Even as the big league roster has been touched mostly by moves only at the margins, the Chicago Cubs have had an exceptionally busy offseason elsewhere in the organization. The coaching staff has seen tremendous turnover, as has the minor league coaching and coordinating infrastructure. The Cubs have lost from and gained in the front office, and now they’ve created an entirely new position.
Now serving as the Director of High Performance, Adam Beard joins the Cubs after a four-year stint with the Cleveland Browns in the NFL, where he was the first to serve in that kind of position. Before that, he was with the Welsh Rugby Union as the Head of Physical Performance.
As described by the Cubs in a release: “Beard will bring his more than 20 years of industry experience to be responsible for overseeing the integration and management of a collaborative approach to all aspects of training, conditioning, mental skills, nutrition, sport science and beyond.”
I like it. Taking a 360-view of athlete performance, and incorporating all phases with a new guy on top who has done this before. Yes, yes, Browns … but they really turned it on this year, right?! In all seriousness, the Browns took a very ‘Moneyball’ approach to their front office over the past five years (including literally hiring Paul DePodesta away from baseball), and it doesn’t surprise me that this was an angle they took. Then, I’m guessing the Cubs pounced when Beard became a free agent.
A couple more links on Beard for additional reading here and here.