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Hey Flowmaster,

On Saturday, Jacob Lombard was drafted 14th overall by the Miami Marlins.

He's 18 years old.

6'3". Elite athleticism. Compared to Bobby Witt Jr.

And here's the part most people scrolled past:

Soccer was his first love.

He also played football.

Two years of gymnastics.

He helped his high school soccer team win back-to-back state championships.

Baseball didn't become his primary focus until he watched his brother get recruited.

Scouts described him as having "advanced coordination, footwork, and body control" — directly attributed to his multi-sport background.

He's not an outlier.

He's the blueprint.

There's a science behind this.

In the 1990s, a researcher named Jean Côté developed something called the Developmental Model of Sport Participation — the DMSP.

It's one of the most well-supported frameworks in sports science.

And it describes exactly what Jacob Lombard lived.

Here's how it works — and more importantly, what it means for your son right now.

Phase 1: The Sampling Phase (Ages 6–12)

This is the most important phase most parents rush through.

The goal during these years isn't baseball skill.

It's movement literacy.

Côté's research found that children who sample multiple sports during this window develop a broader and more transferable set of motor skills than those who specialize early.

What does that mean in plain terms?

A kid who plays soccer develops first-step quickness and dynamic balance.

A kid who does gymnastics develops body awareness, spatial orientation, and deceleration control.

A kid who plays basketball develops lateral movement, coordination under fatigue, and competitive instincts.

A kid who does all three — and then picks up baseball — arrives with a movement vocabulary his sport-specialized peers simply don't have.

His nervous system has already solved thousands of complex movement problems across multiple environments.

Baseball becomes the sport where all of that athleticism gets expressed.

The practical takeaway for parents:

If your son is between 6 and 12 — let him play multiple sports without guilt.

Don't worry about falling behind in baseball.

He's building the foundation that will eventually make him better at baseball than the kid who only ever played baseball.

Phase 2: The Specialization Phase (Ages 13–15)

This is when the focus starts to narrow.

Baseball becomes the priority.

Training becomes more intentional.

But — and this is critical — Côté's model doesn't abandon movement exploration at this phase.

It layers sport-specific skill on top of the athletic foundation already built.

Think of it like a building.

The Sampling Phase pours the concrete.

The Specialization Phase builds the first floor.

You don't skip the concrete and go straight to the second floor.

That's exactly what most youth baseball programs do.

And it's exactly why skills fall apart when the game speeds up.

The practical takeaway for parents:

If your son is 13–15, this is when intentional baseball training starts to matter more.

But don't abandon movement training.

In fact — this is the phase where the Baseball Flows app becomes most powerful.

Because now you're layering athletic movement development on top of a broadening baseball skill set.

The foundation gets deeper. The ceiling gets higher.

Phase 3: The Investment Phase (Ages 16+)

Full commitment. Intensive training. Performance outcomes.

This is when players who have the foundation — the movement literacy, the athletic base, the coordination — start to separate.

They respond better to coaching.

Their mechanics hold up under pressure.

Their bodies can handle the demands of high-level training without breaking down.

This is what Jacob Lombard walked into the draft with.

Not just baseball skill.

A movement system built over years of multi-sport exploration that made every baseball skill he has more durable, more adaptable, and more coachable.

The practical takeaway for parents:

If your son is 16+ and didn't have the multi-sport foundation — it's not too late.

The nervous system is adaptable at every age.

Movement capacity can be built.

Athletic foundation can be developed.

It just requires intentional training — not more baseball reps.

Here's where most parents get confused.

They read something like this and think it's either/or.

Either play multiple sports. Or focus on baseball.

It's not either/or.

It's all three — at the same time.

Here's the formula that actually works:

✅ Play baseball — lessons, practice, games, skill development. This is essential. Keep doing it.

✅ Play multiple sports — or at minimum, stay involved in athletic activities outside of baseball. Soccer, basketball, flag football. Whatever he loves. The movement cross-training is real.

✅ Train movement on Baseball Flows — 20 minutes, a few times a week, at home. This is the intentional movement training that fills the gap between "playing a lot" and "moving well."

Because here's the truth:

Playing baseball doesn't automatically build the movement foundation.

Playing multiple sports helps — but it's not always possible year-round.

The Baseball Flows app is the bridge.

It trains the specific movement patterns — balance, rotational control, coordination, deceleration, ground-up transitions — that transfer directly to baseball performance.

In the language of the DMSP:

Baseball gives him the skill.

Multiple sports give him the athletic base.

Baseball Flows sharpens and deepens the movement foundation that makes both of those things actually show up in games.

Why this matters beyond baseball.

Côté's research also found something that doesn't get talked about enough in youth sports:

Players who followed the sampling model — multiple sports first, specialization later — reported higher levels of enjoyment, lower burnout rates, and longer athletic careers.

The players who specialized early burned out at higher rates.

Got injured at higher rates.

And quit the sport they once loved at higher rates.

That's not just a performance problem.

That's a human problem.

Your son's relationship with his body — with movement, with competition, with the game — is being shaped right now.

The way you develop him today determines whether he's still playing and loving the game at 16.

At 18.

At 22.

Build the foundation the right way.

Not just for his baseball future.

For his future as a human being who trusts his body.

This week's action step:

Ask your son one question:

"What other sport would you want to try this year?"

Then let him answer without any pressure toward baseball.

What he says will tell you a lot about where his athletic curiosity is — and that curiosity is exactly what the sampling phase is designed to protect.

If he says soccer — let him play soccer.

If he says basketball — let him play basketball.

If he says baseball — let him play baseball.

And in the meantime — 20 minutes on the Baseball Flows app a few times a week builds the movement foundation regardless of which sport he's in.

You don't have to choose.

Build the athlete first.

The baseball player follows.

— Dr. Gallo Founder, Baseball Flows™ Former Pro Player · Doctor of Physical Therapy · Father

"The best investment you can make in your son's baseball future might have nothing to do with baseball."

P.S. Jacob Lombard's favorite player is Bobby Witt Jr. — the most fluid mover at shortstop in the game. A player who also grew up playing multiple sports. The pattern keeps showing up. It's not a coincidence. It's a developmental blueprint. And it's available to every player — not just the ones with Hall of Fame bloodlines.

👉 www.BaseballFlows.com Use code SUMMERFLOW for 10% off our Summer Flows program.

Parents → Explore the Baseball Flows app

Build the athletic and movement foundation that supports skills in-season.

👉 www.baseballflows.com

ARE YOU A COACH OR FACILITY OWNER?

If this newsletter resonates with how you think about player development —

Baseball Flows has two partnership models built specifically for teams, organizations, and training facilities.

TEAM & ORGANIZATION PARTNERSHIP

Your players get individual app accounts, movement screening, and programs designed to build the athletic foundation that makes your coaching stick.

All in 20–25 minutes. A few times a week. Zero disruption to your current program.

Coaches who've added Baseball Flows describe it as the missing piece their players were never getting anywhere else.

FLOW LAB FACILITY MODEL

Want to take it further?

Transform your facility into a certified Flow Lab — a dedicated hub for movement and athletic development.

Flow Lab partners receive:

→ Revenue sharing on every athlete referred to Baseball Flows

→ Social media exposure and co-marketing with Baseball Flows

→ Direct referrals from our audience for in-person training

→ Level 1 Baseball Flows Coach Certifications included

This is for facility owners who want to offer something nobody else in their market is offering — and build a business around it.

Interested in either partnership?

Reply to this email with the word "Interested" and Dr. Gallo will reach out personally to walk you through the best fit for your program or facility.

No pressure. Just a conversation.

Baseball Flows™ — Move Better. Play Better. www.BaseballFlows.com

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