CHAD HERMANSEN
OUTFIELDER, TORONTO BLUE JAYS
“Dr. Crowley’s Mental Mechanics helped me from the very beginning. My arm is back
to its original mechanics. I haven’t felt this in years!”
September 2003
“My name is Chad Hermansen and I play for the Dodgers I have almost two years big
league experience and I am currently in a triple-
I came across an ad in Baseball America that I found in the locker room. What Dr.
Crowley said in it caught my attention. I contacted him immediately and we began
to work on the telephone several times before we met in person as I was on the road.
I had bad mechanics that had plagued me and didn’t respond to everything I had tried
over the years. All the coaches I worked with couldn’t get my throwing back to where
it had been in the past. Because of my ongoing problem whenever I played short, I
would throw side-
However, beginning August 19, 2003, Dr. Crowley and I addressed all these issues
with his highly effective Mental Mechanics approach. He mentally coached me through
my problematic mechanics so I would soon be back throwing like I hadn’t thrown in
years. And with confidence!
His Mental Mechanics helped me from the very beginning. August 21st, only two days
after our first telephone session I played one game and fielded three balIs. Two
out of the three were real good... right on line. I hadn’t done that all year!
On August 23rd we worked on my over thinking and the weird position my arm takes
when I throw My arm would go right to my ear and then I would end up pushing it from
there I became aware how my entire right arm felt incredibly tight. This chronic
awkwardness in my mechanics may have resulted in my previous shoulder surgery A friend
told me that he couldn’t look at me throw like I did as it was painful for him to
watch!
I began to make my arm long coming back so my arm would be in the proper slot...long
and loose I would then go in front of a mirror and watch myself to see that I was
in the proper position to see what it looked like and feel how it felt.
I found myself taking a step forward I felt positive. When I would throw a bad one,
the old me would have said: “Here we go again.” But now I was no longer getting
frustrated I would simply make an adjustment and tell myself “I don’t have to be
perfect.”
Four days later (August 27th) I felt loose and comfortable. The ball went to where
I wanted the night before during a game I became more confident with each throw.
It was a powerful feeling. The previous night was probably my best game of the year
Baseball was becoming more fun!
Dr. Crowley and I concentrated on two other issues: (1) not getting good extension
resulting in my lack of reaching out to my target and (2) not focusing on my target:
I would lose my target by the time I threw the balI ...then I saw it.. then I didn’t
.. then I saw it again. It was the strangest thing to me, but not to Dr. Crowley
who enthusiastically dove into the problem with me with a very confident attitude.
Three days later I was home from the road games and Dr. Crowley drove to Las Vegas
to work with me. On August 30th, my strength coach, Jason Romano of the Dodgers,
Dr. Crowley and I drove to an isolated, small park where he observed Jason and me
playing catch. After ten minutes into throwing with Jason. I showed Dr. Crowley the
problem that I still couldn’t overcome: I would either release the ball too late
or hold to it too Iong. This had been a chronic, core problem badgering me back to
the days when I played with the Pirates where nobody was able to help me resolve
it.
Dr. Crowley told Jason and me to take a break and sit down on the grass beside him.
He then walked me threw his Mental Mechanics to end my awkward throwing. We addressed
my release problem. It took about 5 minutes.
He told us to go back throwing again to see what the result would be. Upon my first
throw Jason congratulated me. And then Jason enthusiastically did so a second and
third time! I looked at Dr. Crowley and said: “My arm is back to its original mechanics.
I haven’t felt this in years!” Jason chided in saying. “That’s the best I’ve seen!”
The next time I spoke with Dr. Crowley on the telephone was September 1st. He asked
me how I was doing. My comment was “Awesome, I feel reconnected!” Two nights before
I had played in a game and told him “I had a couple of balls come to me to throw.
It felt awesome. I thought of nothing else. I visualized my arm as my target. I just
threw!”
Chad Hermansen
About a week later, Chad went from Triple to play in the major leagues with the Dodgers. By December 2003, the Toronto Blue Jays signed him to play with their organization as an outfielder. Congratulations, Chad! Well done.
Full Transcript and Testimonial of
Chad Hermanson
OUTFIELDER, TORONTO BLUE JAYS
