Today’s episode features pro trainer David Donatucci. David is the the owner/director of The Florida Institute of Performance in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida where he provides comprehensive sports performance training programs for professional, collegiate, high school and senior athletes.
David is well known for his work with high-level golfers, but his diverse resume includes training athletes of all levels and types. He has been using medicine ball training for decades, and has honed in on essential biomechanical and kinetic parameters that can make this form of training optimally effective. David is a coach who truly knows the biomechanics of swinging sports and how to use that knowledge to create better transfer in the weight room and with medicine balls.
When it comes to medicine ball training, it is easy to think that picking up a ball and throwing it against the wall will automatically transfer to rotation, but in talking to David and learning about things like launch angle, power transfer and ball velocity, we can easily see that what we are doing with our medicine ball work needs to have a high level of specificity, especially as the ability levels of the athletes we are working with increase.
On today’s episode, David talks about the key components that bind rotational sport actions together, as well as the differences across sports such as baseball and golf. He talks about how to optimize the various components of medicine ball training, be specific to sport skills with medicine balls, as well as how to select proper weight and velocity (David is the inventor of the Ballistic Ball).
For those fellow track coaches out there, David makes shot put and discus references which can certainly make us appreciate this smart episode even more.
Today’s episode is brought to you by SimpliFaster, supplier of high-end athletic development tools, such as the Freelap timing system, kBox, Sprint 1080, and more.
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Key Points:
- David’s background in the field
- Key components that bind rotational sport actions together
- The importance of the front leg block in swinging, and how it is particularly important in golf
- David’s methods to get athletes into their front leg more in swinging motions
- How to differentiate medicine ball training across different rotational sports for different athletic needs
- The importance of launch angle in medicine ball throw training
- A guide to medicine ball weight for building rotational proficiency
- How to approach the rear leg/push leg in throwing a medicine ball
David Donatucci Quotes
“The hip motion, then followed by the torso motion, then followed by the arms, then followed by the implement is always a good sequence”
“In a baseball swing at the end of the rotation there is still a lot of weight on that back foot, where as for golf, almost all the weight is going to be on the front leg at that point”
“I have a lot of guys who hit the (golf) ball really far, who really don’t jump very high”
“A 30-40 degree medicine ball angle simulates more of what you see in a baseball swing”
“For me, the shot put (medicine ball throw) from a body motion, body rotation perspective can replicate a lot of movements in rotational sports”
“One kid who did a medicine ball show put throw went back to the tee and improved his bat speed 3-4 miles per hour”
“(Regarding medicine ball training) Baseball is the only one from a hitting standpoint that I want to create more of an upward push through the ball… pitchers I want to work more of the downward angle”
“You may have an athlete start on a 3kg ball, then they are throwing 13-14m/s, now they can throw a 4kg ball”
“If you can throw a 5kg ball 10 meters per second, you are doing pretty good”
“To know if the kinematic sequence is right (for medicine ball throws), you will throw a “knuckleball” without a lot of rotation”
“If the medicine ball is spinning in the release, mechanically there is something wrong… the ball may be too heavy for them… 9 times out of 10 it is because the arms take over the motion”
“You can’t unload something if you haven’t loaded it already”
“(Regarding the Gary Player Drills) When Gary Player hit the ball… he would hit the ball and then just keep walking down the fairway”
About David Donatucci
A graduate of the University of Dayton, David Donatucci began his career in Sports Performance in 1991 at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation (CCF) in Cleveland, Ohio. While working at CCF, David had the opportunity to train athletes at all levels from a variety of sports. He gained valuable experience working with numerous high schools, the Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland Browns and the WNBA. Additionally, he trained several elite figure skaters, including the 2000 U.S National Champion and 2002 Olympic Bronze Medalist, Timothy Goebel. During his time at CCF, David earned his master’s degree from Cleveland State University in Exercise Science and became Director of the Center for Athletic Performance.
In the summer of 1999, David began working at the International Performance Institute (IPI) on the campus of IMG Academies in Bradenton, Florida and became the director in 2001. After nine years at IPI, David accepted a position with the PGA of America as the Director of Fitness and Performance. The opportunity to work at the PGA of America allowed David to focus on his passion for golf fitness. In this new role, David designed and operated the first fitness facility at the PGA’s Center for Golf Learning and Performance, authored the PGA Professional Golf Management Program Level I-III Fitness Curriculum, and participated in many of the events hosted by the PGA of America offering presentations, clinics and fitness programs. He also designed and coordinated the PGA of America Sports Academy program.
In 2012 David left the PGA of America to open his own performance center and is now the owner/director of The Florida Institute of Performance in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida where he continues to provide comprehensive sports performance training programs using the most advanced training methods for professional, collegiate, high school and senior athletes.
He lives in Palm City, Florida with his wife and three children.
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