Tip of the Week

The greatest coach of all, John Wooden, said two things that stick with me. One, he thought he did a better coaching job in some years that they did not win the championship. Two, he felt like he did things in the early years that hurt his teams from winning it all, because he wanted it so much. Youth coaches should learn from the best, focus less on winning and more on player development. Only good things come from that focus.

Coaches at every level of sport must be good at coaching life too. Emphasizing the following, "How you do is not who you are," is crucial for kids, especially those most into sport. Too many athletes and their parents define individuals by how well they perform on the field.

It is common for players to grow tired and practice less as the baseball season winds down. That may seem funny as summer just begins, but many youth baseball and softball players finish around the fourth of July, or soon after. With that in mind, I try to have my players make one more practice push about a month before the end for a few reasons. One, they want to finish strong.

Sliding is one of the most least practiced of baseball plays. Many ballplayers need to work on their sliding technique more. When sliding, many players have bad technique, slow down or decide to slide too late. Injury is often the result of of those scenarios. Improving one's sliding technique helps all three things.

Amateur golfers love having a great 18th whole because their last memory propels them to want to play again. The same goes for youth baseball players. Nothing is better than a successful season's end so kid's last feelings of baseball are positive ones.As the season is begins to wind down for youth baseball players, coaches should make a push for players to up their practice habits.

There are a lot of fundamental concepts similar with hitting a baseball and hitting a golf ball. The most obvious and important one is keeping the head still and down at contact. Batting tee practice, like golf promotes that concept. Another important idea that I teach my baseball students mimics the pro golfer's use of the practice range after rounds, as well as before. I encourage my students to practice on the batting tee after rough games, even if it is only a few swings.