Donnie Watson wants to save baseball's youth

I just read this open letter to baseball parents, and then called Donnie Watson to learn more.

Holy crap. I have been part and parcel of a system that's killing careers, often before they even blossom.

I'm reprinting it here. Share this with someone you know or care about in baseball or softball.

An Open Letter to Baseball Parents...
You're a baseball parent, so I know this will be of interest to you, and the timing is crucial so please take a moment to read this message. If you don't have the time, bookmark this page-- come back to it later - it's that important.


Dear Baseball Parent,

My name is Donnie Watson. Because of a surge of interest from clients and staff I will be working in DFW this summer and coaching an 18U team. My passion is working with kids and involving their parents and coaches in the process of questioning and overcoming the traditional methods used to develop athletes in our sport.

Why this is important
Having experienced every level of baseball's evolution in Texas since the early 70's, I have an information set that will cause you to rethink the traditional choices available to teach and develop your baseball playing athlete.

There's a lot of info, and it is next to impossible to keep it short and sweet, but I'll try to keep it simple.

Simply put, baseball is broken, and the environment encountered by many of today's young athletes is full of information, people and issues that not only inhibit athletic development but also make it more difficult for these athletes to develop as leaders on and off the field.

Some of these issues include:

1. Misinformation about effective and safe pitching/throwing mechanics based on years of unchallenged theory and opinion
2. Dramatic increases in the number of avoidable arm, shoulder and lower back injuries as a direct result of improper mechanics, overuse and a lack of functional strength
3. Unhealthy competition environments where the result of the game becomes more important than how the game is played and where leadership examples set on the field and in the stands stand in stark contrast to the ideals we hope our young athletes copy
4. Missed opportunities to teach life lessons about nutrition, in the context of athletic development, where young athletes will find the information relevant to their performance
5. Cavalier attempts to address and eradicate the use of steroids and the just as frightening and important: the misuse of legal nutritional supplements in all sports
6. The lack of strength and flexibility to support the specific useable strength requirements of the overhead/rotational sport athlete, the workload cycles pitchers and position players incur throughout the year and the general disregard and disconnect the traditional power-based programs have shown to accept any responsibility for their part in the injury/surgery epidemic in our sport
7. General confusion about the recruiting process and how to compete for college scholarships and/or professional money.

I bet you didn't know how broken things could be, but you're a parent so I'm guessing you suspected something was wrong with the very systems we've relied on, and trusted.

Confusing Activity with Progress
You spend a lot of money and I know the outcome you hope to orchestrate. But for all the games we log each year in high school, summer and fall, not to mention all the lessons, camps and clinics we attend in the course of a year, I have yet to find a baseball player of any age that can tell me:

Based on science, the mechanics of a safe and efficient throwing delivery,
1. The functional strength requirements to duplicate a repetitive motion without getting hurt,
2. The nutritional factors needed to ensure optimal performance during a year of prepare, compete and repair cycles and,
3. The mental/emotional competencies he must master as the pool of talent and strategic execution improves to stay competitive.

It sounds like a lot to learn, but taken step-by-step, the boys that embrace it are the ones that stay healthy and surge ahead of their peers. As a parent you need to know these answers too.

Just for this summer, I want you to join me in the health and performance debate! We develop leaders on and off the field and build better baseball players because they want to take responsibility for their own development.

The Bottom Line?
The most important period of your son's performance cycle is about to begin.

90% of skill development happens from the last day of his spring season until the first day of the next spring. I will be doing a couple of Performance Symposium classes in the next couple weeks, at the Ben Hogan Center in Fort Worth, Texas and at the Top Prospects Academy (TPA) in Euless, Texas, to explain the information and format. I want to personally invite you and your son to attend.

I also want to speak with you directly to explain how the big picture relates to you, your athlete, his pursuit of high-performance and the attention that comes with it. Please reply directly to this email with the best time and telephone number to reach you.

You can also call me anytime @ 214.704.8017 if you want to chat sooner.

Thanks,

Donnie Watson
The Complete Athlete

P.S. If you haven't already signed up to receive our new free eNews (formerly a Members-only service) simply click here to send an email to our system or fill in the form here. We never share emails or info with any outsiders. Period.

Phone: 214.704.8017
Website: www.complete-athlete.com
Email: donnie@complete-athlete.com

The 10 Training Guidelines for Athletes Who Participate in Throwing Activities

EDITOR'S NOTE: This is an excerpt from the Complete Athlete's Members-Only eNewsletter. This list is considered by many to be the commandments for throwers to help pitchers and position players train more effectively while avoiding injury.

To subscribe to the free version of their eNews, click here.

The 10 Training Guidelines for Athletes Who Participate in Throwing Activities

1. Static stretching can artificially stretch the tendons and ligaments, which is counterproductive for a thrower. Avoid static stretching before the core temperature is elevated. Dynamic flexibility and range-of-motion movements (think Dynamic Warm Up) are more movement friendly and effective. You must think “flex” the muscle instead of “stretch” the muscle in a Warm Up to Loosen Up to Throw sequence when preparing the body for practice and competition.

2. Training while standing on either or both feet on a stable surface must be complemented with training on an unstable surface. Train on stable and unstable surfaces. This is more important for pitchers. A baseball/softball pitcher or throwing athlete is not on both feet at the same time during a delivery. For baseball pitchers that work down a slope (that is rarely uniform from one mound to another) and not on flat ground maintaining balance and posture on unstable surfaces during development training must be incorporated into a daily activity.

3. Absolute strength, developed in the weight room, doesn’t necessarily translate to useable strength on the mound or on the ball field. Being able to bench press 250 pounds doesn’t mean that you will be able to throw 95mph.
Remember: Absolute strength is not the answer and absolute strength training must be sport specific and relative to developing the skills needed to compliment competitive performance and injury prevention.

4. It is dangerous to quickly lift heavy weights. Heavy weight moved quickly (as in power lifting) may be good for muscles, but is definitely bad for the body’s joints. Throwing is already a joint-stressing activity. Heavy lifting without regard to muscular symmetry and joint integrity is especially inappropriate for throwers.

5. Don’t equate power-lifting strength with throwing strength. Power lifting is linear and not specific to throwing. Throwing is a powerful movement, but not, by strict definition a power movement. Throwing is the summation of linear and rotational forces delivered into a softball/baseball. Throwing/pitching is more a function of timing (i.e. the sequential order of unlocking angles) than a function of time.

6. Train for flexibility. Strength without flexibility is useless to a thrower.

7. Train the small muscles first. Throwers are only as strong as their weakest link. In the sequential muscle loading and translation of energy through the kinetic chain- from the feet to the fingertips, synergists and secondary muscle groups have the priority over prime movers.

8. You will never throw harder than your genetic predisposition. The type and percent composition of muscle tissue (slow twitch/red muscle fiber vs. fast twitch/ white muscle fiber) is genetically determined. Research has shown, however, that you can enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of what muscle tissue you have by properly overloading and under loading resistance training. This type of weight work can help a thrower increase the capacity of their genetically determined maximum velocity.

9. Support your throwing strength efforts with stamina training. To perform at the maximum level of your potential, you must engage in stamina training, as well as resistance training. Stamina work requires a balance between aerobic activity for delivery system efficiency and anaerobic activity for enhanced lung capacity.

10. Ensure that the integrated-training modalities in which you engage are cross-specific to the biomechanics of an efficient delivery to create usable strength, not absolute strength. The natural pathway programming of movement efficiency works best when resistance-training protocols properly address the composition of muscle mass by finding a balance between bulk, lean, and fat. Too much bulk precludes flexibility, too much lean exacerbates joint trauma and micro-tears and slows down recovery time, and too much fat impedes neurological efficiency and energy translation (nerves don’t work
in fat).

Training a thrower requires a paradigm shift from the traditional approaches used to conditioning an athlete. You need to integrate the prepare, compete, and repair cycles of softball/baseball with traditional volume, load, frequency, intensity, and duration training variables. In addition, this on-the-field and in-the-gym training must be done in three positions (circle, figure 8, upright) with three movements (linear, circular, angular) and in three torso planes (sagittal, transverse, frontal) using isometric, concentric, and eccentric resistance in a closed-chain/ open chain sequence. Protocols should integrate cross- specific flexibility work, body work, joint-integrity work, machine work, and free-weight work for useable strength and endurance, and be complemented with enough cardiopulmonary work to develop an efficient stamina base to support the prepare, compete, repair cycles.

With regard to a stamina base, it should be noted that softball/baseball (like most sporting activities) requires both anaerobic and aerobic production of energy.

To hear a quick summary of these thrower's rules click on the audio button below.

Texas UIL Suspends Schedules Due to Swine Flu

UIL Schedules Altered Due to Swine Flu

AUSTIN, TX— On the recommendation of Dr. David Lakey, Commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services, and in consultation with Texas Education Agency Commissioner Robert Scott, the University Interscholastic League is altering its schedule of events due to the outbreak of the swine flu in Texas. Effective immediately, all UIL interscholastic competition is suspended until May 11.

“The health and safety of our student activity participants is of the utmost importance,” said UIL Executive Director Dr. Charles Breithaupt. “Taking every possible precaution to prevent the further spreading of this disease is an important contribution to the welfare of our great state, and altering the schedule of our events is a way to keep our participants safe.”

Ave in action

The "Unthinkable" Happens to Nick Adenhart

The saddest, most heart-breaking event we can ever witness, is the abrupt and accidental end of a life full of promise.

Nick Adenhart, 22, one of MLB's hotter prospects making his way up the rotation ladder for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, died last night in a traffic accident. Wrong place, wrong time, car accident where another dirver is alleged to have run a red light and attempted to flee on foot.

He had pitched 6 innings of shutout baseball vs. the Oakland A's, showing the confidence others said he lacked, commanding hitters' respect and limiting them to 7 scattered hits. No runs, 5 k's. A 22 year old prospect showing tremendous poise and inching that much closer to cementing his place amongst the day-to-day starters for the Angels.

He was making the best of an opportunity.

Having "flown through the minors" according to former GM and Xm Radio host, Jim Duquette, Adenhart was growing, fighting through the many setbacks baseball offers up to its youth, and winning the battle. Last night was proof positive. A shame he didn't get the win, but the same batters he disabled through six innings surged vs his relievers and ultimately won the game.
He was labeled as a "great kid," a smart player with a great head for the game," and a "mature personality."

As a dad of a young pitcher, I feel the pain of this loss directly. I know the hours spent, the support and love offered in assisting a boy in navigating the world of baseball. I experience each day, the agony, nerves and sheer pleasure of seeing my son ply his trade in hopes of realizing his goals. As with all my kids, I want him to have a fair shot, I want him to be safe, I want the world to welcome him and share in his glories. I want people to say the things about my son Avery, that they said about Nick.

If all this ended suddenly, I know life would go on, but it would change forever.

Such is the situation in LA, amongst Nick's teammates, in Hagerstown for his mom and dad Janet and Jim, for his friends and for those of us who love this great game. We'll try to put it in perspective, but it doesn't make sense on many levels, and it never will. The sadness can be overwhelming.

If you have a kiddo in the game, hug him (or her) today and share your pride with others.

Appreciate the moments you do have together, and think of Nick Adenhart's family, friends, fans and teammates. They're in a world of hurt today because someone they helped succeed, who gave back in effort energy and spirit, is now gone. For what Ray Ratto today called "no good reason."

Complete Athlete & Deion Sanders team up

I just received this release. Seems that Jen Wells and Donnie Watson are taking their company, Complete Athlete, to a bigger audience with a new partnership with Deion Sanders' PrimeTimePlayer.

Here's the release:

Complete Athlete Launches Performance Program with PrimeTimePlayer

March 25, 2009 -- Dallas / Fort Worth, TX

In an agreement reached this week, the Complete Athlete (CA) will partner with PrimeTimePlayer (PTP) to provide high-level baseball and softball instruction and performance analysis for athletes across North Texas. The partnership, a first in the D/FW area, will provide a range of services including pitchers' prep programs, performance symposiums, high-speed motion analysis and recruiting preparation seminars & services starting in May 2009 for players aged 12-25 in both sports.

"We are truly excited about working with (NFL Network analyst, eight-time Pro Bowler and MLB player) Deion Sanders and his PTP staff to deliver pain-free performance, said Donnie Watson, co-founder of the Complete Athlete. "In our work with Dr. James Andrews, it's always been our mission to teach and train to avoid the surgeries and injuries becoming epidemic in baseball and softball. This partnership helps us reach more athletes more quickly, and to work with coaches, trainers and professionals to help players excel."

The Complete Athlete (CA) was founded by former NCAA Division 1 coaches Donnie Watson and Jenifer Wells (a 3-time All-American and national champion team softball player), in conjunction with The Andrews Institute, of Birmingham, AL and Gulf Breeze, FL. CA is dedicated to providing a proprietary blend of education, instruction and analysis to baseball and softball pitchers and position players to better enable them to avoid injury and reach their performance potential as they pursue college and professional team roster spots.

According to Watson, the partnership will reach from Frisco to Fort Worth, utilizing PTP facilities and venues to give more baseball and softball athletes access to the tools for gaining higher visibility with college-level coaches and professional scouts for "all the right reasons." Recruiters will know that each of these athletes completes the program with a full understanding of their physical and emotional capabilities along with the tools to present a dossier that outlines their achievements, capabilities and assessment results.

"We'll show the players the correct path, help them take ownership of the process, and work to make them the best they can be without sacrificing their health or attitude," adds Wells.

Athletes, parents and coaches seeking information on CA/PTP events may call Donnie Watson at 214.704.8017.

PrimeTimePlayer is the brainchild of business partners DL Wallace, and former NFL and MLB star Deion Sanders. Alongside Sanders' highly-rated televised football training, Prime U, PTP develops student athletes on many levels, preparing them for college and professional-level play and showcases their talents via player training, combines, clinics, showcases and PrimeTimePlayer Pages; printed directories distributed to college-level recruiters.

Pain Free Performance w/ the Complete Athlete

Every once in a blue moon somebody rises above all the new trends, techniques and gizmos routinely introduced to improve the great game.

And, when they do, baseball people take note from the sandlots up into MLB. Slowly of course, because baseball is a game steeped in tradition -- passed from father to son -- and it doesn't take kindly to newbies messing with the the status quo.

A little background here.

Injuries to pitchers and now position players are approaching epidemic numbers. In fact in the last five of a ten-year study, surgeries climbed to 6X the levels of the 1st five years for high school players. Colleges went up 3X, Pros 2X. So clearly, the patterns of overuse, poor and wrong conditioning, and coaching the wrong mechanics are failing our youth players.

Some would argue that numbers have gone up because more people are pushing surgery as an option. And others have blamed the singular approach to sports common today as more and more players become 1-sport specialists early on. Add up both of those factors, and it still doesn't equate to the horrendous number of orthopedic episodes occurring daily. And the study only tracked players who went in for surgery, not those that quit playing or switched sports.

Enter the Complete Athlete
Brainchild of 3-time softball All American Jenifer Wells, and 16-yr D1 Assistant and Head Coach Donnie Watson, this emerging company is tackling the issues in a four-pronged approach to pain free performance. And it's doing it with the blessing of the nation's best sports surgeon.

About a year ago, according to Donnie, he received a call from Dr. James Andrews (yes, that Dr Andrews) in response to a letter he'd written asking just how to educate coaches, trainers and players on methods to break the cycle of injury/repair/injury so may athletes were enduring in ever-shortened careers.

"I kept seeing my trainer taking my players through football lifting drills to develop pretty muscles with no bearing in baseball. says Watson, "And I kept seeing a cycle of short rest, poor mechanics, and lousy nutrition making pitchers weaker and weaker until season-ending injuries culled them from the rosters."

So Watson and Andrews met in Birmingham, and crafted a plan to bring thousands of coaches and trainers "to the table" so the message could be heard. The change was afoot, although no small challenge given the sport's tendency to "push back" when new systems (especially medical or science-driven ones) were being introduced.

Through nearly a year of grassroots effort in Birmingham, Gulfbreeze FL (where Andrews has a 2nd institute) and Dallas/Fort Worth, Watson and Wells are making headway.

Two new affiliations, with baseball academy TPA in Euless, Texas, and with the upcoming PrimeTimePlayer (Deion Sanders is a partner) facility in Frisco, Texas are launching a series of teaching symposiums, pitcher-prep programs, motion analyses (they have a mobile M/A lab), nutritional assessments and mental/emotional analyses through summer projected to teach upwards of 150 players (and parents) through the systems with the end goal of making them all self-sufficient. TPA's Stix Baseball program is even making Complete Athlete's patented Dynamic Warmup® mandatory for their summer teams.

They'll also continue to grow the ranks of certified faculty-level and coaching-level instructors to grow the program.

"We know, there's only so much of us to go around," says Wells. "But it was never about us, we're facilitating change in softball and baseball by duplicating ourselves over and over again."

Add to the mix the interest and demand for their service that parents are fostering. Shouldn't be surprising that the people helping Johnny and Suzy play in select leagues, player showcases and booster-driven school programs are very interested in their sons and daughters remaining healthy in their pursuit of the dream. And they're a vocal lot, sharing information, symposium materials and upcoming dates with the coaches.

"They have a bigger responsibility to their kids than anyone else, and they're pushing to be heard." adds Watson.

There is no question this company has all the potential to grow, and become a leader in baseball and softball (the girls are getting hurt just as often or more) development. The combination of science, passion, personality, and business-sense pretty much guarantees they'll succeed. Add to that the skins Donnie and Jenifer have in their respective sports as players, coaches, recruiters and teachers and the barriers should fall sooner than later.

The only question is will the sport listen and learn from years of mistakes. And then take action.

For more information on the Complete Athlete, go to www.complete-athlete.com, or email Donnie Watson at donnie@complete-athlete.com

Watch this space for more as their "season" continues...