Building Better Athletes From the Ground Up

Reference pages by sport (16 sports, 244 programs)

• Golf: 14 injury rehab programs for golfers
• Basketball: 10 injury rehab programs, 4 performance programs for basketball players
• Volleyball: 10 injury rehab programs, 4 performance programs for volleyball players
• High School Football: 11 injury rehab programs, 5 performance programs for football players
• High School Tennis: 10 injury rehab programs, 6 performance programs for tennis players
• Surfing: 10 injury rehab programs for surfers
• High School Field Hockey: 10 injury rehab programs, 6 performance programs for field hockey players
• High School Baseball: 10 injury rehab programs, 6 performance programs for baseball players
• High School Track and Field: 12 injury rehab programs, 6 performance programs for track and field athletes
• Weightlifting: 12 injury rehab programs for weightlifters
• Pickleball: 12 injury rehab programs, 6 performance programs for pickleball players
• Rowing: 10 injury rehab programs, 6 performance programs for rowers
• Cheerleading: 10 injury rehab programs, 6 performance programs for cheerleaders
• CrossFit: 10 injury rehab programs, 6 performance programs for CrossFit athletes
• Softball: 10 injury rehab programs, 6 performance programs for softball players
• Soccer: 10 injury rehab programs, 6 performance programs for soccer players
• Complex health conditions: 18 adaptive strength training programs (hypermobility, EDS, POTS, fibromyalgia, osteoporosis, arthritis, Parkinson's and more)
• Golf chiropractic (TPI): swing faults and the physical restrictions behind them

The approach: three stages, in Dr. Beyerl's words

My philosophy is simple: Before we build a more powerful athlete, we need to build a body that's capable of handling that power.

A lot of performance training focuses on getting athletes stronger, faster, and more explosive. Those things are incredibly important, but strength alone doesn't tell the whole story.

If an athlete has limited joint mobility, poor movement control, or difficulty stabilizing their body, those limitations can affect how efficiently they produce and absorb force.

That's why I approach athletic development in three stages.

1. Build the Foundation: Joint Function, Mobility, and Stability

We start by evaluating how your body moves.

I look at joint alignment and positioning, mobility, stability, balance, and how different parts of your body work together.

For example:

Can your ankles move well enough to squat, sprint, and land?

Can your hips rotate effectively?

Can your shoulders move overhead without unnecessary compensation?

Can you control your knees and pelvis when standing on one leg?

Can your trunk stabilize while your arms and legs generate force?

When we identify meaningful limitations, we address them through chiropractic care when appropriate, manual treatment, mobility exercises, and targeted strengthening.

The goal is to give your body the movement options and control it needs to perform.

2. Build Strength: Increase Your Capacity to Produce and Absorb Force

Once we've established an appropriate movement foundation, we progressively develop strength.

This includes:

Lower-body strength for sprinting, jumping, and changing direction.

Single-leg strength for balance and athletic control.

Trunk strength for transferring force between the upper and lower body.

Upper-body strength for throwing, hitting, pushing, and pulling.

Eccentric strength for absorbing force during landing and deceleration.

We don't just want stronger muscles. We want an athlete who can produce and control force in the positions their sport demands.

3. Build Performance: Turn Strength Into Athletic Ability

Strength creates potential. Sport-specific training helps athletes express that potential.

Depending on the sport, we develop:

Explosiveness: Producing force rapidly.

Speed: Accelerating and moving efficiently.

Agility: Stopping, redirecting, and reacting quickly.

Rotational power: Transferring force through the body during throwing, hitting, and swinging.

Jumping ability: Producing vertical and horizontal force.

Deceleration: Absorbing force and controlling the body when stopping or landing.

Endurance: Maintaining strength and performance throughout competition.

The goal isn't simply to perform better in the gym.

It's to build physical abilities that translate into better performance in your sport.

Mobility, strength, and power aren't completely separate phases. We develop them together, emphasizing whichever qualities are limiting the athlete most.

How this applies to 10 different sports

Basketball: Ankle Strength, Landing Mechanics, and Explosiveness

Basketball requires repeated jumping, sprinting, cutting, and landing.

We start by looking at ankle mobility, foot and ankle strength, hip control, and how an athlete absorbs force when landing.

From there, we build single-leg strength, eccentric quadriceps strength, and lower-body power.

Finally, we incorporate plyometrics, acceleration, deceleration, and reactive agility training.

Performance focus: Higher vertical jumps, quicker first steps, improved lateral movement, and better landing control.

Golf: Hip Rotation, Spinal Mobility, and Rotational Power

A powerful golf swing requires coordinated movement through the hips, trunk, and shoulders.

We start by evaluating hip rotation, thoracic mobility, pelvic control, balance, and the athlete's ability to separate upper- and lower-body movement.

Then we develop lower-body strength, trunk stability, and rotational strength.

Finally, we introduce medicine ball throws, rotational power exercises, and explosive training.

Performance focus: Greater rotational power, improved physical capacity for clubhead speed, better balance, and more comfortable movement through the golf swing.

Volleyball: Shoulder Stability, Jump Mechanics, and Vertical Power

Volleyball places significant demands on the shoulders, knees, and ankles.

We start by assessing shoulder mobility, scapular control, ankle mobility, hip strength, and landing mechanics.

Then we develop lower-body strength, shoulder stability, and eccentric strength to improve force absorption.

Finally, we progress to explosive jumping, repeated jump training, lateral movement, and overhead power development.

Performance focus: Higher jumps, more powerful hitting, improved lateral quickness, and better control during repeated landings.

Soccer: Hip Mobility, Single-Leg Strength, and Sprint Speed

Soccer requires athletes to sprint, cut, kick, and change direction repeatedly.

We start by assessing hip mobility, ankle function, single-leg balance, and lower-body movement control.

Then we strengthen the hamstrings, adductors, quadriceps, glutes, and calves.

Finally, we develop acceleration, maximum sprint speed, cutting ability, and repeated sprint capacity.

Performance focus: Faster acceleration, stronger kicking, improved change of direction, and greater tolerance for high-speed running.

Baseball and Softball: Shoulder Function, Rotational Strength, and Throwing Power

Throwing and hitting require coordinated force production throughout the body.

We start by evaluating shoulder mobility, scapular control, thoracic rotation, hip mobility, and trunk stability.

Then we build lower-body strength, shoulder and forearm capacity, and rotational strength.

Finally, we introduce explosive rotational exercises, medicine ball throws, and sport-appropriate power development.

Performance focus: Greater rotational power, improved physical capacity for throwing and hitting, and better shoulder strength and endurance.

Tennis and Pickleball: Lateral Stability, Rotational Power, and Quickness

Racket sports require quick reactions, lateral movement, rotational power, and repeated upper-body movements.

We start by evaluating ankle mobility, single-leg balance, hip rotation, shoulder function, and forearm strength.

Then we develop lower-body strength, lateral stability, trunk strength, and upper-body endurance.

Finally, we train lateral acceleration, deceleration, reactive agility, and rotational power.

Performance focus: Faster court coverage, more powerful strokes, improved balance, and better control during rapid changes of direction.

Football: Joint Stability, Strength, and Explosive Acceleration

Football demands high levels of strength, speed, and the ability to produce and absorb force.

We start by assessing ankle and hip mobility, shoulder function, trunk stability, and lower-body movement control.

Then we develop total-body strength, eccentric strength, and position-appropriate physical capacity.

Finally, we incorporate acceleration, explosive power, jumping, and change-of-direction training.

Performance focus: Faster acceleration, greater strength and power, improved cutting ability, and better control during high-force movements.

Surfing: Shoulder Endurance, Hip Mobility, and Explosive Pop-Ups

Surfing requires shoulder endurance, spinal and hip mobility, balance, and rapid transitions from lying down to standing.

We start by assessing shoulder mobility, thoracic extension, hip mobility, and balance.

Then we develop paddling-related shoulder strength, trunk stability, and lower-body strength.

Finally, we train explosive pop-ups, rotational power, balance, and sport-specific conditioning.

Performance focus: Stronger paddling, faster pop-ups, improved board control, and greater endurance in the water.

Running and Track: Foot Strength, Hip Control, and Sprint Mechanics

Running performance depends on the ability to repeatedly produce and absorb force through the lower body.

We start by evaluating foot and ankle function, calf strength, hip mobility, and single-leg control.

Then we develop lower-body strength, tendon capacity, and trunk stability.

Finally, we incorporate sprinting, plyometrics, acceleration training, and progressive running workloads.

Performance focus: Faster acceleration, improved sprinting ability, greater running efficiency, and improved tolerance for repetitive impact.

Weightlifting and CrossFit: Joint Mobility, Strength, and Power

Weightlifting requires the ability to produce force while controlling the body under significant external loads.

We start by evaluating ankle mobility, hip mobility, shoulder function, trunk stability, and squat and hinge mechanics.

Then we develop progressive strength through squats, deadlifts, presses, pulls, and individualized accessory exercises.

Finally, we incorporate explosive lifts, jumping, power training, and conditioning based on the athlete's goals.

Performance focus: Greater strength, improved lifting control, increased explosive power, and better tolerance for demanding training sessions.

The bigger picture

Every sport has different demands, but the philosophy stays the same.

First, we build a foundation of healthy joint function, appropriate mobility, and stability.

Then, we develop the strength needed to produce and absorb force.

Finally, we turn that strength into the speed, power, explosiveness, and endurance that matter for your sport.

This approach can help athletes address physical limitations, improve performance, and build the capacity to tolerate the demands of training and competition.

My goal is to help you play safely, for as long as possible, and at your best.

Philosophy: understand the person in front of me first

The goal of my training is to understand what are the needs and weaknesses of the client in front of me. Is it alignment, mobility, strength? Is it nervous system? Is it how do all those things play together that are creating the issues they're having? And then designing a treatment plan built around those in order to maximize longevity, injury prevention, and sport performance. And so everything I do is always going to be tailored to the individual. Everyone's going to have different exercises, they're going to have different amounts of strength training, explosiveness, rehab based on the needs in front of them. My goal is to, with some people I might do more mobility and alignment and rehab type stuff. Some people might be doing more training. And then what we do in training changes depending on the sport and the need. Basketball players, we're going to focus a lot on landing mechanics and how to move properly because there's so much dynamic change of motion. Same with soccer players, same with volleyball players. If you're a golfer, we're going to focus a lot on rotational strength and mobility in a way that we wouldn't with other sports as much. Everything is always designed around the unique needs of the athlete, their injury history, and their goals

Credentials

• Doctor of Chiropractic (DC)
• Certified Personal Trainer (CPT)
• Titleist Performance Institute Level 2 Fitness Certified
• DBC Performance Level 2 Certified
• Trainer at DBC and Legacy Performance Training

More about Dr. Beyerl

Athlete questions, answered

What is a sports chiropractor, and how is this different?

A sports chiropractor treats athletic injuries with adjustments and soft tissue work. The difference here is that Dr. Beyerl is also a Certified Personal Trainer, so injury programs continue past pain relief into mobility, strength and sport-specific movement, and healthy athletes can train for performance with the same person, in one plan.

Which sports do you work with?

Golf, basketball, volleyball, football, tennis, surfing, field hockey, baseball, softball, track and field, weightlifting, CrossFit, pickleball, rowing, cheerleading and soccer. Each sport has its own page with the specific injuries and performance programs Dr. Beyerl works on. Athletes in other sports are welcome; the assessment is the same.

Do you treat high school athletes?

Yes. Several sport pages are written specifically for high school athletes, including growth-related issues like Osgood-Schlatter disease, return to play after sprains and strains, and structured strength development for teens who practice a lot but have never trained.

Where is the office and how do I start?

The Bridge Chiropractic is at 6102 Avenida Encinas, Suite H, Carlsbad, CA 92011, serving Carlsbad, Encinitas, Oceanside, Solana Beach, Del Mar and San Diego. Start with a free discovery call, online or at (858) 277-7500, followed by an in-person assessment.

Do you also work with people who are not athletes?

Yes. The same approach is adapted for 18 complex health conditions, including hypermobility, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, POTS, fibromyalgia, osteoporosis, osteoarthritis and Parkinson’s disease, on the adaptive training page. The practice also has a long-standing focus on active adults 55 and older.