Displays of the Neural Network: Acuna Jr at Point B

Acuna Jr showing a highly specific output of the Neural Network

Neurological Point B: Ronald Acuna Jr

One of the most talked about players in Major League Baseball, created another highlight reel display of high level of performance this past weekend.

Ronald Acuna Jr, right fielder for the Atlanta Braves coming off a recent appearance in the MLB All-Star game, made an incredible throw from the outfield to third base to throw out a runner attempting to advance on the fly ball.

It is inarguable that Acuna Jr is an insane talent. He has power at the plate, plays defense well and as evidenced has an incredibly strong arm from the outfield. You can see his impact on the game here. It cannot be forgotten however, the role that the neural network plays in his high level of outputs at the Level of Competition.

The Role of the Neural Network

One of the prerequisites to achieving high levels of output in a range of strength behaviours at the level of competition is both the size and accessibility to repeated connections within the athletes’ neural network of absolute strength.

Remember the neural network is a web of neurons that is accessed through training for absolute strength, as this is what repeatedly activates neurons within the network past a certain threshold. Once neurons are stimulated to become part of the network they can then be activated in other ways by forming multiple connections over a range of inputs to the network. Ultimately, this creates a network that repeatedly learns and concurrently is more variable in generating an output to match the demand of the athlete.

From a training for strength perspective, it is perhaps simple as a programmer to visualize the concept of the neural network and how it is trained in the weight room; build strength and then build different behaviours of that strength using variations in speeds. What’s observed during this training process is how the neural network can be compressed very rapidly within a constrained environment at the level of competition to generate displays of high performance that are astounding to watch!

Level of competition for Acuna Jr is on the baseball diamond.

How the Neural Network is Involved in Performance