Introduction to Baseway Education

A letter to athletes and coaches

Sports are a great way to make friends, be a part of the community, and create an interest in health and wellness.  Sports can also be a great environment for teamwork, competition, and working towards improvement. 

I played baseball and football as a kid; baseball was a lot of fun, but my greatest lessons came from playing football as a quarterback.  I had a great sophomore year on JV and was handed a starting job on varsity the next year with no competition.  I could throw pretty well but could not run at all.  That was good enough on JV, but not on varsity, especially once injuries hit the offensive line and star running back. 

After my junior season, the coach let me know that we would be switching to a spread offense and would need a quarterback that could also run the ball: the next season, I would be competing as a senior with a great junior athlete.  All of my life I was a slow runner, so I had to get faster…right away.  I went to the Nike Football website, got some new cleats, saw some training videos, and bought a speed ladder, a med ball, and a parachute. 

Every Saturday, me and my teammate would head to the field to work out: working on speed, agility, and power including stadium stairs, med ball throws, and sprints.  In the years before, I never missed a weight room session, but that offseason I realized that the most important workout was on the field: my legs and core would be sore the next few days and I could feel myself getting faster.  My teammate went on to win the league’s defensive player of the year award.  I won the starting job at quarterback and league all star while rushing for over 300 yards and 4 touchdowns (from 0 rushing yards the year before). 

I went on to play Division II College Football and kept working to improve speed and athleticism, but started to experience pain and minor injuries: hip flexor tightness, hamstring and quad strains, knee pain (patella tendonitis), and back pain.  I was prescribed custom orthotics which reduced my pain significantly, but I still had knee pain while running and ended up getting a knee scope at 26 years old.

Days after the surgery while walking barefoot through my house with a swollen knee, I had a lightbulb moment: the way my foot was contacting the ground was affecting the way my knee felt.  When I put my shoes on to walk outside, my knee felt worse.  This sparked a 10 year journey of researching the foot and ankle, movement, sports performance, and speed development.  I also started designing, developing, and testing footwear innovations to allow for better movement. 

I spent time coaching football, track, and working as a strength and speed coach.  Years after he considered replacing me at quarterback for a lack of speed, my former coach asked me to coach speed training sessions for his players. 

Over these years, I have had three big realizations about sports performance:

1.      You can improve your speed and athleticism

2.      Movement quality can improve performance and reduce pain and injury risk

3.      The foot and ankle is a key aspect to performance

I am starting Baseway Education to help athletes, coaches, and individuals.  When it comes to speed and movement, there are a lot of great coaches and clinicians already out there, and I hope to work in a collaborative environment and share what I have learned over the years.  When it comes to the foot and ankle, there is a lot of misinformation: I am aiming to provide a new perspective to clarify and coach the fundamentals.  I would also look forward to opportunities to bring my coaching experience and perspective to collaborations on foot and ankle research and footwear innovation. 

Baseway Education:

Fundamental level coaching for movement and sports performance, with a focus at the foot and ankle.

Thanks for reading

-Coach Brooks