OnBase University is an educational organization dedicated to the study of how the human body functions in relation to baseball and softball. OnBase University's mission is to educate baseball and softball players and industry professionals on the Body-Baseball Connection™ or the Body-Softball Connection™ through its one of a kind ‘OnBaseU Certified’ educational program. This program was developed by OnBaseU's Advisory Board of industry leading experts. We believe that there is one efficient way for every athlete to play and it is based on what they can physically do. In other words, we try to match an athlete’s physical abilities to their technical skills. This helps them perform at the highest level possible.
Every sport has unique movement patterns. OnBase University is an organization dedicated to studying how the body moves in the sports of baseball and softball and how to assess an athlete's physical ability to perform these movement patterns. Comprised of leading experts in the baseball and softball coaching, fitness and medical industries, OnBase University has created a comprehensive Certification program that gives industry professionals the tools necessary to quickly screen players for any physical limitations and a deep knowledge of how those limitations can affect their performance as well as simple guidelines to help get them back on track.
Coaches all too often encourage players to move their bodies into positions that their students are physically incapable of achieving. Often, the reason why players cannot achieve a certain exit ball velocity is because they have limited mobility, poor stability, or even a prior injury that limits their range of motion. Yet, if coaches are unaware or untrained to assess such physical limitations, they will likely proceed with pulling out the video camera, drawing a few lines on a screen, and demonstrating that they don’t know what they don’t know.
As an OnBase University coach I am educated and knowledgeable in the area of movement screening as it relates to baseball and softball. If the underlying cause of poor technique is poor movement quality, then a coach must be able to identify this and explain it to the player. The training recommendation could then include a combination of technical advice and exercises to improve the student’s level of fitness or even to develop a swing style that accommodates the student’s physical limitations.
ONBASE UNIVERSITY’S PHILOSOPHY OF THE HUMAN BODY
“The body works in an alternating pattern of stable and mobile joints.
NORMAL PATTERN
Foot Stable
Ankle Mobile
Knee Stable
Hip Mobile
Pelvis/Sacrum/Lumbar Spine Stable
Thoracic Spine Mobile
Scapulo-Thoracic Stable
Gleno-humeral/Shoulder Mobile
Elbow Stable
Wrist Mobile
Cervical Spine Stable
You can see how this observation of an alternating pattern of mobility and stability can help describe how injuries occur. If you take the lower back as an example, you will often find that the hip joints and thoracic spine are limited in mobility. Therefore, the lumbar spine will sacrifice stability to obtain more motion. This abnormal motion in the lumbar spine can be one of the primary reasons for disc and facet injuries in the lower back. Unfortunately, limited thoracic spine and hip mobility are two of the most common findings in male players. This may be why lower back injuries are so common in baseball”
PHYSICAL SCREENING
The OnBaseU Physical Screening consists of 12 tests in total. 10 standing tests as well as 2 seated tests.
STANDING TESTS
1 - Pelvic Tilt Test
2 - Pelvic Rotation Test
3 - Toe Tap Test
4 - Hip 45 Test
5 - Lateral Step Test
6 - Wide Squat Test
7 - Shoulder 46 Test
8 - Separation Test
9 - Holding Angle Test
10 - Hitchhiker Test
SEATED TESTS
11 - Ankle Rocking Test
12 - Seated Trunk Rotation Test
It is important to understand where the OnBaseU Screen fits in with the overall assessment of the player. Many times, we will evaluate a player to see if you can improve their overall performance. They have no complaint of pain, they just want to either prevent problems from occurring or improve their overall performance. The evaluation of this player should begin with the appropriate screen. The OnBaseU screen was designed to evaluate baseball specific patterns of movement to identify or highlight altered patterns in pain free players, so the observer can predict the player’s hitting mechanics. It does not make any fitness or medical diagnosis, it just helps predict if and how a player’s body is altering their swing mechanics.
The next step in the progression is to assess skill and/or specific characteristics needed for an activity. This will allow us to see how the player performs. This is where 3D motion capture, 2D video, statistics, trackman and other skill based evaluations come into the equation. Deficiencies in performance should be addressed at that time.
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