Art Salazar and his journey: From pitcher to a leader
Baseball is one of the world's favorite pastimes. Many little boys grow up playing the sport with hopes of making it to the professional leagues one day. This is certainly true for Art Salazar. After playing during his younger years, something happened at the age of 12 that he didn't understand at the time.
Salazar broke his humerus bone while throwing a baseball
Salazar broke his humerus bone while throwing a baseball. However, he had no idea how it happened. Moreover, he definitely couldn't have imagined how much it would change the rest of his life.
College baseball and an opportunity in the majors
In college, Salazar had a few chances to play professionally, but nothing really serious. That was until he got the call to play for the LMB (Mexican Baseball League) in Mexico. He was thrilled and felt as if all his dreams were about to come true. So, he went into his senior year of college, planning to play with the LMB in the fall.
Salazar tore his labrum; stepped away from baseball
Salazar tore his labrum that same year which left him devastated, with no possibility of following through with his plans. In the meantime, he graduated and decided to step away from baseball for at least a year.
Salazar eased back into sports by offering lessons
Little did he know that the injury was exactly what needed to happen. Salazar slowly began to ease his way back into baseball. His first step was offering lessons at a local park. He did this for a short time and then moved into a Fontana facility for around nine-ten months. While he was offering lessons, Salazar also continued with a normal job.
Chaffey College hired Salazar as the pitching coach
In January 2020, Chaffey College hired him as the pitching coach. The timing was impeccable because, at this point, his lessons had started to gain traction, and he was finally able to gain more clients. Salazar kept working his normal job until February 2020, when he decided to quit and really pursue his dreams.
Scariest thing ever done; best decision of life: Salazar
On the one hand, Salazar was excited about the change, but he said that it was one of the scariest things he has ever done. Salazar kept his faith through everything and now admits it was the best decision of his life.
Salazar focused on training his players every day
However, the college baseball season was cut short in 2020 due to COVID-19. So, Salazar knew it was the perfect opportunity to focus 100 percent of his time on training his players every day. He also continued to study and learn as many new things as he could. He accredits this to the amazing results he began to see.
Proud that 15 of my students can throw 90+ mph
Suddenly guys who neither had colleges looking at them nor professional teams had tons of interest. Perhaps the milestone Salazar is most proud of is the fact that 15 guys can now throw 90+ mph, something they couldn't before. This number continues to increase, and Salazar's main goal is to coach his guys to throw as fast and efficiently as possible without arm pain.
Hopes to emulate success of popular baseball training programs
There's no doubt that Salazar feels he has brought something special to Southern California. For now, he will continue down this path with hopes of one day emulating what Driveline and Top Velocity have accomplished. His story is proof that having someone who wants to bring out the best in someone really can help them achieve whatever they want in life. For more information or pitching lessons, you can contact Art Salazar at https://www.theartofpitchingcorp.com or on Instagram @Theartofpitching_.
