Business origin stories that'll make you want to run through a brick wall. Released every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Enjoy.
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After developing his skills in junior college and throwing cheese as a starting pitcher for Indiana University, Chad Martin finally got his shot in professional baseball. He was drafted in the 10th round by the Cubs, but an injury got to him. He took a break from his professional career as a baseball player to fix the problem, and went back home (Lexington, KY) to coach a high school team while he trained...  Eventually, hopes of returning to professional baseball fizzled out. But he kept coaching. Years passed. Over time, his coaching style and philosophy changed. It became unique compared to others in the state, and—eventually—Chad decided to open up a baseball training facility that would be in-line with his style of coaching. He’d call it Pitching Performance Lab. He found a location, but it was under construction at the time. He put down a deposit, and didn’t wait to get started. He rented field time on an indoor turf field, called up some older college athletes to help him out, and got to work. They spent the summer giving pitching clinics in a toaster (the AC didn’t work). They continued with the clinics through the fall, and Chad finally moved into the Pitching Performance Lab building that winter. When COVID hit, he was adaptable. Restrictions didn’t allow for gyms, so he had to temporarily close PPL. He built a mound in his backyard, and ran his operation out of there. With some grit and ingenuity, he made it through COVID. Now, members of the Dodgers, Nationals, and Giants all come train together at the facility during the off-season. PPL is the real deal. So, if you see a pitcher throwing cheese and absolutely carving up hitters in Lex, you know who to (probably) thank. Chad Martin. **Here's a few more resources: PPL's website **Read more FS Stories here. If you liked reading this article, you might also like The Wedge: a quick-to-read weekly e-mail newsletter with awesome business stories that'll increase your creativity and resourcefulness just by reading them. Learn more and sign up here. Comments are closed.
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