Baseball Queensland announce High Performance Manager
It is with great pleasure that Baseball Queensland [BQ] announces Mr Shayne Watson as the new Athlete Development & High-Performance Manager for Baseball Queensland. Shayne has been a staff member of Baseball Queensland for 13 years and brings a wealth of experience, knowledge and insight to the role. Shayne has been the Junior Elite Pathway Manager for two years and has experienced considerable success, increasing the number of participants in our junior state programs and athlete development programs.
Shayne has designed and developed a program that will engage Baseball Queensland’s emerging, developing and high-performance male and female athletes in the redesigned Athele Development Program [ADP] /High Performance [HP] plan.
His experience also includes being part of the Brisbane Bandits, winning 4 consecutive ABL Championships and the Claxton Shield, as part of the coaching group lead by previous BQ High-Performance Manager and Brisbane Bandits Coach, David Nilsson.
Speaking on his appointment as the High-Performance Manager, Shayne states he is eager to begin a new chapter for BQ and spoke about the areas he is keen to grow for the State.
“I am looking forward to taking on this role. It will provide opportunities for our male and female elite level athletes to develop and strive for holistic outcomes. Not only to improve their sport-specific skills and knowledge but also for them to become future leaders within our sport.
Along with developing individual aspects within their game, our program will also be prioritizing athlete well-being and character building throughout. BQ coaches within the Pathway will also have opportunities to develop themselves as coaches and mentors throughout the Program.
We have several of our Pathway Programs commencing mid-year that will cater to a range of athletes from U13 to Open Women. Our newly formed State Performance Squad has already commenced in South East Queensland, with our North Queensland based athletes commencing mid-year. I have expanded this program to eight months catering for 25 identified athletes from U16 – Open Women. This direction provides more time on task and more opportuntites to develop athletes with access to a greater range of qualified and experienced coaches.”
Our Athlete Development Programs will commence mid-year fostering a Long-Term Athlete Development framework providing support and guidance for our young athletes coming through the Pathway.
As Baseball continues to grow in our state and we experience increased success with our regional and state teams, we are excited to continue expanding how the Athelete Development Program provides for baseball in our state and how BQ can look to increase numbers entering our High-Performance Pathway.
Baseball Queensland’s Chief Executive Officer, Paul Gonzalez said Shayne’s appointment will continue to build strong pathways for our Junior and Senior players through the high-quality programs Shayne is creating.
“As CEO of Baseball Queensland, I have been fortunate to watch the sport evolve over the past two years, particularly within the Athlete Development & High-Performance Programs. In 2017, David Nilsson, the then Baseball Queensland High Performance Manager, designed a Five-Tier success program in collaboration with Athlete Development Manager, Shayne Watson and the Queensland Academy of Sport. The focus of the program was to successfully achieve High Performance outcomes within the elite levels of the game, with a focus on building the mental and physical skill sets of Queensland’s emerging and developing players.
Shayne’s experience working within all tiers of Baseball Queensland’s programs as well as the National program made him the perfect fit for the new program design.”
Through the support of Baseball Australia, the Queensland Academy of Sport, the coaches within the program and newly acquired partners, Pivotal Motion and Acceleration, Baseball Queensland’s vision of “Building a better future for baseball” looks as strong as ever.”
Shayne will take on the High-Performance Manager role immediately and will share his detailed outline of the High-Performance programs publicly next week through the Baseball Queensland website and social media sites.
