By Ali Cicerchi
At 23, Dana Cavalea became the youngest of strength and conditioning coordinators in Major League Baseball.
Now, at 27, Cavalea has been helping the New York Yankees be victorious on and off the field. Because of his efforts, Cavalea was awarded the Life Fitness Nolan Ryan Award. The annual award, presented by Hammer Strength and Life Fitness, honors the professional baseball strength and conditioning coach whose accomplishments, as recognized by members of the Professional Baseball Strength and Conditioning Coaches Society, have earned him distinction in his field.
Cavalea said he was flattered to win the award. “Anytime you can get an award by your peers it’s flattering,” he said. “You only win that award because of what your players do though. Your players make you look good.” Cavalea said he used Hammer Strength equipment a lot in September when the team was kind of beat up from the season.
He will receive a plaque to commemorate the award, a personal letter from Ryan and a financial stipend of $1,500 toward the purchase of new Hammer Strength and Life Fitness strength-training and conditioning equipment for the Yankees training facility.
A lot of his job is motivation and day-to-day maintenance for the players. “Our players are like Ferraris, they’re kind of touchy,” Cavalea said. He does a lot of strength and performance workouts with the players, fine tuning them.
The players also need to repair their muscles after games and throughout the season. They use aquatic therapy and hot/cold therapy as well as soft tissue workouts.
It’s important for Cavalea and the team to reduce the risks of injury. “If you’re feeling fresh, the outcomes will be better,” Cavalea said. His success has been measured not only through the athletes winning and excelling at their jobs, but by keeping the team healthy and reducing injuries. After all, he can’t afford to mess around with millions of dollars, he said.
According to Cavalea, there’s not much difference in training professional athletes versus the general population and he approaches them similarly. What he changes is the intensity and aggression of the workouts. The general population typically starts at a lower level than the athlete, but can build their way up just the same.
Cavalea has designed the Yankees’ gyms in New York City and at their training facility in Tampa, Fla. Additionally, the team uses Cavalea’s methodology. In the upcoming months, Cavalea will be re-launching his methodology brand Major League Strength. This is an assessment program that through tests and assessments provides training, tips and tools to train like a professional athlete. His methodology will be available for gyms to purchase and soon have their own ML Strength program.
Strength and conditioning is important for the obvious physical aspects, Cavalea said, but more importantly to improve people’s drive and motivation. “People lose their drive and motivation after a while, strength conditioning gets them to the next level,” he said. “It gives you the ability to challenge yourself mentally. Otherwise, why do you wake up everyday?”
For those that don’t see the importance of strength and conditioning, be it a professional athlete or not, that’s the assessments purpose. With an assessment a member could look at the results and see their weakness to avoid injury, Cavalea said. And, there are other ways to overload and challenge the body besides using weights. Cavalea has one player that he has played soccer with instead because he hated the gym.
Cavalea is currently serving his fourth season as the Yankees strength and conditioning coordinator. Prior to joining the Yankees, he served in the same capacity for the Toronto Blue Jays (2001) and Pittsburgh Pirates (2002). Cavalea received his degree in exercise science from University of South Florida, and holds a CSCS certification from the National Strength Coaches Association. -CS
