Original Neuro Skills Coach Biddulph helping ballplayers and more

By STEVE KRAH
http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Unleashing the power of the brain.
As the original Neuro Skills Coach, Nathan Biddulph is helping athletes, executives, students and others achieve at a high level.
“The brain controls everything we do,” says Biddulph. “There isn’t any area of life that won’t benefit from increasing your attention skills, your processing speed, your pattern recognition, and your decision making abilities.”
An occupational therapist based in Denver, Biddulph began working in the neuro world about two decades ago and has come up with methods — some of them proprietary — to help clients get more from their brains.
“I provide drills based on principles of neuroplasticity,” says Biddulph. “Each drill is specific to a particular sport. For example, a hitter will be using a bat and a quarterback will be using a football to complete these drills.
“I teach the drills during our first session and then meet virtually with the client once per week to progress their drills. They practice the drills for 30 minutes each weekday (Monday through Friday).
“They can do most of these drills in their bedroom or in their hotel room when on the road.
“There’s a lot of discovery happening with their body awareness so they can more easily make the mechanical adjustments that their coaches want them to make.
“Another aspect is HOW they complete the drills (to increase processing speed, impulse control, etc.). There are also certain drills that enhance pattern recognition of both offensive and defensive strategies.”
What are baseball players who go through Biddulph’s training looking to get out of it?
“Clients are looking to improve performance and get an edge over their competition,” says Biddulph. “Increased body awareness equates to improved mechanics in throwing, swinging, running, and shooting. Increased processing speeds improve pitching velocity, bat speed, and overall speeds of various mechanics.
“Enhanced pattern recognition helps pick out the patterns and sequences of the opposition to better predict what’s coming and anticipate making better plays.”
Two pro ballplayers that work with Biddulph are Jameson Taillon and Nick Gonzales.
Right-handed pitcher Taillon is now with the Chicago Cubs after fours seasons with Pittsburgh Pirates and two with the New York Yankees.
“Jameson was able to increase his curveball spin rate and his fastball spin rate through this Neuro Training,” says Biddulph. “That led to a lower hard-hit percentage of hitters that faced him. “Jameson struggled with injuries the first season after Neuro (injuries not related to Neuro Training) in 2021, but he was fully healthy in July of that year, when he was named the American League Pitcher of the Month. He also had the lowest WHIP of his career this past season.”
Gonzales played summer collegiate ball in Huntingburg, Ind., with the Dubois County Bombers in 2018 and was named NCAA Division I Player of the Year at New Mexico State and selected in the first round of the 2020 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft (seventh overall) by the Pirates. The organization’s Triple-A team is in Indianapolis.
“Nick was able to increase his bat speed (his exit velocity increased over 5 mph) through this Neuro Training, which allowed him to hit balls harder and farther,” says Biddulph. “This is why he was able to hit five home runs in one day, and his OPS went from 1.081 that fall before Neuro Training to 1.765 after this training.”
Biddulph was born in eastern Pennsylvania and grew up in New Hampshire and New Jersey playing baseball and basketball. All three locations were in small towns.
He graduated in Psychology from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. He received his Masters in Occupational Therapy from the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences, a specialized school for physical and occupational therapy.
There is no certification to become a Neuro Skills Coach.
“I am the original,” says Biddulph.
Biddulph began putting together his program after hearing about Steph Curry using Neuro Training to become the first unanimous MVP in the NBA back in 2016.
“I looked into what he was doing (mostly electronic-based drills using lights that are damaging to the eyes),” says Biddulph. “I knew that wouldn’t go over well in MLB because of the need for eagle-eye vision.
“I developed an electronic-free program that won’t damage anyone’s vision. I had already been developing individualized and group Neuro Programs at world-renowned clinics.
“I created a program from scratch that I tested on high school players (it worked wonderfully), and then on college players. It started spreading like wildfire when college coaches gave me referrals to their former students who were then in the Minor Leagues.
“Before long the word got passed to the Major Leaguers, especially when these Minor Leaguers were making their MLB debuts after doing this training.”
Biddulph has been on numerous videos and podcasts, including The Shift With Elena Agar, The Coach Scott Fields Show, Area Scouts Pro Cast, Kenny The Sports Guy, Terminal Value Podcast, Mojo Radio Show, Manage. Me. and Arete Coach Podcast.
Kaarina Biddulph, Nathan’s wife, represented the business at the 2023 American Baseball Coaches Association Convention in Nashville.

Nathan Biddulph.

Pirates’ Haley says pro baseball scouts must ‘finish the play’

By STEVE KRAH
http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Doing all the homework while building and maintaining relationships and trust leading up to the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft and beyond.
That’s what it’s all about for a scout tied to an MLB organization.
Indiana native Trevor Haley knows. January 2022 will mark his 14th year scouting for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
“We have to finish the play on every player we want to select,” says Haley, who was an area scout before becoming a regional supervisor. “The player has to be who we’ve advertised them to do be.
“You’re investing money and draft capital on these players. You need to know if they’re ready. Are they a good fit for your organization?”
The MLB Draft — now 20 rounds over three days at the All-Star Break — is the potential finish line of talent identified by scouts and the other 362 days are the race.
For an area supervisor, a big part of the job is helping players and their families through the process.
Jameson Taillon, a 6-foot-5 right-handed pitcher with the New York Yankees, was signed to a Pirates contract by Haley.
“Cultivating and getting to know Jameson and his father Mike that’s a big part of it,” says Haley. “Jameson has overcome a lot of adversity (including testicular cancer surgery during his second MLB season with Pittsburgh in 2017). I couldn’t be prouder of the man he’s become.
“It is a business, but at the core of it are the relationships. Area scouts are listed as the signing scouts, but it’s definitely a collaboration and a team effort.”
Haley recently moved to South Bend, Ind. His current territory is essentially the middle third of the country.
Born in Valparaiso, Ind., Haley was just starting school when he moved to Richmond, Ind.
As a Richmond High School Red Devil, the lefty-swinging first baseman played for Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Famer John Cate and graduated in 1996.
“He’ll coach you hard, but love you afterward,” says Haley of Cate. “He cared about his players. He cared about winning. He cared about the program. We had some pretty good teams (Richmond won four sectionals, three regionals and two semistates, was twice at State Finals semifinalist and was at or near the top of the state rankings from 1993-96).
“I learned to take pride in how I represented myself on and off the field and take pride in the uniform and the team.”
Haley compares the experience to what he expects it might be like to play for former Indiana University basketball coach Bob Knight.
“It’s hard going through it but, looking back, you wouldn’t trade it for anything,” says Haley of his time with Cate.
At Manchester College (now Manchester University) in North Manchester, Ind., Haley’s freshmen year was the first for Rick Espeset as Spartans head coach.
“(Espeset) had a completely different style than Coach Cate, who was an expressive motivator,” says Haley. “Espy was much more cerebral in his motivation. He was understated. He was a great team builder.”
Haley received a Business Administration degree from Manchester then was an assistant coach for two years on the staff of Grizzlies head coach Lance Marshall at Franklin (Ind.) College.
After a year away from baseball traveling the county working in event marketing, Haley to Marquette University Law School in Milwaukee and received a J.D.Sports Law Certificate in 2006.
The goal had always been to build his resume and open doors in the baseball world.
“That was always my passion,” says Haley. “I took the time to write all the letters and send them out and go though the networking process.”
He landed a baseball operations internship with the 2007 Colorado Rockies. That was the year the team went into the World Series on an improbable 21-1 run that became known as “Rocktober.”
“In my opinion it’s one of the most not-talked-about runs in the history of sports,” says Haley.
Through the Rockies, Haley was able to attend scout school for a chance to enter a limited field. All in all, there are not that many scouts in pro baseball.
“It’s a very insular industry,” says Haley, who got his foot in the door and has been with the Pirates since 2008.
Haley was an area scout in south Texas from 2009-14 before moving back north as an area scout in the Midwest, western Pennsylvania and eastern Canada in 2015 and became a regional supervisor in 2016.

Trevor Haley.