In baseball’s offseason, athletes are given some extra time to reflect and focus on the year ahead, making it a busy time for Seattle Mariners Director of Sports Science Kate Weiss.
Here, double down with a strength and conditioning coach Muscles and fitness will talk to us about what this important role means to his team and why the offseason is an essential time to build foundations. We also find out how Weiss applies these lessons to her fitness lifestyle.
“The off-season is the best time to improve, because players have more time to train, sleep and recover,” Weiss says. “The start of the off-season is a great time to review performance and plan for improvement in areas of need. There are many ways to improve both throwing and batting skills with specific drills such as weighted balls and bats. With underload/overload training or training in the weight room, the goal is to improve movement, speed, strength and power.
Kate Weiss is a Human Movement student.
“Growing up, I always loved human movement,” says Weiss, 36, who was born in Los Angeles. “I started coaching gymnastics when I was 12, and continued to do that until I started college. I was also in a dance company and decided to major in kinesiology at the University of Southern California. During my time at USC, I was working full-time as a personal trainer and Pilates instructor, as well as interning for the head football coach. I loved working with and studying athletes, and I knew I wanted to continue learning, so I applied to graduate school. I received a scholarship to Ball State University to study biomechanics.
While there, I worked as a men’s tennis strength coach as well as a research assistant. I found the information we collected from the lab to be very valuable, but I knew it was unrealistic to have athletes constantly coming to collect data. So, I began looking for doctoral programs that would allow me to conduct applied research outside of a laboratory setting, and received a scholarship. Study Sports Science and Biomechanics at Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand.. The program there was incredible, and it allowed me to gather data and gain experience on the field with our professional men’s basketball team. After graduating, I knew I wanted to gain experience working in different sports, so when I was offered a position in baseball with the Los Angeles Dodgers, it made sense. Now, I’m entering my fifth season in baseball, and third season with the Seattle Mariners!”
As the inaugural Mariners’ sports science director, Weiss is able to work as a team. “We all collaborate every day to help athletes perform at their best,” she shares. “My job is to help coaches and staff make more informed decisions by providing them with the relevant data they need to do so.”
Details are in the data.
“I provide daily reports to the coaches and staff, flagging things like changes in performance or workload,” she says. “Anytime we see an overload with symptoms of poor recovery, we work to adjust what the athlete is doing on a given day, to improve their recovery and as far as possible. Help reduce the risk of injury if possible. This has helped us manage the increased risk of injury and provide athletes with the tools they need to recover and feel better. This is an ongoing process that has served us well in terms of athlete support.
Collecting and analyzing data is a passion for any great sports scientist. “There are a number of methods that can be used to collect data,” Weiss says. do We look at things like workload, sprint speed and distance, pitching metrics, mechanics, and body composition. Workload data gives us information about what, and how much, a player is doing. How much physical stress are they experiencing? Performance and injury data give us feedback on how they are responding to workloads. If an athlete experiences an increase in workload, which is followed by a decrease in performance, or even an increase in pain or an overuse-type problem, we can use this information as workload. can be used to reduce We can then modify things like their training, conditioning, or suggest an off day in the weight room.
Kate Weiss practices what she preaches.
For her part, Kate Weiss certainly practices what she preaches, as far as taking care of our bodies and striving to improve physical limitations. “I love weight training,” she shares. “I started back in high school with my mom and have kept it up ever since. I lift heavy weights, and I adapt my training based on my schedule and my recovery. I also do Pilates and dance. Like. I try to squeeze them in when I can.” Weiss understands that the fuel you put into your body is essential to smashing personal goals. “I’ve been a pescetarian for 18 years,” says the NSCA-certified strength and conditioning coach. “I’ve noticed that my body feels better when I eat this way. I get my blood work done every year to make sure everything looks good, and I adjust as needed based on that. With the amount of travel and long hours my job requires, it’s important that I eat a clean diet so that I can perform at my best, and that my sleep and recovery are as good as possible.
In addition to the physical, Weiss believes that baseball players also need to take care of their mental health. “Cognitive health is incredibly important in elite sports,” she says. “Players must react in milliseconds to their opponents or the ball, execute plays, and manage distractions during performance. There are easy-to-use, accessible tools to help focus. These include meditation, Includes ice baths, breath work, sleep and a healthy diet. All great ways to improve individual awareness and focus.”
Weiss tells M&F that she was excited to be a part of the Seattle Mariners’ journey to the playoffs last season, and is excited to apply the lessons learned through data collection and observing performances on the field. , to take the team to greater heights. this year.
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