Hello Flow Masters,

In the World Track & Field Championships in Oregon 2022, the USA came in as one of the favorites to win the 4x100m relay race. The USA held the top four spots in the 100m world rankings, so it made sense that they were expected to dominate. The world's four fastest athletes (parts) should win every time, right?

Who won? Canada.

Why? Canada didn’t have an athlete in the Top 10 in the World rankings. So, how did they win?

The Game Changer: An Efficient Transition

A "flubbed final handover" cost the USA the race. Despite having the fastest runners, the inefficient transition between athletes led to their loss.

What Does This Have to Do with Movement?

When we perform skilled movements, transitions occur constantly—from foot to ankle, ankle to knee, knee to hip, all the way up to your hand. Everyone sees the end result, the symptom, but not the cause behind why injuries and poor performance occur. In the case of the relay race, the inefficient handover was the cause, not the athlete’s individual speed.

This inefficient transition could have occurred at the beginning of the race and snowballed from there. Just like in a swing or throw, a poor transition in and out of a hip hinge at the beginning can lead to poor transitions and stress downstream on the low back, shoulder or elbow.

Baseball and Transitions

Baseball happens in such a small window of time, ideally in less than one second. Imagine losing precious time due to poor transitions. A lot of instructors train athletes with isolated movements and drills, like preparing for a 100m race, and hope they figure out the flow from pattern to pattern on game day. It doesn’t work this way. We have to train those transitions so that on game day, they become subconscious.

How Do You Achieve Optimal Movement?

Train the Transitions: Just like a relay race, smooth transitions are crucial. Training these transitions ensures that your movements flow seamlessly from one to the next.

Achieve Subconscious Performance: By focusing on these transitions during practice, you prepare your body to perform them automatically in the heat of the game.

Greater Than the Sum of Its Parts: This is how you make the whole greater than the sum of its parts. Optimal movement comes from training every aspect, including those often-overlooked transitions.

Dominate with Elite Movement: This is how elite movers dominate novice movers. They don't just train the parts; they train the whole, ensuring every transition is as smooth and efficient as possible.

Join us in embracing the power of optimal movement. Train your transitions, sharpen your skills, and watch as your performance on the field reaches new heights.

Stay tuned for more insights and tips in our next newsletter!

P.S. If you enjoy our newsletter and feel that a coach, parent, or player will benefit from reading our content, hit the “forward” button and share it with them. Let's learn from each other and embrace the power of Baseball Flows together! Stay tuned for more exciting content in upcoming editions, including guest features, video tutorials, and exclusive discounts on Baseball Flows resources.

Let's train smarter, move better, and flow in the game.

Best Regards,

Dr. Ismael Gallo DPT, MBA

Founder, Baseball Flows

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