Baseball As A Profession

I was invited to speak at a Career Day for 5th grade students in my school district. The students were given a chance to vote on professions they would like to learn about on Career Day. Baseball finished in the Top 10 so I will be attending as the guest speaker. It got me thinking however, about how many kids would like to have a career in baseball. I am also wondering if they even know what careers there are in baseball.

When you hear "Baseball As A Profession" we all immediately think of being a professional baseball player. Certainly that is a way to make baseball your profession and if I might add a pretty lucrative one at that! I also believe very strongly that if that is your dream then take your shot! Why Not! Why not lay it on the line and chase your dream. I mean somebody has to make it. I know the odds and they are astronomical. That doesn't stop the same people that are telling kids it's impossible from playing the lottery.

Now you and I both know that the odds of playing professional baseball are better then winning the lottery. The biggest difference is you have some control over whether or not you make it to the big leagues. I say some because there are so many factors that are out of your control that could kill the dream. Having said that, you control your work ethic, physical conditioning, skill level, knowledge of the game, and mental toughness. If you seriously set up a plan and stick with it who knows what might happen.

If you are trading your academic work ethic for only a baseball work ethic then that is worse then playing the lottery. You need to prepare for a career while you are preparing to play pro ball. Is it tough? Yes! Is there enough time in the day for both? Barely! Will you have to sacrifice some things in your life? Yes! Is it worth it? It is if that is your true dream!

I'll end our professional baseball discussion with this thought in mind. You only live once and you are certainly only young once. If you have a dream you are committed to then you had better chase it or it will haunt you the rest of your life. You will always wonder, "what if?" If you give it your best and it doesn't work out then you can live with that especially, if you have a solid education to fall back on.

Baseball as a profession however, does not have to just mean playing professionally. There are other avenues to stay close to the game. I am sure there are many more then I will even mention here. The first one that comes to mind would be coaching. Now if we are talking about earning a living through baseball then obviously it has to be paid coaching.

I mentioned earlier about learning the game to take your shot at pro ball. If you seriously give it your best effort then if playing doesn't work out you should have a solid base to start a coaching career. If you want to coach full time then you are going to have to do it at the college level. If you have any intention of coaching at the major league level then you need to play major league baseball or have a long minor league career. They almost always hire former players.

I will tell you a great game plan if you want to become a college baseball coach. First, become a good player and play in college. It doesn't have to be division 1 just find a school that fits your needs. Second, get good grades because you will need this after you graduate. Third, after graduation find a job as a graduate assistant. You will get a free masters degree, a couple thousand dollars in a stipend, and you will be coaching baseball.

By doing this you begin to make contacts. Also, almost all college job posting want a coach with a masters degree and previous college coaching experience. By being a graduate assistant you fill all the qualifications. This is why I said earlier get good grades so you can get accepted into a masters program to become a graduate assistant.

From here on it's a matter of doing a quality job coaching and working your way to the job you want. Networking is also very important. The more friends you make the more job opportunities that become available. Be prepared however, those first few years could be a lot of moving from school to school as you climb the ladder.

Another full time or part time baseball profession is instruction. We live in a world that has become about organized sports. We start kids playing organized ball by the age of 5. Parents are willing to spend money on instruction year round in an effort to give their kid an edge.

You can find jobs some full time and some part time working in instructional facilities. They are popping up all over the place. If you are a real go getter you could start your own. Gone are the days of kids getting together and playing their own games. Now they can play and practice organized ball year round.

Other opportunities to make baseball a profession would be to become a high school coach. It's not full time but it is a paid position. Usually the coach is also a teacher or has a job with flexibility to allow him to be on time. Again it's not a full time gig but a part-time option.

If you enjoy watching and evaluating players then becoming a scout is also a great option. Being a scout is like any other profession. You start out making little money and working hard. But, if are good and can spot talent then you can move your way up the food chain. The higher you move up the more money you can make.

Being a scout would probably start as a part time job but has the opportunity to become full time. Think about it for a minute, you are getting paid to go watch baseball games. Not a bad deal because if you love baseball that much you would have went for free and offered your opinion anyway!

How about becoming an umpire? Although this doesn't interest me in the least bit it is a baseball profession which could be part-time or full-time. You can umpire from Little League all the way to the big leagues and you get paid to do it at all levels.

A friend of mine just started umpiring Babe Ruth Games. He makes something like $50 a game. He does about 7 games a week. That totals an extra $1400 a month in season. Major League umpires are making 6 figures and all other levels somewhere in between.

There are other ways as well such as sports writing, athletic training, strength and conditioning coaches, equipment managers, and front office type personnel. Maybe selling or manufacturing baseball equipment. Selling and manufacturing is really pushing the idea of baseball as a profession but I guess it depends what your definition and interests are.

In Conclusion

If you are serious about making baseball a profession there are plenty of opportunities out there for you to choose from. All of us baseball nuts growing up will always choose to be a Major League player first. I say go get it! Swing for the fence you might just hit a home run!

If you are smart however, as you are working on becoming a professional ball player also be preparing for what you will do if it doesn't happen. That's not negative thinking it's being proactive and intelligent. Never put all your eggs in one basket because if that basket falls you'll have nothing left to eat! Best of Luck!

Optimizing Peak Performance Using A Process Versus Product Approach

John Wooden the "Wizard of Westwood". A coach who put his mark on the coaching fraternity that will never be equaled. He spent 40 seasons as a Head Coach and finished with a record of 885-203. That's a winning percentage of .813! He spent 27 years roaming the sidelines at UCLA and finished 620-147. Including 10 National Championships and 19 Conference Championships.

During that time he won 7 consecutive National Championships, won 38 consecutive tournament games, and 88 consecutive games. Not to mention went undefeated four times during that stretch. His success has been documented and unparalleled. It's insane and will never be duplicated.

I first began my coaching career as a 20 year old college student coaching JV basketball. I was totally addicted right away. I read, listened, went to clinics, watched coaching tapes, I mean I studied every offense and defense there was available. I studied every technique until I could talk about it like I came up with it. Over 5 or 6 years I saw improvement in our players and in our team but not as much as I would have liked.

I took over that 6th year as the Head Baseball Coach as well. Using the same basic approach I focused on teaching our players the game and techniques. We had a good season too losing late in the South Jersey Championship game. I went into that off season wanting to improve as a coach but reading more about techniques and team defense etc... wasn't going to be productive enough. So I began pouring through everything I could find about the coaches I respected the most. I wanted to know how they taught their teams concepts like mental toughness, approach to the game, and their philosophy of coaching.

One of those coaches was John Wooden. Coach Wooden has written a lot of books and has a lot of coaching philosophies and beliefs. He is most famous for the his Pyramid of Success. One day I was reading his stuff and I came across a concept he referred to as Process versus Product. I light went of in my head when I began to read it. I could immediately see the benefits of this approach. I could immediately see how to adapt it to baseball. I know for a fact, that it led us to the success we had.

The Process versus Product concept as it applies to coaching and playing is not complicated. Process is the way you do things and product is the end result. An example would be a batter. The process is whether or not it was a good at bat. While the product is the end result of a hit, walk, strikeout etc... If your goal as a coach is to build teams who play consistent and at peak performance a majority of the time then you must have a philosophy that is process oriented.

If your a competitive coach or player (which you probably are if your taken the time to read this)then your also probably a Type A personality who deep down believes you can will yourself to victory. The Refuse to Lose mentality which sells T-shirts and bumper stickers but doesn't win games. Wanting to win and winning are two completely different things. The game of baseball is a great reminder to the truth of that statement. Making a great pitch does ensure you will get the batter out. Hitting the ball on the screws does not mean you will get a hit.

When I came back to take over the High School program in my hometown I began laying the foundation for a process oriented ball club. I broke it down into 6 phases in order to teach the players effectively.

Phase #1: Educate
Phase #2: Control/Can't Control
Phase #3: Build Processes
Phase #4: Simulate Game Situations
Phase #5: Self Evaluation
Phase #6: Reward

I took these 6 phases and began hammering them home every single day until it became routine for our players. Until it was a way of life for them. I wanted them to not even know how to play the game any other way. By the end of our first season the players had bought in and we took off. Over the next 6 seasons we captured 6 consecutive South Jersey Championships and 4 State Championships. In 2005 the team won both the Diamond Classic (An invitational tournament harder to win the a State Championship) and the Courier Cup as the number 1 team in South Jersey. For a small group 1 team like Pennsville it was quite an accomplishment for our boys.

Here is a breakdown of the 6 phases:

Phase #1: Educate

The first thing we did was educate the players on the concept of Process versus Product. I explained to them exactly what Process meant and exactly what product meant. I told them process is the small details and how we prepare before each pitch. How process was knowing exactly what to do in each situation they would be in. It was a game plan on how to get ready for the next pitch. I then explained how Product was the end result, nothing more nothing less.

What I had seen in my players in the past were guys who went 0-4 and were hanging their heads while guys who went 3-4 were grinning ear to ear. Never mind the fact that the 3-4 player had two Texas's leaguers and a slow roller for an infield hit. Also, did a poor job of working the count and spent most of the day in the hole. Meanwhile, the 0-4 player had 4 great at bats. His approach was sound, worked the count to his benefit, and hit the ball hard 3 times.

I wanted the players to understand that it is the approach that we base our confidence on not the end result. It is not an easy task for anyone, let alone a 16 year kid, to buy into this concept. But it can and should be done! I spoke to them about this concept daily. I am sure I got to the point where they were like, "here we go again!" but that's how important it is.

We all know how efficient fighter pilots are when they fly. We know how successful our pilots are in the heat of battle when they are in a dog fight. I began studying how they were trained and found an underlying theme to their consistency. Although, just like baseball, there is a feel and an instinct in their game there is also a process for everything they do. It is the processes they follow that allow them to fly with confidence and know what to do in every given situation.

We think we are nervous in a tight ball game, what do you think they feel in a dog fight at Mach 5 where the product is live or die! But yet they perform at peak performance at an unbelievably high percentage of the time because they follow the processes set up for them. Even when they are nervous or scared their bodies take over and run the processes for them because they know no other way. They have been trained to do exactly that! This builds confidence in anyone and at the end of the day confidence is what determines success and failure.

In most cases enemy fighters are beat before they even match-up with one of our pilots. The same thing holds true on the ball field. Some teams are beat before the game even starts because they don't have an underlying confidence in how to handle them self. They don't have a process!

Phase #2: Can Control/Can't Control

The second thing I would do is have the players make two lists of things we could control and things we could not control. I put them on poster boards and hung them up in the locker room. Once the list were made I explain to them that everything on the can't control poster board was out of our control so we are not going to worry about it. We are not going to spend anytime talking about it or working on it.

Then I explained you can not base your self-confidence on things you can't control in life or especially the game of the baseball. You can not control whether or not you get a hit but you can control whether or not you have a good at bat. This is what we would base our self-confidence on. If we could control it then we would base our self-confidence off of those factors. If our Process was good then we felt good regardless of the Product.


Phase #3: Build Processes

The next thing we did was study the Can Control board. We took every single detail we could control and built a process for how we would handle that part of the game. We wanted every detailed covered. For example we had a process for how we prepared for games if they were home and if they were away. Take away games for example: I knew in order to win a State Championship you had to go on the road. I didn't want to leave how we prepared on away games to chance.

We would arrive in the locker for away games. Dress, gather our equipment, and board the bus. The varsity players were required to sit in the front of the bus were I could talk with them about the game plan. The further the players are away from the Head Coach the more they will fool around and less prepared they are for the game! When the bus departed players were allowed to relax and talk until the bus left Pennsville.

Once the bus cross out of Pennsville the players were required to stop talking and begin playing the game in their mind. To focus on their job at hand. I am sure some did much better then others. Point here is the players all settled down into a relaxed state. When we would get to a point approximately 15 minutes away we would turn on a CD player with a premade CD of 4 to 5 songs that were our game day songs. We always ended the ride by listening to Eminem's "Lose Yourself"! By the time we got to that song we had the bounce in our step when we walked off the bus. More importantly, we were in a frame of mind to get after it.

In 2005, the most decorated team I coached, they took to that process better then any other team I had. They were ready when we walked off the bus every time! They sang the songs and believed in them. I know it might seem a little softballish but it was a coordinated, focused effort of preparing. In fact, the only day I didn't ride the bus to a game, was the day our bid for 7 consecutive South Jersey Championships ended. That's not a knock at my assistant coaches. I know they will read this and think what the hell!

It wasn't their fault and I am not implying that it was. It was my deal and it still haunts from time to time that I wasn't on the bus. My wife gave birth to our fourth child that day and I got to the game in the 3rd inning. I mean I was never going to miss the birth of my daughter but I wish I could have been with my guys from the locker room to the field. Truth is, I could have rode the bus and maybe we still would have lost. But deep down I still feel bad for not being there with them.

We had a process for hitting, fielding, throwing, pitching, situations, bus rides, you name it our players had a game plan of how they would handle it. Again this leaves nothing to chance and puts you in control of how you perform. I do not believe you can control whether you win or lose but I do believe you can control how you play. I almost never even talked about winning or losing and even the few times I did it was emotions getting the better of me. You can't control it so don't focus on it. Instead build processes for what you can control so you are consistent in your play. You and I both know if your process is consistently good you will win the majority of the time!

Phase # 4: Simulate Game Situations

I will not go into how I believe you should simulate game situations in this post but I do want to make the point of how critical it is to your ball club. If we expect players to make plays, know what to do with the ball in any given situation, make reads on the base paths, then we need to give them those situations everyday in practice. If we think as coaches they will know what to do without repping it everyday then we are leaving games to chance.

Casinos run games of chance and the house almost always wins. The odds are in their favor. As a coach I don't want to be the gambler I want to be the house! In order to swing the odds in your favor then you must rep every situation. Build a process for it, teach it to your players, and then put them in situations in practice so they can rep the process. This allows them to feel more comfortable in the games and dramatically improves their success rate.

For example, we had an On Deck Approach. We built a process for how our hitters should approach their plate appearances from the dugout, to the on deck circle, to the batters box. They would study the pitcher from the dugout. 2 batters away from on deck circle put batting gloves on, get your helmet, and bat. 1 batter away from the on deck circle we are studying pitcher and must know the situation of the game. As soon as the batter finishes his plate appearance you are ready to walk right out to the on deck circle. We never used a weight for the bat. Instead they would time the pitcher taking swings on each pitch he threw. Seeing on each game speed swing a ball in that we turn on. Then a ball away we drive into the gap. Two strike approach staying inside the ball. We had 3 or 4 hits on the pitcher before we every got in the box.

Once in the box we had a process of how we would handle the pitcher but that's for another post. Point being, when games were tight and players were nervous they had a sequence to follow that always prepared them to have their body ready. It's no different then the fighter pilots in the sky. Well except that whole death thing! If we expect players to commit these processes to unconscious memory then we had better train them that way in practice everyday and give them the reps they need.

Phase #5: Self Evaluation

Self evaluation is one the best teaching tools out there. What we did was create a Players Grade Book. It was broken down into different process areas: Hitting, fielding (we had a special set for the catchers), Pitching, Base Running, and Head. Each of these areas were broken down in 5 or 6 sub categories. An example would be:

Hitting
1. Studying Pitcher
2. On Deck Approach
etc...

They were processes that went with that skill. After each practice or game the players would grab their notebooks and grade themselves on a scale of 1 to 3. 3 being the best. They would go through and grade themselves on about 25 areas, 20 if they were not a pitcher. It would take the players 2 or 3 minutes to fill it out and then put it back in their notebook before they left. I would check them once a week. I was really only checking to see if they had done them.

Regardless of what grade they gave themselves it forced them to think about all the important concepts in playing the game. They had to think did I do this or not. They can lie with the grade they give themselves but they can't lie to themselves about what they actually did. Again, this forces them to self evaluate their game.

Phase #6: Reward

As a coach you must reward the players when their process is good. Especially, when their process is good but they haven't got much in the score book to show for it. You don't need to make a big deal about the guy who had 3 hits. He already feels good. Instead make a big deal about the player who went 0-4 but had a great process and quality at bats.

One example of how we did this was with an award called Greenie Board. Greenie Board was a poster board hung on the wall. It was green by the way. After practice and games players who had quality at bats signed the board. I had tons of players who would not get a hit in the game but still sign the board. The board was based on process and quality at bats. At the end of the year who ever had the most signatures took it home with them.

Some of you may be thinking at this point why the word Greenie Board? Naval aviators when they train to be fighter pilots are graded on how well they land planes on the aircraft carriers. Their process is graded and the top scores are put up on what is called the Greenie Board. It seemed only fitting to name our hitting award after them.

In Conclusion

All the great businesses, infantries, teams, you name it, have a process of how they handle their business. It is a blue print for success that allows them to not only be successful but repeat it over and over. Training any other way is simply foolish in my eyes. It is not only a skill that will allow your players to be great on the field but it is something they can use in their everyday life. It takes the guess work out and allows your natural ability to shine.

Playing great is still about instinct, timing, rhythm, and tempo. Having a process allows you to be focused and prepared so those traits can surface and you can play to your potential. Best of luck!

Building Trust In Your Baseball Team

Building trust in your baseball team is the number one fundamental skill any quality program must have in my opinion. Without trust your program will never reach it's full potential. You can teach throwing, hitting, and catching till the cows come home but, if you haven't built trust in your program you are never going to sustain consistency. Without trust, adversity will rip your ball club apart at every seam.

On the flip side, once trust is instill in your program you will be able to handle the bad times in your season. You will have the power to play a bad stretch of baseball (which happens to everyone) and have a team that will continue to play hard. A team that will not start pointing fingers and making excuses.

Instead, you will find young kids showing character well beyond their years. They will stay together. They will believe in each other and the program. The will know that the ship will right itself. This belief is what actually makes or breaks your season. It is not just about having good players.

Most teams play a schedule that consists of a few teams that they are better then and a few teams they are not as talented as. But the majority of the schedule is against opponents that are very similar in ability. Trust is what separates those teams over the course of a season.

Trust is also what allows you to beat better ball clubs who don't possess the necessary resolve it takes to compete everyday. When things get tough and it's late in the game players are either going to trust in what they are doing or they are not. The more the pressure builds the more it will show. What do you want your players thinking?

Obviously, this is a very important mindset to me as a coach. It is the first thing I talk about on the first day of practice. I make sure that we are talking and working on it everyday throughout the season. I believe it is what we did best in our program but we didn't leave it to chance. We lived it everyday!

What is TRUST?

To me TRUST as it relates to a baseball teams is broken down into 3 areas:

1) Player to Player
2) Player To Coach
3) Coach to Player

Building these 3 trust areas is critical to a programs success. They are all areas which you can teach and give opportunities to your guys to grow as a player, teammate, and person.

Most people hear the word trust and they think about if you can tell someone a secret and they won't tell anyone. Or their boyfriend or girlfriend won't cheat on them. Part of our trust definition is exactly that, but it does go much deeper.

Trust to us also means that we trust you will be there everyday. You are not going to miss practice. You are not going to get in trouble off the field. That you are going to pay attention to the details when coach is talking. Bottom line that you are going to handle your responsibility like a professional and we don't ever have to worry about you.

I am like most coaches. I have a few rules and truth is they are the same rules that every coach probably uses.

1. Be on time

2. Make eye contact

3. Maximum effort

4. Represent our team on and off the field in a positive manner

5. Take care of business in the classroom: Both behavior and schoolwork

Nothing earth shattering here with the rules. A big part of our trust package relates around these rules. The difference between programs is not the rules they have but rather the enforcement of these rules. I always wanted our players to do those five things not because they were rules, but because it was the right way to do things.

Rules are made to be broken so maybe we would all be better using the "Law of Attraction" and calling them "Rights" instead. I didn't want them thinking, "don't do this because it is against the rules and I will get in trouble." I wanted them thinking, "do this because it's the right way to do it!"

Teaching kids is more effective in the long run then punishing kids but sometimes the line between the two is blurry. Always work to teach them the right approach to the game and life. But when all else fails disciplining your players to help ingrain the right way is a must!

The Rules For Building The 3 Trust Areas

Rule #1: Talk A Good Game

I believe the first stage of building anything starts with talk. I know the old saying, "Talk is cheap." I actually say that quite a bit when I am coaching. But, if you are going to build something you need to have a clear picture of what it is you want build.

More importantly then that, you have to be able to be a wordsmith and paint a picture for your players. They need to understand, just as well as you do, what you want to build and how you will go about building it. Just throwing out a coaching cliche like, "We have to trust one another!" won't get it done.

You need to explain to them how trust helps them as a player and a team. How trusting yourself will allow you to reach peak performance and then teach them how to do. How trust builds confidence and allows you to overcome adversity and win games when your down.

Rule #2: Same Rules

Once, you have painted that picture of what you are building you need to back it up. If players are going to trust you and one another, then they all must follow the same set of rules. Whether it is a starter or the last kid on the bench the same rules apply.

If you are gonna bust an average player for not running out a pop up then you better be busting your star for the same thing! If you bench your 9 hitter because he was a problem in school then you better bench your number 1 pitcher if he does the same thing.

If you allow players to follow different rules then you are creating a situation where players will begin to build animosity towards you and more importantly one another. Clicks will then begin to form and your season is lost! Trust is formed when everything in your program is consistent.

Rule #3: Know The Game

If you want to build trust between players and coaches then you need to know the game. You have to be able to speak confidently and have answers for everything. You have to be a coach that the players respect(whether they like you or not) because you are in control. Even when you don't have answers you need to seem like you've got it all figured out.

You are organized. You understand techniques and team play. You can motivate and keep everyone going in the same direction. You have a infrastructure inside the program that the players lean on. If the players have confidence in you as a coach their trust level goes way up. If not, they have no trust in the team.

Rule #4: Live It Everyday

Come up with ideas that foster the idea of trust. I am not talking about a guy falling backwards with another playing catching him. Their are a lot of trust game ideas like that. I am not saying they don't work, I just don't think it has any lasting effect and plus I really don't think they work!

I have always used the same 3 tools because they have always worked for me. These are actual physical ideas that they live every day. Be creative here! I am sure there are a lot of cool ideas you can come up with to hammer home the point of trust.

The first thing I always do is come up with a saying that I think is important for the team that season. Not something general like Play Hard. Something specific for that team. Once I have decided what the saying will be, I will break it down to three letters.

For example: One season we used the letters S.S.B. which stood for Steadiness in Small Bites. I felt it was important that season to take that attitude so that's what I used. Another year I used O.N.E. which stood for Ownership Not Excuses. It has to be a message that you want to hammer home to that years team.

In 2002 we won a State Championship. In 2003 we returned almost every member of the 02 team. My biggest fear was that success would go to our head and we would lose sight of what got us a state championship. That season I used the letters A.M.F. which stood for Assumption is the Mother of all Failure. I wanted a daily reminder to them to not assume anything.

Once I settle on the saying and the letters I would tell the team what it meant and why it was important. Then they would be instructed that no one outside of our program was allowed to know what the letters meant until our season was over. These letters were special to us and I wanted them to trust each other that no one would give them away.

I guess it is like a little secret society type deal but our kids took pride in it. I took these letters and put them on the back of a T-shirt that every player wore under their uniforms. When we took infield and outfield we took the field in those T-Shirts. Everywhere we went on a daily basis our players were being asked what the letters stood for. Our players had to tell them we can't tell you it's for us.

Every player on our team was asked over and over. Opposing players, coaches, umpires, fans, and the media. Our local paper wrote stories about it. The kids were not allowed to tell parents, relatives, girlfriends, nobody! It grew into such a special thing for these players. Everyone would spend all season trying to guess what they were.

I went to scout a rival team and a number of my players were at the game as well. While their team was playing on the field against another school their student section sitting in the bleachers began chanting the letters on the back of our shirts across the field. None of our players had the shirt on. They knew what the initials were and they weren't even players!

The first year I did this at the high school level was 2002. We had just won the State Championship. We ran out piled up on the mound, received the trophy, talked to the media, hugged and kissed family, I mean it took some time. Finally when I gathered all my stuff and walk out behind the dugout towards the bus there was all of our fans, players parents, and family. I mean a crowd of people who weren't about to let me leave until I told them what the letters stood for since our season was over. The cool thing is we won 4 State Championships in 5 years and every year the fans and media waited for me to come out and tell them.

The second thing I will do is write every players name down on a 3 x 5 card and put it in their locker. I tell them this is your name. Then I put a box by the door they walk out to head to the field. On the box are the words "check your name at the door".

This done because I teach them you must set aside your ego and play for the team. This is a way to physically remind them of this concept everyday. However, this is also another trust building exercise. The reason being they must all put their name in the box and they must all pick them up after practice and put them back into their locker.

If at the end of the night when I close up any names are left in the box the team will run. I don't mean a little running I mean a lot. Something they absolutely do not want to do. Here's why. You go out and practice for three hours or more. Your tired when you come in, maybe your in a hurry that day and you run out and forget your name. So the next day we run and run and run.

Here's what begins to happen however. Players begin checking the box before they leave to see if any player has left his name tag in there. If a player has left and their name tag is still in the box the other players would take it and put it in their locker for them. They always did this so I wouldn't know. I knew! And it is exactly what I wanted. Players looking out for one another and building trust.

Yes I know taking out the name tag saves your own backside but to the player who left it your a godsend. We ran one time and haven't run since. Players began focusing on these little details and trust was building. I listened to a conversation between two players who didn't know I was there. The first player said "did you know you forgot to put your name tag back in your locker." The second player said "yes". The first player responded "you must have been worried!" The second player said, "Nah, I knew someone would get it for me". That's the trust factor I was looking for!

The final thing I believe in is disciplining everyone for one players mistakes. If we have a player let's say who gets in trouble in school we all run for it. I do this for a specific reason. One, it puts pressure on the players to think of the team before themselves because their mistakes affect everyone.

Think about it this way. If I mess up and have to run that's one thing. But, if I mess up and everyone has to run for it that's another. I need to think about my choices and how they affect the team. I mean that's the exact attitude you are trying to build on the field.

It is not the only thing I am trying to build with it however. I have run teams quite a bit when needed because of players breaking rules or because the team's effort is sub par. The attitude and atmosphere I am trying to build is different then most however.

I put the team through the ringer so to speak and so the team begins to build trust with another by not messing up number 1. But also I want our players to back the player who messed up. I will always tell the players your out here running you mind as well make it as enjoyable as you can. There is no point in being mad because it isn't going to change the fact that you are running.

I am easily angered but once you have paid your debt we move forward no grudges. I wanted the players to stay together and trust everyone had each others back even if it was against me. I didn't want them falling apart at the seams because something bad happened. If it happens in practice it will show up on the field. If you know the teams got your back then you can make a mistake during the game and bounce right back. Your team will trust each other and handle adversity. That's what champions are made from.

In Conclusion

Trust is the foundation from which all successful programs are build on. You must as a coach take time everyday to work on it. Even if it is just a little thing here or there. Constantly teach it and come up with creative ways to illustrate your message. If you can build a team that trusts you will be successful.

Why high school baseball coaches should mange their teams like big league clubs

In this post we are going to explore my idea that high school baseball teams would benefit greatly by setting up their ball club much like major league managers do. It is my belief that it is important for players to have a defined role on a team.

As coaches we all think to ourselves "yeah our players have roles" and of course they do. But, how often do you train them both mentally and physically to perform their specific role so they are at peak performance? How often do you have conversations with them about their role on the team and what they can do to make the ball club better? Are you able to get players 10-14 to be as excited about their job as 1-9 are?

There is a reason why major league clubs all run the same way. The reason is, it's the most effective way to play the game. They have specific players who have specific jobs. These players train both mentally and physically to be great at their role on the team.

Some players may play 9 innings while others may only have one at bat or pitch to one hitter. They have a clear and defined job description of what they will be asked to do on a daily basis. This preparation allows the players to get comfortable and gain confidence so they can perform at peak performance more often.

Most high school teams do not operate in this fashion. I realize it is high baseball and not the pro's. I also understand you cannot run it exactly the same way because of personnel. In high school more often then not your top pitchers are also some of your better hitters and defensive players.

I know it has been that way for me most of the time. But it doesn't change the concept that if you can fit guys into certain roles and prepare them in that way, your team will be more consistent. There are 5 important concepts I believe strongly can help your ball club if you can work it out.

Concept #1: Setting Up Your Pitching Rotation

It is my belief that you are much better off if you can set-up your pitching rotation in the following way. First you must identify your top 5 pitchers. For the most part 5 pitchers will get you through the entire season. There may be a situation here or there that requires a 6th pitcher but 5 pitchers will handle the load.

After you identify the top 5 you need to narrow that list down to your top 3 pitchers. Obviously, your best pitcher becomes your number 1. Then you must make a decision between the other two players on who will be the number 2 and who will be the closer. Once you have established your number 1, your number 2, and your closer then it's time to choose from the remaining two pitchers who will be the number 3. The fifth pitcher then becomes your fourth starter if needed and a middle relief guy.

I have seen so many teams lose because they don't adopt this philosophy. Their number 1 throws a great game only to be lifted in the 6th or 7th for a guy who is not prepared and blows the lead. I know it is in every teams best interest to always have one of your top pitchers available to come in and close out every game. Especially if that pitcher is trained for that situation.

This pitcher needs to be a guy who practices a great deal from the stretch. Let's face it, a lot of high school pitchers don't feel as comfortable from the stretch as they do the wind-up. So why not have a guy that focuses on that situation. A guy that prepares all season to throw under pressure at the end of games.

This also has another huge side effect. It allows you to get your starters out of the game after 80 - 90 pitches allowing them to stay fresh and healthy at the end of the year. It also saves them innings so they could start more games. Pitchers wear down when they do not get adequate rest. You certainly don't want a tired pitcher heading into the post season.

Concept 2: The Pinch Hitter

I cannot stress enough the importance of having a guy on the bench whose total mindset is to hit late in the game in an important at bat that could decide the game. We all have players on the bench that we will bring into the game to hit if some one is a weak hitter or struggling that day. But how many high school teams have a guy who is totally committed to that role.

What I am talking about is a guy who knows his job is to sit on the bench and study the pitcher. If they have a guy in the pen he is on him too. He is mentally preparing himself for that at bat in the 5th, 6th, or 7th inning that is going to determine the outcome of the game.

As coaches to often we focus on the 1-5 hitters when in reality they need the least amount of help. After all that's why they are batting 1-5. It's 6-10 or 14 that most likely will determine the success of our season. Your 3 hole hitter is hitting .450 with 15 extra base hits and coaches are going around talking about how they coached that kid. Anybody could probably coach that kid and most likely he isn't going to be the deciding factor on how many games you win.

Let me give you an example. I coached a kid who in his sophomore and junior season went 20-2 on the mound. 10-0 in the play-offs and was the winning pitcher in 2 State Championship games. He also hit close to .450 over those two seasons and had 16 home runs. He was awesome!

I could make a video and say I coached this player and I would look like a genius. Everyone would rush out to see what I did for this young man to make him so great. I'll give you the secret for free right now! First I got a pencil, second I wrote his name on the line-up card, third I shook his hand at the end of the game.

I have a lot of self-confidence about my self as a coach but I am not so ego minded that I believe I made that kid a great player. I believe I played a small role in helping him but he was the player he was because him and his dad worked year round on becoming that player. Plus by the time he was in High School he was maturing physically and had a great baseball body.

What I can tell you is we didn't win back to back State Championships those two years simply because of him. He was the lead dog no doubt about it. The other 4 hitters in that top 5 did their job as well. In the end the biggest difference between us and the other teams were 6-14. In fact, our best hitter I have ever seen in a play-off stretch was our 8 hitter. He carried us on his back through the post season that first year.

I know I got a little of topic about the pinch hitter but this all plays into the fact that the pinch hitter could be the guy who determines your season. If you haven't prepare a hitter for that job then you are not playing at peak performance.

Concept #3: Defensive Replacements

Again this goes to the same idea that I have said in the first two concepts. If you have a weak defensive player you had better prepare a player behind him you can use late in games with a lead. If not you are tempting fate and eventually will get burned.

Same premise here. Give the player a role. Talk to him about it. Let him train all season so he gets comfortable with entering the game late when all the pressure is mounting. Just firing a player out there because he is a good defensive player without mentally getting him right is just too risky for me.

Concept #4: The Pinch Runner

I will not spend much time here. Instead, I will only make the point that we all have them and use them but how much time do you spend coaching that player for that role. I know I am being repetitive here but this guy is going to be on the base paths when it counts most. Don't leave it to chance.

Concept #5: The Pinch Bunter

This is a concept that is always overlooked. Sure we have guys on the bench that we believe are decent bunters and in the heat of the game will throw them in there in a big spot to bunt. But how well do we prepare them mentally to handle that role??? Do we have a guy that throughout the year we are trying to find an at bat every game where he can get a bunt down? Probably not but we will throw him in there in the top of the 7th in a State Championship game and expect him to get it down.

In Conclusion

There are two main ideas I like about managing your high school team like the major leagues. One, it allows players to have a clear idea of what they will have to do during a game. This allows them to fully prepare for their job. It allows them to learn to control their emotions so they can play at peak performance more often.

Second, it allows more players to be involved in the outcome of the game. The more players who will be involved in the final outcome of the game, the more players you will have preparing in practice. All players practice but not all players prepare. The more players who are involved the better your practices will be. There is not a coach alive who doesn't understand your team plays the way they practice! Best of luck!

Why High School and Youth Baseball Coaches Have A Bigger Impact On Success Then Any Other Sport!

I want my first post on this site to be something that helps get us motivated to "Get After It!" To build players and teams that play to their potential! I believe a baseball coach has more of an influence on the teams overall play then any other coach has in any other sport.

If you are a baseball coach then this has to immediately get you excited about the job you do. There are so many ways we can get ahead of the other teams if we will take advantage of our opportunities. If you can't get excited about that concept then your in the wrong sport!

I know football, basketball, soccer coaches etc... who read this are gonna argue differently. I have coach basketball and football for a long time and I am not trying to imply that coaches don't make a difference in those sports. The fact is coaches make a difference in every sport. My point is in baseball you have the opportunity to affect your team a little more then other sports. Here are 3 reasons why!

Reason # 1
Baseball is not a game based on athleticism. The more athletic you are certainly helps your ability to play the game but it is not the number one most important thing a player or team has to have in order to play well. In football and basketball let's say, the bigger, stronger, and faster teams almost always win. Yes, I know fundamental skill is extremely important in the outcome but those sports feature the athletic players.

In baseball, fundamental skill and knowledge of the game out weigh physical athletic ability. Since you can coach fundamentals and teach them the finer points of the game, you have a bigger influence on the outcome. This allows you to compete against teams that have far superior athletes.

Baseball is a game where the most talented teams get beat more often then you will see in other sports. It's a game where you have to show up everyday and play the game the right way or you get beat. Because you play more games then most sports it is hard not to have days where you lose your focus and get beat by a lesser team.



Reason #2
As a baseball coach you can not put your best 9 on the field everyday. You have to pick and choose when to play your best team. In football your best quarterback throws the ball in every game(barring injury of course). In baseball you must choose when and where to throw your pitchers.

Coaches have difficult decisions deciding who will throw when and how many innings to best use their staff within the framework of the pitching rules. With bad weather and invitational tournaments this only complicates the entire decision making process. In the other sports for the most part you always put your best on the field.

Baseball games are usually predicated on the pitching match-ups. If the top team throws their number 3 pitcher and the third place team throws their number 1, then odds of the lesser team winning goes way up. This again goes back to the idea that better teams get beat more often in baseball then any other sport. Coaches choice of pitching match-ups is critical to a teams success.

Reason #3
Baseball is such a specialized sport that few coaches take advantage of teaching all the little things that determine the outcomes of games. Every position on the field has it's own skill set and techniques. Some players are starters and some off the bench. They must be handled differently as far as their approach to the game.

Think of it this way. Playing right field is different then playing left field. Playing third is different then playing second. Being a starting pitcher and being a short relief guy are two completely different mindsets. This is true of every position on the field.

I know some of you are thinking right now that is true of all sports. My response, Absolutely! Here is the difference however. In football you have anywhere from 4 to 8 paid coaches. Each assigned a different position to teach the players. In basketball you do not need many coaches because you only play a few players.

In baseball, you are lucky, at least where I live to have two paid varsity coaches. At my school we have one varsity, one JV, and freshman coach on staff. We have been lucky to have a few people volunteer who know the game to help us out. My first year as a Head Coach in 1998 I was the only coach. In 1999 I coached a Junior College team by myself.

Most baseball teams do not have a full staff of coaches. If a head coach can be creative in how he will train his players he can gain a huge advantages over his competition. In college you have infielders, outfielders, catchers, and pitchers. That's what they work on everyday. It is much easier to design practice that way.

In High School and at the youth levels it doesn't work that way. Your pitcher is also your shortstop. Your second baseman plays right when a certain pitcher throws. You understand the point I am trying to make here. Designing a practice plan that takes all these factors into consideration is nearly impossible.

Because of these factors most teams are never prepared to play at their full potential. I am not pointing fingers here because I have sent teams on the field that could have been prepared better. Each year I experiment and research to find every way in which I can out prepare my competition.

In Conclusion

All coaches in all sports have a huge impact on both the players and the outcomes of the games. I believe very strongly that high school and youth baseball coaches can affect outcomes with greater influence then any other sport. Because of the nature of the job, a lot of important information for the players go overlooked. At some point in a big game this is usually where the downfall begins. To me coaching baseball is an exciting and challenging job where I feel I can make the biggest difference if I can prepare my team correctly!