Coaches need to give players the best possible chance to succeed and the that starts with practice.  You prepare your players in practice to get the most out of them when game time comes and when game time comes all you can ask is for your players to give it everything they have.  If they go out and execute the fundamentals, play hard, and play the entire game regardless of the score, then as a coach you have to be able to live with the outcome.

All your players can do is give good honest effort, 100%, not 110% because that is impossible, but if they give it their all and as a coach you have prepared them properly, win or lose you have to have their backs.  You have to pick up your team and go back to practice and stick to the process, because if the process is good and your team works hard they will get better.  If you always change your process your players will be confused and not know what to expect therefore making it hard for them to prepare.

Note To Players:

As players you have to understand that the other team is working as hard as you are and they want to win just like you do.  This means when game time comes you have to go “TAKE” the win because your opponents want the win just like you do.  A sure fire way to lose to a team “that you are not supposed to” (I hate that term) is to show up assuming you are the better team and play without a sense of urgency and passion. 

If you are truly better, then prove it, go out and execute, give it everything you have and leave it all on the field.  If you do this you may or may not win, but just like the coaches you will be able to look at yourself and your team and live with the results. 

Note to Coaches and Players:

Respect your opponent at all times, give them credit for working as hard as you do, understand they too want to win.  If you do this you will never look past an opponent and you will always prepare properly to win the game. 

Last year during our MAC Championship run at Central Michigan University our catcher trailing a runner to 1st base resulted in our outfielders or cut off men throwing out multiple runners.  This play is fantastic and does 2 things both of which are great for the defense. 

When to run the play:

With nobody on base or a runner on 3rd only and the offense gets a base hit.  Also, this is not a gimmick play to be used once in a while, it was a part of the defense and how things were done all the time.  Mind you this is a play that has been run for years and it still works against opponents in the league in which CMU plays every year.

How to run the play:

When the ball is hit and it is a clear base hit, the catcher takes off down the line behind the runner and covers 1st base. The pitcher backs up 1st base by crossing behind the hitter and getting in a position to back up the throw depending on where it is coming from.  The first baseman must give up the bag to become a backup for the throw coming in from the outfield.

Why does this play work:

The runner sees the first baseman leave the bag and he feels secure to get a bigger round thus getting too far off the bag and by the time the first base coach sees the catcher coming in it is too late.  The first base coach is almost always watching the ball which means he does not see the catcher coming and as the base runner rounds, either the outfielder or cut off man throw behind him to the catcher for a rally killing out.

Another benefit:

As teams begin to realize you run this play they will stop getting an aggressive round at 1st base.  Although this play is designed to get outs, taking away a teams aggressiveness is just as much a benefit as an out.  By keeping the runner closer to 1st base he is less likely to get an extra base on a bobbled ball.

Things that must happen to make this play work:

*Outfielders must get to the ball quickly but under control and make a throw that is low enough to be cut in case the runner just continues to 2nd on the throw.

*Catchers must get to 1st base every time (no exceptions)

*Pitcher must back up 1st base every time (no exceptions)

*1st Baseman must give up base early and get in position to back up throws

Try this play and let me know what you think.  It is easy to run, all it requires is hustle and repetition to become habit.  Any questions or comments about this or any other post can be sent to:

sam.flamont@davenport.edu

Picking up the coach before you touch second base may seem very obvious but it is something I have seen messed up more times than I care to remember and before you know it the runner is rounding the base too far and getting picked from behind or he runs through a stop sign and gets thrown out at third base.  Either way there is a very easy system I like to use that will put a stop to these silly mistakes.

I like to use a system called “Look, Touch, Look”.  This explains the exact order of operations I want the runner to follow.  

Look-Pick up the coach 20 feet before you hit the base then get your eyes back to the bag so you can hit it correctly.

Touch-Hit the base on the inside corner, it does not matter what foot you use.

Look-Pick up the coach immediately after you touch second base to make sure nothing has changed.

The last “look” is very important because the right fielder may have bobbled the ball and the coach wants you to come to third now, or he may have cut a ball off that the coach originally thought was going to get passed him and the coach wants you to stop.

Each coach will have their own signals but I like to two hands up if I want the runner to round the base a few steps.  Also, I like to put my left hand up and the right hand pointing in the direction of the base if I want the runner to stop right on the base.

At all levels of baseball one of the most important things to do is make sure your practices do not drag on.  A lot of times coaches go into practice with an idea of what they want to do but they do not assign a specific order or time frame to each task.  I know this because this is what I used to do and some of the practices I would run would drag on or spend way to much time on one area.

A clearly defined practice plan will make life easier for a coach and his assistants, at all levels.  One thing I have learned over the past 8 years of being in business and coaching is that organization is the key and a thorough practice plan will allow you to be organized.

Below is a sample practice plan we used this season for extra players who were not in the scrimmage game we were running.  We thought having the kids actually working on fundamentals and getting extra swings until we made position switches would be more beneficial than sitting on the bench.  This practice plan allows you to move from one drill to the next with very little lag time between drills.  As always make sure the kids are hustling between each fundamental, and the most important thing to do is stick to the time frame.

September 27, 2010

“Perfection is possible if you accept nothing less”-Lou Holtz

  Fundamental 1: 6:00 minutes

C/1B:catcher fielding bunt throwing to 1^st (2:00min) catcher fielding strike 3 in dirt, working inside and outside with 1^st baseman (2:00min)  1^st baseman half force plays and half tag plays at home (2:00min)

SS/2B/3B/OF: Fly ball communication (coach throwing from behind pitchers mound) 6:00min

Fundamental 2: 6:00 minutes

C/3B: catchers fielding bunt and throwing to 3^rd 1.5 minutes force 1.5 minutes tags, 3B 1.5 minutes force plays at home and 1.5 minutes tag plays at home (hit catcher in left knee)

SS/2B/1B: Double Plays (coach rolling hitting ground balls from side of mound all flip plays) 3:00 minutes 4-6-3/3:00minutes 6-4-3 (2B use proper footwork around bag.  Left foot to bag, step across with right while catching the ball.

OF: Fence Communication (coach throwing ball)

Fundamental 3: 6:00 minutes

3B/C/1B: Double Plays 5-2-3 and 3-2-3Coaching hitting from home plate

SS/2B/OF: Outfield throwing to 2B.  Hit ball to all fields work on lining up cut off man and throwing through him

 Hitting- Cage work (Split in to two groups)

Hitter and thrower need a helmet on

Seated Front Toss

Round 1

*7 swings oppo

Round 2

*6 swings middle

Round 3

*6 swings Gap to Gap

 Tee Work:

2 Rounds Each Hitter

6 High Tee

6 Low Tee

2 Rounds Each Hitter

5 Out

5 Middle

5 In