text:
Learn How to Deadlift with my FREE Comprehensive Video Tutorial
Avoid the most common deadlift mistakes with a 9-minute instructional video and 3-part follow-up series.
Simply enter your email address below for free instant access
Home ⁄ Posts tagged "Increasing Throwing Velocity"
How Physical Maturity Impacts Pitching Mechanics and Muscular Recruitment
For today's post, I wanted to share with you an excerpt from my new resource, Sturdy Shoulder Solutions.
In addition to the injury implications of this presentation, I think we also have to consider how much it ties into the concept of accelerating development of young pitchers by getting them strong in the right places. Early strength and conditioning can help to facilitate the proper muscular recruitment patterns (i.e., using lats more than the rotator cuff and biceps) to generate higher levels of velocity.
To learn more about why the minutia often matters so much when it comes to the shoulder girdle, be sure to check out www.SturdyShoulders.com.
The Best of 2013: Baseball Articles
This section is a new addition to the "Best of EricCressey.com" series. Check out the top 5 baseball articles from the past year:
1. The Truth About CC Sabathia's Weight - I couldn't seem to stop typing this response to a New York Times piece on Sabathia's weight, and the result was a 3,700 word thesis!
2. 7 Ways to Get Strong Outside the Sagittal Plane - These movements are beneficial for anyone, but particularly for baseball players.
3. Regaining Scapular Control: Always Good Intentions, Often Bad Technique - Here's a detailed video on how to train the prone 1-arm trap raise.
4. Improving Thoracic Mobility in Throwers - Check out these great thoracic spine mobility drills we use with our throwers.
5. 21 Reasons You're Not Tim Collins - This was a fun piece to write; I'm glad my readers have a good sense of humor!
I'll be back tomorrow with the last installment of our "Best of 2013" series.
Pitching Performance: Understanding Trunk Position at Foot Strike – Part 2
Today is part 2 of a collaborative series on a key portion of the pitching delivery from Matt Blake and me. In case you missed part 1, you can check it out here. In today's installment, Matt delves into the mechanical side a bit deeper and introduces some drill work and examples of where trunk position can go astray.
In order to understand where this extension at landing is coming from and how we can control it in the throw, we have to look at it with a more global perspective and realize that there were preceding movements that were driving this pattern into the landing position.
In part one, we used a picture of Tim Lincecum to exemplify a heavily extended position, but one thing you'll notice is that the foot positioning in his stride pattern is actually driving a lot of the extension in the torso at landing. If we take a look further back in his delivery, you'll notice that he has a considerable front leg swing that pulls a lot of his weight forward, causing him to land closed off. In order to keep the segmental separation unfolding efficiently through his target line, he is forced to include more extension in his throw. Here is a brief clip with a couple markers throughout the delivery to highlight the movements in question.
The issue then becomes that the same leg swing Lincecum uses to create power in his stride pattern is also what makes it susceptible to inconsistency, because of the timing and degree of pre-stretch it requires to make the driveline efficient. Ideally, you would just be able to tell Lincecum to straighten out his stride line, and the problem would be solved. Unfortunately, it's not always that easy. He has been using a stride pattern that is front leg swing dominant with a closed orientation at landing for years to help create the necessary tension it takes to throw the ball 95mph. So, to that end, he's nearly cemented these patterns – for better or worse.
With that in mind, sometimes it's easier to give a pitcher some drill constraints to help find the tension in a different manner before they get back on the mound and try to recreate the new line of tension for which we're looking.
In this case, we'll introduce some simple drills to close the kinetic chain down a bit and move through a progression that goes from static in nature to a more dynamic and athletic movement pattern. Ideally, we'd cue our way through each drill depending on where we need to alter the individual's line of tension until we're able to repeat the new motion at full speed on the mound.
To give you an example of one of the more static drills in our "lead-up" sequence to help set the pattern in place, here is a simple demonstration of the "stride drill" with a three-step progression.
In this example, the intensity was obviously low for the sake of demonstration, so some of the variables of the throw are not exact. With that said, we do also use this drill in a more explosive capacity during some of our weighted ball and velocity drill series in order to turn up the intent and attempt to create some hand speed.
To give you an example of what this looks like in an amateur pitcher with an excessive extension pattern that may lead to some inconsistency, here are three videos depicting the wind-up and then corrective stride drill work:
Stride Drill
Stride Drill with Load
Obviously, these drills aren't quite where we want them to be yet, as there is still plenty to correct, but that was the idea: I want you to see where most "live-arm" high school athletes are before they acquire an efficiency of movement. This athlete, in particular, has pretty good stuff and works about 86-89mph with this particular delivery. If he can control his feet a little better and know where his weight is positioned, he can control his pelvis and rib orientation in the stride phase, and he'll be able to create some cleaner sequencing.
One the flip side of that, I want to emphasize with an athlete like this is that, yes, I do want him to throw hard with intent, but I also want him to be in positions to compete in the strike zone on a consistent basis. These don't necessarily have to be competing interests if we understand how our movements can work together and not fight each other. The main point ends up being that these drills, if cued properly, are attempting to have him consider more efficient movements, and in turn, a more stable and centered delivery.
At the end of the day, as much as we want to control extension in the delivery, by having a strong anterior core that can help limit the amount of hyperextension we get in the lumbar region, most high level throwers have some level of extension in their sequence. The key for me is getting the athlete to understand if it's excessive or if it's controlled extension that we can managed within normal limits on a consistent, repeatable basis. If it's not, we need to be able to find the corrective measures to bring it under control.
In Part 3, EC will cover some core stability exercise progressions he utilizes to help athletes build stability in these positions. In the meantime, if you'd like to learn more about how we manage throwers, be sure to register for one of our Elite Baseball Mentorships. The next one will take place December 8-10.
Cressey Performance Pitching Coordinator Matt Blake and I collaborated on today's piece, which kicks off a three-part series. I think you'll find it to be a great example of how crucial it is for pitching experts and strength and conditioning specialists to work together to help athletes get to where they need to be. -EC
Today, we're going to be taking a look at a key phase of the pitcher's delivery that we like to identify when doing video assessments; this phase is the trunk positioning at foot strike. In doing so, we're going to dig in on some variables that may make or break this position for pitchers.
The trunk orientation at foot strike is a key indicator because it's a critical moment in the delivery that captures the momentum and potential energy that we were attempting to build in the stride phase. Just as importantly, foot strike is the instant at which we begin to convert it into kinetic energy that moves up the chain.
In order to efficiently capture this energy, our body has to be set up properly at landing to both accept the ground reaction force in our legs and induce a sequence of stretch-reflex mechanisms throughout the body to optimize our hand speed at ball release. This is where the term "Hip and Shoulder Separation" originates; this commonly thrown-around concept is quite often bungled because of how people strive to get it. Without getting into stride phase mechanics, let's just look at a couple key identifiable traits that we like to see at landing.
Our model for this example will be Zach Greinke, because of his ability to create elite velocities in a highly repeatable manner from a body type to which most pitchers can relate. In order to do that, he's got to be powerful and efficient, and (with or without knowing it) he has to get into some highly leveraged positions to create hand speed.
The first thing we want to identify is where the torso stacks up over the stable base we've tried to create at landing. The key landmarks we make note of here are 1) the degree of pelvis rotation that is leading the sequencing, 2) an effectively braced lumbar region, and 3) a balanced use of thoracic extension/rotation and scapular retraction, and 4) where the head is oriented. All of these markers need to be working together to create a lag effect from the initial rotation of the pelvis, up the spine to the shoulder girdle, and into the distal aspects of the throwing arm.
This "lag effect" or "segmental separation" has been documented in a handful of studies at this point, and is very evident in elite throwers, so we're not going to dive into this too much. Instead, today's post is more about identifying what the segmental separation looks like in these throwers and how it might be overdone at times.
The key in creating this separation effectively is keeping our target in mind and making sure these sequenced rotations are expressed in the right direction. If you'll notice the picture of Greinke above, he's very adept at getting this separation without "selling out" for it by creating excessive lumbar extension (lower back arching) and letting his ribs flare upwards. He's in an effective position to keep his ribs and pelvis functioning together so as to keep his intra-abdominal pressure for an effective bracing pattern. In other words, the ribs need to stay down and pelvis can't tip forward excessively as he raise his arms to throw.
This is an important concept because a lot of athletes may be able to create "separation," but they're not doing it in a manner that allows their core to stabilize effectively over their pelvis upon landing. If there's too much counter-rotation or extension in the lumbar region, we may be getting more "pre-stretch" than we can handle, and getting it from the wrong place, as the lumbar region is designed to be stable and resist this extension and rotation. If this is the case, we may not be able to recall the stretch we've created, missing our temporal window to transfer force, and in turn, leaking energy. This doesn't just mean losses in velocity or poor command, though; it can also lead to both acute and chronic injuries.
We want the lumbar region to create an effective bracing pattern that simply allows us to channel the energy created in the lower half and then use our thoracic mobility to effectively "lengthen the whip." If this isn't the case and we become over-reliant on the lumbar region for this separation, we can begin to see lower back issues, or oblique strains on the non-dominant side from the excessive stretch in a region that is not structurally designed for a lot of range of motion. As further anecdotal evidence, I (Eric) have never seen a player – pitcher or hitter – with an oblique strain who had what I'd deem acceptable anterior core control.
That being said, below is an example of two pitchers who set up in different postures, one relying on more torso extension than the other to create "whip" in the throw.
Now, obviously, the pitcher on the right has had a history of success at the highest level, so we're not saying you can't pitch like this, but aside from the potential health issues in trying to mimic this level of extension, we also see amateur pitchers who have a hard time realizing an effective release point due to the excessive range of motion required to get from Point A to point B.
With pitchers like this, a lot of times you'll see them miss consistently up to the arm side or compensate by cutting balls off to their glove-side instead of being able to backspin them there. This is due to a host of factors, but mainly because they're not able to sustain their braced rotation and create an effective driveline to release from this position.
The other piece of the puzzle that needs to be understood at landing is how we create effective centration patterns in our joints. Key examples in the pitching delivery are the front hip where the femoral head meets the acetabulum (pictured on left) and the throwing shoulder where the humeral head meets the glenoid fossa of the scapula (pictured on right).
We'll leave the hip socket alone for now, but let's try to understand why it's important to create a relatively neutral orientation in our lumbar region for the sake of keeping our shoulder healthy.
In order to get proper function at the glenohumeral (ball and socket) joint, we need the scapula to get to the right amount of upward rotation on the rib cage so our humeral head can center itself in its socket and get the rotator cuff to function in its true role of dynamic stabilization during external rotation (and, later, out front at ball release).
If we are in a hyperextended position because we're driving through an excessive combination of both lumbar and thoracic extension, we may be putting our shoulder blade in a depressed and downwardly rotated position that isn't optimal for timing purposes in the throw. In other words, the arm gets up, but the shoulder blade can't – meaning the golf ball is falling off the tee.
If this is the case and we can't upwardly rotate the scapula on time to keep the humeral head centered, we can run into an excessive amount of superior humeral glide. Unless the rotator cuff is bull-strong to hold the humerus down in the socket, we have to rely heavily on other active and passive restraints (long head of biceps and glenohumeral ligaments, respectively) of the shoulder. These problems are exacerbated by the fact that the humerus is externally rotating to get to the lay-back position, and when this happens, the humeral head has a tendency to translate forward. So, the cuff, biceps tendon, and glenohumeral ligaments are all working hard to prevent both superior and anterior migration of the humeral head. And, the biceps tendon is twisting and tugging at its attachment on the superior labrum; this is known as the peel-back mechanism for superior labral injuries.
If you're a visual learner and none of the previous paragraph made sense to you, don't worry. Check out this video and things should make sense:
Yet again, don't get us wrong, there's a lot of velocity to be had in these excessively extended positions, assuming they are timed up right, but the long and the short of it is, you're probably not Tim Lincecum. If you're attempting to sell out for these lengthened positions, you better have a real nice blend of hip mobility and stability, a ton of anterior core strength, some thoracic mobility and scapular stability and a boat load of athleticism to sustain these positions over the long haul. A quick arm won't hurt, either!
These issues don't normally present themselves during the first inning of a start in April, but they do have a tendency to linger underneath the surface until a point where your body is fatigued and the incessant abuse of throwing a baseball time and time again takes its toll, bringing you to threshold.
At the end of the day, we're not going to be the internet warriors who tell Tim Lincecum he's doing it all wrong, because he's not, but we are going to warn the millions of amateur pitchers who aren't Tim Lincecum that they need to be aware of how they're attempting to create separation in their throw. More often than not, amateur pitchers are trying to write checks their body can't cash for that ever elusive 90mph throw. Our advice to you is to dig in and learn more about how the body moves along your way. You'll find that more often than not, you can do more with less, assuming you're getting the range of motion in your throw through the right segments and optimizing the timing of your sequencing.
As much as it is the guys who have considerable amounts of laxity who throw hard, it's the guys who combine it with right amount of stability to create the relative stiffness necessary to stay healthy over the long haul. Needless to say, there's a lot more that goes into creating the durable high level delivery, but that should give you a couple key points to think about as you begin to figure out how you're going to make yourself a better player this offseason.
In Parts 2 and 3 of these series, we'll cover some drills you can utilize to prevent or correct these problems. In the meantime, if you'd like to learn more about how we manage throwers, be sure to register for one of our Elite Baseball Mentorships. The next one will take place December 8-10.
It Needs to Be Said: Throwing Doesn't Build Arm "Strength"
Today, I'm going to tackle one of my biggest pet peeves in the baseball world: people saying that throwing builds arm "strength." Sorry, but it doesn't.
What I'm going to write below might seem like wordplay, but truthfully, it's a very important differentiation to make. If young athletes believe that throwing builds arm strength, they'll quickly convince themselves that year-round throwing is safe and acceptable, when it's actually one of the worst things they can do for long-term health and development. Here's what you need to know:
1. Throwing builds arm speed - which is power. Power is heavily reliant on muscular strength. If you can't apply much force, you can't apply much force quickly.
2. Throwing also builds muscular endurance in the arm. Muscular endurance, too, is heavily reliant on muscular strength. If you don't have strength you can't have strength endurance.
If you enhance muscular strength, power and endurance will generally improve. That's been shown time and time again in the research, both in throwers and other athletic situations. However, if you train power and endurance, strength almost never goes up. Otherwise, we'd see loads of athletes stronger at the end of seasons than they were at the beginning. In reality, if you check rotator cuff strength and scapular stabilizer proficiency at season's end, it's generally much lower. As physical therapist Mike Reinold describes it, managing arm strength during the season is a "controlled fall."
This underscores the importance of using the off-season (including a period with no throwing whatsoever) to improve rotator cuff strength and optimize scapular control. Simultaneously, athletes gain passive stability at the shoulder as the acquired anterior instability (secondary to increased external rotation from throwing) reduces.
Now, we need more research to see if it's the case, but I think that one of the hidden benefits of throwing weighted baseball is that doing so essentially helps us blur the line between arm strength and speed, as I outlined in this presentation a while back:
Of course, it depends heavily on the volume, frequency, load, and type of weighted ball drills utilized, as well as the time of year at which they're utilized. However, as I mentioned, it is somewhat of a noteworthy exception to the rule of throwing a 5oz baseball. Weighted balls surely still take a toll on arm strength over the course of time, but that might be a "slower fall."
Regardless, when you're talking about a throwing program, feel free to say that you're building "arm speed" or "arm endurance," but let's all appreciate that you definitely aren't building "arm strength."
Elite Baseball Mentorships: The Importance of Hip Rotation
Today's guest post comes from my friend and colleague, physical therapist Eric Schoenberg. Eric is an integral part of our Elite Baseball Mentorships.
The ability to properly assess, interpret, and manage hip range of motion (specifically rotation) is a critical skill in preventing injury and improving athletic performance in a baseball player. Proper hip rotation sets up better alignment and direction in the pitching motion which sets up proper pelvic and trunk rotation and an improved ability to generate torque. Stodden, et al. reports a direct correlation between increased hip rotation ROM and increased throwing velocity.
As we covered in Phase 1 of the Elite Baseball Mentorship , a pitcher who does not internally rotate fully through the back hip will tend to land closed-off. While some pitchers may use this to improve deception or get more movement on their pitchers, this positioning can lead to the pitcher (especially a less experienced one) to either miss high and arm side or attempt to throw across his body and cut the ball. The pitcher will in turn try to "make up" velocity with his arm/shoulder due to the movement faults in the kinetic chain. This compensation is a very common cause of shoulder and elbow injury in pitchers.
Additionally, Kibler, et al. notes that kinetic chain deficits are discovered on examination in a majority of patients with SLAP (superior labrum anterior-posterior) injuries. Deficits in hip abductor or extensor strength, deficits in hip rotation flexibility, or core strength weakness have been identified in 50% of SLAP injuries.
In Phase 1 of the mentorship program, we discussed in great detail the importance of understanding total motion of the shoulder as a key risk factor in pitching injuries. A recent study from Garrison, et al. once again demonstrated that total ROM (ER + IR) is a better metric for predicting injury risk than GIRD (Glenohumeral Internal Rotation Deficit).
These same concepts also apply to the hip. However, there are fewer research studies and less consistent findings of hip ROM norms in rotational athletes. In addition, you will see some clear differences in ROM based on position (pitcher vs. hitter) which need to be appreciated when designing training and rehab. programs.
Tippett reports increased hip IR in the trail leg (vs. lead leg) of college baseball players. In contrast, Hills (2005) reported no significant difference in hip IR between the back hip and lead hip in hitters, however hip ER and total ROM was significantly greater in the back hip. Whereas, Laudner, et al. notes that in pitchers, there is less internal rotation of the trail leg than position players resulting in a less effective and potentially more dangerous throwing motion.
Anecdotally, as we look at the lead leg in a hitter, internal rotation force often exceeds available hip internal rotation ROM resulting in microtrauma to passive structures and resultant instability of the hip (i.e. abnormal gliding and shear forces of the femoroacetabular joint). As a result, and similar to the shoulder, the athlete will lose dynamic stability (motor control) causing unequal distribution of force on the weight bearing surfaces and finally osseous (bony) or labral pathology ensues.
Finally, from a strength prospective, there is a clear difference between recruitment patterns used to hit a baseball vs. throw a baseball. EMG studies by Shaffer and Jobe et al. show hitters rely much more on the lower half and core for power development and transfer, while using the upper extremity/hands more for position and direction. On the other hand, pitchers seem to rely more on energy created in the core and upper extremity, potentially placing pitchers at an increased risk for upper extremity injury.
1. Failure to properly identify and correct hip ROM deficits (especially lack of hip internal rotation in pitcher's drive leg) will result in increased injury risk throughout the kinetic chain.
2. Asymmetrical rotational patterns in baseball players result in need for training and rehabilitation programs to work rotation in both directions.
3. Continued proof of the need to respect structural changes (i.e. retroversion) as well as position specificity (i.e. pitcher vs. position player) in developing effective training and rehabilitation programs.
4. From a treatment perspective, don't just rush to stretching what seems "tight". Consider the principles of relative stiffness, pelvic alignment, breathing patterns, and lumbopelvic stability before we start cranking away at the hip joint.
If you would like more information regarding the mentorships, please visit our website, www.EliteBaseballMentorships.com. The early bird registration deadline for the August 18-20 Phase 2 Mentorship is this Thursday, July 18, 2013. Click here to register.
Baseball Development: What's with All the Power Arms?
Back in the summer of 2013, a good friend of mine attended the a well-known national showcase with one of his athletes. It was an invitation-only event for the best rising senior baseball players in the country. At the end of the event, he texted me to comment on just how crazy it was that it seemed like dozens of kids were hitting 95mph on the radar gun at this event. And, sure enough, in the post-event write-up, they commented on how over 100 kids topped the 90mph mark.
That is a huge deal.
You see, if you backtracked just 10 years, 90mph was a huge feather in your cap - and it essentially meant that you'd be getting drafted out of high school. Now, on a regular basis, we have dozens of kids nationwide consistently throwing 95mph+ even when there were only 35 major league pitchers in 2011 whose average fastball velocity was higher than 95mph! As I've mentioned before, average fastball velocity is higher in Low-A than it is in the big leagues.
The question, then, becomes, "Where are all these power arms coming from - particularly at the younger levels?" That's a question I'll answer today.
1. More specialization.
It goes without saying that early sports specialization across all sports is, unfortunately, at an all-time high.
However, baseball is particularly interesting because there is an extremely high likelihood of arm injury along the way. In fact, according to a 2008 study from Oullette et al., 57% of pitchers suffer some form of shoulder injury over the course of a season. And, that doesn't even take into account elbow, neck, core, and lower extremity injuries/conditions. It goes without saying that just about every player will have an issue or two (or 30) pop up over his four years of high school - and it's one reason why we don't see any more "clean" MRIs during post-draft physicals for high round picks. They're all damaged; it's just that some are worse than others, and we need to figure out which of the chips in the paint and rust on the hubcabs are clinically significant.
When kids specialize in one sport at an early age and try to play it year-round, it's like betting your life savings on the roulette wheel - except your chances of winning are even smaller. And, even if it works out and the kid manages to be the next star, you dodged a bullet - and he very well may just be waiting for problems down the road, as a lot of the early specialization kids actually have very "old arms" even if they aren't symptomatic.
Not surprisingly, the rise in specialization (as evidenced by the growth in popularity of fall ball teams, showcases, and opportunities to play for multiple teams during the "normal" baseball season) has paralleled the rise in velocity and injuries. Can long-term baseball development be successful without specialization? In my opinion, absolutely - but you have to tie up all the loose ends, and that's what my next few points will all be about.
2. Video analysis
If you want your velocity to increase immediately, there is no quicker avenue to doing so than reviewing pitching mechanics on video. Our pitching coordinator, Matt Blake, uses the RightView Pro set-up extensively at Cressey Sports Performance for this very reason. Many pitchers are visual learners, so this approach to coaching helps them to learn what needs to be corrected much more efficiently - and it's also of benefit to the pitching coach, as many movements in the pitching delivery occur so quickly that they really can't be spotted by the naked eye.
Surprisingly, there are still a ton of college and minor league teams who don't have video available to their players. Access to video can be a huge game-changer, and it's one reason that a lot of high school kids are throwing harder and harder.
Ask any coach what one of the best ways to motivate male athletes is, and he'll tell you competition. Most teenage guys thrive on trying to beat their buddies, opponents, or records that are in place. Nowadays, there are more opportunities to compete (and less preparation), and any player in the country can hop online and see how his velocity compared to other guys' at the last showcase. Although commonly overlooked, these competitive opportunities are big motivating factors to players.
4. Strength Training
I often tell athletes that "If you don't run fast, you won't pull your hamstrings." In other words, strength training can be a player's biggest asset, but also his greatest downfall if he doesn't approach it correctly. You see, if strength training isn't approached correctly, it can do a world of harm - both acutely and chronically. Obviously, the likelihood of getting hurt increases if you move with poor technique under external loading. However, taking it a step further, strength training "solidifies" movement patterns. This can be great in a rehabilitation context if you free up some new mobility and then want to create stability within that range of motion (or just maintain what you've got). However, if you lift like a moron, you'll mostly just teach yourself to be better at moving like crap - and that's when chronic injuries kick in.
Unfortunately, casual observers to exercise physiology don't get that there is a huge difference between appropriate and inappropriate strength training for baseball players. And, this is why there are quite a few "old school" folks in the baseball world who attribute some of the high injury rates these days to lifting. What they should be attributing the injury to (in part) is inappropriate strength training exercise selection, volume, and technique. After all, there are just as many guys get hurt late in the season because they cut out lifting and lose strength!
Simply stated, strength training is helping guys throw harder; there's no doubt about it. It's how that strength training is programmed and what's done to complement it that determines if the increased velocity will lead to an injury. Nothing happens in isolation.
5. More aggressive throwing programs
A decade ago, throwing programs were far from what they are today. Nowadays, up-and-coming throwers are using weighted baseballs and long toss more than ever before. No two pitchers are alike in how they respond to these modalities, but having them as tools at our disposal has certainly helped us to increase pitching velocity with countless throwers.
6. Less distance running
One of our minor league pitchers stopped in to check in with me over his all-star break a few weeks ago, and he came bearing great news. He'd hit 98mph on the radar gun four times in a single inning a few nights earlier - after never having been above 94mph before this season.
Sure, we did a lot of things differently with his programming this off-season, from strength training, to throwing programs, to mobility and soft tissue work. However, the single biggest change he made (in my eyes, at least) was that he started sprinting between outings instead of distance running. I have seen this time and time again, and I'm happy to report that more and more coaches at all levels are starting to pick up on it, too.
Everybody ran long distances back in previous decades. Yet, we throw harder nowadays. And, everybody seems to run long distances in baseball in east Asia. Pitchers throw harder in the U.S. Sure, there are a lot more factors that contribute to pitching success than velocity alone, but these observations are impossible to ignore.
7. More objective ways to quantify velocity
Have you ever wondered if pitching velocity has increased simply because technology has improved, and we therefore have more accessible means of measuring it? The price of radar guns isn't as high. Every stadium has a radar gun. They make pocket radar guns, and there are even iPad apps to measure velocity.
Basic accessibility to this technology has likely contributed to kids pushing the envelope of what they would otherwise think they were able to do.
8. More peaks, fewer valleys
Remember when Justin Verlander hit 101mph on the radar gun in the 9th inning of his no-hitter in 2011? You could call that a "peak" velocity moment. In short, it's a lot easier when the stakes are higher, people are watching you, and the adrenaline is pumping. Major League pitchers don't have as many of these because their professional seasons are a long grind: possibly 200 games in 230 days, if you include spring training and playoffs.
Younger pitchers, however, are more "excitable." With shorter seasons, there are more "big games." With showcases and tournaments each weekend, the stakes are higher. Heck, they get excited if a girlfriend comes to watch them pitch. In the lifting world, we call it the difference between a training max and a competition max. A competition max may be as much as 10% higher because a lifter is deloaded from training stress and put into a higher pressure competitive situation. In young pitchers, everything seems to be a competition max. It's great for demonstrating big velocity numbers, but may interfere with long-term health and development.
Clearly, there are a ton of factors that have contributed to guys throwing harder at younger ages in today's baseball world. They don't all apply to each thrower, as different athletes will generate velocity in different ways. While this increase in average velocity has definitely made pitchers more dominant, it has, unfortunately, been accompanied by a greater frequency of injuries. Understanding the factors that contribute to these velocity increases is the first step in determining how to keep kids performing at a high level while minimizing their risk of injury.
For more information, I'd encourage you to check out 7 Reasons Pitchers Shouldn't Do Year-Round Throwing Programs Part 1 and Part 2. Additionally, you can explore these topics in much greater detail with us at our Elite Baseball Mentorships.
Free Presentation: Individualizing the Management of Overhead Athletes
It's been a while since I updated the free bonus I give to all my baseball-specific newsletter subscribers when they sign up for this free mailing list, so I figure now is as good a time as ever. With that in mind, by entering your name and email in the opt-in below, you'll be emailed access information so that you can watch my 47-minute seminar presentation, Individualizing the Management of Overhead Athletes. I've given this presentation to more than 10,000 coaches, players, sports medicine professionals in the past 18 months, and it's been a big hit.
In this free presentation, you'll observe a lot of our Cressey Performance athletes training and learn:
Hope you enjoy it. Thanks for your continued support - and please don't hesitate to share this page to those who you think might be interested in and benefit from the information I present.
*Note: We respect your privacy and won't share your information with anyone. Instead, we'll deliver you awesome content on a regular basis!
8 Tips for Not Wasting Away During Summer Baseball
The summer baseball travel season is in full swing, and that means more and more of our athletes are starting 1-2 week trips to play all over the country. This is a really important experience for the majority of players, as it's when they get in front of the most college coaches for the sake of recruiting, and they often head south to face more talented opponents. There are more college camps taking place, as well as tryouts for the East Coast Pro and Area Code teams. In short, summer ball is important, and you don't want to screw up in how you approach it, as doing so can mean that you'll miss out on both skill development and opportunites to get "seen" by a coach who'll have you playing at the next level.
Unfortunately, though, this is also a time of year when a lot of things change for young baseball players. Instead of five minute drive to school for practice and games, they're hopping on 15-hour bus rides to get to a weekend tournament. Instead sleeping in their own beds and eating Mom's home cooking, they're staying in hotels and stopping for fast food. Instead of having a predictable weekly schedule of MoWeFr games, they might play five in three days. Instead of enjoying moderate Northeast spring weather of 50 degrees in the morning and evening and 75 degrees in the afternoon, they get East Cobb in July, when it's 95 degree weather with 95% humidity. In short, they get a taste of what minor league baseball will be like if they make it that far in their careers!
The end result, unfortunately, is that many players wind up coasting into July and August on fumes because they've lost weight, strength, throwing velocity, bat speed, ninja skills, and overall manliness. They expected their biggest challenge to be "simply" pitching against a 5-tool hitter or hitting a 95mph fastball, but instead, they get absolutely dominated by the lifestyle off the field.
Guys who don't handle the summer season well are the ones who stumble back in to Cressey Performance at the end of August, making their first appearance since February. And, in spite of the great off-season of training they put in before the high school season began, they usually look like they've never trained before, and they're often asking me to help them bounce back from some injury. Sound familiar? If so, read on.
Below, I've listed seven tips for avoiding this common summer baseball deterioriation. You'll notice that many of them are completely to do with maintaining body weight; as I've written before, weight loss is a big reason why performance drops in baseball players both acutely (dehydration) and chronically (loss of muscle mass). Also worthy of note is the fact that the majority of these tips could also apply to professional baseball. Anyway, let's get to it.
1. Make breakfast big.
When traveling, breakfast is the only meal over which you have complete control. You can wake up earlier to make sure that you have a big and complete one, or you can sleep in and grab a stale bagel on the way out the door. When I travel to give seminars, I intentionally pick hotels that have all-you-can-eat breakfast buffets and I absolutely crush them. Basically, I'll eat omelets (with veggies), scrambled eggs, and fresh fruit until I'm so full that I contemplate renting a fork lift to get me back to my room.
This is because things always get hectic at mid-day. Seminar attendees want to ask questions, get assessed, or just "pick my brain" during the lunch hour. So, if I get something, it's usually quick and not really that big. Does this sound similar to how you eat prior to games? You don't want to eat too much, but know you've got to have something or else you'll be dragging by the 7th inning.
If I've packed away a big breakfast, I can power through the day pretty well regardless of what lunch looks like. Traveling baseball players with day games can do the exact same thing.
As an interesting aside to this, I'm always amazed at how many young baseball players talk about how nobody outworks them, and how they're always in "beast mode." Yet, across the board, very few players will be "beastly" enough to wake up a few minutes earlier to eat a quality breakfast, always complaining that they don't like to get up early, or that they aren't hungry at that time of day. Well, just because your stomach doesn't like food at that time of day doesn't mean that it won't benefit from having it. You think your shoulder and elbow like throwing a baseball? Nope...but they do it.
[bctt tweet="Working hard isn't just about the hitting cage or weight room; it's also about the kitchen."]
I'll get off my soap box now.
2. Appreciate convenient calories.
Remember that in the quest to keep your weight up, your body doesn't really care if you're sitting down for an "official" meal. Rather, you might be better off grazing all day. Mixed nuts, shakes, bars, and fruit will be your best friends when it comes to convenience foods out on the field - or on a long bus ride when you have no idea when you'll be stopping for food.
3. Make the most of hotel gyms.
Let's face it: most hotel gyms are woefully under-equipped. You've usually got dumbbells up to 40 pounds and a treadmill, if you're lucky. That should be plenty, though, as you're not trying to make a ton of progress in these training sessions; you're just trying to create a training stimulus to maintain what you already have. Here's an easy example of a hotel gym workout you can use in a pinch:
A1) DB Bulgarian Split Squat from Deficit: 3x8/side
A2) Prone 1-arm Trap Raise: 3x8/side (can do this bent-over if no table is available, or do it off the edge of your hotel room bed)
B1) 1-leg DB RDL: 3x8/side
B2) 1-arm KB (or DB) Turkish Get-up: 3x3/side
C1) Yoga Push-up: 3x10
C1) 1-arm DB Row: 3x10/side
D1) Prone Bridge Arm March: 3x8/side
D2) Standing External Rotation to Wall: 3x5 (five second hold on each rep)
Another option, obviously, is to try to find a gym near your hotel while you're on the road. That can obviously be tough if you don't have a car handy, though, so it's always good to have these "back-up" minimalist equipment options at your fingertips. And, of course, you can always rock body weight only exercises.
4. Have portable training equipment.
You aren't allowed to complain about the lack of equipment in the typical hotel gym if you haven't put any thought into what training implements you can bring on the road with you. Things like bands, a foam roller, a TRX, and a number of other implements can make your life easier. I've brought my TRX on numerous vacations with me and it always proves useful. The scenery usually isn't bad, either.
5. Pack quality training into short bursts.
If you know you're going to be on the road for week-long trips here and there throughout the summer, it's important to get your quality training in when you're at home in your "consistent" environment. Think of it as managing a bank account. You make deposits when you're at home with good equipment and quality nutrition, and you're taking withdrawals when you're on the road and the circumstances are less than stellar.
6. Bring noise-canceling headphones.
There's nothing better than when you're dreading a long flight or bus/train ride, and then you fall asleep the second the trip begins, and you wake up to find out that you're at your destination. That's awesome.
What's not awesome is that every single team in the history of baseball has at least one schmuck who likes to blare music, yell, and dance around at 6AM when everyone else is trying to sleep. Dropping him off and leaving him for dead in the middle of nowhere isn't an option, so you're better off rocking some noise-canceling headphones.
7. Bring a neck pillow.
Falling asleep on a plane or bus and then waking up with a stiff neck is no fun. Doing so and then having to go out and throw 90 pitches the next day will be absolutely miserable. And, this cool article about research at Vanderbilt University on the negative effects of fatigue on strike zone management over the course of a baseball season should get hitters' attention, too! A neck pillow will cost you less than $20. It's an absolute no brainer. Besides, you probably spent double that amount on the 15 silly Power Balance bracelets you own.*
8. Hydrate!
You know the old saying about how if you sense thirst, you're already dehydrated? It's especially true when you're out on the field at 1PM in the middle of July in Florida. So, drink plenty of fluids throughout the day. We know that dehydration reduces strength and power - so you can bet that fastball velocity and bat speed will dip - but did you know that it also negatively affects cognitive performance? In a 2012 review in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, Adan wrote,
[bctt tweet="Even 2% dehydration impairs performance in tasks requiring attention, psychomotor and memory skills."]
So, if you're a guy who is always missing signs, ignoring your cutoff man, or forgetting how many outs there are, it might be wise to evaluate your hydration status.
These are just eight tips to guide you as you approach this important summer season, and there are surely many more strategies athletes have employed to make it as productive a time of year as it should be. That said, I'd encourage you to monitor your body weight on a regular basis to make sure that it's not dropping. If it is, it's time to get in more calories, hydrate better, and hit the gym. Good luck!
College Baseball: Is Summer Ball Worth It?
The words "baseball" and "summer" have traditionally been virtually synonymous. While the phrase "The Boys of Summer" initially referred to the Brooklyn Dodgers, it's now a term that is applied to all baseball players. If you play baseball, you do so in the summer; that's just how it's always been.
However, as you may have noticed, the game has changed dramatically since the Brooklyn Dodgers took the field. Arm injury rates are sky-high at all levels of baseball. Average fastball velocities are at all-time high, too. Pitchers don't just throw fastball/curveball/change-up anymore; we're also seeing cutters, sliders, and splitters now. And, perhaps most significantly, baseball players are specializing in this one sport alone earlier and earlier - meaning they're showing up to college with more accumulated wear and tear on their bodies, even if that wear and tear is only a blip on a MRI or x-ray, as opposed to actual symptoms.
These factors all build to the question: is it time for a paradigm shift with respect to the baseball calendar?
Both professional and high school baseball players align well with respect to high school ball, as neither of them play fall baseball. The minor league season runs March-September, with the big league season extended by a few weeks on both ends. The high school season generally begins in February/March (with warm weather high school teams starting in January) and wraps up in August. The college season, however, is an incredible challenge. Why? I think this email I received last year from a well respected college pitching coach sums it up their unique scheduling challenges extremely well.
College training schedules and NCAA limitations make it very hard to develop kids properly:
-We have roughly 6 weeks of fall practice – team building, evaluation, some scrimmage
-After that, we have roughly 6-7 more weeks of training time before Thanksgiving and Christmas. We are limited to 2 hours of skill instruction per week: hardly enough time to make good adjustments.
-A 4-week break for Christmas – usually training takes a back seat to holidays, travel, and general laziness.
-We have a 2-week period once school starts to get back into the flow, followed by a 4 week period of practice before 1st game. Biggest goal here is to build a pitch count/base.
-We play 4-5 games per week from February to hopefully June
-Summer ball, for those who need it: this is where it would be great to take time off, get back into the weight room, skill building. BUT, it costs money for summer school AND the NCAA does not allow us to work with our players (skill-wise) during summer school. Plus, we are usually out working hard on recruiting.
Essentially, I am saying that the rules and demands of HS, college, and pro ball are all quite different, yet coaches at each level strive to develop their players. It's hard to know, based on the unique qualities of each level, what is right and wrong [in terms of time off from throwing].
If it is complete shutdown, then let's use a hypothetical situation. If I have a pitcher for 4 years and give him 3 months off from throwing per year, I have lost 1 full year of developing his pitching. That seems like a lot of time off…
Here, we realize the challenges that college pitching coaches and their pitchers face:
When does a college pitcher get time off?
The fall is a crucial developmental period for all pitchers, but particularly for incoming freshmen. Most of these freshmen pitchers are coming off "career" highs in innings from their senior years (and subsequent summer ball, in many cases). This is one of many reasons that you see so many schools encouraging freshmen to arrive early; it's not just so that they can take summer courses, but also so that they can't get overused in summer leagues. With the premier prospects who are drafted, there used to be incentive to pitch in the summer to "raise their price tag," but with Major League Baseball's new collective bargaining agreement moving the signing deadline up to approximately July 15 (from August 15) and players signing much more quickly as a result, there really isn't much benefit to playing summer ball, if you're an incoming freshman stud.
This is a particularly important decision to make, as many freshmen struggle during fall ball. I've had lengthy conversations with two of the best college pitching coaches in the country about how they absolutely expect all their freshmen pitchers to see significant velocity drops during the fall. They're adjusting to the increased throwing workload, as well as life on a new campus and a more rigorous academic challenge. Effectively, they take a step back in order to take two steps forward when the winter/spring rolls around. It's important that freshmen show up to campus expecting this drop-off, so it helps to show up fresh rather than dragging before the challenges begin.
What about the summers between freshman/sophomore, sophomore/junior, and junior/senior years, though? I think it goes without saying that there are a number of factors that must be considered:
1. How many innings did a pitcher throw during the spring?
Tyler Beede has been a Cressey Sports Performance athlete since his early high school years, and one of the many reasons he was a first-round draft pick our of high school in 2011 was the fact that he'd never thrown more than 80 innings in a year. He didn't sign, but instead went to Vanderbilt. In his first season there, Tyler threw 71.2 innings - but he also put in a lot of work in the fall season to prepare for that season. He long tossed, threw bullpens, and worked on a curveball at a time of year when he would have normally been playing football or just training. This was "necessary volume" that helped him develop as a pitcher, but it also dictated that some innings probably ought to be subtracted off the tail end of his competitive year, so he opted not to play at the Cape.
Instead, he put in a great summer of training at CSP, gaining 18 pounds of good weight and lots of usable strength. He started his fall throwing program in mid-August and had a great velocity jump during fall ball. He went on to be a finalist for the prestigious Golden Spikes Award in 2013, dropping his ERA by over two runs as compared to the previous year. There are a ton of factors that contributed to these improvements - fantastic pitching coaches, unique throwing programs, an additional year of experience in the SEC, adjustments to living on campus, etc - but the work he put in during the summer of 2012 was definitely a big contributing factor.
Had Tyler sat on the bench for most of the spring season of 2012, though, he would have been a great fit for summer ball, as the spring season would have effectively constituted "time off." Everyone is different.
2. What is the development potential at the summer ball option?
This is the big white elephant in the room that no college coaches will ever talk about publicly. While there are some outstanding opportunities to improve at summer baseball options, there are also a lot of places that are just a field and a bunch of players and coaches. In other words, players sometimes don't exactly thrive. One prominent pitching coach told me last spring, "Summer ball is getting less and less developmental every year. We're sending guys out for it less and less."
Think about it: you have a combination of new coaches, new (host) families, new geographic regions, new teammates, and long bus rides. There are rarely athletic trainers on hand for games, and only a select few teams carry strength and conditioning coaches. Even still, players may want to execute their strength and conditioning programs, but have no gym access in a remote geographic region where they don't have their own transportation. Roughly half of their meals will be pre-game PB&J sandwiches and post-game pizza while on the bus. In short, I'd argue that it's a lot easier for things to go wrong than it is for them to go right.
What's actually somewhat comical is that most college coaches will tell recruits who are drafted that they'll develop better in a college program than they would in minor league baseball if they decide to sign. Yet, that previous paragraph essentially describes minor league baseball to a T, and players are sent in that direction all the time!
Long story short, if you're going to ship off to play in a league and location unfamiliar to you, you and your coach better do your homework. All that said, please don't take the preceding paragraphs as a gross stereotype; there are a lot of fantastic summer ball coaches and experiences out there. You just have to find them and make sure they're in the right system and matched up to the right kids if you're going to call it a great developmental option.
3. What is a player's risk tolerance?
Mark Appel was selected eighth overall in the 2012 draft, but opted to return to Stanford for his senior season. While he'd played summer ball after his freshman and sophomore seasons, Appel opted not to after his junior year. Why not? His risk tolerance changed. He only threw 69 innings as a freshman in 2010 and needed to pitch in the summer that followed to continue to improve. In 2011, he got more innings, but also needed to demonstrate he could be effective against the best college hitters in the country that summer to improve his draft stock. Once you've already been a top 10 overall pick and the NCBWA National Pitcher of the Year, though, there isn't much more to prove in the college game, so summer ball would pose an unnecessary risk. It worked out well, as Mark went on to be the first overall pick in the 2013 MLB Draft.
Obviously, this is a unique case, as very few throwers will reach this level of success. However, it is a great perspective from which we can appreciate it's not always appropriate to just "ride the horse that got you here." Baseball development is an exception. Summer ball might be a great option for a pitcher with a clean injury history, but not someone with a partial ulnar collateral ligament injury in his recent history. A lot of smart baseball people believe you only have a certain number of pitches in your arm, so you should use them wisely.
4. What are a player's long-term aspirations with baseball: experience or outcome?
Not everyone is going to be a Mark Appel or Tyler Beede. In other words, college baseball may be the end of organized, non-beer-league baseball for a lot of pitchers. In these cases, summer ball is about having fun and enjoying the game before you run out of time to do so. I'm all for it for these individuals. One has to decide whether it's about experience (having fun playing summer ball) or outcome (becoming a better player). These aren't necessarily mutually exclusive, though.
5. Does a player need to pitch or throw?
Some pitchers need in-game pitching experience to develop, while others simply need to build up arm speed. There is a big difference. The former dictates the summer ball is likely a necessity, while the latter can be accomplished via a number of different means. Building arm speed might be a function of long toss, weighted balls, or just taking time off from throwing to build up strength, power, and mobility.
6. Does a player have adequate size and strength?
Taking the summer off from baseball is becoming an increasingly population option for players who are undersized or weak, but more polished on the baseball skill side of things. If you're bigger and stronger, you can withstand a longer season. If you're not, you need to work to address your biggest window of adaptation. More and more coaches seem to be moving in this direction in recent years, as we have dozens of players who move for the summer just to train at one of our Cressey Sports Performance facilities, and the numbers grow considerably each year.
7. What's a player's mental state at the end of the college season?
It might surprise some of you to hear that regardless of talent level, most college and professional players are essentially sick of baseball by the time the last few weeks of the season roll around (assuming they aren't in a playoff scenario). You never want a player to burn out on baseball, so college players need to ask themselves whether they'd rather be on buses in the middle of nowhere in mid-July with their arms dragging, or at home with their families and friends, training and possibly even pursuing an internship. What seems like a great idea in May often winds up being a miserable reality two months later. It all depends on the player and his frame of reference.
Increasing Your Options
In their book, Decisive, authors Chip and Dan Heath discuss how we often make bad decisions because we try to turn each one we encounter into "this OR that." Instead, they argue, we should be trying to determine how to have "this AND that." I think this same logic can be applied to summer baseball.
Coaches and players can dramatically improve the likelihood of a summer ball experience being productive by making players are placed on teams where they can thrive. There needs to be good coaching and access to gyms to keep training during the summer season. And, they need to monitor innings and pitch counts, and educate players on staying out of trouble and on task. Showing up in the fall unprepared is not an option. And, just as importantly, it may mean these players need to start a bit more slowly with fall ball after taking the month of August off from throwing.
Players can also play a portion of the season, or opt to find a league where they might only pitch 3-4 innings once a week. The rest of the week can be planned around training to prepare for the fall season. This is a very popular option among those players who have moved to train at Cressey Sports Performance during the summer, as both our facilities are located near multiple summer baseball leagues in which pitchers can get innings. The days are free for training, and all the games are at night; it's a great developmental set-up.
Players might also opt to simply take the summer off altogether, giving themselves two months off from late May or early June (depending on post-season play) through the middle of August. They'd then start a throwing program to be ready for the start of fall ball, effectively making their "throwing year" September-May/June. The summer months would effectively be an off-season devoted to strength and conditioning that would prepare them for the 8-10 months of throwing that would follow. This option affords two significant, but often overlooked benefits:
a. The overwhelming majority of throwing would be done with the college pitching coach, so players wouldn't be as likely to learn bad habits in the summer while on their own.
b. The most intensive strength and conditioning work would take place when a pitcher isn't throwing. This would ensure that mobility, rotator cuff strength, and scapular control would improve as fast as possible. Improving in these three regards is generally always going to be at odds with throwing.
This final option seems to have some statistical backing, too. Of the college first round draft picks (including supplemental rounds) from 2010-2012, only 68% (50/73) played summer ball (typically Cape Cod League or Team USA) in the previous summer.* And, I suspect that we may have even had some players who would have been first rounders, but slipped in the draft after an injury that may have been exacerbated during summer ball. Conversely, I'm sure there are guys (particularly hitters) who helped their draft stocks by playing summer ball the year before they were draft eligible, as well as ones who benefited greatly from playing in previous years. There is no one right way to approach the decision, and deciding to play likely affords greater benefits to hitters than pitchers.
We really don't know the answers, but these numbers certainly lead us to wondering if we've been asking the right questions. The big one is clearly, "If you're already throwing from September through June, is there really much to gain from continuing to throw in July and August?" When I hear it phrased that way, the answer is a big fat "NO," but I also realize that not all throwing during that September-June window is created equal.
Managing the college pitcher is one of the more challenging responsibilities in the baseball world, as the competitive season is a series of hills and valleys in the life of a student athlete. Additionally, there are numerous NCAA regulations and traditions to keep in mind. As examples, Cape Cod League Baseball might be the single-best example of what baseball really should be like, and many players have always dreamed of playing for Team USA in the summertime. So, we have decisions that must be made on not just physiological factors, but also emotional ones as well.
The truth is that I've seen players make dramatic improvements via each of these three proposed avenues, and I've seen them select these courses of actions based on a number of factors, from burnout, to injuries, to family issues, to academic endeavors.
This article proposed some answers, but more importantly, I hope it introduced some questions that need to be asked to arrive at the right answers for each player.
*A big thanks to CSP intern Rob Sutton for helping to pull together these numbers for me
Sign-up Today for our FREE Baseball Newsletter and Receive a 47-minute Presentation on Individualizing the Management of Overhead Throwing Athletes!
Page 1 2 3 … 11 Next »


Students must be able to perform a round off 2-3 back handspring series or a round-off, back handspring, back tuck series without a spot. Students will continue to build stronger back handsprings as well as advanced skills such as back layout and full twisting back layout saltos.
Tumbling is a great class for students who are interested in developing power, agility, flexibility, and spatial awareness for other sports. We will use many tumbling aids including incline mats, tumbling barrels, skill cushions, gymnastics pit systems, and trampolines to safely accelerate learning time. We will not use any apparatus such as uneven bars, balance beams, or vault.
How to register: Online registration is not available for Advanced tumbling, as this class requires students to have mastered certain skills prior to enrollment. If your child has previous tumbling or gymnastics experience, please schedule a no-cost evaluation to help us find the correct program: (937) 723-8799.
Tuition and registration: Tuition is billed monthly and based on an average of 4 weeks per month. Family Registration Fee of $35.00 is paid annually and includes free t-shirt. Additional classes for students and siblings are 10% off lower priced classes.
*Free t-shirts are only included with your very first payment when signing up.


Fishing is one of the major contributors to habitat damage in the Mediterranean Sea. Most of this damage comes from trawling operations. Since fishing is most intense in the Western Mediterranean, it is not surprising that impacts on marine habitats are particularly severe there (UNEP/MAP 2012). Benthic, or sea-bottom, habitats and the communities associated with them are especially vulnerable.


Womens Skechers Go Walk On The Go – Pizazz Sandals in black / white.
- Soft printed mesh upper.
- Soft contrast fabric lining.
- Combines a proprietary 'SQUISH' component with Skechers' exclusive Resalyte® material to help absorb impact.


text:
Q: Two Part Probability Question Part One: 12 college students attempt the same multiple choice question once each. The multiple choice question has eight possible choices, with only one being correct. If all 12 college students make a random guess, what is the probability that at least one college student will guess the correct answer?
Part Two: The same conditions (as per Part One) are repeated across 60 independent multiple choice questions (i.e., events). Again, there are 12 college students completing each of the 60 different questions. Each of the 60 different questions have 8 possible choices, with only one being correct. What is the combined probability that at least one college student will guess the correct answer for each of the 60 multiple choice questions?
[NOTE: I am NOT asking what the probability of a single college student guessing 60 out of 60 is; I am suggesting that for each of the 60 events (or questions) all students have equal likelihood of guessing a correct answer. The students AND the events are independent. Basically, what is the aggregated probability solution from Part One across 60 independent events].
Much obliged :-)

A: Each college student has a probablity of  1/8. The probability all 12 students getting the answer wrong can be calculated by $(7/8)^{12}$ since each student has a 7/8 chance of getting it wrong and the events are independent. $1-(7/8)^{12}$ gives us the probability that at least one student gets the answer correct. For the second part we can calculate the probablity of one student getting all answers correct, which is $(1/8)^{60}$, so the probability of getting at least one wrong is $1-(1/8)^{60}$. The probablity of ALL 12 students getting at least one wrong is $(1-(1/8)^{60})^{12}$  The complement of the last probabilty is equivalent to at least one student getting all the correct answers, which is $1-(1-(1/8)^{60})^{12}$ and extremely close to 0.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
set -e
set -u

script_directory=$( cd "$( dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}" )" && pwd )
root_directory="$script_directory/.."
tests=ISMediaKitTests

pushd "$root_directory/Tests" > /dev/null
echo "Updating CocoaPods..."
pod update --silent
xcodebuild -workspace "$tests.xcworkspace" -scheme "$tests" clean build | xcpretty -c
xcodebuild -workspace "$tests.xcworkspace" -scheme "$tests" test
popd > /dev/null

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Wong Kar-Wai creates art for one medium: film. His are not the kind of movies that could be adapted to any other format, be it book, television, or theater. He paints with the lens, flashes of color slashing across the celluloid. He extracts the best from his actors, beckoning feelings of incredible depth and meaning in a single look. Wong is, to put it simply, a filmic genius crafting masterworks of mood and light for an audience that's just now coming to appreciate the extent of his oeuvre.
A provocateur, the Oak Cliff Film Festival is exactly that. The OCFF stands out far from the conventional festival circuit, with a torch in its hand stirring, provoking. Just take a look at the program and you'll understand what I mean.
Dallas International Film Fest – Let the treasure hunt begin!
Like the day before Christmas, or like a kid in front of a candy store, that's the feeling I get when I have in my hands the guide to the Dallas International Film Festival (DIFF). The DIFF ninth edition offers 11 days and nights of film; hundreds of movies, and the unique opportunity to watch handpicked worldwide features.
Excessive, unsettling, cathartic, the Argentine film Wild Tales aims for nothing less. Damian Szifron's Oscar nominated movie opens in Dallas theatres on March 13th., posing the puzzling question… what if we loose control, what if we forget our good boys and girls behavior, what if we forsake the rules, what if. Warning it's not for the faint of heart.
If you're looking for big bangs, singularities or other forms of Stephen Hawking's wry wit you're in the wrong place. We do want to talk about time, though. Cinematic time that is. We want to talk about the evolution of its treatment from the early pioneers to, what we think it's a game changer, Richard Linklater's masterpiece "Boyhood".
Buy a Book. Get a Drink.


Remove age spots, thread veins, diffuse redness and uneven pigmentation on the face and body with Ellipse IPL.
Benign pigmented lesions may be genetic in origin or can be caused by physical damage such as sunburn or injury, as well as by the natural effect of ageing. The lesions can vary in size and colour. It is always important to ensure that the lesion is not malignant before removing it.
These brown spots which are often referred to as 'age spots' or 'liver spots' can be unsightly and begin to get darker with age or once they are exposed to UV light.
The Ellipse IPL can be used in the treatment of sun-damaged skin, treating both vascular and pigmented aspects of the damage.
How does the Ellipse IPL treatment work?
The Ellipse IPL treatment works by directing well-controlled pulses of light into the upper skin layer. The light is absorbed by two of the body's own natural chemicals – melanin in the pigmented areas and haemoglobin in the red blood cells.
Both of these chemicals convert the light energy into heat. This heat is used to destroy the parts of the cells in which the melanin is stored, and to damage the walls of the vessels supplying blood to the areas where vascular damage is seen. This technique is called "selective photothermolysis" (SPTL).
The visible light produced by the Ellipse IPL system is carefully controlled to produce the correct pulse length and right amount of energy to destroy the targets without damaging surrounding tissue, providing skin rejuvenation.
Photo rejuvenation is a quick and simple treatment that does not interfere with your normal daily routine, repairing sun-damage of the face, neck, chest and hands.
Ellipse Skin rejuvenation offers the best anti-aging skin treatment around. The treatment removes superficial pigmentation and diffuses redness and facial thread veins. Ellipse is widely available in over 700 clinics but also in some NHS hospitals. Typically body areas suitable for treatment are commonly the face, neck, décolleté and also the hands, but you can have any area of the body treated (bar red veins on the body).
Your therapist will advise you how to prepare and strengthen your skin prior to treatment to ensure that the condition we are treating responds well. In some cases if your skin health is poor, the therapist may advise you to change your skin care and nutrition for a minimum of 30 days prior to having the patch test or starting treatment.
The consultation fee is fully refundable against the treatment. Please ensure the area you want treated is free from all self-tan and UV sunlight for 30 days. All medication or health concerns needs to be explained to the laser operator before treatment. Be assured our staff at Tessa Stevens are experienced, professional and always happy to answer any questions you may have.
The consultation fee is fully refundable against the treatment. Please ensure you are free from all self-tan and UV sunlight fro 30days on the area you want treated. And medication or health concerns needs to be explained to the laser operator.


text:
Man hit by Tube train at Oxford Circus
The man was taken to a major trauma centre with serious leg injuries
A commuter is fighting for his life after being struck by a London Tube train at rush-hour.
The man suffered a medical episode and fell in front of an incoming train at Oxford Circus at 17:30 GMT, British Transport Police (BTP) said.
He was taken to hospital with serious leg injuries and is in a critical condition.
Victoria Line trains were cancelled while the man was rescued and severe delays followed the incident.
'Alarming' numbers of Tube users fainting
Commuter Sophie King told BBC London she was travelling south on the Victoria Line when the train began pulling into Oxford Circus.
"It was very crowded and then everyone started screaming and shouting and calling for a doctor," she said.
"It looked like the man was crushed at the side of the train."
Victoria Line trains were cancelled while the victim was treated
BBC cricket commentator Ebony Rainford-Brent was also among the witnesses to the incident.
She said she saw a man fall in front of a train as people filled the "overcrowded" platform.
"I just watched a man fall under the tube two metres in front of me," she said.
"As the train was coming in he was at the very front… it looked like he swivelled and lost his balance, it looked like a fall.
"He sort of fell on his back. The way it looked to me he could have almost froze.
"[It] was honestly the most horrific thing to witness."
emergency plumbers north watford
Drane Cloge
Outside Plumbing
Pipe Fixing

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Anywhere in Sydney
In Eastern Suburbs
In Greater Western Sydney
In Inner West
In North Shore
In Northern Beaches
In Northern Suburbs
In Southern Sydney
In Sydney CBD
Now Open: Self-Serve Newtown Beer Joint Buddy's Just Opened in the Former Lentil As Anything Site
Ten Sydney Date Ideas That Aren't Just 'Grabbing a Drink'
A Vibrant New Mural Has Added a Splash of Colour to Clovelly Beach — and Yes, It Features the Blue Groper
A Free 24-Hour Outdoor Cinema Playing Studio Ghibli and Wes Anderson Films Is Popping Up in Sydney
Melbourne's Malthouse Theatre Is Turning Gothic Horror Masterpiece 'Nosferatu' Into a Stage Drama
Sydney's Most Instagrammable Spots by Day and Night
CP Picks: The Health and Wellness Resolutions We're Planning to Make (and Keep) in 2023
Lazybones Lounge
This cosy jazz bar keeps the inner west party going late into the night.
By Maddy Butler
$$$ · in Marrickville
Level 2, 294 Marrickville Road, Marrickville
5pm-3am
5-10pm
Funny Label sauvignon blanc ($8)
Marrickville Bars
For a long time, Marrickville has been yearning for a good bar. In fact, even just a bar. In all other food and drink respects, the suburb excels, with hip cafes, cheap Vietnamese pork rolls and swanky restaurants. Now, come to join the mix, is LazyBones Lounge and, luckily, it's not just any old bar, it's a great one.
The locals think so as well. LazyBones only opened three months ago and business has been booming ever since. The bar is open seven nights a week, with live jazz music starting around the 7pm mark most evenings. Don't worry about forking too much out for the night; most of the gigs will only set you back $10, and many are even free.
Owner Craig Pietersen has brought his expertise from Melbourne, where he owned a number of hip bars in Fitzroy. LazyBones is "all about music", he says, so it's no surprise that the bar's name was inspired by a Fats Waller song. There are no TVs or gambling in the bar; the Lounge is a place for people to relax a good drink while some funky tunes pump through the sound system.
You'll be rapt to find - or discover - the Young Henry's Real Ale ($7) on tap, alongside a delicious Indian Pale Ale from Parramatta ($7) and a cider which is on permanent rotation. The Funny Label sauvignon blanc ($8) is the standout of the wine list, which brings together a solid selection of Australian and international wines.
There's not a hugely substantial food menu on hand, but it does include some good staples to munch on. It's a somewhat surreal experience to sit in a lavish, gilded armchair while chomping on a hot dog ($10). One can choose from such aptly-named variations as the 'James Morrison' (beef sausage), 'Louis Armstrong' (pork sausage) or the 'B.B. King' (vegetarian sausage). The highlight of the menu is the Bunny Chow ($10), a traditional street food dish from Craig's homeland, South Africa. Served in a paper bowl, aside thin and crispy fries, is a small, hollowed-out roll filled with your choice of tasty spicy lamb or potato curry.
Don't fret about finding a babysitter, as LazyBones opens its arms to young'uns, from newly born to those just under the drinking limit (although they won't get away with being served any alcohol, of course!). "We love kids," says Craig, who has three of his own. So, as we see it, there's no excuse not to pop into LazyBones for a drink sometime soon.
Toko Restaurant
B. Lucky & Sons
Barangaroo House
The Bob Hawke Beer & Leisure Centre
The Butler
Sydney's Best Degustations Under $100
The Best Hotels in Sydney
Greek Summer Festival
Bottomless Mexican Fiesta
Ruby's Fried Chicken
Celsius Coffee Co.
The Charles Grand Brasserie & Bar
Pinky Ji
EXPLORE SYDNEY
Sydney Restaurants
Sydney Cafes
Sydney Pubs
Sydney Shops


Sometimes you see work that really speaks to you. Sometimes you see work that blows you out of the water. And sometimes, if you're lucky, you see work that turns everything you believe about a certain medium upside-down. The work of Oriol Angrill Jordà did that for me. It was one of those moments where I'm scrolling through pinterest, and I see these images that impress me, but I totally think they're photographs. Then I get to the description and nearly spit my water all over my keyboard when I realize they're drawn with colored pencils.
Out of all his beautiful works, of which there are many, I love his "blendscapes" series the most. The pieces don't look like flawless but emotionless representations of a stock photograph. They look as if their subject's soul has been translated into colors and captured on paper. Muted colors, fine lines, and spectacular attention to detail all contribute to the pieces beautifully. What really gives these works life, however, are the ways negative space is played with. Detailed portraits fade away to abstracted landscapes and then finally to white in a wonderfully graceful manner.


This set medium flowerpots are tilted, which has the illusion it is almost tipping over. The bottom is distorted, that is what makes the pot stand in one direction. Great in contrast with a flower or plant, as it will always grow in a vertical direction.
Minimalist design, as well as the use of the archetype flowerpot. Great to combine several pieces together for a very playfully effect. Great fit for medium sized plants and herbs, with a diameter of 13 cm.
Made of stoneware in the pastel colors: Green, Pink and Grey.
Prefer keeping it straight? Have a look at the other Flowerpots and Vases!


Is this about a flight of fancy, a wish that we should not be forgotten? A fine example of street-art? Or is this a plea, both poignant and provocative? One can see where someone had tried to remove at least one butterfly and break up pieces where the girl's dress lies. This photo shows that whatever the artist's (or the cleaner's) intentions were, the work remains in our minds, and there, the image cannot be destroyed.
This is the outward-facing wall at the southwest corner of Isartalstrasse and Kapuzinerstrasse in Munich's Isarvorstadt-Ludwigsvorstadt.
I made the photo on 12 March 2011 with the Canon EOS450D, 50mm/1.4 prime, and the following settings: 1/320s, f/4, ISO100, 80mm full-frame equivalent. This post appears on Fotoeins Fotopress at fotoeins.com as http://wp.me/p1BIdT-MN.
Even if this piece of beautiful wall art is gone, a record of it remains somewhere. If not me, I'm sure someone else (in Munich) has a record of this contemplative piece. I'm positive that the idea and the feelings will always remain.
I'm glad you liked my post. Thanks for reading and for your comment!
On the other hand, I have great memories of our photowalk that day this past March. Under grey skies, the light conditions weren't the best, but we got to see and photograph a number of things in Isarvorstadt; besides, the Alter Südfriedhof was very interesting.
Thanks for stopping by, and for the update!


I have frequently used the analogy of a moving "bus" to represent accountability and agendas, particularly in business. But the metaphor also works in our personal lives. I have learned through the years that if you have no concept of the "bus" (motives, agendas and /or needs of others) then you are very likely riding someone else's.
If so, you were probably riding someone's bus!
This is not a criticism, we all do it. What I am calling out here is that we stay keenly aware of when we are the driver, a passenger, or the bus owner.
If you are moving through your life making decisions and taking action purely out of obligation, you are a passenger on the bus of whomever the obligatory behavior is benefitting. I hate to say it but, staying on a job, in a marriage, or other such highly impactful life roles purely out of obligation or fear are the epitome of riding someone else's bus AND giving away your own power.
If you are getting up every day going to a job you hate, working for a boss you loathe, and with people you despise, because you "need the money" believe me, those people and that boss are noticing. If you don't take control of that bus, you may be involuntarily extracted at the next stop! And God forbid that you are kicked out unprepared at an undesirable location. Having been in Human Resources for as many years as I have, I have seen this happen time and time again from entry to the executive levels.
Get control of that bus! Dust off that resume, learn a new skill, start a new business, or start interviewing. Do ANYTHING to show the Universe that you are open to change. You'll be surprised at how quickly you'll find another bus!
If you are in a horrible marriage because you want your kids to be raised by two parents, or because you think your spouse/partner needs you, you are not the owner of the bus. At best you are on a long-term lease, planning some long-term exit that will happen once the damage is done. Give your very bright kids some credit! They know you are not happy and you're teaching them to live unhappily. And as for your partner, he/she knows you're not happy and might be unhappy too. Drive the bus by opening honest communication with your partner and children, get counseling or get out. The best parent is a happy parent, not simply a married one! The best partner is a happy partner, not a trapped one!
I know people whose parents slept in separate bedrooms, were subjected to issues like; domestic violence, alcoholism, blatant cheating, and/or other unhealthy relationship behaviors. Guess what? Many of them ended up in the exact same situations with their own marriages. Heck, this may even be YOU! Get in the driver's seat of that bus or risk being taken down roads that lead you or your loved ones into dead ends. Check the navigation to ensure or that you are not going back and forth between the same places.
Chances are if you have no idea who's driving, it is unlikely that it is you!
If you allow another person to own or drive a bus you're on make sure they are worthy of that role in your life. If you don't feel good about it, move to the front of the bus and check out the navigation system. Is it still moving in the direction you were expecting? If not, are you good with the new route or destination? The key is to ask questions not only of others but of yourself.
Am I really happy? If not, how is my unhappiness affecting those around me? If I am happy, what exactly is making me feel happy? If whatever is "making me happy" is taken away, will I still be happy? Am I taking responsibility for my happiness?
What have I done or not done to create my current situation? What must I do and/or learn to avoid repeating this situation for myself or others in the future (e.g. finding a partner or a job just like the last one)?
Own AND drive your bus, not by controlling everything around you, but by allowing others to occupy and even drive your bus. Do this by ensuring that your destination is on course and good for all involved including yourself. Give people an easy way off of your bus if they don't wish to ride (#ByeFelicia). Be ok if you are the only one on your bus for a while.
Know that if you create the right atmosphere, people will chase your bus so they can ride! This works in business, and in our personal lives!
Sometimes envious people will want to tag your bus with the graffiti of words. Make sure your bus has a clear coating that allows those words to be easily wiped away. Keep your bus in order. Don't carry the negative words to your next destination!
We ride many buses every day… Just be sure you know whose bus you're on and when it might be the best time to get off! Exit on your terms! And be aware of who jumps on your bus! Be willing to let people leave without retaliation and anger! You'd be surprised at how easily people will leave if you just open the door.
Love, Light and Bus Driving!
CreativelyAbling you to give your best self to your life!
Please comment, share AND like CreativelyAble and this post!
Great post! Thanks for encouraging people to take control of their life!
Previous IS enough really ENOUGH?


Bob and Tanya Hudson of Holton are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary.
Tanya Tork and Bob Hudson were happily married on June 16, 1967, at the Larkinburg Christian Church.
They have two children, Wesley Hudson and Rachel Hudson, both of Holton. They also have three grandchildren, Kiana Jessepe and Josie and Mylie Hudson.
The couple plans to celebrate their anniversary at Niagara Falls this summer. Cards may be sent to 2833 Allen Rd., Holton, KS 66436.


text:
"In Delaware, Dams Are Being Removed to Spur Fish Migration"
"Will American shad, striped bass and other fish return to early spawning grounds that were blocked off starting in the mid-1700s by early settlers?"
"WILMINGTON, Del. — When migratory fish follow their ancestral instinct to swim up Delaware's Brandywine Creek during this spring's spawning season, they will find, for the first time in more than 200 years, that their route is not blocked by a dam.
The fish — American shad, hickory shad and striped bass — have been unable to return to their traditional spawning grounds in the Pennsylvania section of the creek about 25 miles to the north since a series of dams was built across the creek by early American settlers, starting in the mid-18th century.
This year, the fish will be able to swim past the site of a dam that was demolished by the city of Wilmington last fall, allowing them to move as far as the next barrier, Dam 2, about three-quarters of a mile upstream, where large numbers are expected to create a sudden bonanza for anglers."
Jon Hurdle reports for the New York Times February 25, 2020.
Fish & Fisheries
Water & Oceans
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV)
Source: NY Times, 02/26/2020
Search for Headlines
Browse Headlines
Date RangeWithin the Last WeekWithin the Last Two WeeksWithin the Last MonthWithin the Last Six MonthsWithin the Last Year


text:
Q: Not able to run basic example of pycparser I am trying to start with pycparser and was trying to run the examples given on the github repo. I only changed the path of the file to be parsed after saving the sample c file locally. I get the following error and am not sure if there is some pre-processing step that I am missing?
File "D:\Anaconda3\lib\site-packages\spyderlib\widgets\externalshell\sitecustomize.py", line 714, in runfile
execfile(filename, namespace)
  File "D:\Anaconda3\lib\site-packages\spyderlib\widgets\externalshell\sitecustomize.py", line 89, in execfile
exec(compile(f.read(), filename, 'exec'), namespace)
  File "C:/Users/Z003RTRP/Desktop/cparse.py", line 20, in <module>
ast = parse_file(filename, use_cpp=True, cpp_path='gcc', cpp_args=r'-Iutils/fake_libc_include')
  File "D:\Anaconda3\lib\site-packages\pycparser\__init__.py", line 86, in parse_file
text = preprocess_file(filename, cpp_path, cpp_args)
  File "D:\Anaconda3\lib\site-packages\pycparser\__init__.py", line 49, in preprocess_file
('Original error: %s' % e))
RuntimeError: Unable to invoke 'cpp'.  Make sure its path was passed correctly
Original error: [WinError 2] The system cannot find the file specified

A: Take a look at this section of the README - you have to point cpp_path to the C preprocessor on your system. For Windows, it recommends downloading a binary build of Clang and using clang -E


Galaxy S8+: How do I search for settings on my Samsung Galaxy S8+ (SM-G955W)?
With all the available settings and functions, it can be frustrating trying to find a specific setting. Stay calm and use the Search function to help you find any setting.
3. Touch the Search icon. Then search for the desired setting. For this example, search for Apps.
4. All related settings will be listed; the most relevant settings will be listed at the top. Touch Apps.
5. The Apps settings menu will be opened.


Book ➲ "Julie of the Wolves" Audiobook ➲ "Julie of the Wolves"
Julie of the Wolves By Jean Craighead George it's a great choice for you. We rated this audiobook with a Top 5/5 stars.
Julie of the Wolves Jean Craighead George audiobook; Julie of the Wolves audiobook; Jean Craighead George; Julie of the Wolves audio book online .


Are you a talented illustrator? Photographer? Creator? Animation is a great way to expand your skills and explore your career. Make something you purely enjoy turn into a way to make great money and fill your desires and talents. An Animation tutor can teach you the techniques of photographing successive drawings or strategic positioning of puppets or models to create an illusion of movements. They can teach you how this all comes together to create the animated movies we all get to enjoy. Having a second set of eyes that know what it takes to make a career out of drawing, can really help you to clean up the minor things which will really allow your art come to life. A private Animation tutor can provide a different perspective when it comes to improving your talents.
Having a career in animation can lead to an exhilarating lifestyle. Every project brings on different challenges that you must creatively problem solve to figure out and to get your vision onto the screen. Animation tutoring can give you insight into the industry that you would not typically get under different circumstances. Our drawing tutors have extensive knowledge and experience in the animation industry so they are able to see things through a professional lens that you otherwise would not be able to notice. If you are a student enrolled in university working with a part-time college Animation tutor is something that will truly make a difference toward your overall learning experience.
There are many different aspects of Animation and several different ways you can make a career out of working in the field. When you find a career development tutor who specializes in Animation they will open doors in the animation world that you may not have known existed. Animation is a fun major but sometimes people often think that all it is is drawing and making cool stuff. But there are many different moving parts to being able to work as an animator on a team and when you realize that you will know that "I need an Animation tutor." There is nothing wrong with having that realization as our tutors have been where you are and have gone through the courses you are taking.
Not every course will be easy or even enjoyable, so our tutors will make sure they can make them as much of a good time as possible. Working as an Animator presents several different challenges so it is highly important that you can identify your weaknesses because that is the only way they will become your strengths. And if you truly hope to become a professional Animator one day, you will want to eliminate your weaknesses with hard work and dedication. Our tutors will hold you accountable and make sure you do this while you are still enrolled in classes, so when you get your first job you will thrive.
Just like most students, when you are studying Animation, there will be problems that arise outside of schoolwork. Balancing your busy schedule can sometimes feel overwhelming but it will not get any better once you actually start working for an Animation studio or as a freelance Animator. Sometimes artists are not the most analytical people and when it comes to planning and scheduling they are like fish out of water. Our tutors know this and will put an emphasis on this type of studying if it is something you are struggling with. You cannot get the grades, finish your assignments or become the Animator you know you can be if you can't get your life in order. Our tutors want to keep you confident and focused on your work and that starts with having an organized workflow. You can be the greatest Animator in the world, but if you don't meet deadlines or you forget about projects because of your lack of scheduling ability you will not maintain a job. Gaining these good habits start when you are in college and hopefully you will be using practices taught to you by your Animation tutor long after you end your sessions and get your degree. If you listen to your tutor, do the assigned assignments you will not only pass that class but you will ultimately become more of a versatile artist.
A one-on-one Animation tutor can help take your work to the next level, and teach you things that you can't learn in a classroom full of other students. You can explore career avenues with your mentor while learning what the industry is searching for in upcoming artists. Many times, working with a professional tutor who has been working in this field is a good way to network. HeyTutor has plenty of animation gurus for you to choose from. All of our tutors are professional with great amounts of experience and have undergone an assessment in order to gain their position on our platform. Getting a professional's perspective on your work is a great value of your time. Learn to think outside the box with one of our top-notch tutors today.
When searching for an "Animation tutor near me" or "Animation tutoring near me" HeyTutor most definitely has to be your first choice. Several tutoring services offer group sessions or tutoring with individuals who do not have the same experience as our tutors. We pride ourselves on having tutors who actually understand the field they are working in and want to give their students the blueprint to find similar success. Having said that, our tutors also work with you one on one. So if you are in college or looking for a high school Animation tutor you know what it can be like in a class filled with other students. Things can get intense and at times, with so many distractions, it feels as if lessons are going in one ear and out of the other. Our tutors will take the time to make sure you understand every little thing about Animation so that when you enter the workforce you are more than prepared.
There is often a saying that goes "those who can't do teach" which is something that is true at most universities. You have professors who are teaching a subject they truly do not have any real world experience working in. At HeyTutor most of our tutors have experience within the industry and are working professionals who currently hold jobs in Animation while they are tutoring you. This gives you an inside glance into the industry that you want to be a part of one day and helps you plan for your future. College gives you tools to be able to get a job but at HeyTutor we want to sharpen those skills so that when you start your first entry-level job it will feel like you have been there for years. A degree and passing a course are not the main focuses of our Animation tutors. They want you to go out, get a job and have sustained success. This is a representation of who they are as tutors but also as animators. The sessions are highly useful and unlike anything, most universities offer in their classes.
If you are not enrolled in any classes but have a knack for drawing and are a bit tech savvy then you may want to try your hand at Animation. It is the future of drawing and something that anyone with illustration ability should most definitely try at some point in their career. Our tutors can teach you everything you need to know about Animation even if you know nothing at all outside of being able to draw. It is a fantastic opportunity to get a high-quality education for a fraction of the price. From working with you and understanding your skill level our tutor will create a lesson plan based on what it is you already know and what you do not know. If you do the work they have planned and pay attention you will most definitely have a skill that is well sought after. Sessions with HeyTutor tutors will have you going from someone who knows nothing about animation to possessing the skills that working Animators have been developing for years. Working with our tutors will give you the foundation to explore an artistic side that was not previously tapped into thus setting you up to potentially work as an Animator. So go ahead check out our list of well qualified professional tutors so our reps can match you up with one who can suit your needs and unleash your artistic side.