St. Louis Cardinals' first baseman Matt Adams, is having a career year this season in the MLB with 23 RBIs, six home runs and a team-leading three triples.
One reason why Adams is having one of the best seasons of his young MLB career could be because of Coal Township native Rob Oshinskie.
Oshinskie graduated from Shamokin Area High School in 1988, then Bucknell University, where he played football, in 1993 before opening Victory Sports Performance and Fitness with his wife, Jackie, in State College, just minutes from the Penn State campus.
Even though Oshinskie said most of his clientele is junior high and high school football players, Adams, a graduate of nearby Phillipsburg-Osceola High School, was introduced to Oshinskie by a former Penn State pitcher, Mike Pierce.
A bond quickly started between the trainer and first baseman.
"In any sport, there are certain athletes and coaches that connect," Oshinskie said. "That connection was there from the start."
Adams and Oshinkie's first year together was during the 2011 offseason after Adams was named the Cardinals Minor League Player of the Year and the Texas League MVP.
Early in the 2012 season, Adams made his major league debut and split the season with the Cardinals and the Memphis Redbirds in Class AAA.
In 2013, the Phillipsburg native stayed with the big club, playing in 108 games and hitting 17 home runs.
Just like the two previous offseasons, Adams returned to State College to train with Oshinskie.
"Our primary focus was enhancing his absolute strength and power," Oshinskie said. "We decreased a lot of his body fat over the past two offseasons, This year we wanted to make him as fast and explosive as he can be."
The speed and explosiveness that Oshinskie brought out of Adams can be seen in his triples. At 6-foot-3 and 260 pounds, Adams is not like most big men, in that he can reach it to third base on a hit. He has hit three triples this season, after not hitting any in his first two seasons.
Even though Adams only works out with Oshinskie during the offseason, the two stay in contact, texting each other usually every two weeks.
"Sometimes it's friendly or seeing where he's at mentally," Oshinskie said. "Most of the questions Matt has during the season lean toward the nutritional side of things."
However, a more serious topic sometimes comes up, such as substance abuse. Oshinskie said that topic could come up because of a fat essential vitamin a team trainer wants Adams to take.
"Matt's a young guy and he doesn't want to be using something he shouldn't be using," Oshinskie said.
For Oshinskie, his business has seen some increased activity because of the added cache of a professional athlete as a customer.
"Overall our business has been on a steady upward trend," Oshinskie said. "People being aware of Matt training here, have pushed people over the edge on whether they want to train here or not."
Oshinskie has continued working with his other clients like young football players, plus men and women that work their schedules around their families.
Oshinskie enjoys working with those clients, but said there's a noticeable difference in working with an athlete like Adams.
"Training an athlete is a lot different in terms of focus on speed and athleticism," Oshinskie said. "The most unique part is in the offseason. Training is their job."