Coach with your heart, recruit character over talent, and work hard everyday to earn your players respect.

That is a recipe for success.

Currently I have as much interest in writing this post as I do letting you kick me in the face…Zero.

I was going to skip it and just say who cares, I’ll write tomorrow, but then maybe I don’t and next thing you know it has been a week, month, 2 months, etc.

Point is, when you feel like sitting on your couch you are missing the best time to workout, take swings, shoot jumpers, catch passes. People who are truly successful are able to motivate themselves when they would rather just chill and put things off.

No big deal right, you will just go recruiting tomorrow or visit the client later, oops. Now the recruit is going to another school, and the client is now with another firm.

Today is the best day to accomplish what you want to accomplish. I learned a valuable lesson today while writing this post, and more so in the time I spent debating whether or not to write at all.

Today I received my first wish list from a teacher. I plan on fulfilling the list this weekend and deliver the supplies next week.

This is the culmination of the mission. Buying supplies is a major reason I started M.A.S. and now I am fulfilling the mission. I am not finished as my goal is to purchase supplies for teachers all over Michigan, and then all over the country.

Thanks to all of you who purchased my book “Let The Kids Play” which $2.50 of the $5 goes towards school supplies or a shirt which raises $5 for school supplies. Your support is the only way I will be able to continue the mission, thank you so much.

Black M.A.S. Shirt

Recently I have received phone calls and emails from former players, and they made me realize I had accomplished what I set out to accomplish as a coach. I wanted to make a difference, I wanted to help the kids I coached become better people. I once said in an interview for a coaching job that I would rather be .500 with a bunch of players who were good people and wanted to do something with their lives, rather than winning a championship with a bunch of guys who didn’t care about graduation, their future, or each other. I meant that then and I still mean that today, baseball isn’t about rings, its about people.

These phone calls and emails made me understand that I achieved what I set out to accomplish, and I want to thank you for making the calls and sending the emails. I had no idea that I made such a difference in the lives of so many young men, and these calls and emails, gave me the push I needed to get moving again.

When I realized it wasn’t the coaching that I truly missed, I decided to do something that would allow me to stay involved in what I am truly passionate about; making a difference in the lives of the youth.

How am I doing this?

I started an apparel company in which I give $5 from each product sold to the purchase of school supplies. Also, I wrote a book that I sell via email for $5 and I give half of the book sales to the purchase of school supplies. I personally purchase and deliver these supplies. I am starting locally, and then hoping to spread out as the mission grows.

I know I cannot solve the issues that are hurting our schools and our children, but I can do something, and that is what I am doing. My question to you is; what if we all did something, not to solve an issue but to contribute whatever we could to help. If we did that we may find that others close to us will support the mission and it may end up growing to something bigger, and you may inspire someone else to start doing whatever they can do.

If you would like to know more about what I am doing please email me at:

samflamont@yahoo.com

As a coach, it is great that you played pro ball, or is it? Well that depends on many different factors, but the first factor is, how you handle it.

If you think playing pro ball means everything you say is 100% right, then you are destined to fail. If you think people should just follow you blindly, and then you get upset when they don’t, you have no chance.

Playing pro ball is a small benefit, that gets you a little respect in the beginning, but you have to work your butt off to keep it. Remember, your players do not care what you did, and how well you did it, they care about how much you care about them, their careers, and how much better you can make them.

Never say, I did this when I played. Why? Because chances are the majority of the players cannot do the things you did, due to talent issues, and even if they can, they do not care what you did, and the more you talk about yourself, the less they listen.

So if you played pro ball, let it help your cause of getting started, but do not think it is the end all be all.

At the end of the day you are going to have to coach, and coach well.

You can look at a swing and see that something looks wrong, you may be able to say what exactly is wrong, you know that a 1-2 count is a good running count, you know that when the game is tied and there is a man on second with nobody out, and you are the home team you should bunt with your 8 hole hitter, you can argue your point about why the 1st pitch is the best pitch to squeeze. You know all of these things, but….

Can you coach?

Most people know all of the above, the average baseball fan can tell you all of these things, and even a little more, but I ask again, can you coach? Obviously you will not say you are a bad coach, but your opinion does not matter.

Watch you players, watch how they respond to you, watch their eyes when you are talking, watch how they perform the fundamentals you are trying to coach; if they are looking around, chances are they are not listening to you Why? Because they think you are a fraud. They might not even think you are a fraud, they might simply think you can’t get them better. Remember, it doesn’t matter what you think, it matters what they think. If they are not performing the fundamentals the way you want them too, either you did a bad job explaining them or you recruited or kept the wrong players, either way, it is your fault.

The first step to being a good coach is understanding, no, completely understanding what you are trying to teach. The next step is having the ability able to explain it, in a manner that the players can completely understand, and then motivating them to do it at the level you expect it to be done.

One thing to remember is great Head Coaches have great Assistant Coaches. Again, if you do not, then that is your fault too.

The most important thing to remember is saying the same thing you just said only LOUDER, does not help.

Jordan Bigger; a former player of mine, called me out on my post about Swag and how I am sick of it. At first I thought, how stupid, doesn’t he get it. Then my coaching instincts kicked in, and I realized that it was my fault.

It was my fault, because I failed to clearly explain what I was saying. This happens a lot with coaches, but most coaches just say the same thing again, simply louder. So in an effort to coach a little, I will do a better job explaining myself.

Swagger: A quiet confidence that is exuded through body language and work ethic. Swagger is a key element to success, although you may not call it swagger, it is all the same. Swagger is when you know you are going to be successful because you have worked hard. Your confidence shines through bordering on cocky, and that is OK, as long as your teammates respect the work you have put in. Simply put, if you carry yourself in this fashion you have better put the work in. Swagger is your belief in yourself, and if you have worked hard you should believe in yourself.

Swag: Flash, plain and simple. Swag is when a person tries to stand out, tries to bring attention to themselves. They do this in many different ways, but all of them are counterproductive and not in the best interest of the team. Showing up the pitcher on a HR when your team is down by 10 runs is an example of this. It shows that you think you and your accomplishments are more important than the team.

A former college teammate of mine; Adam Rosales was once called out on ESPN for running too fast around the bases after he hit a HR. I thought this was so stupid. People thought because he was hustling, and playing the game hard, he was doing something wrong. That is because these days we are used to watching people walk to 1st base and then jog as slow as possible in order to maximize their camera time.

Make sure you have Swagger, but leave the Swag at home.

I’m sick and tired of hearing about Swag.

Swag is for personal style, off the field, it has no place on the field. All it does is show how much of an individual you are.

People tape their wrist (which provides zero support), put three wrist bands on, or have batting gloves in their back pocket while they hit. Selfish people care about this crap, and if that is you, I am sorry for your team.

On the other hand, when it comes to your street wear; your know, your personal time then you should swag out, just leave it off the field.

This is how people should say it, but all to often they ask,

“Do you want to go to the gym”?

When the response comes back “No” or not right now, people often just sit around and end up not going. This is what happens if you lack self motivation. Instead of asking your friend first, just say

“I’m going to the gym, you want to go” or better yet “I’m going to the gym, see you later”.

Take initiative, be self motivated and you will be able to motivate others, and those you cannot motivate will be left in your review mirror fading fast, wishing they would have followed your lead.

Lead by example, because when you do this, your words become more powerful. If all you do is talk, people will stop listening because they are not seeing the effort that you want them to give.

Just take charge, work hard, and go to the gym, go to the cage, start shooting extra jumpers, all of these will make you better, and hopefully your teammates are motivated enough to follow your lead.