Jason Zhang – Baseball Training Success
Chapter Overview:
0:00 Introduction: Jason introduces himself, sports background
0:29 Choosing Baseball: Why Jason chose baseball over hockey, potential, journey of Canadian baseball players
1:11 Sacrifices: Balancing sports/school, social sacrifices, diet
1:50 Injuries: Hamstring injuries, overcoming them, using acupuncture
2:27 Family Support: Mom’s support, initial apprehension about weightlifting
3:01 Discovering LPS: How he found LPS, initial intimidation, welcoming culture
4:00 Training Before LPS: Initial workouts, benefits of coming to LPS
4:43 How LPS Improved his Game: Functional movements, injury prevention, improved speed/power
6:11 Amazing Culture: Difference from regular gyms, focus, collective improvement
7:21 “Dominate”: Setting yourself apart, being at a higher level
7:51 Leaving LPS: Applying training elsewhere, seeing differences in teammates
8:36 Wanting to Quit: How the culture and mindset prevent quitting
9:21 Goals: Transferring to a four-year college, higher aspirations
9:51 Advice for Younger Self: Start training at LPS sooner
My name is Jason Zhang. I play baseball and I attend Antelope Valley College in Lancaster, California. I first got into playing baseball around five or six and wanted to follow in my brother’s footsteps. My parents put us into baseball camp as little kids to get out of the house.
I also played rep hockey, school sports like soccer, basketball, and rugby for fun. I chose baseball because I was better at it than hockey and felt I had more potential. The journey of Canadian baseball players is pretty rough compared to our American counterparts. There’s not much high school baseball in Canada, so it depends on your travel team.
I was with the Ontario Blue Jays for a bit and then the Mississauga Tigers. There, we would play American teams in tournaments and showcases, being immersed with players going to big schools or getting drafted. It’s tough as a Canadian to get exposure in America, so being with those teams really helps get exposure to American scouts.
Some sacrifices I had to make were missing out on hanging out with friends… you know, with workouts, the drive, you’re beat for the day. There’s also diet… friends want to go out, but you can’t really eat what they’re eating. And obviously, balancing school and sports… you definitely sacrifice a lot of your personal time, but, in the end, it’s all worth it if you love your sport.
I had a few injuries before I came to LPS…strained both my hamstrings, which is a big one in baseball. To overcome it, I went to physio, got acupuncture… I do get acupuncture regularly to keep them loose. My mom is probably my biggest supporter because she’s the more lenient parent. They’re not really into weightlifting, so she was scared when she saw me lifting heavy weights and going ass to grass.
I explained to her that this is what we do at LPS, and it’s the right way to do stuff. She’s seen I haven’t gotten injured in the time I’ve been here. I’ve been at LPS for three years. I heard about it through Sean Travers because LPS works with the Mississauga Tigers.
When I first got here, it was slightly intimidating… you see guys cleaning and snatching what I barely squat. But once you get into the culture, everyone’s very friendly and supportive, even if you fail. The coaches greet you; they know who you are… it’s amazing.
Before LPS, my training wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t what LPS is. I wouldn’t squat that much… more bench press, lunges, stuff kids like to do at the gym. That gave me a decent foundation, but once I got here, it was ass to grass, snatch, clean… that propelled me up to activate everything.
Training at LPS has really helped me in baseball. You’re training your body to move faster, react quicker, which translates to the field. The way LPS trains helps you take what you do in the weight room and put it onto the field. It also helps with injuries… With LPS, they teach you to strengthen all muscles in your body the right way, with full range of motion, so they don’t fail when you’re asked to do something in a game.
After training at LPS, my 60 time really went down… from a 7 flat to a 6.5. Obviously, I’m trying to get even faster. Speed was the big thing, and obviously, the speed work here really helped. Also, explosiveness and power in baseball. I realized I was hitting the ball further with less effort and moving a lot more easily than before.
The culture here at LPS is honestly amazing as an elite athlete. In a regular gym, everyone’s doing their own thing… there’s a weird energy. At LPS, everyone’s focused, wants to do the work, and knows that. It feeds into each other and builds… you get to know everyone, what sport they play, their personality, and everyone’s getting better together.
Dominate to me means setting yourself apart from the competition. You’re stronger, faster, think faster, react quicker… it’s like you’re a level up above everyone else. One of the hardest things I had to go through was Louis’s conditioning…probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.
After leaving LPS and going to school, you can tell with your teammates…since I trained at LPS, I’m at a different level. They squat in the weight room, but they’re not going ass to grass… anything I do here translates to wherever I’m going because it’s a lot harder at LPS.
There’s been a lot of times that I’ve wanted to quit… but the culture here stops you from quitting. Everyone else is going through the same pain, maybe worse, and that pushes you to not quit. Training has strengthened my mentality…you can always push through tough times.
Stuff that happens outside of training or a game… none of that matters when you get in the game. You gotta perform. I feel like training at LPS has given me that kind of edge. My main goal right now is to transfer to a good four-year school and get my education. I would like to go pro, but if not, I want to be successful in something else.
If I could talk to my younger self, I would have told myself to come here earlier. I came here when I was 17… I wish I would’ve come here as young as possible.
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