Why Chasing Numbers Is the Wrong Goal for Young Athletes, PART 2

By Dennis Dolan, Director of Athletic Training, Power Athlete Master Coach

What does it take to get to the highest levels of baseball?

I used to joke that it started with two simple things: being left-handed and the ability to throw over 90 mph. If you had those two things, I could promise you would be coming in contact with coaches at the next level. Easy enough.

All joking aside, after the chuckle, I'd let them know immediately that development starts with a solid foundation in recovery and basic athletic development — and that skills training not built on top of those two principles will yield little in terms of long-term development and will set athletes up for a higher incidence of injury.

Building the Foundation

In Part 1, Tim introduced his son Aiden and shared the story of how Aiden held his own against physically more developed high school athletes. I had the honor of coaching Aiden when he started his journey in athletics, and the work we did together has paid off exactly as Tim described.

What did we do to get there?

The same things, over and over and over again. We focused on the basics in every aspect that feeds a young athlete's development, and it worked — consistently, reliably, ad nauseam.

Aiden's journey started with dedicated warm-ups. These stability and range-of-motion primers strategically prepare the trunk, joints, and limbs with regard to their mobility and flexibility. By repeating these warm-ups daily, an athlete begins to identify areas of limitation that reveal weaknesses in movement patterns before they become performance problems.

When an athlete has been properly prepared, the body is activated and organized to move effectively through the eight primal movement patterns: squat, hinge, lunge, step-up, horizontal push, horizontal pull, vertical push, and vertical pull. Coaching the proper setup and execution of these patterns is done with extreme attention to detail and through repeated exposure to each athlete's specific limiting factors.

Aiden was coached, corrected, and progressively stressed to ensure the deepest neuromuscular connection possible inside an ever-changing young athlete's body. Simply put, when optimal patterns are performed exceptionally well, the athlete is able to withstand the demands of load, speed, and top-end athletic performance.

As the athlete develops better movement, those movements are then stressed to build overall strength through the full ranges of motion required in sport. That stress comes first from progressive overload scaled to each athlete's ability to handle increasing load through the complete range of motion. When working with young athletes like Aiden, everyone responds differently — but developing strength through all planes of motion and around all axes of rotation leads to faster skill acquisition, resulting from better body awareness and control.

Movement selection, proper setup and execution, and all-encompassing load stress are just the start.

Intelligent load management and progression are the next pieces to address. As a young athlete develops and constantly changes over time, small, steady increases in load through the same repeated patterns drive accelerated strength adaptation.

Aiden was placed on a modified linear progression with gradual increases in both repetitions and load. Repeated across months of consistent programming, he was able to maintain excellent movement through all the patterns regardless of the new stress or growth he was experiencing.

As Aiden got stronger, we made sure to connect his new strength gains with his ever-evolving central nervous system through simple sprinting and change-of-direction drills. Strength is directly related to how much muscle your nervous system can recruit to perform a task.

Developing that central nervous system capacity is done through specific, maximum-effort sprinting protocols and change-of-direction work. As we double down on the stress applied to both systems, the athlete becomes more coordinated and stronger through the primal patterns. A stronger athlete is a faster athlete — but only when the two develop together. Tim ran Aiden through an acceleration and linear speed development circuit right in their backyard. Simple, low-tech, and maximally effective for every other athletic trait a young athlete can develop.

Now, back to pitching velocity and exit velocity — the metrics from Tim's post. Power is strength multiplied by speed. One does not develop without the other. Yet without addressing either, coaches expect better results in both?

Imagine putting a Formula 1 engine inside a go-kart frame, piloted by a driver who was never taught to steer. The engine will make it go fast — as fast as the frame and driver allow — but neither was built to handle it. Matching the athlete to a developmentally appropriate vehicle, with all the structure that comes with it, is exactly what proper athletic development looks like.

The Window You Can't Get Back

Mobility, flexibility, primal movement proficiency, strength, power, speed, and the capacity to replicate speed at high outputs — these are the limiting factors we have targeted. By addressing these limitations during this phase of development, we maximize results through what we call the "amateur window."

Young athletes are all going through puberty, where the body experiences its greatest and final growth spurt. By targeting these limiting factors during this time, every system in the body works together to foster the athlete's athleticism.

Barring serious injury, this is the only opportunity an athlete gets inside this ultra-fertile developmental environment. Make it count — or you put a ceiling on the high-end performance traits the athlete will need at the next level.

What It Actually Looks Like Long-Term

I have seen hundreds of high school athletes make the jump to collegiate athletics. Every single one has made a similar comment later in their careers: "The foundation you gave me set me apart from most athletes, and all my coaches really noticed." For the handful who have gone from a cup of coffee with a professional franchise all the way to a full professional career, the sentiment is the same — only more deeply felt, because they have seen every level of professional development and understand what actually got them there.

I recently spoke with a former athlete who signed an MLB contract to play catcher for the St. Louis Cardinals. We discussed how playing multiple sports and applying everything he had learned through his athletic development in high school helped him overcome struggle after struggle on his way to the majors. He came back from two potentially career-ending knee injuries, competed in two major conferences while earning two degrees, and ultimately fulfilled his dream of playing in the MLB. The foundation held — every single time.

What the Club Model Is Actually Selling You

Make no mistake — a genuine athletic development approach flies directly in the face of the club sports business model. The more you participate, the more you pay. Period. Anything that reduces participation opportunities reduces their income, and they will dismiss it accordingly. While they tout the success of their athletes, their business success depends strictly on growing their numbers.

My MLB athlete is one of several who have played at the highest level by leaning into what they were taught during their developmental years to overcome setbacks and succeed. That outcome cannot be achieved through specific skill development or repeated competitions alone.

By repeatedly asking the body to perform at the highest level or learn high-end skills without the time to practice, fail, develop, and recover, you produce the shell of a sport-specific participant. Baseball player X. Volleyball player Y. Soccer player Z.

Instead, by focusing on proper development, technique, and structured progression, you build a robust athlete who can not only handle the stress of new development and higher levels of competition but who can easily layer on advanced skills — because their body and all of its systems have been primed for it.

What You Can Do Right Now

What will actually help your athlete?

Everything detailed above — but it starts with three things: dedicating a true off-season, or redirecting your athlete toward a second sport; investing in training that builds the body rather than grinding sport-specific skills; and resisting the pull toward more competition in the same sport year-round.

If you need help navigating the seasonal landscape, designing the right training approach, or answering questions about athletic development, the team at Restore Thrive is here for you. Our success depends on each athlete's goals — but always filtered through a lifetime of participation in activities and athletics.

I am genuinely excited to watch Aiden enter his amateur window. I am looking forward to adapting his program as he continues to grow, and to giving him the foundation that will launch him to whatever level is next. I would love to do the same for your athlete. Reach out — we will figure it out together!