Every year, baseball fields worldwide are stuffed with 1000’s of younger, native phenoms trying to be the following Manny Machado. On the identical time, professional scouts are tasked with scouring these identical world sandlots to pick the handful of potential standouts who might—or might not—excel on the subsequent stage.
And whereas predicting an athlete’s future efficiency is under no circumstances a precise science, it’s usually mentioned that with a view to be one of the best, expertise alone isn’t sufficient. Consultants can probably agree on this: Work ethic and dedication are oftentimes the good separators between mid-level prospect and perennial All-Star.
Immediately, in terms of who’s probably the most proficient and genetically gifted participant in baseball, Machado’s title is at or close to the highest of each baseball authority’s listing. You can too throw in most devoted athlete as nicely. Now in his 14th season, the San Diego Padres All-Star third-baseman’s fielding prowess is the stuff of legend—watching Machado throw a baseball throughout the infield can nonetheless make jaws drop and eyes pop.
After which there’s his offensive dominance. With 356 residence runs to his credit score, the 33-year-old is a well-rounded juggernaut, ok to have change into one of many sport’s most revered gamers and incomes him the sort of wage (in 2023, Machado signed an 11-year, $350 million contract) that has secured generational wealth.
As Machado ready for the 2025 season—his seventh as a member of the Padres—he spent most of this offseason within the fitness center, beneath the watchful eye of tremendous coach Nick Soto, probably the most well-rounded athletic coaches on the earth.
Soto’s strategy might be labeled unconventional, however after witnessing his star shopper’s efficiency for greater than a decade, it’s been confirmed efficient. The coach focuses on explosiveness, pace, and the sort of total practical energy that helps his shoppers attain the highest of their sport.
Soto’s fashion doesn’t resemble the cookie-cutter strategy deployed by most athletic trainers—he builds packages with a deep understanding of his shopper’s strengths, musculature, vulnerabilities, psychological toughness, and an array of different components that preserve his elite athletes on the high of their sport 12 months in and 12 months out. Machado isn’t any exception.
“I’ve been coaching with Nick for a very long time,” explains Machado. “His understanding of physiology and total efficiency has been an enormous a part of my growth. Success on the sector begins with what I’m doing within the fitness center, away from the brilliant lights.”
Consistency Retains Manny Machado on the Prime of His Sport
Machado’s exercise routine by no means modifications. The second the season ends, he and Soto could be discovered almost each day on the College of Miami’s baseball coaching facility. It’s no secret that South Florida is residence to among the most elite baseball expertise on the planet, a actuality that surrounds Soto with one of the best of one of the best, forcing him to continually up his sport as each a coach and as a frontrunner in his subject. Soto additionally serves as energy & conditioning coach for the Hurricanes baseball crew, a five-time nationwide championship program.
“It’s all about making somebody as highly effective and explosive as they are often,” he explains, “all whereas having the ability to transfer and coordinate at optimum angles and with optimum timing, and eventually being resilient sufficient to deal with the stress of the motion patterns so we are able to mitigate accidents as a lot as doable.”
In different phrases, Soto says, “I wish to make athletes explosive, superior movers, who’re resilient in physique and thoughts.”
Machado was not too long ago named a starter on the Nationwide League All Star crew—it’s his seventh All-Star look. However on the identical time his affect has prolonged past the baseball subject. He and along with his spouse Yainee are the mother and father of 1-year-old son. On the identical time Machado additionally turned part-owner of Main League Soccer’s San Diego FC.
As he continues piling up Corridor of Fame-like numbers, Machado understands that his low season coaching is extra necessary now than it’s ever been. And he’s exhibiting no indicators of slowing down. His profession stats place him among the many finest energetic gamers within the sport. Nonetheless, Machado realizes that baseball is a crew sport, and his principal objective stays getting that elusive World Sequence ring.
“I’ve been capable of do some nice issues within the sport, however the objective is the ring,” Machado says. “That’s why I play—to win and to present the followers in San Diego what they deserve. That’s why I put within the work each day.”
Olympia President Dan Solomon has adopted Machado’s baseball profession from the start. “Manny is totally different. His uncooked expertise speaks for itself, however what separates him is his depth, his fireplace. He’s actual. Not everybody understands his distinctive strategy to the sport, however he’s the last word teammate and his low season exercises with Nick Soto are an enormous a part of his success. When it’s all mentioned and accomplished, he’ll go down as the most effective to ever play the sport.”
Soto research Machado’s efficiency at varied factors throughout the season, looking for methods to raise his sport.
“A humorous truth is I’m not an enormous baseball fan in any respect,” confesses Soto, “I’m a participant fan, and I’m a fan of motion. So once I watch a sport the place my guys are taking part in I’m taking a look at motion patterns, [I’m looking at], do they appear snug, fast, quick, explosive, tight? Are they kicking too far behind once they must take off on a dash? These are the issues I discover. An athlete must be striving for bodily enchancment because the season progresses, we would like them to be prepared when the stakes are the very best.”
You should definitely tune in to the 2025 MLB All-Star sport on July 15 (televised on FOX), and watch Machado together with one of the best in baseball.
To be taught extra about Nick Soto’s strategy to coaching elite athlete athletes, go to the www.EliteUperformance.com