Most Hardin County sports fans are aware of Stevie Delabar’s rapid rise through the Seattle Mariners’ organization this season. Delabar was a substitute teacher and coaching baseball at John Hardin prior to the Major League season beginning.
Now, Delabar is in the big leagues. Delabar can trace the climb to a new program Joe Newton has implemented at The Players Dugout.
“It’s unbelievable. It really is,” Newton said Tuesday after spending the weekend in Seattle to watch Delabar and Kansas City Royals pitcher Nathan Adcock, another local product.
Delabar went through a program called Velocity, which was designed by Jamie Evans. Evans, who lives in Maryland, has spent three years developing the program and has seen amazing results with a number of players, including Delabar.
“I think it’s amazing,” Evans said Wednesday in a phone interview. “I don’t know if a movie would do his story justice.”
Evans has been around the game of baseball for a long time, but the number of injuries to elbows and shoulders were beginning to reach “epidemic proportions.” Evans wanted to prevent such injuries from taking place.
Evans began studying other sports and one sport that closely resembled baseball was tennis. Tennis players put a strain on their shoulder countless times during a match and in practice when they serve. Evans said the main difference between the two was players let go of a baseball, while tennis plays hold on to a racquet.
That’s when Evans came up with Velocity, which focuses on acceleration and deceleration of the arm. The program uses a different variety of weighted balls to strengthen the arm and shoulder as well as improves arm speed.
“It didn’t start out as a velocity program,” Evans said. “It was to make the shoulder stronger and healthier. When it originated, it wasn’t to throw faster. Velocity became a byproduct. The shoulder became stronger and could handle more velocity.
“I think if we had a program which said come get your arm healthier or stronger, no one would show up,” he added. “If you call it velocity, people will show up.”
Evans and Newton are holding a free seminar Sept. 25 at 4 p.m. at The Players Dugout to talk about the program. The seminar is open to the public. Newton said those interested should bring a chair. Delabar was scheduled to speak at the event before he was called up to the majors.
Newton started the program last winter and has put nearly 20 players – ranging from 10 years old to college age – through Evans’ program. Evans has had more than 500 players go through the program.
Editors Notes: James Evans is from Salisbury, Maryland.
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