Meet Jason Hirsh

Today we’re excited to be connecting with Jason Hirsh again. If you haven’t already, we suggest you check out our prior conversation with them here.

Jason, thanks for joining us again. Just to level set a bit for folks who may have missed our last interview together, can you briefly introduce yourself?
My name is Jason Hirsh, Im a former MLB pitcher with the Houston Astros and was a member of the 2007 Colorado Rockies World Series Team. I retired in 2013 and started my own player development company right here in Denver focusing on arm care and arm health with baseball athletes.

The company has transformed over the past 11 years to encompass more than just arm health. Each one of our high school aged athletes goes through a rigorous evaluation where we perform an 18 point mobility and stability test looking for areas that can inhibit a players mechanics or health. We have them throw on Trackman, an MLB quality radar based pitch tracking device that gives us a full view of how their pitches spin, move and the efficiency of them. While they are throwing we take high speed video from the back and open side for post bullpen analysis. After the session is completed, we go over any mechanical flaws, talk about pitch qualities and then build a customized throwing program for that athlete.

We have also worked with many athletes coming off injury, guiding their return to throwing protocols, fixing mechanical flaws that lead to arm injuries and get them healthy and back to competition.

For youth athletes, our focus is on fun and fundamentals. We start with a basic arm care routine to create healthy habits moving forward in their careers and then go through a series of athletic drills that allow them creativity in their throwing mechanics while having fun and game to stir their competitive juices. Youth baseball should be about developing a passion to play without making it a full time commitment. Once their bodies are developed and the passion is present, we go into more detailed routines that will prepare them for competition at the next level and beyond.

Awesome, so we reached out because we wanted to hear all about what you have been up to since we last connected.
Since our last conversation, FAST Performance has moved! We moved away from our North Denver based location to our spot at 6th and Sheridan in Lakewood. The move gives us better access to baseball families in the greater Denver community, better visibility to potential new clients and easier access for everyone. Our new facility features a similar layout but we have brand new turf, brand new cages, a bigger gym space, a locker room with shower facilities, cold tubs, an education center and a more visible metabolic lab right on our training floor.

We continue to provide world class training to all our athletes regardless of sport. We take the same high tech approach, custom training programs, and world class coaches bringing the latest in strength, speed, agility and skill based development.

By adding in our locker room and shower facilities, we hope to also engage our general population and weekend warrior clients. If you need a top-shelf place to train, guidance in your fitness journey or are training for an event on your bucket list, FAST Performance has the coaches and facilities to get you there!

We have now arrived at one of our favorite parts of the interview – the lightning round. We’ll ask you a few quick questions to give us all some fun insights about you.

Favorite Movie: Gladiator

Favorite Book: The MVP Machine

Favorite TV Show: Impractical Jokers

Favorite Band or Artist: Parkway Drive

Sweet or Savory: Savory

Mountains or Beach: Mountains

Favorite Sport (to watch): Baseball

Favorite Sport (to play): Baseball

Did you play sports growing up (if so which ones): Baseball, Soccer

As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up: Major League Baseball Player. From the time I was a kid when people asked what I wanted to be, some kids would write astronaut or fire fighter, I always wanted to be a baseball player.

French Fries or Onion Rings: French Fries

Chuck Rhodes or Bobby Axelrod: Who?

Favorite Cartoon growing up: Animaniacs

Favorite Childhood movie: Sandlot

Favorite Breakfast Food: Eggs

What do you want people to remember about you and your brand? What are some of things that you feel are most important, unique, special, etc?
When my playing career was finished and I was deciding on what to do with the rest of my life, I was pulled towards this idea of passing along my knowledge of the game of baseball to the next generation. I started with an area that I felt was largely disregarded which was arm care and health for our youth athletes. The foundation of my business started with this idea that I wanted to bring the concepts of youth arm care programs to the athletes in Colorado the same way they had been presented to me.

Over the years, my ideas of arm care expanded and my eyes opened to a more holistic way of viewing health, performance and success for athletes of all ages. In addition to skill based work, strength, nutrition, sleep, and mental clarity play an integral role in your ability to perform both on and off the field. My passion, the way I communicate it and the connection I have to all my athletes have all been calling cards of my business and how it continues to grow today. I am honest and true to my passion for player development.

Youth sports is in a bad spot and my opinions of it are no secret. The unbridled pursuit of useless medals and trophies has put the health and well being of our youth athletes in a precarious position. We ask more and more of them, yet yield fewer and poorer results. They play too much and do not practice enough. Youth injuries are on an epic rise as parents push their athletes to pursue higher and higher levels of competition seeking things like college scholarships and draft day dreams. If they don’t play in this tournament or go to that showcase, somehow means they will miss out on an opportunity to play at the next level. This couldn’t be further from the truth. The end result is burnout, injury, surgery and love lost for, what I think, is the greatest game in the world.

When people think of FAST Performance and the people who work with me, I want them to know that we care about your kids like they are our own. We would never put them in a position that would potentially injure them or harm them in any way. We have genuine interest in seeing them perform at the highest of levels, and having the greatest success whether that be winning a major sports championship or even an olympic gold medal.

Website: https://FastColorado.com

Instagram: FASTBaseball and FASTPerformanceCO

Twitter: FASTBaseballCO

Image Credits
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