Gridiron to Diamond

TCV'S CHRIS THOMSEN Chris Thomsen has had a lot of bad luck with injuries during his career at TCU but despite all the problems, he has always been a consistent worker in the weightroom. Although his name does not appear on our position record boards, Chris' strength has improved significantly from year to year. Chris' commitment, work ethic, and quiet confidence has helped him become a successful dual sport athlete. Kevin Yoxal TCU Head Strength Coach Chris Thomsen: A Future Oakland A? By Greg Shepard On the wa y home from one of my Texas BFS Clini cs, I was reading a Dallas newspaper in the airpor t. One article caught my eye. The headline read, "Football Player A Big Hit at TCD."

It was about Chris Thom sen. He got out of spring football practice at TCD as a senior. He hadn't really played baseball since high school but here he was hittin g 11 homeruns in 17 games. One of them went over a 40 foot fence 400 feet from home plate! As I got down to the eight and ninth paragraph , I realized I mu st follow-up immediately and get the full story for the BFS Journal. You see, Chris credited his football conditioning workouts for his power increase. (he used to be a weak hitter) "If you are in a football progr am," said Thomsen, "It'll put a lot of strength in you ... it especially gives you lower body strength and hitting is a lot of your hips and stren gth in your legs."

Chris attended Vernon High School in Vernon, Texas and was a 3.0 stude nt. He was also a 3-sport athlete parti cipating in football, basketball and baseball. In football, Chris was an All-District Tight End for three yea rs. All-Reg ion for two yea rs and in his senior w as selected as a top 100 Texas Football Co lle ge Pros pe ct. He wa s 6-3 and w ei gh ed a strapping 230 pounds with out lifting that much. Chris started at forward in basketb all and lettered four years in baseball. He was All-District in baseball for three years and hit .456 in his senior year which garn ered him District MVP honors. "I chose TCD because of the good feeling I got being around the school and program,"

remembers Chris. "It was a hard decision. I went on a football only scholarship and redshirted my freshman year mostly because of surgery on my shoulder." It was then Chris began realizing the benefits of weight training . "1 enjoyed it," Said Chris, "It also really helped my shoulder come back. After the surgery, 1 really started to get int o the lifting." Chri s wo rked on the sta ndard core lifts: Bench, Squa t, Clean and also the Incline. Coa ch Yox (Yoxal) really helped me with my speed," praised Chri s. "1 stretched a lot because my flexibility was poor and di d Plyometrics in the off -seaso n; mostl y Box Jump s. 1 first tested out at 5.0 in the forty. No w it's down to 4.75 second s.

JlFootball Workouts Will Put A .Lot Of Strength In You; Especially Lower Body Strength. Hitting Power comes From Your Hips And Legs." Chris started pla ying base ball again after a thre e year layoff. Coach Jim Wacke r gave Ch ris permission and he quickly became a start er at first base. Coach Wacker was to reevaluate the situation wh en the Spring Football startin g date came around . It wa s unbelievab le becau se Chris s tarted hitting homeruns and ge tti ng lots of RBI' s. Then the day before his evaluation meeting, TCU played N.E. Louisiana in a double head er. Chris hit 5 homeruns and had 11 RBI's. He did it all: A solo homerun, a 2-run, a 3-run and a Grand Slam homerun.

To top the day off, the other was an inside-the-park homerun. Coach Wacker reluctantly gave permission to miss Sp ring Footba ll. Chris w en t on to lead th e So u t hwe s t Conference in homeruns and RBI's, and was named National Player-of the-Week for that spectacu lar effort against N.E. Louisiana. Chris th en be gan hearing from so me pr o team s. " It opened up a whole new life," exclaimed Chris. "I had always dreame d abou t it. So I go t reall y ex cited abo u t the possibilities. He didn't have to wait long. Chris signed with BRAND NEW EDICINE BALLS By Kra" the Oakl and Athletics and started his pro career wi th the Sou the rn Oregon A's in Medford which is Single A ball.

Chris' college footb all career came to an abru p t halt but Oakland will cover his educational expenses. "God Gives Everyone Talents, So You've Got To Find Out What Yours Is And Then Go For It." Chris lifts at least twice a week under the Oakland A's st ren gth and conditioning program. "You' ve go t to lift," asserts Chr is, "bu t make sure yo u lift like an athlete and stre tch hard everyday, es pecia lly after you lift. For th ose coaches against lifting, I say that you've got to think of a total program of streng th, sp eed, flexibilit y, p lyo me trics and agilities. It' s not just doin g a bunch of Curls and Benches. Coach Yox is the most dedicated coach I've ever seen in any sport.

His program gave me an edge. He always made time for me and pushed me. He's a great example and l owe him a lot." As far as Chr is' ed ucation, he plan s on going back and finishing his degree in Criminal Justice. Chris is only 21 hours short with a 2.3 G.P.A. Chris has learned va lua ble lessons, "Don' t quit. Things aren't alwa ys going to work out. I only started three games in footb all at TCU last yea r. Just keep trying to make something hap pen. That's in an yth ing God gives everyone talents, so you've got to find out what yours is and then go for it." "Good things will always come, if you don 't quit.

My strong Christian value s taught in my family and my church back in Vernon have helped me keep a proper perspect ive. For example, drinking has never appealed to me. If you are going to work hard everyday to get better and to win, that will move you forward. Drinking will move you back. Who cares if someo ne give you heat about dr inking. I don't have any respect for people who push you into drinking. They're not trying to help you." I've been offered drugs in high school and College. I've never tou ched them. I'm not going to do something that' s going to set me back. A pitcher throws a ball 95 MPH at me, that' s enoug h to deal with." "My mother really helped me.

She's the strongest person I know. In any situation, my mom would never give up. She's been a great example to me espe cially when my folks got divorced when I was 11 years old. I'm very sympa thetic to those kids going through a divorce situation but you can' t use it as a cop out. Don't let life beat you. It took a lot of pra yers to know what to do about my life. So far it's worked day by day." We'd like to thank Coach Yoxal for making this article possible and showing if you do a total conditioning program, it will help any sport. We especially thank Chris Thomsen for being a great Upper Limit example.

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From BFS Magazine — Fall 1991. Part of the BFS Magazine Archive (1980–2014).