The Art of the Blow Up

Hey Guys,

Why don't we talk about coaching blow ups today.  Believe it or not there is a time to flip on your team, but there is also an art to doing it.

You must demand respect and discipline from your team, but you must also show them that you have their backs.

The time to freak on your team is not when they strike out or make an error, it's when they disrespect the game of baseball.  A great example of this is a player going into a base with his cleats high.  You don't let him get away with something like this.  When he gets back in the dugout, you light him up.

There's a misconception here, however.  Lighting a player up does not mean to degrade him or tear him down as a player or person.  It means to show passion for the game.  If you can show passion for the game with your attitude, you will win more baseball games because your players will have more passion for the game... Only if you also have their backs.  Which means, if a player goes into YOUR second basemen with his spikes high, you have to get fired up and show them that you have their backs.

Passion like this will create a camaraderie that will help your team overcome obstacles that other teams aren't able to overcome.

The teams that fail are the teams with coaches that freak out on their team and never have their teams' back.  They tear down their own players and never admit that they are wrong about anything.

On the other side a team with zero discipline and passion for the game will fail in the long run too.  The problem with a lot of teams today is that most coaches are one of these two extremes.

Obviously parents are a big problem when it comes to getting on kids, but if you do it the right way and still have the kid's back, the parents will enjoy the team camaraderie and winning... trust me.

If you are a coach on either of these two spectrums that I've wrote about today, you know who you are.   Consider this me calling you out as a cancer to the game of baseball.  In no way am I saying that you are a bad person or that you can't  change your ways.  Changing your ways will not only make your kids better baseball players, but it will also make them much better human beings.

Tip of the Day: Respect the game and it will respect you back.

Until next Time!

The Dreaded Post Game Speech

Hey guys,

Today I've got a coaching post.  I was recently watching a game where at the end of the game the coach stood in the outfield and went over the game play by play with his players.  If you are "that guy", please stop it, because quite honestly it's a colossal waste of time.  No kid wants to listen to the play by play.  If you win, you could care less what you did wrong and if you lose, you don't want to think about all the things that went wrong, because it's still a little sour.

This begs the question of what a coach should talk about after the game.  Let's first talk about when to address mental and physical errors.  DURING THE GAME!!!  You are a coach not a baby sitter.  This doesn't mean sit in the dugout and freak out every time something doesn't go your way.  Just offer slight bits of insight to help the players elevate their game.  You cannot do this after the game, because the players are just thinking about where the party is at or what mom made for dinner.

Now let's talk about the actual post game speech.  Make it a quick overview of the game.  Name one or two things they did well and one or two things they could work on.  Do not be boring, and do not be overly positive or negative.  The players have to see you as a good example of what a baseball attitude should be.

If your team happens to win the game, do not hound the kids with things they need to work on.  This is the biggest thing I've learned in my coaching career.  Nobody at any level wants to sit there and listen to all the things they did wrong when they're trying to celebrate a win.  If your team loses, still do not hound them about the things they did wrong.  Try to encourage them that the season is long and that things can turn around in a hurry.

Tip of the Day: The best coaches find the very perfect balance of discipline, intensity, and encouragement and put it all together for the perfect winning potion.

Until Next Time!

College World Series Predictions

Hey guys,

Let's start picking our winners for the college world series.  I realize the super regionals aren't done, but use your baseball knowledge and make a pick.  The winner gets a pat on the back.  Post your predictions on my page!