A volunteer youth coach reached out to us with this wonderful story. If this doesn’t sum up why we’re involved with youth sports, I don’t know what does.
As a coach we all have times when we say to our self “why do I do this to myself?”. Sometimes the parents and the kids can get to you. Most of us do it because we love the game and want to pass on our knowledge to the kids. Some of us have our own kids on our team and want to be involved with our kids’ life. We dedicate a lot of time , money and hair to try to make it the best experience possible. Our season isn’t going as well as we would like it to go but I try to keep the kids to have a positive attitude and to remember that the saying “ It’s not whether you win or lose it’s how you play the game” comes from a Baseball Diamond. It’s all about having fun. At our last game I was reminded why I am here. We all have kids who this might be the first year of playing and are just learning the game. In my case I have a player who tries his best but had yet to make contact with a ball. Two games ago he did it twice then last game he hit the ball to drive in our tying run . When he came into the dugout I said to him “great job! Where did you learn to hit the ball like that?” He looked at me and said “from you”. That was it. It hit me like a ton of bricks. That’s why I’m here. That’s why all the coaches are here. I will never forget the feeling that ran through me when he said that. If you believe you have a good coach, let them know. We all hear the comments made during the games about how we could do things better. Believe it or not it can hurt. We try our best to do the best we can with your kids. Tell your coach “thank you” and have your kids do the same. Even if you don’t like your coach, he still was there and tried his best. Let them know that the time and dedication they give is appreciated.
That little guy who said that to me meant more to me than anything said to me in a long time.
Be positive with your kids. Remember what it felt like to be yelled at when you were that young. No one wanted to make that play or hit the ball more than they did. All I can say is “Thank you little buddy. I needed that.”
I can’t remember ever hearing a more powerful reason to coach kids. And this is also why we developed CoachDeck. We know there are millions of well-intentioned volunteer coaches everywhere who are trying their best, sacrificing time and money and often pride, to coach kids in sports they love. If we can help them do a better job and have some fun with their teams, then we feel as good as this coach when he heard his player’s simple two words that made all the difference.
Brian Gotta is a former professional recreational youth baseball coach and volunteer Little League coach and board member. He is President of Help Kids Play, a collection of companies whose mission is to further the development and enjoyment of youth sports.
]]>Improper hitting instruction can stop a promising athletic career dead in its tracks. This article will expose some of the most damaging BUT widely taught hitting misinformation that is used today.
I have the greatest admiration for parents and volunteer coaches, but it frustrates me to see wrong information being taught that can destroy a player’s chance to have more fun, get more hits – or even get a college scholarship. Let’s look at two of the worst hitting fallacies in detail, and then look at the long term consequences of repeating these mistakes.
Hitting Fallacy #1: “Get Your Back Elbow Up!”
I cringe every time I hear these words. Every little league coach I have ever heard at one time or another has told his hitters to do this. I asked my friend Chris Bando, a former Major League Coach, what the worst advice he ever heard a little league coach say. Chris is a great person to ask since he has had five boys in Little League. The first thing he said to me was, “The absolute worst thing I hear all the time is, ‘Get your back elbow up!'” He’s right. This is the worst advice around, but you hear it everywhere. How many baseball scholarships do you think have been lost just because players blindly followed this one fallacy? This one statement has hurt more young hitters than anything else I’ve ever heard.
The idea here is to get on top of the ball and hit line drives, but just the opposite occurs. During the swing, the back elbow should come close to the rib cage and the barrel of the bat should stay above the hands. With a high back elbow, the elbow has to travel a much greater distance and at a much faster rate of speed. When this happens, the barrel of the bat will drop below the hands, the front elbow will rise, and you will have a long swing. If this goes on for very long, you have created a habit – a very bad habit.
What about Griffey?
I get asked this question all the time -“What about Griffey, his back elbow is up?” Most coaches and kids don’t understand the fact that the elbow can be up in the stance, for that matter the elbow can be anywhere. However, when good Major League hitters with high back elbows in their stance take their stride, their hands go back into a Position of Power. At this point in the approach, their back elbow will relax just before they start their hands.
Unfortunately when unknowledgeable coaches tell young kids to put their elbow up, the kids do not know what this means and generally they do not take their hands back into a good position from which to hit. They also fail to relax the back elbow just before they start their swing. If kids don’t relax their back elbow slightly before they start their swing, the back elbow has so far to go that it puts the top hand in a weak position and creates a long swing. 99% of coaches don’t know how to put a kid’s hands in the correct position nor do they know the correct placement of the back elbow. They just tell kids to get their back elbow up yet they don’t have a full understanding of what the hands and arms should be doing at this point.
Long Term Effects of Practicing With Your Back Elbow Up
A 15 year-old who started practicing with his back elbow up at age 10 has been practicing 5 years with the improper hitting principles. Some of the consequences are as follows:
• You’ll develop a long swing……so you will have difficulty adjusting to different types of pitches.
• You won’t be able to get the bat around on an average fastball……having inconsistent at bats.
• You’ll hit too many long fly ball outs…….decreasing your batting average.
• You won’t adjust well to a curveball, making it hard to succeed against good high school pitchers.
• You’ll be inconsistent at making hard contact, making it hard to impress college recruiters or scouts.
Fallacy #2: Your Top Hand Should Roll Over At Contact
This is a very detrimental teaching. Coaches who say this totally misunderstand what part the wrists play in the swing. The common thought is that the top hand rolls over the bottom hand at contact. This is not true. Rolling your top hand over prevents you from taking advantage of the power that explodes through your wrists. Whatever you do, don’t roll your top hand over your bottom hand until well after contact is made. At contact, your top hand should be facing up, and your bottom hand should be facing down.
Long Term Effects of Rolling the Top Hand Over the Bottom Hand
• You will hit with less power….creating less bat speed.
• You will hit more weak ground balls….hitting into more double plays.
• You will not make consistent contact….destroying your chances to impress a college scout.
• You will not be able to drive the ball to the opposite field….making you a limited offensive player.
If you are following either of these fallacies, then your hitting career could be in trouble. There is good news – you can now recognize and correct these bad habits and learn the correct swing mechanics.
Dave Hudgens has been involved with the best of baseball for over 40 years. He was the hitting coach for the New York Mets, Houston Astros and Toronto Blue Jays. Prior to that he was a longtime hitting coach in the Oakland Athletics’ organization.
]]>By John Ellsworth
In my work with athletes I hear all sorts of reasons why it’s too tough to finish. Some of them are indeed creative, but most of them I have heard a thousand times before. For some, the task no longer offers enjoyment or intrinsic rewards. Sometimes meeting failure so many times can build a negative habit of disbelief which is hard to extinguish. I hear from students that “others” expectations of them far exceed their abilities and they simply lose interest because it’s impossible to please their parents. Emotional outbursts can sometimes mask themselves as fear and worry about injury. When there is fear there is often a reduction in motivation.
Remember, confidence is directly related to repetitive task success regardless of how large or small the task is. If success is perceived to be always out of reach then motivation will slowly expire. If the wind can no longer fill the sails and provide the momentum to move forward doubt will creep in and we will develop a belief system that does not support desire and motivation. With this type of thinking going on we will strongly consider giving up.
One of my students can’t seem to get the academic grades his parents want, or win a tournament even in the face of hours of practice, desire, and motivation. This smells of either external pressure or higher than usual performance expectations. I am here to tell you that “it’s not how you start, but how you finish that is the most important” regardless of the time it takes to get there. If you have a plan based on reasonable and measurable performance objectives you will achieve incremental success.
Regardless of the school project or the skill mastery required to succeed at a sport there are methods you can use to keep the fire burning and the motivation to succeed at the forefront of your brain.
1. Have a written plan with a goal in mind and milestone objectives. The size of the task might seem gargantuan and therefore seriously challenging to envision success. The #1 objective is to accomplish the task or complete the project on time. In the process of execution it’s important to have little successes along the way. We do this by breaking the task into little “increments” to be accomplished over a period of time. This reduces stress, anxiety, and makes the task much more manageable. By making the task increments more manageable they are consequently easier to complete and therefore satisfaction comes more often and confidence grows. The success inspires the athlete to tackle the next milestone. Accomplishment builds intrinsic value and therefore self reward for the accomplishment.
2. Momentum is your # 1 supporter. Accomplishment builds confidence which builds belief in self, which develops the trust one needs to execute without distractions. I call executing without distractions a “functional performance.” Functional performing requires clear and conscious process oriented thinking. You need momentum!
3. Avoid distractions. Distractions come in two forms; internal and external. Internal distractions are the thoughts, and feelings that block us from conscious process oriented thinking. The good news is that we have the power to control internal distractions. Where external distractions are things outside of us we cannot control and actually have no real bearing on our success or failure unless we let them. Distractions creep in when confidence is at a low point, concentration wanes, or boredom sets in. If too much information congests the mind you will becomes distracted. The mind can realistically only give one subject 100% of focused effort. Research suggests no 100% focus can last a maximum o 45 minutes, depending on the subject, which is just about the max amount of time anyone can focus with true clarity. Too much mind chatter causes mental congestion and confusion which causes thought drifting and loss of focus. To avoid distractions you need to know your limits and be aware of what distracts you.
4. Take time outs. The #1 objective is to focus for as long as possible without getting distracted. To beat the distraction monkey it’s important to know your concentration time limit. When you reach your processing capacity take a planned time out. Almost every sport has time outs. They are designed for regrouping, rest, stress reduction, and strategy. You are a performer so why not build in scheduled timeouts during your performances to clear and rest the mind. I like to suggest 4-8 minutes for mind clearance. Walk the dog, take a quick ride on your bike, listen to music or enjoy a cup of tea. The whole idea is to fill your mind with something unrelated to the task at hand. When you return to the task you will feel energized, alert, and ready to move forward.
5. Lighten the load. We create way to much stress for ourselves. If it’s not for the high expectations we create for ourselves it’s about the expectations others create for us that we stretch to accomplish. All day long we collect what I call “stress nuggets.” By the end of the day these nuggets weigh us down physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. Life is about much more than the “performing” we do to reach that pre-determined goal. Whatever it takes please be sure to reduce the stress. Incorporate these 5 tips to keep the fire burning. It’s not always about the end result, but more about the process and the joy we encounter while on the journey.
For more information about this article contact or for information on mental game coaching contact John R. Ellsworth – Mental Game Coach at Protex Sports, LLC. www.protexsports.com. You can also send your questions to Ask Coach John.
]]>By Dave Simeone (Part two of three)
TAKE SOME TIME TO EVALUATE WHETHER YOU MIGHT BE OVER-COACHING……………….
Dave Simeone brings over thirty years of coaching and managing experience combined from youth, college, Olympic Development, U.S. National Teams and the National Coaching Schools. Simeone earned his “A” license and National Youth License from U.S. Soccer and the National Diploma from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.
]]>Thought we would start your Tuesday with a little humor:
A man paused to watch a group of boys noisily engaged in a game of sandlot baseball. The bases were loaded, the man noted, when the batter clouted a ball over the head of the left fielder. Two runs scored.
The little third basemen seemed undaunted, as he pounded his fist into his glove and chattered encouragement to his pitcher.
Curious now, the man called to the little guy, “What’s the score?”
“It’s 18 to nothin’.” the little tyke shouted.
“Then how can you be smiling?” the man asked. “Aren’t you discouraged?”
“Heck, no,” the boy replied. “We haven’t been to bat yet.”
]]>By Brian Gotta, President of CoachDeck
Every year, new boards come into youth baseball and softball leagues around the country and begin making decisions about the upcoming season. Those most pressing issues are usually the ones handled first. Therefore, we spend most of our time in the winter board meetings talking about tryouts, scheduling, team selections, managers, uniforms, registration and the like. What often gets pushed to the back burner however, are some of the policies that later take on the utmost importance. And if we wait until after the season begins to address these, there are many skeptics who believe the late decisions give unfair benefit to some over others. It is best to get all of your rules and guidelines out in the open before Opening Day so that there is no controversy later. Here is a list of a few items that we recommend you address and clearly delineate prior to the start of the season.
1. League Championship: What determines your League Champion? Overall record? First-half/Second-half? Playoff? Who makes the playoff? Is there a regular-season champion and a play-off champion? What is the tiebreaker if two teams are tied? What if three or more teams are tied?
2. Post-season playoffs: If you will be participating in a Tournament of Champions or other post season tournaments involving neighboring leagues, how will you determine which teams get to go?
3. All-stars: What are the selection criteria for all-stars? Does the board pick the teams? Managers? Players? Some combination of these?
4. All-star Managers: How will they be selected? Is it strictly the President’s choice? Will weight be given to prior experience? Will team standings be factored in?
5. Rainout schedule: In the event of rain, what is the procedure for make-ups? Is there a clear process to determine how games are made-up so that no one cries foul when they are forced to play back-to-back games or extra games in a week?
6. Player call-ups: What if a player is injured, quits, or is non-attending? How long does the player have to be out before a manager must call-up a replacement from a lower division? What is the process to ensure timely reporting of injury or a player who has missed consecutive games to ensure a manager is not using a missing player to his advantage?
7. Late registrants: What happens when a player wants to register after the draft has taken place? Is there a system in place to ensure no one believes a team has received an unfair advantage from the Player Agent or the board by getting a “ringer” who wasn’t available to everyone else during the draft?
8. Players choosing managers: What is your policy for parents of players who say, prior to the draft, that they want to play only for one manager, or NOT for one manager? What system is in place to make certain no one can manipulate the draft in their favor?
9. Umpire no-show: If the umpire doesn’t show up what happens? Play the game with a parent umping behind the mound? Does it count in the standings? Play a practice game and reschedule? Pull an umpire from a lower division game?
Your league may not experience all of these issues, but there’s a good chance you’ll encounter some. And if you clearly define your policy on these situations before they occur, no one can accuse you of showing favoritism.
Brian Gotta is a former professional youth baseball coach and current volunteer Little League coach and board member. He is the President of CoachDeck and also author of four youth sports novels which can be found at www.booksbygotta.com. He can be reached at brian@coachdeck.com.
]]>https://www.upstartsports.com/blog/fully-sublimated-bat-bag
]]>Our response was this: You have captured the intent of CoachDeck perfectly in your comments. For veteran coaches like yourself, CoachDeck is meant to be a quick, handy reminder of drills that have been used in the past, and for inexperienced coaches it is a lifeline that allows them to get out on the field with all the same confidence of someone who has coached for years.
The beauty of CoachDeck is it's ease of use. Even the most veteran coach, like the one above, will be unable to mentally scroll through every drill they've ever learned at a moment's notice. With a CoachDeck in their pocket, while the players take a quick water break, they can fan out the cards and pick the next activity in a matter of seconds. Every volunteer coach should have a CoachDeck!
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