Annually, baseball fields worldwide are full of 1000’s of younger, native phenoms seeking to be the subsequent Manny Machado. On the identical time, professional scouts are tasked with scouring these identical international sandlots to pick the handful of potential standouts who could—or could not—excel on the subsequent stage.
And whereas predicting an athlete’s future efficiency is in no way a precise science, it’s typically stated that with a purpose to be the perfect, expertise alone is rarely sufficient. Specialists can probably agree on this: Work ethic and dedication are oftentimes the good separators between mid-level prospect and perennial All-Star.
At present, in relation to who’s essentially the most proficient and genetically gifted participant in baseball, Machado’s title is at or close to the highest of each baseball authority’s record. You can even throw in most devoted athlete as effectively. 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 turn into one of many recreation’s most revered gamers and incomes him the type 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 health club, below the watchful eye of tremendous coach Nick Soto, one of the vital well-rounded athletic coaches on the planet.
Soto’s method may very well be labeled unconventional, however after witnessing his star consumer’s efficiency for greater than a decade, it’s been confirmed efficient. The coach focuses on explosiveness, pace, and the type of general practical power that helps his purchasers attain the highest of their recreation.
Soto’s type doesn’t resemble the cookie-cutter method deployed by most athletic trainers—he builds applications with a deep understanding of his consumer’s strengths, musculature, vulnerabilities, psychological toughness, and an array of different components that maintain his elite athletes on the prime of their recreation 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 general efficiency has been an enormous a part of my growth. Success on the sector begins with what I’m doing within the health club, away from the brilliant lights.”
Consistency Retains Manny Machado on the High of His Recreation
Machado’s exercise routine by no means modifications. The second the season ends, he and Soto could be discovered practically daily on the College of Miami’s baseball coaching facility. It’s no secret that South Florida is residence to a number of the most elite baseball expertise on the planet, a actuality that surrounds Soto with the perfect of the perfect, forcing him to continually up his recreation as each a coach and as a frontrunner in his discipline. Soto additionally serves as power & 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 with the ability to transfer and coordinate at optimum angles and with optimum timing, and at last being resilient sufficient to deal with the stress of the motion patterns so we will 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 lately 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 discipline. He and together with his spouse Yainee are the dad and mom of 1-year-old son. On the identical time Machado additionally grew to become 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 essential now than it’s ever been. And he’s exhibiting no indicators of slowing down. His profession stats place him among the many finest lively gamers within the recreation. Nevertheless, Machado realizes that baseball is a crew sport, and his essential aim stays getting that elusive World Collection ring.
“I’ve been in a position to do some nice issues within the recreation, however the aim 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 daily.”
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 hearth. He’s actual. Not everybody understands his distinctive method 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 stated and executed, 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 recreation.
“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 recreation the place my guys are taking part in I’m motion patterns, (I’m ), do they give the impression of being snug, fast, quick, explosive, tight? Are they kicking too far behind after they must take off on a dash? These are the issues I discover. An athlete needs to be striving for bodily enchancment because the season progresses, we wish them to be prepared when the stakes are the very best.”
You should definitely tune in to the 2025 MLB All-Star recreation on July 15 (televised on FOX), and watch Machado together with the perfect in baseball.
To study extra about Nick Soto’s method to coaching elite athlete athletes, go to the www.EliteUperformance.com
