Tom House Coming to SFA
1/22/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Jan. 22, 2007
NACOGDOCHES - World renowned pitching consultant, performance analyst, sports psychologist and author Tom House will be making his way to Nacogdoches as the guest speaker for the annual Meet the `Jacks baseball-softball dinner. The dinner will be held Tuesday evening at 6:30 p.m. in the Grand Ballroom of the University Center on the SFA campus.
House, a former Major League pitcher, is considered "one of the world's foremost authorities on pitching." After spending time with the Atlanta Braves, Boston Red Sox and the Seattle Mariners, he went on to be a coach for the Houston Astros, San Diego Padres, Texas Rangers, and Tokyo's Chiba Lotte Marines.
"The biggest name in baseball is Tom House," said SFA head baseball coach Donnie Watson. "Tom is at the top of his profession and is the best person to go to in terms of baseball health."
After his career in the Majors, House co-founded the National Pitching Association to help with the development of young pitchers by challenging traditional teaching methods to help reduce the possibility of injury.
"Tom is semi-controversial," said Watson. "He challenges everything traditional, the standard belief, and as a result of it, he's revolutionizing the way people develop in our sport."
House has authored or co-authored 19 books on baseball instruction and is an advisor with the American Sports Medicine Institute. On the amateur level, House teaches for 12 baseball academies across the US and Canada. He reaches 5,000-6,000 players and coaches a year through clinics and camps.
While helping Major Leaguers such as Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson, Mark Prior and Rob Nenn, House also focuses on the health of younger pitchers who are just developing their arm strength without the proper techniques.
Currently, there is an on-going epidemic of Tommy John surgery required to repair the elbows of pitchers under the age of 16. By bringing House to East Texas, Watson hopes to educate baseball players, from Little League to High School, and their coaches how to avoid the major surgery.
"Our biggest market is our kids," said Watson. "I want to help educate our community, our high school ball players and our Little Leaguers and make SFA a pioneer in the movement to protect the health of our future players.
"As the head baseball coach at SFA, I feel it's my job to help equip local coaches with the knowledge needed so their kids don't break down at such an early age," Watson said.
During the dinner, members of the 2007 Lumberjack baseball and Ladyjack softball teams will be introduced before House steps to the podium. He will then hold a small pitching clinic for those in attendance after the conclusion of the program.
Tickets are $10 per person and can be reserved or purchased from any Nacogdoches Rotary Club member or by calling Stacy Irwin at (936) 552-3211 or the SFA Baseball and Softball office at (936) 468-3501.
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