Brooks McDowell

If you want to fuel like Rory McIlroy, it’s actually pretty consistent with my recommendations as a registered dietitian and certified sports nutritionist. He prioritizes protein first (around 170–180g daily) to support muscle, recovery, and stable energy. Then he adds in carbs like oats, rice, and sweet potatoes for sustained fuel especially important for long rounds and training days. Healthy fats like avocado, olive oil, nuts, and salmon round things out to support overall performance and recovery. He also keeps it disciplined by limiting: 🚫 Processed foods 🚫 Excess sugar 🚫 Foods that don’t agree with him (like gluten, pork) A typical day looks like: 🥣 Breakfast: yogurt, berries, oats 🥤 Snack: protein shake + fruit 🍗 Lunch: chicken or salmon + rice + veggies 🥜 Snack: protein + healthy fats 🥩 Dinner: steak or salmon + sweet potato + greens On the course (which can last 5+ hours), he fuels with small, steady calories (400–600) and stays hydrated with water + electrolytes. He eats and fuels a lot like I recommend our athletes 💪

Running poles - underrated.

In 2014, I was speaking at a pitching coaches conference in Texas The feature speaker was a track & field/rugby guy from The Netherlands named Frans Bosch. Baseball crowd Biomechanics nerds Room full of coaches who make their living telling people how to move He walks up, clicks to slide one, and opens with: “The body shows very little interest in what the coach has to say.” The room went silent I literally leaned forward in my chair By the time he was done, my world had tilted on its axis I didn’t understand a lot of it But I knew, deep down, “If he’s right… this changes everything.” I was the next speaker Topic: The anatomy of deceleration in pitching. That’s like following Eddie Murphy with a knock‑knock joke I gave my talk, quietly terrified that everything I was saying was garbage in light of what he’d just presented Next morning, 8:00 a.m. Drury Inn & Suites lobby I’m building my gourmet continental breakfast: powdered eggs, waffle, bad coffee. Conference restarts at 9 I see Bosch in the corner with fruit and yogurt We make eye contact I give the classic awkward coach nod “Mr. Sullivan,” he says, motioning me over. “I liked your talk.” I sit down We start talking motor learning and training at a level I didn’t know existed He’s supposed to be on the way to the airport His ride? Trevor Bauer Trevor is late I don’t mind We talk And talk Two hours go by like ten minutes A few months later, his book “Strength and Coordination: An Integrated Approach” lands on my desk I read it 6 times Then I read every reference in the bibliography I wasn’t just trying to learn the concepts I wanted to know how he learned to think that way I receive an invitation to Amsterdam to work with the Dutch National Program We go even deeper That trip led to the creation of our Annual Baseball Skill Acquisition Summit It has been attended by hundreds of representatives from every MLB team When he wrote “Anatomy of Agility,” Frans asked me to edit the English translation before it came out in the U.S. He later wrote the foreword to my book “SAVAGE Revolution” and collaborated as I wrote “Integrated Anatomy of Pitching.” That one delayed airport ride turned into: A friendship A new way of seeing movement SAVAGE Training The ARMory And, ultimately, thousands of pitchers around the world training differently All because Trevor Bauer was late to pick someone up We call it hustle Planning Strategy Networking But underneath all of it, there’s this quiet, unpredictable force nudging things into place It’s the missed flight, the awkward lobby breakfast, the “Hey, come sit with me” moment that changes your entire trajectory You can’t manufacture it But you can do this: Show up Stay curious Sit in the front row Say yes to the conversation And be ready when your “Trevor is running late” moment shows up Because from the outside it looks like an inconvenience From the inside? It’s the hinge your whole career swings on Serendipity isn’t random luck It’s what happens when preparation collides with one small, unexpected delay It all happened because Trevor Bauer was late Serendipity