Every practice and every game begins with one essential foundation: a healthy body.
The Taiwan Baseball Development Association has long been committed to supporting the development of young grassroots baseball players. As part of this commitment, we regularly organize sports injury prevention workshops to help young athletes develop healthy habits from an early age and learn proper approaches to physical care, injury prevention, and recovery.
For this series of workshops, we partnered with Hsinchu-based Dynamic Sports Studio and invited its founder, physical therapist Yen-Chen Tsui, to visit Guanxi Elementary School, Wufeng Elementary School, Zhongshan Elementary School, Datong Elementary School, and Shangguan Elementary School in Hsinchu County. During the sessions, he introduced the children to the work of a physical therapist and explained how professionals in the field help athletes prevent injuries and maintain their physical condition.
Tsui has a personal connection to youth baseball himself. He was once a member of the youth baseball team at Dongyuan Elementary School in Hsinchu City before studying physical therapy at Kaohsiung Medical University. After becoming a licensed physical therapist, he returned to his hometown of Zhudong and founded Dynamic Sports Studio.
In addition to his experience working in clinical settings, Tsui has provided sports injury prevention and physical care services at the National Sports Training Center, as well as for grassroots and high school baseball teams, giving him extensive hands-on experience working with athletes at different levels.
During the workshops, Tsui began by sharing his own journey, helping the children understand what physical therapists do and introducing them to the many professionals who work alongside athletes to protect their health and support their performance.
He then guided the young players through common sports injuries and explained the importance of warming up before games, cooling down afterward, maintaining a balanced diet, and getting enough sleep. He reminded them that taking care of their bodies should be part of their everyday routine, helping them stay in good condition for both training and competition.
To make the lessons easier to understand, Tsui even used something the children knew especially well—a baseball—as a tool for muscle release exercises. From the soles of their feet and calves to their thigh muscles, the young players followed his demonstrations and practiced each technique themselves, learning through hands-on experience how to care for their bodies.
One student shared:
“What we learned today was really useful. Now I can practice these exercises by myself at home!”
During the interactive sessions, many of the young players also shared injuries and discomfort they had experienced while playing baseball, such as sore arms after pitching, falling during games, or being hit by a pitch. They eagerly asked Tsui what they could do to recover and take better care of their bodies.
One child curiously asked:
“If my body feels sore, can I come to your studio to see you?”
Another quickly followed up with:
“If we come wearing our team jerseys, do we get a discount?”
Beyond teaching sports injury prevention, Tsui also talked about the education and training required to become a physical therapist, encouraging the children to imagine different possibilities for their own futures.
During a final activity about their dreams, the young players wrote down their thoughts. One student reflected:
“You get to interact with athletes while helping people recover and become healthy again. I think that’s really meaningful.”
Another wrote:
“If I can’t become a professional baseball player in the future, I’d like to become a physical therapist.”
When asked which part of the workshop they remembered most, many of the children chose the hands-on massage and muscle release exercises as their favorite activity. Others shared dreams of becoming professional baseball players, sports broadcasters, or baseball commentators, revealing just how many different ways they imagine themselves being part of the baseball world.
Through each Baseball Learning Program, we hope to introduce young players to the many possibilities that exist within and beyond the game of baseball. Whether or not they eventually become professional athletes, we hope they will discover a path they genuinely enjoy, continue learning and building their skills, and have the courage to pursue their dreams.
Our sincere thanks go to physical therapist Yen-Chen Tsui of Dynamic Sports Studio for sharing his expertise and spending time with the children. We are also grateful to the teachers and coaching staff at each school for their support, allowing the young players to learn how to care for themselves within the familiar world of baseball while discovering new possibilities for their futures.
