Newly hired Flames coach takes pride in baseball training for the upcoming season
Andrew Long, the Flames assistant athletic performance coach, ensures his team is ready for the upcoming Liberty baseball season.
Long started at Liberty in July and works exclusively with the baseball program. He does more than train the players: he is concerned with getting to know them, preparing their bodies for baseball and building a culture they can bring into the season.
Long’s baseball journey began as a player in northern California, and his path to Liberty has been full of many twists and turns.
Born in Orland, California, Long was an enthusiast of baseball and football. He worked his way to being a player in college, but injuries led him to stop playing.
While recovering from an injury, Long began looking at the preparation that goes into competing.
“I really liked preparing for the game,” Long said.
At Butte College, his mentor recommended that he go into strength and conditioning. Long had been interning at various training facilities before going to Chico State University and then to Clemson University, where he worked as an assistant strength coach for two years.
Through the experience, Long learned why baseball was special.
“Stronger isn’t necessarily better on the baseball field,” Long said. “And it’s like, how do you connect all the pieces that come with performance that give the athlete on the field the best ability to maximize their skill set?”
The individualized approach influenced Long’s first offseason with the Flames. Though the baseball season is months away, Long is working now to learn the biomechanics of Liberty’s players.
The team trains together four days a week while Long evaluates and teaches basic movements.
Long utilizes force plates, movement evaluations and observations in practice to get a better sense of each player. Long defines his approach through three major areas.
“You got these three buckets: health, productivity and output,” Long said. “And then as the performance coach, it’s up to you to figure out, okay, which bucket do I continue filling?”
Baseball places unique demands on the body, particularly because of rotational movements. Long wants players to improve their performance while also remaining healthy enough to compete.
“I got to keep them healthy and try to reduce injury,” Long said. “If they’re not available on the field, it doesn’t matter, right? The best ability is availability.”
That approach is not limited to the gym.
According to Long, mobility work, recovery, nutrition and lifestyle are crucial factors when developing athletes. He believes that if you do not have proper recovery after a hard workout, then the whole workout is for nothing.
“If you create stress on the body, you’ve got to recover from it,” Long said.
Technology is also involved. For years, there have been plans to incorporate objective assessments involving force plate data. There is also an incentive to speak with athletes regarding their sleep, nutrition and overall wellbeing.
However, Long doesn’t think that wellness revolves around physical readiness.
With a fresh batch of players entering the baseball program, Long wants the offseason to bond the team together. With many different players in the weight room together, Long plans to add competition while also fostering teamwork.
For Long, the most rewarding part of strength and conditioning is not simply seeing an athlete become stronger. It is the relationships formed along the way.
“There’s an art to the coaching,” Long said. “You’re building relationships, you’re changing people’s lives.”
As Long embarks on his inaugural season with Liberty, it is his intention to prepare the Flames for baseball season while instilling good habits that will last beyond athletes’ college careers.
Shepard is a sports editor for The Liberty Champion.