Greg M., a senior baseball player at Indiana Area Senior High School, has played baseball for most of his life. With his pitching talents and an all-star team around him, he’s made quite a name for himself in Indiana, Pa., and beyond.
When Greg sustained a knee injury in his sophomore year, he didn’t let it set him back.
Patellar Tendon Surgery and Recovery
In December 2023, Greg underwent surgery to repair his patellar tendon. Orthopaedic surgeon James P. Bradley, MD, performed the successful surgery at UPMC St. Margaret.
Then, it was eight months of strict physical therapy, which Greg completed near home in Indiana. When doctors cleared him to return to play, he was right back on the pitcher’s mound.
But something didn’t feel quite right.
“I was pitching and at first it was fine, but as I continued, I started to have a little bit of a nagging, aching, and sometimes sharp pain in the patellar tendon,” says Greg.
Greg and his mom, Jane, returned to Dr. Bradley, who referred them to Ron DeAngelo, MEd, LAT, FAFS, director of sports performance, UPMC Sports Medicine, for some fine-tuning on his knee.
Training to Strengthen the Knee
When Greg and Jane first met Ron at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex in Pittsburgh’s South Side, Ron put Greg through a series of tests to assess the strength and stability of his knee.
He used the results to tailor a sports performance program to Greg’s needs.
“The program definitely helped me feel better,” Greg says. “I couldn’t get into Pittsburgh three times a week, but I would do two sessions on my own and one with Ron each week. We did that for about three months, and my knee has been golden ever since.”
Healthy Movement and Pitching Prep
Because Greg is a pitcher who wanted to enhance his pitching performance as well, he continued to go to Ron. Ron introduced him to the Game Day Velocity program powered by Functional Manual Reaction® (FMR) from the Gray Institute.
Greg says he now swears by the FMR method and does it before every game.
The Gray Institute describes Game Day Velocity as “a concept that utilizes FMR to improve athletic performance and potentially reduce injury risk during games. FMR is a technique that uses manual guidance during movement to enhance movement efficiency and muscle activation, particularly focusing on the three-dimensional nature of human movement.”
Greg describes doing some traditional stretching and exercises, like band strength training and body weight movements.
But the seemingly “unorthodox” elements were what really stood out to Greg and Jane.
“Ron would target my right foot, which is my back foot while pitching, and he’d almost ring it out like a washcloth. Then, he’d ask me to go through my pitching motion,” says Greg.
“It’s hard for me to explain why it works, but you want your back foot to stay flat for as long as possible while pitching in baseball, and for some reason, that helps my foot stay grounded and flat when I go through the motion or even warm up before games.”
The full-body routine even helped Greg improve his pitching velocity, with his fastball now in the mid-90 mph range.
Inspiring the Team
Greg’s success with the program and dedication to doing this routine before each practice and game inspired other team members to see Ron as well.
Two other pitchers and a catcher from the team saw Ron for various injuries and to help improve their performance. They found success.
“Greg has always demonstrated exceptional athletic ability and a strong dedication to reaching his full potential,” says Dan Petroff, head varsity baseball coach, Indiana Area Senior High School. “However, the true turning point in his development came when he began working with Ron a few years ago.
“As an expert in human movement and sports performance, Ron has played a pivotal role in elevating Greg to the level of an elite pitcher. Indiana Area High School baseball has been very fortunate to have a couple of additional pitchers work with Ron as well, all of whom progressed to become future Division I pitchers. I am deeply grateful for the impact Ron has had on our baseball program.”
Having made it to the WPIAL and PIAA state championship games last season — and losing both — the team is hungry for even more success in their 2025 season.
As of late April, they had remained undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the WPIAL. Greg is looking forward to the remainder of his senior season and continuing his baseball career at Texas Tech.
He and a few team members have continued to work with Ron to stay on top of their performance and catch up with him often.
“Ron is really friendly and helpful. I had so many one-on-one sessions getting to know him, and he stays in touch via text to check in on how our season is going,” Greg says.
Sports Performance at UPMC Sports Medicine
At UPMC Sports Medicine, we take athletic performance as seriously as you do.
We know that athletes of all levels want to keep improving. You want to move faster, play smarter, and jump higher.
It takes discipline to reach your goals and achieve your peak performance. But sometimes, it also takes the right expertise to get you the rest of the way. That’s where our sports performance program comes in.
Sports performance helps athletes and active people perform at the highest level they can in sports and other physical activities. It gives you the tools and techniques you need to move with the most efficiency.
Learn more on our website or call 412-432-3871 to schedule an appointment.