Expert: John Madden - 5/4/2010

Question
I am 16 years old and i play Shortstop. I have a cousin that played for the major leagues. His name is Juan Brito. He said that I am better than most the kids my age at this but to reach the major league position he said i must improve my arm strength and running speed. I am currently going to the gym 2-5 times a week to lift weights. Can you list some running exercises that will increase my running speed and throwing arm?

Answer
You need to focus a lot on speed and agility drills if you want to get faster.  Lifting weights in the gym won't help you much for either running faster or throwing harder.  Lifting will just keep you strong and give you some endurance.  It is the explosive training like plyometrics and speed agility drills that are going to get your faster and a good throwing program is going to get your arm stronger to be able to throw harder.  So, find a good throwing program and focus more on speed and agility drills.  You can still go to the gym to lift, just make it your 3rd priority.  Good Luck.  You can visit http://www.yougoprobaseball.com for more info.  Thanks.