball terms. Don’t see the forest for the trees.

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Lower Back Injury Prevention for Softball Players

By Joe Bonyai | November 7, 2012 |

In this week’s videos I provide an explanation of a common cause of back pain in softball players, how to assess whether your athlete is at risk for a back injury, and demonstrate stretches and core strength exercises that all players, and parents, should try out!

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Softball Full Workout Sheets and Videos

By Joe Bonyai | October 31, 2012

Not to many trainers are willing to post their actual training programs or videos of their clients training. This week I’m putting myself out there and doing both. My goal for this week’s post is to show you examples of how I arrange the training components such as a warm up, power, strength, and core training into a workout and even donate example sheets that my athletes follow.

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How Much Should You Practice Pitching?

By Carly | October 29, 2012 |

An EXTREMELY common question I hear from parents of new young pitchers is, “How often should my daughter pitch? How many pitches should she throw?” You may have started noticing a pattern in my answers to these types of questions: there is no “right answer” or solid number I can give you that works for everyone. There are, however, guidelines you should take into account, and that’s what we’re going to discuss today.

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THE Arm Injury Prevention Plan for Softball Players

By Joe Bonyai | October 18, 2012

Make this fall and winter a proactive off-season! If your arm was hanging this summer, if you had to miss games because of shoulder pain, you can take action this winter to get your arm feeling better than it ever has. Here is my five step plan shoulder and elbow injury prevention plan for softball players.

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