Semi OT: Barwis' methods under fire as a result of Met injuries
A couple of nights ago, after yet another Met injury, former Met and current Met broadcaster Ron Darling lambasted the Mets' training program, essentially a slam at Mike Barwis' methods. Barwis was hired by the Mets a couple of years ago to manage their training program. The Mets' Assistant GM is now defending Barwis, but in the NYC media circus, this could get interesting. Here's a link to an article on the controversy: http://metsmerizedonline.com/2017/06/john-ricco-weve-seen-lots-of-posit…
I'm actually trying to figure out what Barwis' claim to fame is. I remember we were all psyched for him and I don't think anything notable happened - though no S&C program in the world was going to make those 2008-2010 teams significantly better
I'm starting to think he's similar to Richrod - got a great claim to fame in watching Pat White & Steve Slaton gut the Big East and both became regarded as Elite in their fields. Since they've moved on from WVU, I don't think either has done much to indicate that they truly are elite in their fields
I think the biggest thing about Barwis was that his name wasn't Mike Gittleson.
Imposing gravely voice, former MMA fighter, insane motivational speeches...
Actually, I think the UM fan base was excited to have them because RichRod had managed to produce pretty amazing teams with unheralded players, many of who went on to the NFL. The natural assumption was that while RIchRod's system played a big part in that, these kids were getting amazing training from Barwis that played a big part as well.
And wolves. Something about wolves.
I posted something here back at the time on this: During RR's time at WVU only South Florida, among Big East teams, had put fewer players into the NFL. I wasn't thinking about Barwis but I assume it applies to him as well.
I didn't, and still don't, know which way to think of that. On the one hand it was an amazing run of success given the lack of NFL-level talent they apparently had had. On you could say it was just as amazing that they could have enough talent to be at the top of their conference and get so little of it into the league.
He looked just like his picture and scared the $hit out of me. Lined up two kids from rival schools and had them hold a plate at chest height while staring at each other to see who would give up first.
It was awesome.
a potted plant probably would've had a better S&C program then Gittleson had. I coached at UM's camp the last year he was there and I was blown away by how archaic our weight room was and the type of program he was still running.
Actually knew an NFL head S&C coach and talked with him and a couple of former Wolverine players about that same time about their program. Mentioned Gittleson to them and about all they could do was roll their eyes and try not to laugh out loud about his S&C program. Basically said the 70's called and they wanted their machines back.
For a lousy S&C guy he sure did send a lot of players to the NFL
it was as much about intensity as technique/philosophy
with Barwis most people are instantly in awe because he comes across as a dynamic personality, me included. I'm not saying he's the right guy or wrong guy, but anyone who's been trained by him would be the opinion to seek, not the NY fan base.
Probably getting people to walk again.
This first notable thing I recall about Barwis was helping Brock Mealer to walk again. Having followed him on twitter since his time at Michigan, he's helped numorus other people regain their ability to walk as well. He shouts out accomplishments for all of the pro althletes that have trained with him, for which there have been quite a few.
He's opened three gyms in Michigan and one in Florida. He also had a show on discovery called America Muscle a few years ago.
No idea how any of that translates to training baseball players...
gravely voice, makes people work out till they puke
You know, this descrption also fits a couple people I know who are also huge believers in the walking meeting, which is awesome except when it goes into a second hour and some of the people in the group who - unexperienced in mildly strenuous workouts as they may be - do exactly that and puke.
strength coach at two Power 5 Universities.He has opened his own gym and has had results with helping getting people with spinal injuries to actually walk again. He is now a strength coach for a professional team and he has had several professional athletes seek him out to prepare them to play at the highest level.
Maybe it's just me but that's a pretty good resume.
I have no doubt that Barwis is very good at his job. But I think the same of basically all the other strength and conditioning coaches in Division I - these guys are at the top of their field. The mistake people made was to assume that Barwis would give us a competitive edge over everyone else.
There was the Brock Mealer story, where he got him walking again and didn't charge the family even after he was let go... oh and Chocolate milk post work out hehe, that's about all I remember.
...if you're not drinking appropriate post-workout recovery beverages.
Well, I suppose if you want a chocolate milk with less sugar and carrageenan, then sure. Drink Fairlife.
(I'm a bit of a chocolate milk savant myself - always look for milk from grass-fed cows. Moo.)
Logged in just to upvote this.
Not sure why people are so scared of real fat. There's a regional dairy here in MI that sells full-fat chocolate milk, no junk. Out of this world.
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/sugar-industry-sought-sugarcoat-cau…
The documents — which include correspondence, symposium programs and annual reports — show that the Sugar Research Foundation (as it was named at the time) paid professors who wrote a two-part review in 1967 in the New England Journal of Medicine. That report was highly skeptical of the evidence linking sugar to cardiovascular problems but accepting of the role of fat. The now-deceased professors’ overall conclusion left “no doubt” that reducing the risk of heart disease was a matter of reducing saturated fat and cholesterol, according to researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, who published their report online September 12 in JAMA Internal Medicine.
...
Following the publication of the Harvard report, fat and cholesterol went on to hijack the scientific agenda for decades, and even led to a craze of low-fat foods that often added sugar.
is not bad for you. It is one of those "vaccines give you autism" things.
One lab doing shoddy work (at best) comes up with wonky results (that no other labs can recreate) who then goes on health food websites and gets people to freak out for no reason. People have been eating Carrageenan for over a hundred years. It's fine for you. Actually, current, well designed research suggests it helps lower bad cholesterol and triglyceride levels while upping good cholesterol.
My source? I have run most of her (Tobacman's) work exactly as she specified in materials and methods and have been able to recrete zero of her results. Also, we used characterized (i.e. food grade) carageenan and had it analyzed for contaminants by a GLP lab. She didn't. Double also, I have ghost written many of the claims that are contradictory claims. Her lab does shit work and people should know that. Triple also, all our work that showed hers was a crock was done under full GLP. Her's wasn't.
Color me convinced. Back to drinking Fairlife.
P.S. I love MGoBlog.
I think Fairlife is a D grade on fooducate, maybe a C, either way not good. It's highly processed.
I'm afraid of injuries, so I just skip straight to the chocolate milk.
You just blew my mind, man.
Reduced fat = Candy ass
Anyone who attacks Barwis had better beware of his direwolf.
I thought those were extinct? Maybe Barwis resurrected the species? What a beast!!
From an outsiders perspective reading a few Mets' forums, it seems like
1) Mets' fans recognize Barwis isn't the man for the job (especially when most of his resume consists of football players), but:
2) Wilpon is the target of all the hatred and refuses to let go of Barwis. Basically, fuck anything Wilpon.
Whether any of this is true is interesting to say the least.
He's our Dave Brandon -- although unfortunately much more difficult to get rid of since he owns the team.
I actually met Wilpon recently and as a fellow Michigan alum, we had a nice talk. His ringtone plays The Victors. That said, as a Met fan, I'm totally frustrated with the way the team runs things.
If Barwis is responsible for Noah Syndergaard's off-season training regiment, then he should get fired.
Syndergaard, who was already throwing 99 mph last year, added 17 lbs of muscle in the offseason. There is a great FanGraphs article about why this was almost certainly a bad idea from the start (here), and it landed him on the DL less than a month into the season.
This situation sounds like a football trainer out of his depth in a baseball environment, where flexibility and efficient motion are far more important than just adding muscle.
Any trainer who "causes" the pitchers they work for to deal with big time shoulder surgeries.
I would like to think that Barwis sure knows what he's doing sport by sport, because he has trained plenty of baseball players. He doesn't just have people get randomly jacked for no reason.
http://www.teamexos.com/mlb-and-milb-athletes-prepare-for-2017-season-a…
But sure, blame the guy who helped Brock walk again ... NY Media....
trainer should have, or have access to, education and techniques for a variety of athletes and their specific sports. I just don't know if Barwis flunked on that or not.
But the Mets fans/media being angry about Barwis for injuries is crap. They are no more injured than every other MLB team out there currently.
He's coming under fire because it happened to Syndergaard and Cespedes. If these injuries happened to the no namers, Mets' people would not say a word.
Mike is a hell of a guy and a great trainer. People in Michigan should be happy he set up roots there. I know I am.
He trains athletes for multiple sports and at different levels.
This is just bad luck for the Mets. The injury bug is random and in baseball it happens more often than not due to the 100% on or 100% off for long periods of time nature of the game.
This is just a bullshit hot take from an idiot who has no idea what he is talking about.
Wait, you can get injured playing baseball???
I tried a hundred times to post a video of nasty baseball injuries without any success. I guess it's not to be. Anyway, there's nothing as fun as getting hit in the face with a baseball (my nose and a ball had an intimate experience and it wasn't something I care to repeat).
Yeah Barwis is the biggest issue with the Mets. They are still paying Bobby Bonilla and just hired a front office guy with zero background in baseball because he's a friend of the owner's son.
July 1st is Bobby Bonilla Day, so a very happy Bobby Bonilla Day to all the Mets fans out there! Curious as to how they celebrate that one ... .
Baseball is a very challenging group to train and to keep healthy. In general, baseball culture does not have the same sort of training enthusiasm as say football or hockey who both like to train. Basketball players also seem to not have a culture of loving training either. However, baseball has the added difficulty of being an incredibly long season, especially at the MLB level and it involvles a ton of travel, eating out, sleeping in hotel beds, etc. And, games are typically played at night. It's not an ideal dynamic for overall health.
Add to that a culture of principles that are counterproductive to improve athletic performance and/or maintain health like pitchers pitching really high pitch counts, playing year round in multiple leagues, not taking time off throwing, early specialization, overuse injuries, a poor understanding of the biomechanics used in baseball by youth coaches, etc.
Syndegaard was filming a cameo for GoT, so why not blame that? And Cespedes had injury issues with the Tigers and Red Sox also.
Barwis wasn't around when Matt Harvey had to have Tommy John surgery. Every team deals with injuries.