These qualities go way beyond a baseball field or athletic venue, and may just help you pick the right people for your business. 

My buddy Mike Spiegel always says “Play your best 9, not your 9 Best” It took me a while to understand that but I get it, Do you?

As a coach my job is to win baseball games, but as a person I feel it is equally, if not more important to win ball games with quality individuals who want to graduate and do something productive with their lives.  All too often academics are sacrificed for the opportunity to get really good players.  When this happens, not only do the baseball program and the athlete suffer when he is ineligible, the school also loses if the kid decides he is not going to graduate.  Lip service is often given to the term student athlete, but it needs to become a priority because it is a complete disservice to the players we coach if we allow them to fail or finish their eligibility and not graduate. 

The only person that benefits from the above situation is the head coach, because he has used this player to get him some wins and help boost his stock as a coach, but he forgot the commitment he made to the player when he offered him the opportunity to further his education while playing baseball.

As a coach I am looking for kids who have character, work ethic, and talent, and I am looking for those attributes in that order.  When you get kids like this, they will give everything they have to the team, and you will not have to worry about them failing classes because they are people who have goals and want to grow up to be something.  These players understand the importance of hard work and education, and will only learn more about their importance over the four year period they will be with my staff and I. 

Championships are won with players like this, and programs are built to last when a team has players that fit this mold.  I will never sacrifice character and work ethic for talent because there is only a small possibility for short term success and strong possibility for short term and long term failure. 

In college baseball there is a new rule about the exit velocity.  This is going to decrease power numbers in college baseball and make the game play more like a wooden bat game.

What will this do:

It will make people teach a proper swing because throwing the hands will not result in HRs.  For too long the metal bat has made kids with bad swings put up good numbers, but that will change as more of these swings powered by the hands will begin to result in routine fly balls. 

So what will happen is a guys will start learning the proper swing and they will become more efficient.  If they do not you will see a lot of guys either trying to slap the ball around the yard which will result in a lot of 6-3 and 5-3 ground balls or just hitting into easy fly outs.

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

So we did it.  We won the regular season title for 2010 and finished off the year with 8 straight conference wins (10 if you include the first two games of the conference tournament).  What a great season and the guys did it as a team. 

This team had great leadership, and they help each other accountable everyday.  You do not often see that from a group of ball players at any level but for a group of 34 college students to be able to pull it off is special.  This team worked hard all year long and never let anything get to them.  You would always here the team say “1 game at a time” and “the game we are playing is the most important game of the year”.  As a coaching staff we kept saying “play all nine innings”.  This group bought into what they were taught and they truly believed in what they said.  We treated every game as it was the biggest game of the year and we always played 9 innings.  The guys never gave up and because of that we had multiple come from behind walk off wins, two of which were in the same weekend.  We came back against Akron down 3 in the 9th and tied it and then won it in the 10th.  Then the next day we were down 4 and scored 5 in the bottom of the 9th to complete the single most unbelievable weekend in my baseball history.  In the conference tournament three outs away from elimination we were down 8-5 and scored 4 runs for the win and the chance to play in the championship game.  Although we came up short the guys did not quit in that game either.  After falling behind 5-0 the team scored 3 in the 8th to make it interesting and had runners on 1st and 2nd in the bottom of the 9th with no outs.  Yes we lost, but there was never a feeling of we can’t win. 

Hard work, dedication, trust in each other, accountability, the ability to take 1 it one game at a time, and being able to worry about only the things they could control were all reasons why this team was successful.  They never let the small things get to them, they never allowed bad calls or outright bad umps to take them out of their game, they never allowed each other to quit, and they always picked each other up.  If you coaches out there can figure out how to get your guys to do these things, you will have a great team no matter the circumstances. 

Coaches are out recruiting all the time, they are at fields you would never expect them to be at and they are watching and they are taking notes crossing kids off and adding kids to their list.  Why am I telling you this?  so you will play hard all the time.  I have found myself watching baseball games and a kid will hit a routine fly ball to center and the ball will be caught before he gets to first base, and just to top it off after the catch is made he will yell out an obscenity.  I simply put a line through that kids name and move on.  Obscenity or not he gets a mark against his name for being a player who doesn’t go hard all the time, the obscenity just makes it official that the kid won’t be able to handle adversity in the long run. 

Coaches how can we help make sure kids are hustling all the time and playing the game the right way?  Set up some rules.

Rule 1: Every player must make it to first base under 5 seconds (use a stop watch).  Time each player as they run in the game. 

Rule 2: Stick to your rules as a coach.  If you pull the right fielder for a lack of hustle you must pull the shortstop too.  Your best players cannot get special treatment or your team will stop listening all together.

Rule 3: Lack of hustle results in extra sprints in practice.  “10 sprints for every time the player does not hustle on top from immediately getting pulled from the game.  Sooner or later the player will realize it is simply easier to run hard the one time to first base.

Rule 4: This one is for the kids. Take accountability for your actions.  If you get pulled from a game for a lack of hustle or acting like a baby, do not blame the coach and quit.  If you do this it just reaffirms you are a baby, take it in stride, apologize to your team, then your coaches, and never let it happen again. 

Rule 5: Play the game for your team, not the scouts.  If you play hard and do the right things, meaning executing bunts, moving runners overs, putting the ball in play with two strikes, hustle on and off the field, people will notice.  If scouts have you on their list and watch you play and you do these small things they will come back, even if you didn’t get a hit or make a great play.  Simply play the game the right way and hustle.

Recruiting tapes:

This is very basic and Easy.

Make a recruiting tape of yourself showcasing your tools.  In your recruiting tape you want to have footage of your swing from the back, the open side, and the front.  You want to include yourself fielding (position specific), throwing and running if possible.  At this point in the game you do not have to be outside, you can make this tape at a facility or a gym.  If you do not have film of yourself running but you want to include your sixty time simply tell the coach on the tape.  Do not and I repeat do not lie or stretch the truth.  Doing this is the fastest way to get a coach upset and you off their radar.  Be honest, after all you have already narrowed down the schools that value your tools.  For catchers make sure the video is from behind you so the coach can see the throw in its entirety.  You want them to know your ball does not tail and you also want them to see how much of an arch your throw has (hopefully none).  This will also allow the coach to put a stopwatch on your throws from their office.  For pitchers make sure you set the camera up behind the catcher, behind the mound, and on your open side.  You want the coach to see the movement of your pitches and your mechanics.  If possible when the camera is behind the catcher get your velocity on tape by using a radar gun.  If you do not have this available, then you should be very honest as to your actual velocity or simply leave it out altogether, if the coach likes what they see, they will find out the rest.  Infielders should show themselves fielding the routine ground ball, the ball to the left, to the right, and slow rollers.  If you are a middle infielder you can show a few double plays as well.  The coach will be looking for footwork and your skills around the bag.  Do not show off in these tapes, do not bare hand a slow roller and make sure you use the inside of your glove to catch the ball when you are turning a double play.  For the outfield you need to have some room.  You may have to go to a field for this because you are mainly going to show off your arm strength and your ability to get to the ball properly.  When throwing from the outfield for a recruiting tape, do it from right field no matter what position you play.  Show yourself throwing to third and home.  Also, film from behind the base you are throwing too.  If you have no way of getting outside (seasonal) then make sure you have enough room to let a few throws go and try to find a radar gun to prove your arm strength, if a coach likes what they see they will watch you play to figure out the rest.  A key to the tape is keeping it short and simple, remember coaches are busy and don’t have time to watch ten minute tapes.  Get them the basics.  5 good swings from each angle, 5-8 fielding frames, 5 throwing frames, and 1 running frame.  Pitchers you will need to show off your full array of pitches.  Film yourself starting with 3-5 fastballs (4 seam), 3-5 two seam fastballs, 5 change ups, and 5 curve balls. If you would like, you can end with 3 more fastballs.  This is plenty for a coach to know what you have to offer.  Remember the tape is not the final judge, it’s just part of your marketing plan.  If the coach likes what they see then they will come to a game.  Also, make sure you let the coach know it is coming.  You will want to email him and ask if he minds if you send in a tape, or email him and let him know it is on its way.  Some tapes will get tossed if the coach has had zero communication with a player previous to getting a tape in the mail.  I have had this happen personally.  Also, a lot of coaches will invite you to a camp after seeing your tape.  If you can make it to the camp you should, remember getting in front of the staff is what you want to do and anytime you can do it you should.