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In today's episode we have the honor of interviewing the Co-Owner of Armoured Heat, Ben Holmes.

Ben Wetzler is a left-handed pitcher whose career has been defined by grit, adaptability, and a relentless love for the game. A standout at Clackamas High School, he posted a 12–0 record with a microscopic 0.33 ERA, earning Oregon’s 6A Player of the Year honors. At Oregon State University, he cemented his place in program history—becoming the school’s all-time wins leader, earning First-Team All-American recognition, and guiding the Beavers to multiple deep postseason runs.

Drafted three times—first in the 15th round by Cleveland in 2010, then the 5th round by the Phillies in 2013, and finally the 9th round by the Miami Marlins after returning for his senior year—Ben’s professional journey has taken him through the Marlins, Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, and Chicago White Sox organizations, as well as independent and international leagues, including the Mexican League with Veracruz and Durango, the Dominican Winter League, and the Venezuelan Winter League.

Throughout his career he's faced many obstacles, setbacks, and hardships but has continued to persevere through it all.

Far from slowing down, Ben is obsessed with player development—both his own and that of the next generation. He’s committed to pushing his craft, studying the finer details of pitching, and squeezing every ounce of potential out of his career. His mission is simple: play this game at the highest level, for as long as humanly possible, while inspiring others to chase their baseball dreams—and guiding them in a way that helps them build the tools, mindset, and habits to be as successful as possible in their own careers.

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In today’s episode we have our colleague Dylan Silver, the Strength and Conditioning Coach at AOP, joining us to talk about a key component of creating a development plan, periodization. Coach Silver gives us insight on what periodization is, the importance of it when customizing an athlete’s training program, and how It affects the development process.

What we discuss:

0:00 Intro

1:06 What is periodization?

2:23 Why is periodization important?

3:20 How does periodization lead to progress?

4:52 Don’t work on everything at the same time

7:39 Off-season vs season training

8:32 You can’t run before you crawl

10:54 Focusing on others = self-sabotage

13:06 Training plan for the year

15:41 Comparison is the thief of joy

17:21 Consequences of not doing proper periodization

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In today’s episode we shine light on the mistakes we commonly see parents make that can be detrimental to a player’s development and his baseball career. Based on our experience we’ve witnessed how these decisions can lead to overuse, injury, and prevent progress. As parents we want the best for our kids and we want to bring awareness so that players can reach their full potential.

What we discuss:

0:00 Intro

1:39 Rushing development

5:26 Overlooking overuse + underfueling

6:28 Downfall of desperation

10:33 Focusing on the wrong things

12:47 Closed-minded parents

15:11 Becoming competitive

19:32 Recommendations

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Website: https://theartofpitchingcorp.com