Athletes' Performance Institute
Encyclopedia
Athletes' Performance Institute (API) is a private personalized performance training institute, described by MLB.com
as "a high-tech fitness boot camp for professionals," and by ESPN
as "a sprawling weight room/running track/football field/swimming pool/café/spa." Training programs can include aspects such as a nutrition program, massages, metabolic tests, cardiovascular work, drills, and aptitude and media training.
, who had previously worked on fitness programs for IMG
. Verstegen holds a masters degree in Exercise Science and studied at Georgia Tech.
The API Tempe, Arizona
facility opened in 2001, and that same year API began an NFL Combine preparation program for prospective NFL athletes, training them for the NFL Combine tests. Since its inception more than 25 first round picks were API athletes, including 8 each in the 2005 and 2006 NFL Drafts.http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/sports/articles/2008/06/27/20080627api0627.html In the spring of 2001 Sports Illustrated
noted that Roberto Alomar
had spent the prior December at API, and was noticeably stronger.
In 2002 Peter Gammons
of ESPN
reported that "prospect Carl Crawford
is tearing it up in the Triple-A International League
, showing far more power to go with his extraordinary speed after spending the winter working at [API]. And when in August 2002 Wayne Gretzky
, then a long-retired managing partner with the Phoenix Coyotes
, took part in the team's four-week session at API, that prompted unfounded rumours that he would return to competition.
After the 2002 season Boston General Manager Theo Epstein
sent Kevin Youkilis
to API for an intensive six-week training regimen, which Youkilis liked so much that he moved his offseason home to Arizona, and began training at API on his own dime.
, primarily for soccer, tennis, cycling, and track and field athletes. Its athletes have included Olympic gold medalists, MLS Cup champions, and major sport All Stars. That year the Boston Globe and MLB.com reported that in Curt Schilling
trained at API as well in 2003 and 2005. In the 2005–06 offseason Giants starter Jason Schmidt
spent part of his time at the API, playing catch in the mornings with Schilling, taking a course in nutrition
, and hitting the weights diligently enough to add 20 pounds, while shedding body fat. He leveraged the opportunity by also picking Schilling's brain during their time together as to how he approaches the game, something that in earlier years one could only expect to do with teammates.
In the summer of 2005 a negative note crept into API's track record, as Mike Ricci
of the Phoenix Coyotes injured himself while training at API, and needed surgery to repair a disk in his upper back which was creating pressure on a nerve.
In 2006 Sports Illustrated
reported how Vernon Davis
, tight end of the San Francisco 49ers, had performed what he described as "aggressive, intense, and raw" two-a-day, 90-minute, core-strengthening workouts six days a week for six weeks at ATI. Davis performed three or four sets of each exercise, focusing in turn on different muscle groups so he could work longer with less fatigue. He lowered his time in the 40 yards (36.6 m) dash from 4.56 to 4.38, increase his vertical leap from 40 to 42 inches (1,066.8 mm), and gained nine pounds. The 49ers took him sixth overall. That year a third facility was opened in Las Vegas, Nevada
, for basketball players. Nine of its athletes were first-round draft picks in the 2006 NBA Draft.
After the 2006 season Dustin Pedroia
worked out at API with a group that included Youkilis, Baltimore's Brian Roberts
and Jay Gibbons
, Travis Buck
(Oakland) and Brandon Wood
(Angels), and Crawford, in workouts starting at 9 a.m. with a two-hour speed work session, followed by two hours of baseball-related drills, followed by two hours of lifting weights, followed by another round of conditioning. "I've put a lot of hard work in," Pedroia said. "The days over there are kind of tough. We're always moving around, lifting, sprints, all that stuff. It's hectic, but for me and Youk we have put in the time and it's going to pay off."
, to focus on rehabilitative and performance services. http://phoenix.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2007/03/12/story1.html
In 2008 another use of API was demonstrated by Larry Johnson – a place to work out during an extended contract holdout.
In spring training in 2008, Red Sox manager Terry Francona
noted how much conditioning and training had progressed since his own playing career, and pointed to the prevalence of training facilities like API. “These guys have access to so much,” he said. “They take advantage of it and when they come in [to camp], it makes the baseball part easier.”
In January 2009 USA Today
reported that Josh Hamilton was spending a month at the facility, where he was in bed by about 7:30 each night and headed to work out before 6 a.m.
Among other athletes who have trained at API are Cody Ross
, Josh Hamilton, Joe Saunders
, Justin Morneau
, Jason Bartlett, Eric Chavez
, and Manny Ramirez
,
MLB.com
MLB.com is the official site of Major League Baseball and is overseen by Major League Baseball Advanced Media, L.P. . MLB.com is a source of baseball-related information, including baseball news, statistics, and sports columns...
as "a high-tech fitness boot camp for professionals," and by ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
as "a sprawling weight room/running track/football field/swimming pool/café/spa." Training programs can include aspects such as a nutrition program, massages, metabolic tests, cardiovascular work, drills, and aptitude and media training.
Early years
Personalized training centers are a relatively new concept. API was founded in 1999 by Mark VerstegenMark Verstegen
Mark Verstegen is the President and Founder of Athletes’ Performance and Core Performance. He serves as the Director of Performance for the NFL Players Association, and is an athletic coach for the German national football team...
, who had previously worked on fitness programs for IMG
IMG (business)
IMG, originally known as the International Management Group is a global sports and media business headquartered in New York City.-History:...
. Verstegen holds a masters degree in Exercise Science and studied at Georgia Tech.
The API Tempe, Arizona
Tempe, Arizona
Tempe is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, USA, with the Census Bureau reporting a 2010 population of 161,719. The city is named after the Vale of Tempe in Greece. Tempe is located in the East Valley section of metropolitan Phoenix; it is bordered by Phoenix and Guadalupe on the west, Scottsdale...
facility opened in 2001, and that same year API began an NFL Combine preparation program for prospective NFL athletes, training them for the NFL Combine tests. Since its inception more than 25 first round picks were API athletes, including 8 each in the 2005 and 2006 NFL Drafts.http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/sports/articles/2008/06/27/20080627api0627.html In the spring of 2001 Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
noted that Roberto Alomar
Roberto Alomar
Roberto "Robbie" Alomar Velázquez is a former Major League Baseball player , regarded by many as one of the best second basemen in MLB history. During his career he won more Gold Gloves than any other second baseman in history, and also won the second-most Silver Slugger Awards for a second...
had spent the prior December at API, and was noticeably stronger.
Peter Gammons
Peter Gammons is an American sportswriter, media personality, and a recipient of the J. G. Taylor Spink Award for outstanding baseball writing, given by the BBWAA.-Education:...
of ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
reported that "prospect Carl Crawford
Carl Crawford
Carl Demonte Crawford is an American professional baseball outfielder who plays for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball. He bats and throws left-handed...
is tearing it up in the Triple-A International League
International League
The International League is a minor league baseball league that operates in the eastern United States. Like the Pacific Coast League and the Mexican League, it plays at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball. It was so named because it had teams in both the United States...
, showing far more power to go with his extraordinary speed after spending the winter working at [API]. And when in August 2002 Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Douglas Gretzky, CC is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. Nicknamed "The Great One", he is generally regarded as the best player in the history of the National Hockey League , and has been called "the greatest hockey player ever" by many sportswriters,...
, then a long-retired managing partner with the Phoenix Coyotes
Phoenix Coyotes
The Phoenix Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in Glendale, Arizona. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . They play their home games at Jobing.com Arena....
, took part in the team's four-week session at API, that prompted unfounded rumours that he would return to competition.
After the 2002 season Boston General Manager Theo Epstein
Theo Epstein
Theo Nathan Epstein is the President of Baseball Operations for the Chicago Cubs.On November 25, 2002, he became the youngest GM in the history of Major League Baseball when the Boston Red Sox hired him at the age of 28...
sent Kevin Youkilis
Kevin Youkilis
Kevin Edmund Youkilis , also known as "Youk" , is an American professional baseball player with the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball...
to API for an intensive six-week training regimen, which Youkilis liked so much that he moved his offseason home to Arizona, and began training at API on his own dime.
Expansion
In 2003, API opened a second facility in Carson, CaliforniaCarson, California
Carson is a city in Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2010 census, Carson had a total population of 91,714. Located south of downtown Los Angeles and approximately 14 miles away from the Los Angeles International Airport, it is known as a suburb of the city....
, primarily for soccer, tennis, cycling, and track and field athletes. Its athletes have included Olympic gold medalists, MLS Cup champions, and major sport All Stars. That year the Boston Globe and MLB.com reported that in Curt Schilling
Curt Schilling
Curtis Montague "Curt" Schilling is a former American Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He helped lead the Philadelphia Phillies to the World Series in and won World Series championships in with the Arizona Diamondbacks and in and with the Boston Red Sox. Schilling retired with a...
trained at API as well in 2003 and 2005. In the 2005–06 offseason Giants starter Jason Schmidt
Jason Schmidt
Jason David Schmidt , is a former American Major League Baseball pitcher.Schmidt was born in Lewiston, Idaho. In his career he has played for the Los Angeles Dodgers , San Francisco Giants , Pittsburgh Pirates and Atlanta Braves , by whom he had been drafted in the eighth round, 206th overall, of...
spent part of his time at the API, playing catch in the mornings with Schilling, taking a course in nutrition
Nutrition
Nutrition is the provision, to cells and organisms, of the materials necessary to support life. Many common health problems can be prevented or alleviated with a healthy diet....
, and hitting the weights diligently enough to add 20 pounds, while shedding body fat. He leveraged the opportunity by also picking Schilling's brain during their time together as to how he approaches the game, something that in earlier years one could only expect to do with teammates.
In the summer of 2005 a negative note crept into API's track record, as Mike Ricci
Mike Ricci
Michael Ricci is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Philadelphia Flyers, Quebec Nordiques, Colorado Avalanche, San Jose Sharks and Phoenix Coyotes....
of the Phoenix Coyotes injured himself while training at API, and needed surgery to repair a disk in his upper back which was creating pressure on a nerve.
In 2006 Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
reported how Vernon Davis
Vernon Davis
-2006 rookie season:Vernon's first reception in the NFL was a 31-yard touchdown catch, against the Arizona Cardinals on September 10, 2006. He added a career-long 52-yard touchdown against the Green Bay Packers on December 10 with a short catch followed by a long run. Davis played in ten games in...
, tight end of the San Francisco 49ers, had performed what he described as "aggressive, intense, and raw" two-a-day, 90-minute, core-strengthening workouts six days a week for six weeks at ATI. Davis performed three or four sets of each exercise, focusing in turn on different muscle groups so he could work longer with less fatigue. He lowered his time in the 40 yards (36.6 m) dash from 4.56 to 4.38, increase his vertical leap from 40 to 42 inches (1,066.8 mm), and gained nine pounds. The 49ers took him sixth overall. That year a third facility was opened in Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, for basketball players. Nine of its athletes were first-round draft picks in the 2006 NBA Draft.
After the 2006 season Dustin Pedroia
Dustin Pedroia
Dustin Luis Pedroia is an American professional baseball second baseman with the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball. Pedroia has won several awards in Major League Baseball, including the 2007 American League Rookie of the Year and the 2008 AL MVP award...
worked out at API with a group that included Youkilis, Baltimore's Brian Roberts
Brian Roberts
Brian Michael Roberts is an American Major League Baseball All Star second baseman, nicknamed B-Rob.He made his Major League debut in and has spent his entire professional career with the Baltimore Orioles organization, located in Baltimore, Maryland.-Early life, education and college-baseball...
and Jay Gibbons
Jay Gibbons
Jay Jonathan Gibbons is an American professional baseball outfielder in Major League Baseball. Gibbons was a graduate of Mayfair High School in Lakewood, California...
, Travis Buck
Travis Buck
Travis George Buck is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball.-College career:...
(Oakland) and Brandon Wood
Brandon Wood
Richard Brandon Wood is an American professional baseball infielder for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball. He bats and throws right-handed and was born in Austin, Texas.-2003-05:...
(Angels), and Crawford, in workouts starting at 9 a.m. with a two-hour speed work session, followed by two hours of baseball-related drills, followed by two hours of lifting weights, followed by another round of conditioning. "I've put a lot of hard work in," Pedroia said. "The days over there are kind of tough. We're always moving around, lifting, sprints, all that stuff. It's hectic, but for me and Youk we have put in the time and it's going to pay off."
Latest expansion
In 2007 a fourth facility was added in Gulf Breeze, FloridaGulf Breeze, Florida
Gulf Breeze is a city located on the Fairpoint Peninsula in Santa Rosa County, Florida, United States and is a suburb of Pensacola which lies to the north, across Pensacola Bay. The population was 5,665 at the 2000 census. As of 2005, the population estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau is 6,455. ...
, to focus on rehabilitative and performance services. http://phoenix.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2007/03/12/story1.html
In 2008 another use of API was demonstrated by Larry Johnson – a place to work out during an extended contract holdout.
In spring training in 2008, Red Sox manager Terry Francona
Terry Francona
Terry Jon Francona , nicknamed "Tito," is a former Major League Baseball manager and a former player. He was a first baseman and outfielder in the majors from 1981 to 1990. After retiring as a player, he managed several minor league teams in the 1990s before managing the Philadelphia Phillies for...
noted how much conditioning and training had progressed since his own playing career, and pointed to the prevalence of training facilities like API. “These guys have access to so much,” he said. “They take advantage of it and when they come in [to camp], it makes the baseball part easier.”
In January 2009 USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
reported that Josh Hamilton was spending a month at the facility, where he was in bed by about 7:30 each night and headed to work out before 6 a.m.
Among other athletes who have trained at API are Cody Ross
Cody Ross
Cody Joseph Ross is an American professional baseball outfielder. He has played with the Detroit Tigers , Los Angeles Dodgers , Cincinnati Reds , and Florida Marlins and San Francisco Giants...
, Josh Hamilton, Joe Saunders
Joe Saunders
Joseph Francis Saunders is a Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks.-College and minor league career:...
, Justin Morneau
Justin Morneau
Justin Ernest George Morneau is a Canadian Major League Baseball first baseman for the Minnesota Twins. At 6 feet 4 inches and 225 lbs, Morneau was originally drafted as a catcher by the Twins in 1999. He converted to first base in the minor leagues and made his MLB debut in 2003...
, Jason Bartlett, Eric Chavez
Eric Chavez
Eric Cesar Chavez is an American Major League Baseball infielder. Chavez has played for the Oakland Athletics and New York Yankees...
, and Manny Ramirez
Manny Ramírez
Manuel "Manny" Arístides Ramírez Onelcida is a retired Dominican-American professional baseball outfielder. He was recognized for great batting skill and power, a nine-time Silver Slugger and one of 25 players to hit 500 career home runs. Ramirez's 21 grand slams are third all-time, and his 28...
,