World Baseball Network spoke with Jake Wynn, a former three-sport athlete dedicated to studying kinesiology and improving athletes’ sports performance. After attending and playing club baseball at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Wynn graduated from Stony Brook University in June 2024 with a Master’s of Liberal Studies, concentrating on coaching and physical education.
At Stony Brook, Wynn was a Graduate Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach, working with the university track and field, swimming and diving, and baseball teams.
Wynn’s love for baseball, a sport he began playing in early childhood, led him to an internship with the Atlanta Braves in 2022 and, in 2024, a full-time position as a strength and conditioning coach with the organization’s Single-A affiliate, the Augusta GreenJackets, who play their home games in North Augusta, South Carolina.
Wynn offers a unique perspective on the daily tasks of a minor league strength and conditioning coach, working with players to improve their performance on the field and in the weight room.
Did you always know you wanted to be a strength and conditioning coach, and what are the best parts about it?
“I wouldn’t say I have always wanted to be a strength and conditioning coach, but I knew from a young age that I wanted to be involved in sports for as long as possible. Growing up, I played baseball, basketball, and football and always looked for ways to improve at each sport. Through my search for improved athleticism, I discovered the importance of strength training. I developed a passion for training and learning more about improving sports performance through strength and conditioning techniques. I decided to study kinesiology in college, and my interest in sports performance and conditioning grew.”
“Some things I love about my position are my daily interactions with the athletes and co-workers and the relationships I build with them. Working with athletes and fellow coaches to improve the on-field performance of aspiring Major League Baseball players is an extremely exciting and rewarding job, and I am very grateful to have it.”
For our readers who aren’t aware, what are your main priorities and tasks as the GreenJackets’ strength and conditioning coach?
“My main priorities are to find ways to keep my athletes healthy and on the field throughout the season and ultimately going forward in their careers. While there is no way to prevent injuries throughout a 132-game minor league season, injuries can be mitigated through a sound strength and conditioning program.”
“During the season, some steps that I take daily to reduce the likelihood of injuries on the field are leading the team through a warm-up routine before starting any on-field activity or games, two-time weekly full body lifts focusing on strength and development, one-time, weekly speed training sessions focusing on improving running mechanics and max speed exposure and one to two time weekly low-intensity aerobic conditioning sessions focusing on improving the cardiovascular health of the athletes.”
“During the offseason, players will increase their training frequency due to the absence of games and formal practices. A regular off-season training program typically features three to four weekly lifts, two-speed training, and two conditioning sessions.”
Each player’s development and fitness journey is unique. What are the significant differences between how pitchers and position players train?
“Baseball is a unique sport in which the game demands and results in injuries to pitchers and position players drastically differ. Position players are asked to play five to six games per week, and depending on the defensive position or offensive performance, they can have drastically different workloads in each game. If a player goes 3-for-4 with a few extra-base hits or steals a few bases, his running volume will be drastically higher than his teammate, who may have gone 0-4 with 3 K’s. Due to the unpredictable nature of running intensity and the volume of position players, implementing training programs can be tricky, especially during the season.”
“Position players typically have much more autonomy in weight selection in a given workout. Allowing them to self-select and auto-regulate their training based on how they feel from a previous game is a great way for me to monitor their workloads during the season. Pitchers, on the other hand, are way more structured, especially at the minor-league level. Our starting pitchers are kept on a pitch count and remain on a relatively consistent one-time weekly start schedule for most of the season, bearing no injuries or sudden roster moves.”
“Depending on the scheduled start day, I individually structure each pitcher’s training week. Typically, they will lift two times per week during the season: the lighter of the two days following their in-game appearance and the heavier of the two days following a bullpen during the week. On their light throwing days, starting pitchers will either perform an aerobic conditioning session, sprint, and plyometric session, or a yoga/mobility session.”
What are the best ways to avoid injury for someone striving to be a baseball player, whether in college or professionally?
“While I think it’d be almost impossible to avoid injury completely, I believe there are many things that someone who aspires to play baseball at a high level can do to reduce the likelihood of injury. The best way to reduce injury during the season would be to ensure that you are physically prepared to handle ALL of the demands of the game. Often, baseball players come into the season having worked extremely hard at one facet of their game during the offseason.”
“Sometimes, players spend all their time improving their swing or getting stronger but neglect any sprint training and suffer a hamstring injury that sidelines them for a while. That being said, ensuring your offseason training program has some form of practice in all facets of the game, including sprinting, defense work, hitting, throwing, and lifting, is huge for reducing the likelihood of injury.”
“Similarly, pitchers need to ensure that they have properly built up their arms to handle the demands of the game before starting team practices or spring training so that their first bullpen of the year isn’t the most stressful thing their arm has experienced since the end of the previous season. The best way to reduce the likelihood of injury is to ensure that you have covered every base in your offseason preparation program so that you are better prepared to handle the stressors of the game.”
As a former baseball player, are you enjoying staying involved in the game?
“Yes, I love being able to stay in the game on the coaching and player development side of things. Baseball has always been a huge part of my life, and I don’t know where I would be or what I would do without it. While I miss playing, coaching has certainly been able to fill some of that void and keep my competitive itch scratched while helping others achieve their goals.”
Looking towards the future, is your dream to be in your position at the Major League Baseball level?
“In the future, I hope to continue on this path to the Major League level. Since I was unable to achieve that childhood dream as a player, having the opportunity to do it as a coach would qualify as a solid plan B.”
