The Athletic Skills Model: The Missing Piece in Player Development!

If you want to build a skyscraper, you don’t start with the top floor—you start with a solid foundation. The same applies to baseball and softball development. Yet, most training programs focus only on hitting, throwing, and lifting heavier weights. The problem? Many players are building on a weak foundation, lacking the fundamental movement and athletic skills needed to stay healthy and perform consistently at a high level.

This is where the Athletic Skills Model (ASM) comes in.

What is the Athletic Skills Model?

Developed in the Netherlands by Dr. Geert Savelsbergh and René Wormhoudt, ASM is a framework that emphasizes movement literacy—teaching athletes how to move efficiently, smoothly, and powerfully across different sports and activities.

Instead of specializing too early, ASM encourages diverse movement training to build coordination, adaptability, and injury resistance. It’s been used by countries like the Netherlands to develop world-class athletes across multiple sports, and it’s a key reason why some of the best baseball nations (like Japan and the Dominican Republic) emphasize general athleticism before fine-tuning baseball-specific skills.

In simple terms, the best baseball players aren’t just good at baseball—they’re great movers.

Dr. Gallo’s Story: A Lesson in Athleticism

He knows this firsthand because he lived it!

In 2000, he hit .340 in the Florida State League—his best season as a professional. His swing felt natural, fluid, and athletic. But in 2001, his mechanics became the focus due to a new hitting coach with a mechanics over athleticism philosophy. His athleticism took a backseat, and his numbers dropped—I hit .251 that year.

At the time, he didn’t understand why. He was lifting weights and working on his mechanics every day. But looking back, he saw it clearly: He lacked athleticism and movement skills. he work on baseball skills, but he didn’t have the movement foundation to support them long-term.

After his playing career ended, he pursued a Doctorate in Physical Therapy to understand what went wrong—not just for himself, but for countless players facing the same struggles. That’s what led him to develop Baseball Flows.

The Problem in Today’s Player Development Model

This is what he found once he started to practice as a Physical Therapist, Baseball and softball players today are making the same mistake he did.

🚨 They focus on building baseball or softball skills—hitting, throwing, pitching—but neglect athletic skills like balance, coordination, and controlled mobility.

🚨 They spend hours in the weight room but don’t train the global movement patterns that bring it all together on the field.

🚨 They specialize in baseball too early, leading to injuries and stiffness instead of developing natural, fluid movement.

Players are stacking baseball skills on top of shaky movement and athletic skills. And when the body breaks down? They wonder why.

How Baseball Flows Fixes the Gap

At Baseball Flows, we train movement first—because an athletic player makes a better baseball player.

✅ Movement Variability: Training in multiple planes of motion, just like elite infielders, outfielders, and pitchers naturally do.
✅ Flow & Coordination: Learning how to connect movements instead of forcing them. Sharpening transitions over static positions.
✅ Movement Prep & Recovery: Keeping players fresh and loose, avoiding stiffness and in-season breakdowns.

The best players in the world have the best Flow—because they don’t just train baseball skills, they train and maintain movement skills year round. Specially in season so their body stays fresh and free of restrictions.

If you’re ready to move better, feel better, and play better, Baseball Flows is the missing piece.

🔥 Get 50% OFF your first month with code “INSEASONFLOW”
📲 Sign up now: www.BaseballFlows.com

Let’s build the foundation the right way. Move first—Flow forever.

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Coaches! welcome to our Level 1 Certification, where you'll witness the extraordinary influence of Global Pattern Screening firsthand. Together, we will unlock the true potential of baseball and softball players, revolutionizing player development through the art of movement system training.

Baseball Flows (Level 1 Certification): Global Patterns Screening (GPS)

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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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