Coaching Technique: Let"™s Make a Deal - 365 Days to Better Baseball

Motivational Monday Tip of the Week

"I'll make you a deal, try it my way for a week, if you don't like it you can go back to your old way"

Coaching technique to reach the un-coachable

Some players are more coachable than other players are. This does not make them bad kids because most have their reasons fro not wanting to listen to the coach. However, this coaching technique usually buys coaches time to convince players that there is a better way.

Valuable coaching technique

Why some players are un-coachable:

1. Been successful doing it their way
2. Parent or another coach told them to do it a certain way
3. They do not like being told "they have" to do something a certain way
4. Do not understand what they are doing compared to what coach is telling them
5. They are naturally stubborn
6. They became a teenager (ha-ha), meaning they look at adults as the enemy

Necessity ofCoaching Technique

Whatever the reason, coaches must continue to helpplayers learn to do things fundamentally correct so they improve, along with helping the team win. One thing I often tell baseball players, who attend my baseball camp is to just give the way we are going to teach them a chance. I tell them to try it our way for the camp and if they feel their old way is better, they can return to it.

Why Coaching Technique Works

The good news is that most of the time this "Let's Make a Deal" coaching technique works because, when players do things more fundamentally correct, good results occur. One of my favorite sayings goes like this, "Fundamentals are fundamentals for a reason - they work."

Because of that, more often than not kids notice that the fundamentally correct way the coach suggests is superior to their old way and everyone is happy. Of course, making muscle memory changes take time so coaches have their work cut out for them, but this let's make a deal coaching technique gives coaches a chance to help players improve. Just as important, kids tend to become more coachable in the future with this coaching technique because coaches give players an option, as opposed to demanding they do something a certain way. Additionally, players will notice how passionate the coach is to help them and may just begin to become morecoach-ableand enjoy the "Let's make a deal" coaching technique.