PRIORITIZING HEALTH,
UNLOCKING PERFORMANCE
ABOUT ME
MATT STAFFORD
I am an orthopedic physical therapist with 18 years' experience in the outpatient setting. I graduated with a master's degree in physical therapy from the University of North Florida in 2005 and completed an orthopedic residency in 2007 with the Brooks Rehabilitation Institute of Higher Learning, becoming a board-certified orthopedic specialist in 2008. I have certifications in dry needling, Medical Level 2 with the Titleist Performance Institute, and with ArmCare as a Certified Specialist and Biomechanist.
My passion for working with athletes began when I was in high school as an all-state baseball pitcher. I spent a lot of time as a patient in a physical therapy clinic due to repeated shoulder and elbow injuries from the age of twelve to eighteen, thus beginning my interest in sports rehabilitation.
During my 18 years as an orthopedic physical therapist, I have had the opportunity to rehabilitate countless baseball players and golfers. Now I am bringing my expertise to the sports performance world to help clients who want to prioritize their health and unlock their performance.
Northeast Florida's Concierge Sports Performance Coach
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my philosophy
Whether you are a golfer or a baseball pitcher, I believe there are
3 main keys to success.
1. Health
Feel well to play well. My primary focus is always on health. This is the key to unlocking performance. Professional athletes have less earning potential if they are prone to injury and you will not be able to fully enjoy the sport you love if you are physically unable to play. As the saying goes, the best form of ability is availability! I bring 18 years of experiences as an orthopedic physical therapist and my number one objective has and always will be the health of my clients.
2. Accuracy
Repeatable mechanics are the key to accuracy, whether for the golf swing or pitching motion. Achieving this is difficult, so you need to train your body to produce the same outcome even when slight variations occur during your motion. Variation can come from external or internal variables. I can prepare your body to adapt to any variations to produce the desired outcome, accuracy.
3. power
For golfers, power means distance. For baseball pitchers, it means velocity. Every athlete chases power. As a golfer, you have to be long off the tee to be competitive. For pitchers, scouts are looking for velo of at least 90 mph. There are so many factors involved in achieving power. It can be confusing with all of the available information to know who to trust, and injuries often result from not having proper instruction or following the wrong plan. I can help you safely achieve the power you are chasing!
PERFORMANCE PYRAMID
While health, accuracy and power are the 3 main keys to success, there are building blocks all athletes must have to achieve these keys to success. They build on each other from the bottom to the top, like a pyramid.
Strength & Length
Having adequate strength and mobility, both muscle flexibility and joint mobility, is the foundation of any athletic endeavor. Without them, it is impossible to achieve the balance and coordination required to have a consistent and efficient golf swing or pitching mechanics. Without them, injuries are sure to follow. Before you can work on the complexities of your golf swing or pitching motion, you must first have your strength and mobility properly assessed throughout your upper extremities, trunk and lower extremities. Otherwise you and your coaches will become frustrated with a lack of results.
Dynamic Balance & Coordination
The next level up on the performance pyramid is dynamic balance and coordination, as these build on strength and length. The balance required for correct swing and pitching mechanics is dynamic, meaning balance must be maintained as the body is in motion. Specifically, you must maintain your head stacked over your center of gravity, which is your navel, as you move fluidly and controlled from your first move all the way through your follow through. Then you must be able to repeat this with every swing or pitch. That requires both dynamic balance and coordination.
Sequencing & Timing
Sequencing has become a big buzzword in both the golf and baseball worlds, and rightly so. It is more descriptive than timing to describe the order of events that must happen to transfer energy up the kinetic chain from the ground up through the lower extremities, then trunk, upper extremities and finally to the club head or baseball. Proper sequencing is necessary to achieve an efficient, repeatable, and powerful golf swing or pitching motion. Without the foundation of strength & length and then dynamic balance & coordination, achieving proper sequencing is impossible.
Arsenal & Execution
Arsenal in golf refers to the number of different shots you have in your bag to control ball flight with regard to trajectory, direction and distance. In pitching, it refers to the number of different pitch types you can throw. Of course, your arsenal does not matter if you are not able to properly execute them. This is towards the top of the pyramid because everything below it on the performance pyramid must be on point and your motion automatic so focus can be on the execution of your arsenal.
Mental Approach
Mental approach is the pinnacle of the pyramid when everything below it is on autopilot and brain power can be devoted to strategy for attacking the course or the hitters in front of you. Confidence and mental toughness are required for success, but they are derived from building the solid foundation of the pyramid. Having an arsenal is great, but you have to know when to deploy your arsenal. Shot or pitch selection comes with experience and coaching, but your brain will not be able to focus on choosing and executing your arsenal if everything lower on the pyramid is not automatic.
GOLF Services
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titleist performance institute
About TPI
Founded in 2003 by Dr. Greg Rose and Dave Phillips, TPI is the world's leading educational organization focused on educating golfers and industry professionals about how the human body functions in relation to the golf swing. There are now over 19,000 certified TPI professionals in 63 countries. Certifications can be obtained by medical professionals, fitness instructors and golf swing coaches. All industry professionals begin with the same Level 1 certification, then follow the tract that pertains to their field for subsequent certifications.
Body-Swing Connection
TM
My Relevant Experience
The golf swing is a very complex motion that involves coordinated movements throughout the trunk, upper and lower extremities. A lack of mobility or strength in any involved part of the body can cause altered movement patterns resulting in reduced accuracy, distance, and potential injury. A TPI movement screen can identify these inefficiencies and how they relate to identified swing characteristics. Then an individualized program will be developed to improve mobility, strength, balance and coordination. The result is a healthier body and a more efficient golf swing.
I have 20 years' experience as an exercise physiologist and 18 as an orthopedic physical therapist. I am TPI Level 1 and Medical Level 2 certified, giving me advanced knowledge about the specific movement patterns required to achieve an efficient golf swing. A common goal of patients is getting back on the golf course. My expertise has allowed me to successfully rehabilitate my patients to get back to the game they love. Now I am bringing this to clients who have either recently finished physical therapy but are not back on the course, have aches and pains preventing them from playing as well as they would like, or would like to improve their game and prevent injury.
pitching Services
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ArmCare.com
About Armcare.com
Armcare.com Philosophy
My Relevant Experience
Armcare.com is the leading arm care program for pitchers preferred by many college programs and professional organizations. Armcare uses a wrist band
embedded with a sensor to measure shoulder range of motion and maximum strength in pounds, along with a corresponding app displaying detailed analysis. Healthcare professionals and pitching coaches can also take courses to become Armcare certified.
Armcare.com's motto is "Strength Matters Most." By monitoring strength on a regular basis, pitchers can know their risk for injury, readiness to pitch or perform a velocity program, fatigue level and recovery. Meeting all of the strength targets allows pitchers to have the best chance of preventing injury while improving command and velocity.
I have been rehabilitating pitchers for 18 years as an orthopedic physical therapist and have been a pitching coach the past 2 years. I have developed my own movement screen based on my expertise as a movement expert. I am an Armcare Elite member, having obtained certifications as an Armcare specialist and biomechanist. My passion aligns with Armcare.com: to help pitchers prevent injury while improving command and velocity.
What is included in a training session?
Corrective Exercises
Based on the results of your movement screen, I will create an individualized exercise plan for you to improve on all deficiencies identified in your screen. It starts with exercises to build the foundation of your performance pyramid, strength and length. Mobility exercises address joint hypomobilities and shortened muscles. Strengthening exercises address not only weaknesses and muscle atrophy but decreased activation, recruitment, tolerance to tension, and endurance. Basic mobility and strengthening exercises are then progressed to more advanced exercises up the performance pyramid to address static and dynamic balance and coordination to become more specific to the golf swing or pitching motion.
Manual Therapy
Joint Mobilizations
Joints involve two bones that adjoin in a cavity surrounded by a capsule. The bones can either roll, glide or both to produce movement. When joints become hypomobile, there is a loss of motion and pain can result from the body attempting to move past the limit of the joint. Joint mobilizations consist of moving one bone on the adjacent bone inside the joint capsule to relieve pain, decrease muscle guarding, and/or improve motion.
Soft Tissue Mobilization
A loss of motion can occur when muscles become tense, lose extensibility, and painful with movement. There are many different techniques to mobilize tense muscles to improve fluid moving through muscles, the motion between muscles and surrounding fascia, pliability of muscle tissue and decrease pain. These can involve the assistance of instruments such as a massage gun for percussion, cupping to lift and glide fascia, and smooth-edged metal tools to reduce scar tissue and myofascial restrictions.
Stretching
Aside from joint hypomobility and muscle tension, loss of motion can also occur from decreased muscle length. Performing self stretches can be beneficial, however quicker gains can often be made from having a professional stretch you using multiple different techniques including proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation.
Trigger Point Dry Needling
Muscles can often have knots which are tender when pressed, however trigger points have specific referral patterns when pressed and are more painful in nature. Soft tissue mobilization is often not enough to relieve trigger points. Trigger point dry needling involves inserting a monofilament needle into a trigger point in order to relieve tension and reduce pain. This is a newer form of manual therapy performed by licensed physical therapists which requires additional certification and can be more effective than other forms of manual therapy.
TESTIMONIALS
matt stafford
SPORTS PERFORMANCE COACH
Call or Text: (904) 304-1401
Email: mcstafford15@gmail.com