I’m a kid that really likes this game.
This game has always been addicting to me, I grew up sleeping with a baseball under my pillow since I was about 5. I was that sterotypical baseball kid in a lot of ways, One of my all-time favorite movies was the sandlot, and that inspired me to live that larger than life dream of being a big leaguer in my childhood. Me and my brother Daniel, and a few kids from our neighborhood walked around the empty field behind our house one day and ran across a dirt patch that resembled a baseball field. We only played a few games (we didn’t have enough people of course) but it was our own little sandlot and that adventure incubated a spark and love of the game.
From the dusty sandlot, my journey began in earnest starting with days spent in my local little league. My dad never told me I was better than anyone or the best on the field and I think that was one of the best things he could’ve done. He did always tell me I could do anything I put my mind to, which I believed and still do. That confidence has been at side through all the ups and downs of life and I cant think of better advice to give parents of youth athletes. Believe in them. Mold your mindset to what your kid is interested in because then you can truly connect with them. I believed in my dad to recognize when he needed to learn more, to see something from another perspective. I feel that most of the time he was learning just as much as I was when we’d go to my training lessons. I’m convinced this was huge for my career because he removed HIS ego and never said he knew something he when he didn’t. He sought out the solutions WITH me, not just pick me up and drop me off like a babysitter. He’d always ask me what I learned, and I couldn’t lie because he always knew if I was bluffing an answer. It made me pay attention and created that thirst for knowledge and solutions.
When I was 12, all I could think of was playing in the Little League World Series and I wanted to make the all-star team because it was a talented group. I barely made the cut and didn’t play much, but I loved being at the field and watching those games, I was surrounded by likeminded and talented players for the first time in my life. I had my opportunities and made the most of them which made it that much more satisfying. Surprisingly, I was more of a position player at that time, but a love of pitching was taking root. I did get to meet Guy Hanson (Author of “A Baseball Guy”) through this experience. Guy was a pitching coach in Goochland, VA who has had tons of success as a player and coach. Guy was more than just a pitching coach for me, he was a mentor and first true teacher of philosophy in my life. He was big into rhythm, tempo, and sequencing pitches. From a young age I understood the art of pitching. This guidance sent me down the goose chase of figuring out how to perfect the way that I throw.
The work continued, but once I got into High School, I realized it would take something more than just showing up every day to be a daily player. Some people are that talented, but some can outwork those that are that talented.
“Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work as hard,” (Tim Notke)
I saw that first hand at an early age when everyone thought you couldn’t learn how to throw harder, I met Jeff Roberts. He was someone who showed me a new way of learning how to throw through the basics of proprioception (or kinesthesia, the sense that lets us perceive the location, movement, and action of parts of the body. It encompasses a complex of sensations, including perception of joint position and movement, muscle force, and effort). He did a lot of rotational drills, reverse kinetic chain work, some overload holds, and reactive quick explosive movements. This changed my body when I did these things consistently (and to be honest, I didn’t even do them as much as I should have). This was something I could’ve done 3-5 times per week, but I did them 1-3 max. What this does illustrate is that consistency matters most.
When I got to JUCO, I ran into a guy named Steven Reaves. Reaves came by the field a time or two with Jamie Callahan and would help the coaches with a few of the players. One day he spoke to our group and what he was speaking about interested me, so I sought out more information. I began driving 4 times a week to Hammer, SC, which was about a 50 min drive, to learn from him. Steven taught me how to really understand shaping pitches and that power output was so valuable. He taught me the “crazy” side of the game, “how far do you want to go? What are you willing to do to maximize yourself?“ During this time, Kyle Ward and his coaching style illuminated a very valuable part of this game, that you can have a “trainer” and a “pitching coach” at the same time. What most people misunderstand is the value of the pitching coach, in-game, is about game feedback, real-time adjustments, and mental checks. Which Ward did masterfully. His ability to use simple communication that “controlled the situation”, rather than a chewing out, helped me understand mental strength at a basic, but powerful level.
Once I got to Ole Miss, my understanding of “hard work” changed. I only thought I had been putting in the work needed to succeed… When I look back at myself prior to meeting Coach Bianco and strength coach, Ben Fleming, I realize how lazy I truly was. I was probably seen as a guy who was going to quit in the first few weeks, most notably when I couldn’t wash my hair on the account of how sore I was! Fleming showed me what the body was capable of and where I thought my ceiling was, (damn near on the ground). The first day, I had to run a 2 mile in under 14 minutes, which I had to sprint the last quarter mile to beat. When I crossed the finish line, I blacked out. Then we changed and walked to the football field where we did body weight exercises the length of the football field for at least 10 times down and back. JB Woodman was literally lifting me off the ground during team lunges after the first 300 yards. I eventually got pulled out by J Bone because I was becoming limp. That day I truly learned really where my body was willing to go.
Coach B made sure that you took care of things off the field as well which I greatly valued. He did a good job of keeping me motivated to bettering myself. Through my experience at Ole Miss I found more great minds in the sport. Brett Huber taught me a good bit; he really understood the hip’s role in the mechanical sequencing and how to leverage them. Following that, Coach Lafferty was one of the first Collegiate Coaches to buy in to what Driveline was putting out. He gave us the ability to learn and understand a little more comprehensively proper routine and warm-up conditioning; A big hallmark of what I try to teach in my own training.
I won’t bore you with the details of my drafting, but I am very thankful to the Phillies Organization. I’ve learned about the direction my playing and training futures in ways I couldn’t have imagined.
When I got into Pro Ball with the Phillies it was a very old school regime. There were meetings about respecting the game, understanding the un-written rules, and how to be a good teammate and clubhouse guy. It felt a little more like lecture than what I had dreamed of. They were very restrictive on a “their way or the highway” approach, which I respected. We weren’t allowed to throw a ball past 120ft, and they did not like weighted balls. These years really taught me what it looked like to be a professional in this game and though it seemed a bit arbitrary at first, I think this was an important step in my maturity. One of those lessons was this: “You are allowed to be aggressive in this game, but it must be warranted.” There are so many complexities to the game, a bunch of guys competing for a job causes a physical and mental battle to occur and creates a lot of tension. Unknowingly, they taught you how to manage that beautifully. Another one of my best teachers in those early days was Brad Bergessen, the first full season pitching coach that I had. He really showed me was a routine looked like in pro ball as a starter. “Know what your plan is for the day and commit to following through.”
In 2019 Spring Training, we had a different Minor League front office, new head of player development, new philosophy, new tools, and the analytical era. It was a whirlwind to say the least. Through this, what we knew as players changed. Getting to the big leagues seemed a little less subjective and more objective through the reliance of data. We as players realized we can manipulate our statistics through different training methods to increase our value to the organizations desire. It truly ebbs and flows. You either get with it or you don’t have a job.
Because I knew where the game was going, I decided to jump in on understanding what makes it valuable. This mindset ties my story together and I believe it put me in great position to learn and succeed. The Phillies had hired Eric Jagers as their pitch design specialist, but this guy understands a level of baseball that surpasses his title. He was able to take incredibly complex analytical approaches and explain them in the terminology a baseball player can comprehend. After having velocity issues in the beginning of 2019, I read “Hacking the Kinetic Chain” to really begin my foundational understanding of the new wave. After my reading, I was able to have some deeper conversations with Jagers and my curiosity was peaked again.
I was told by most people I asked in the Phillies organization, the biggest thing I needed to work on in the offseason after the 2019 season, which was power output. I moved to Orlando and got linked up with a strength coach at Competitor Fit named Jeff Higuera. Jeff was known for training some incredibly explosive athletes and has had a reputation for developing some great baseball talent. During my offseason I took my standing vertical from 25” to 32” and my 10-yard spring to a 1.39. This was my primary focus going into the offseason was being able to take my lower percentile power metrics and turn them into a higher percentile. I began to feel like i was truly breaking ground and changes were rapidly happening.
I had heard rumblings that there was a group of players the Phillies were sending to Driveline in Seattle in the winter of 2019. I had reached out to a few people in our organization trying to get me on that list. I was lucky enough to be invited for 21 days. During my time training in Seattle, I got to pick the brains of some very smart, innovative minds in the baseball world. The one name that jumps out to me still is Dean Jackson. Dean was a guy who really helped me understand the hips positioning in the throwing sequence and how to leverage your pelvic rotational angle to set up a better lead leg block. Throughout my month at Driveline, I worked on refining my pitch arsenal and I really got to see and understand what a true training environment can look like and the energy in the building was electric. It was addicting. A group of high-level athletes all training towards a common goal pushing each other and wanting those around them to succeed. Whats better than that? I began envisioning a future where I could foster that same community and energy.
The 2020 season was obviously cut due to COVID. As tough as that was to handle, it gave me an opportunity to do something I never thought I’d be able to do during my professional career. Train athletes. I moved to Mississippi and needed a spot to be able to train early during the COVID pandemic. Every business was still shut and there was no gym for me to be able to train at. I got linked up with Spike Richards who had a carport gym with a small squat rack and a bench (nothing fancy just what I needed). He told me I could use his carport if I showed some of his athletes how to use some plyocare balls he had just gotten. I had never trained someone before, but I understood the foundational concepts on workload management, periodization, and program structuring. This was new, I was very cautious because I didn’t want to mess the kid up. This forced me to be able to understand the concepts that I had learned throughout my entire career and internalized, and properly explain them to someone with little to no understanding. And thus, Intent Performance was born. I began to truly understand those concepts and the mutual work of translating them and in turn getting to see the light bulb turn on was infectious.
So that brings me to the present day, I still pitch for the Phillies Organization and I train athletes remotely during the season. I will never claim to understand every aspect of development/this game, but I will continually try to understand what new techniques may be beneficial towards myself and others I train. I think part of the reason I’ve been successful training athletes is because I know how to do the things I’m coaching, and I know the feeling when I complete drills properly. This is what I bring to a training environment. I look forward to all the developments that will be made, and Im excited to be one piece of that gradual ascent in this beautiful game. My hope is that, much like I find within myself, a common ground can be found between New Age Analytics and Old School Baseball. I’m still that kid that really loves this game and I hope that I can share it with you.
If you’re interested in remote training with me, sign up for our beta program! Program launches September 1st and I’m taking a limited amount of students to start off.
Live Life and Train with INTENT,
David Parkinson
Founder, Intent Performance