Welcome back to our conversation about the SQAIRZ advantage with Brad Stromdahl, head baseball coach at Georgia State University, and Randy Guite, the head baseball coach for Georgetown College in Kentucky. In Part 1, we discussed the impact SQAIRZ has on performance, where and how their players use our turf shoe, and how SQAIRZ compares to other baseball and softball shoes. In Part 2, the career-making coaches explore the special considerations of training the college athlete and how SQAIRZ helps players level up from college hopeful to the major leagues.
Why are the right baseball shoes so important for college players?
Randy: The pros have lots of technology to support their players, but a college program might not have all that equipment. We approach SQAIRZ shoes as a simple piece of equipment that can help the players naturally move into the right position. As a coach, I can then show them what the shoe is doing for them. I’ll explain that in detail as we go through swings and other movements.
Brad: We’re always asking, how can I get this player to be better? Can we keep the bat in the zone for just a bit longer? Can we keep their heels squarely in the ground so there’s more surface area for pushing off? Our view is that the more that we can utilize the newest innovations to help our players, the more opportunities we’re going to have to win baseball games and have our guys evaluated for the Major League baseball draft. That includes putting them in the best possible shoes.
What sets the college years apart in a player’s development?
Brad: Anyone who’s playing baseball in college has talent, that’s a given. So, you’ve got a kid who has talent and who takes care of his body, sleeps right, eats right. He puts everything into baseball because he’s giving himself the best opportunity to be able to play professional baseball. So, we need to do everything we can to support him. Our guys are in the exact age group and place in life where SQAIRZ shoes can take them to the next level. As a college athlete, you’ve got three or four years—if you’re at a four-year school—to be able to refine your craft, improve your body, and grow into your potential. You work with the strength coach to create the form, use weight lifting to gain the muscle, work with the hitting coach or the pitching coach to develop your skills. You’re putting in thousands of hours of work. You want to do all that with a tool that allows you to be more efficient makes that progression faster and easier.
How do SQAIRZ shoes contribute to developing skills and technique?
Randy: In the early days, we find a lot college players, especially the young ones, don’t realize what they're doing with their feet. A good pair of shoes can help compensate for that lack of knowledge. SQAIRZ shoes help them use their feet more efficiently, which is crucial to putting yourself in a good power position, among other things. It naturally helps their game even before they start actively working on using their feet.
Brad: When we start off with players, usually their technique’s not great. They’ve just come from a high school program or another junior college program, and don’t understand yet how much better and more efficient they can be at running or throwing. We think of the shoes as a tool we can provide that teaches players how to use their bodies, which eventually leads to reaching the next level and creating elite performance.
Do you use SQAIRZ for general conditioning?
Randy: We're training in the SQAIRZ turf shoe in the weight room. Our guys love wearing them in the gym, and I lift in them every day, too. They give you so much stability. With other shoes, it’s so easy to roll your ankle. Even just walking, you’re not nearly as stable. But with SQAIRZ, you’re using your full foot, you can really feel it, and it feels a lot better. For example, when I squat, I can get more depth because my feet are in a more stable position. It's a great shoe for training.
Brad: We use the turf shoe in the weight room, especially on squat days and on explosive days for running. Those are the conditioning days where we're specifically looking at how we move weight as quickly as possible—because in baseball, you run in short, fast bursts, not long distances. The faster that we can get up to speed equates directly to scoring more runs, catching more balls. To have the ability increase that by even two or three-tenths of your reaction time, that’s the difference between out or safe. SQAIRZ provides this base of acceleration where there's more foot in contact with the ground, propelling you forward.
Ready to join the SQAIRZ baseball and softball revolution? Shop SQAIRZ Baseball and Softball footwear.