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why should coaches coach?

6/23/2022

Coaches at high levels at prestigious programs need to win to keep their jobs. Winning consistently makes recruiting easier, keeps the fan base energized, the administration and boosters happy, and the financial bottom line healthy. But when the awards for the championships and the successful careers have been given, has the coach been a good coach?

There is an old saying, “Don’t confuse winning with good coaching.” Games are sometimes won because of good coaching and sometimes in spite of mediocre coaching. Games can be won as a result of elite player and team development, but more often games, particularly championship games, are lost by poor player development and team preparation.

When a game is done, I have always asked myself two questions: 1) Could we have defeated our best competition today, e.g., the #1 ranked team in the league, state or country? 2) Did we go about our business in preparation, hustle, effort, perseverance and sportsmanship and inspire those who watched us, e.g., the other team, the umpires, and the fans of both teams, to be better in their lives? If so, we ‘won’, if not, we did not.

Good coaches recognize that to develop the best teams and players, they must first train the team members to be great athletes. And before they can train their team members to be great athletes, they must connect with, understand, validate and mentor the team members as persons. Better People = Better Athletes = Better Players/Teammates.

The best coaches proactively design their daily practice and training plans to teach life lessons within the game for beyond the game. They do not simply let the game’s adversity imply those lessons. They use quotes, acronyms, role plays and guest speakers to teach the team how what they are learning and experiencing relate to their lives as sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, students, employees and community and business leaders.

The mentorship of the person, at every level, youth, high school, college and professional is the foundation for everything! Why is this so?

First, if a coach stays in coaching long enough and has gone about coaching the right way, the communications of appreciation from their players in the future will not be about the wins and the championships; they will be about how the coach made the player a better person.

Second, even if a coach is not lucky enough to be given the opportunity to coach for many years or at a high level, the impact the coach can make on one team or even one player can inspire those players to help and inspire countless other people throughout their lives. The ripple effect is exponential and immeasurable, but is directly correlated to the quality of the mentorship they received. “To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world.”

Third, when a coach stands in final judgment by Him who matters most, the trophies for wins and championships will be irrelevant. So will the number of great and famous baseball players the coached developed. He will only score and count as a win the number of people a coach helped in their own lives who were poor, homeless, hungry, oppressed, sick, etc., i.e., His people, and how many of the coach’s players the coach taught and inspired to do the same. It is not enough to Him to develop great players and teams; a coach must mentor players who use their gifts not for personal gain, but to serve others.

If I had one recommendation for coaches for a lesson that provides the foundation for the mentorship of every player it would be the concept of passion. When a person is truly passionate about something, they will be motivated to use their gifts to be the best they can be to further that passion. The message is that if a coach or player is not passionate about baseball, then move on to find something in life they are passionate about and use what they have learned from the attention to detail it takes to be great at our beautiful game to be the best they can be in their work and life to benefit others particularly those in need and the less fortunate.

When coaches do these things, they will be and will coach champions, Champions for Life.

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Do Not Confuse Bad swing Path with Bad Timing

6/22/2022

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It is certainly true that the best swing mechanics in the world are not of much value if contact cannot be made because of bad timing. However, this axiom has become a crutch for many coaches due to an inability or unwillingness to examine more closely the true cause of no or poor contact - a bad swing path. To be fair, $300.00 aluminum bats and mediocre competition disguise a lot of bad swing mechanics so some coaches may just be satisfied with fortunate results despite the long-term need for improvement in many areas of their hitters.

Hitters who hit for a high batting average against elite pitching get the barrel of the bat on plane early so it passes through the hitting zone for as long as possible allowing them to make solid contact no matter if their swing is a little early, perfectly on time or a little late with the pitch. And yet, if you objectively examine frame-by-frame video of a swing that to some was not on time, you will frequently see a swing that was never on plane with the pitch.

Even those coaches who correctly identify a poor swing path as the cause of poor contact tend to generalize and over-simplify their analysis to a trendy discussion of attack and launch angles. Attack and launch angles are the result of the execution of the process of good or bad mechanics that precede them. In other words, they are consequences not solutions.

Almost all faults and fixes in sports begin with a ground-up analysis of posture, balance, footwork, angles (in the body and while moving), rhythm and timing. Notice what is first on the list and what is last.

If the object of a baseball swing is to get the “sweet spot” of the barrel of the bat on the ball, it does not take much imagination to understand that poor posture is going to make this extremely difficult for sharp, late-breaking pitches with high velo. Great hitters begin with and maintain athletic posture throughout their swings.

I think the most over-looked cause of poor contact in baseball swings, at every level, are bad grips. Almost all baseball players from the high school varsity level up through MLB correctly grip a bat in their fingers not the palms of their hands. However, very few of them do two very important additional things – stack their hands and slightly extend the top index finger knuckle. The farther the palms of the hands are separated when gripping the bat, the more difficult it will be to keep the barrel on plane particularly when the hitter is rotating with maximum force to catch up to high velocity. When gripping a bat, the back of each hand should be at an angle to the wrist of each arm not in a straight line – Christian Yelich and Aaron Judge are two MLB players who grip a bat correctly.

The slight extension of the top index finger (just as in golf) allows the barrel to maintain an optimum angle when hitting to the opposite field. If the top hand and index finger are too tight, the barrel of the bat will be slightly raised causing the hitter’s swing to rollover instead of drive through a pitch on the outer third of the plate.

The next culprit causing poor contact is the position of the hands and arms at the start of the swing. The hands on the bat must be inside (i.e., closer to the back shoulder) an imaginary line from the pitcher’s release point to the front elbow of the hitter otherwise the hands will be “cast” when the bat is swung or, at a minimum, getting them “inside the baseball” will be very difficult against high velocity. The angle of the front arm should be a “V” not an “L” and not straight.

To accomplish this, when establishing the position of the arms and hands, the elbow of the front arm stops underneath the hitter’s chin as he is looking straight ahead to the opposite batter’s box and the hands are raised so the top hand is even with and a baseball’s width outside the back shoulder. This hands and arms position will keep the hitter’s swing “inside the baseball” on all pitches when the swing is executed properly. The wrist of the top hand should be cocked and the bottom hand should not be raised so the bat is at a 45 degree angle. The elbow of the back arm is raised to just below the height of the back shoulder and remains relaxed.

Next in the hitting sequence is the weight transfer. As I mentioned above, the hitter must start in an athletic posture and it must be maintained throughout the swing. The player must start in balance and must stride/ land in balance. Any slight deviation from optimum balance and posture will make getting the barrel of the bat on plane more difficult as the quality of the pitching elevates.

The next faulty pattern is players trying to time their stride to land as the pitch arrives instead of striding early enough to have time to track the velocity and spin axis of the pitch. The late stride means the front foot does not get down solidly before the swing starts, the front foot spins, the front knee does not lock back to allow the hitter to swing into a strong front side, the barrel of the bat drops and another line drive is turned into a lazy fly ball or pop-up.

A coach must then examine the swing itself. The first thing that must happen is the back shoulder must angle and the back knee must flex to match the plane of the baseball before the swing begins. The lower the pitch the more the back shoulder must angle and the back knee must flex. However, the angle of both is proportionate; too much angle of one and not enough in another or too much of both will cause the posture to collapse and the swing to loop. Not enough of one or both will cause the swing to be too flat and the contact with the pitch, if any, to be “rolled over”.

If the hands, arms and bat are located correctly at the start of the swing, the back shoulder is angled and the back knee are flexed properly according to the angle and spin axis of the pitch, when the hitter rotates his body the bat will be on plane.

The hips and torso must initiate and control the swing until the laces of the shoe of the back foot are facing the pitcher at which time the arms and hands are propelled through the baseball (assuming the grip is correct). Poor contact will also occur if the player is trying to create “launch angle” by lifting the ball instead of driving through the ball after getting the bat on plane with the pitch.

Young players, in particular, do not use their hips and torso to swing the bat because they have not established enough core strength to do so. Even coaches at higher levels miss this critical deficiency in their hitters because they fail to see and develop the athlete first before the player.

Basic swing mechanics can also be the problem. Specifically, the top arm and hand are not doing their job of keeping the bat on plane with the pitch. Many hitters hit cage bombs all day off of a tee or soft toss with their front side and arm doing almost all of the work. When they face elite velo in the game, they swing and miss not usually because they are late, but rather because the barrel of the bat drops just below the ball because they’re swinging the bat using almost all front side and arm and their top arm and hand are basically not involved at all.

In youth baseball, many players cannot keep the bat on plane simply because they are using a bat they cannot handle, i.e., it is too long (sometimes they just need to choke up more) or too heavy for them.

The final component of poor contact analysis, of course, is poor pitch recognition. First, as discussed above, this is typically a late stride and weight transfer issue. Second, hitters also cannot react to in a game what they have not recently and frequently seen in practice. Batting practices should simulate game conditions – randomized arm slots, velo and spin axes are essential in all types of batting practices drills.

Bad timing can sabotage great swings, but before a coach jumps to the conclusion of bad timing, there are many other equally important factors to carefully consider, examine, and train.

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The First Step is to take the Bat, Glove and Ball Out of Their Hands

6/22/2022

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Coaches must see things no one else sees. One of the best ways to learn to do this is to watch other coaches at work; not just in your sport, but in all sports. Watch how the game is played not who plays the game. Watch the process of what happens not the result of what happened. Watch what happens “off the ball” not who has the ball. Ask why the coach chose to have his team do that regardless of whether the result was good or bad for the score.

Good coaches recognize that to develop the best teams and players, they must first train the team members to be great athletes. But the coach must be able to look at the player and see the athlete.

Coaches always preach to their players to control the process and the execution and the result will take care of itself. Equally true to the development and success of the baseball player is whether the coach can see the player do what they do without seeing the bat, ball or glove in their hand. In other words, when watching the player do what they do, can the coach see the process and the execution of what the player does as if the player was not holding a bat, glove or ball?

A coach must be able to visually extract the bat, glove and ball when the player performs and evaluate how a player uses and moves their body. Does the player use their feet quickly, yet efficiently? Does the player load and apply force properly with their back foot and hip when throwing and hitting? Does the player’s body move smoothly and in sync with the upper and lower body working together top and bottom and left and right?

One of the best ways for a coach and player to learn to do this is literally to take the bat, glove and ball out of the player’s hands. The teaching process for all sports begins with dry mechanic work without any implements involved. All learning, as well as, all faults and fixes, begin with a ground up analysis of posture, balance, footwork, angles (both in set up and in movement), rhythm and timing.

Even after the process is learned, a great way to reinforce the process and the execution is to have the player do what they do by just moving their body, i.e., literally just going through the motions - throwing, pitching, fielding and throwing, and hitting. It is a very instructive exercise to have a pitcher go through his pre-pitch mental process and then execute a pitch without actually throwing a ball. Do this for an imaginary three batters before every bullpen session and you will be amazed at how a coach can see and how the pitcher can feel flaws in the process and execution of the delivery.

Position players can benefit from the same exercise. For example, have an infielder take their prep steps and then react at game speed to an instruction by a coach to charge, move left, right or angle back in either direction, and pretend to field and throw a ball to a base. A coach will be amazed at how easy it will be to see things they never noticed before in the way the player moves and how they execute their mechanics.

After the player gets comfortable doing it with their eyes open, have pitchers and position players do their routine with their eyes closed. This is a fantastic kinesthetic progression. Of course, coaches and players who are visual learners will also find frequent frame-by-frame video analysis very useful.

The same can be done for hitters. I will frequently stop a hitter at front foot strike and ask them to freeze. I will take the bat out of their hands and we will both look to see whether the player has maintained their posture and balance and whether their hands, arms, and bat are in the proper positions after their stride is complete.

Optimum player development requires coaches to see the athlete in their player by visually and, at times, literally taking the bat, glove and ball out of the player’s hands.

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June 20th, 2022

6/20/2022

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what may matter most is what you don't say and don't do

6/2/2022

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Great coaching takes an incredible amount of time, thought, planning, organization, education, training and experience. All of these things ultimately lead to very detailed practice and game plans which result in formative instruction, leadership, and mentorship. Throughout this process, of course, coaches say and do many impactful things, some very helpful and wise, some not. But coaches should not overlook and underestimate the power and value of what they don’t say and do not do.

I think coaches say and do too much.

Coaches wonder frequently why the performance of their teams in games does not match what they were taught in practice. And yet from the moment the players step on the field, coaches are constantly talking at them. Not enough time is spent listening to the players to connect with and understand them as people; what they are thinking in the moment and what is happening with them outside of the sport.

This relationship is the essential foundation for all learning and development.

Coaches are so quick to analyze and correct the good or bad result of a play they fail to first address the player’s deficiencies in athleticism, physiology or psychology. The development of a hitter’s swing or a pitcher’s delivery may first require improving the stability and mobility of their body or their mental approach to the situation.

If coaches want to see more consistency in the way their teams perform at practice and the way the team plays in games, they need to end every practice with a game simulation or scrimmage where the coaches say and do absolutely nothing. They need to simply observe what the players have learned because despite the coach’s unfortunate efforts to micromanage every thought and step of their players during games, the outcome will still ultimately depend on what the players do on their own.

The same is true for the self-esteem of the players. If our goal as coaches is to develop strong leaders for the world not just players for the field, the players will feel best about their play in the game and its ultimate result if they know they accomplished it on their own and not as a result of being puppets. I think if coaches would spend a few hours in school attending the math and science classes of their players, they would be amazed at what the players are required to learn and what they are capable of remembering. Coaches would cut the puppet strings, i.e., the wrist bands and cue cards, and dispense with calling pitches for their pitchers. Coaches would trust their training and let the players play.

Finally, every single day, slow down and appreciate how precious these moments are with your players. Coaches, remember always that in the minds and hearts of your players, the look on your face, the language of your body, and the tone of your voice, in the short term, may dictate the result of how your players play and what your players comprehend more than anything you actually say or do and, in the long-term, may dictate what the player chooses to remember as their experience playing for you.

Dads, grandfathers, moms and grandmothers who coach their sons, grandsons, daughters and granddaughters should say much less about the game and just recognize and acknowledge the courage it takes for their loved ones to simply step up to bat or on to the mound with all-the-world watching to try to do things that are almost impossible to do generally, and are certainly not possible, in their minds, to do well enough to meet your standards and expectations.

The sounds of the ballpark and game, the smell of the air and grass, the feel of a baseball in your hand, the innocent faces of your players; they will all be gone more quickly than you will ever imagine. Fill these precious moments in coaching with many more smiles, hugs, handshakes, thumbs up and much more laughter, and much less with all of the other things you think are so important to win the game.

When all is said and done, it will be what you did not say and did not do that you and your players will remember.

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Author

Adam Sarancik is the owner of Elevate Sports Academy which mentors student-athletes in physical conditioning, nutrition, career and college counseling, and sport skills. He has spent most of his adult life coaching youth ages 8-22 in baseball, soccer, and basketball. He is a favorite speaker at and director of coaches' and players' clinics. He has also developed several youth baseball leagues. Adam is a frequently published contributor to the ABCA publication Inside Pitch, Collegiate Baseball News, and the Coaches Insider, Coach Deck and Sports Engine websites. He was also a Certified Impact Trainer for The Positive Coaching Alliance.

Adam is known for his comprehensive and innovative practice plans and for consistently developing championship teams and players who excel at the next level.
He earned his Bachelor of Science degree from San Diego State University, his J.D. degree from the University of San Diego School of Law and his Masters of Arts in Teaching from Western Oregon University.

why should coaches coach?

Do Not Confuse Bad swing Path with Bad Timing

The First Step is to take the Bat, Glove and Ball Out of Their Hands

June 20th, 2022

what may matter most is what you don't say and don't do

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