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if i was the mlb commissioner for a day

5/1/2025

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I heard MLB Commissioner, Rob Manfred, interviewed yesterday on a national telecast.  He was asked whether he thought the idea of the “Golden At-Bat” had a chance of ever becoming a reality in major league baseball.  The idea is that once per game a team could allow any hitter, even one already in the line-up and without waiting for his turn in the order, to hit in a key situation.

He replied that “the purists and the tradition of baseball” would probably not seriously consider it for a long time, if ever.  Really?  They have put time limits on pitchers to deliver a pitch and limits on their number of pick-off attempts, but they will not seriously consider something positive to integrate more excitement and fan interest in the game?

This caused me to think about the reasons why fan interest in the NFL and the NBA is greater than in the MLB.  Sometimes if one opens their mind, the answer is obvious.  Those leagues put their best product on the field and court at all times.

Think about it.  What is the single biggest difference between the NFL, the NBA, and even the NHL, from the MLB?  Those other leagues have very few limits on aligning the best versus the best at any moment of the contest.

And why are most of the suggestions for what to do about the increasing dominance of pitchers ideas to restrict the pitchers or make changes to the field, e.g., pushing back the mound?  How about we start with the most obvious idea.

If I were the MLB Commissioner for a day, every team would be allowed to put its nine best players on defense and its nine best hitters on offense at all times.  Just like the most popular sport in America, the NFL, a player would not be required to play defense to play offense and a player could play defense and not be required to hit.  A player would be allowed to do both, but they would not be required to do so.

Why have just one “Golden At-Bat”?   Why not have nine!

The average MLB pitcher physically looks more like an NFL tight end or an NBA power forward every year.  Their velo has increased to the point where every staff has at least one pitcher that sits at 100 mph and their arsenal has “off speed pitches”, including change-ups”, faster than the average MLB fastball just 15 years ago.
 
On offense, I would still require a batting order of nine players, but a pinch hitter not in the order would be allowed at any time to counter a pitching match-up or to take advantage of a game situation, e.g., bunt or squeeze.  And just like in the NFL, the NBA, and the NHL, the player being substituted for is allowed to re-enter the game to give the offense or the defense the best possible strategic advantage. 

A left-handed hitter would be allowed to face a right-handed pitcher and vice versa at any time as long as they hit in the same spot in the order each time.  In other words, for example, two players could pinch hit for each other at any time in the game as long as it was in the same spot in the line-up. 

So I am not in favor of the “Golden At-Bat” concept of allowing a hitter to hit more than one time in the nine player rotation, even if it was once per game, but I am in favor of allowing the best nine hitters to face the best nine defensive players at all times.

And since pitchers are getting more dominant every year and I think more offense is better for fan interest, I would still limit pitchers to one appearance in the game.  When you’re out, you’re out, no re-entry for pitchers.  The other players on defense, however, could be freely substituted once per hitter with a time limit to make the change.

Maybe it’s just because the MLB team I root for lead the league in strikeouts per game by an offense in the majors last year, but I’m positive fans across the country would rather see more offense than more strikeouts.  And I know Rob Manfred would love the MLB to be not just America’s Past Time, but the most popular sport in our country now, too.

So why not do the obvious - our best, versus your best, all of the time. 
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Earning the Respect of Players Through Effective Discipline

4/1/2025

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A baseball practice with 12 players and three coaches was held last Sunday night in a high school hitting barn.  After about ½ hour, it became apparent to the coaches that 4 or 5 of the players did not have much interest in the drills the coaches had planned for the training session because they were giving little effort to the drills and were a distraction to the other players. 

Unfortunately, the reaction of the coaches was the time-honored tradition of making the entire team run “poles” for the next half-hour.  The result was the entire team was too exhausted to give much effort to the hitting drills for the remainder of the practice and the players were angry with the coaches. 

The players who originally were not giving their best effort to the drills were angry because the coaches had chosen drills they viewed as not helpful to their hitting flaws or the coaches were not teaching them in a way for them to do the drills successfully.  The players who were giving their best effort initially were angry for the same reasons, as well as, of course, for being disciplined for the bad behavior of the other players.

Was making the team run the most effective discipline to achieve the desired result of getting the team to give their best effort for that practice, as well as, in the future and to teach them life lessons?

John Wooden said he rarely had discipline problems because he spent 85% of his time teaching to make the members of his team better athletes and better players and only 15% of his time on praise and discipline. 
He knew that master teachers who were also good role models became respected coaches. 

When things go wrong, coaches must first look in the mirror with honest intent.  Was our practice plan sound with appropriate player need assessment, drill choice, drill design, and player engagement?  Did the teaching methodology effectively use all of the learning modalities for improving players in the entire ability spectrum?

Did the coaches attempt to motivate the entire team by praising and rewarding the players who were acting appropriately instead of calling out the players who were not, i.e., did they motivate by inspiration not intimidation?

Most importantly, did the coaches remember that anger is always about the person who is angry and never about the people at whom the anger is directed? 

If coaches want to earn the respect of their players, the coaches must: (1) connect with their players on a personal level so the players feel understood and supported; (2) use what they know about each individual team member as people to help them learn to be better people, athletes, and players; and (3) be role models to their players in everything they say and do.

So when the planned training session began going sideways and when “looking in the mirror” the coaches realized the primary reasons for it doing so was their own fault, what could they have done?

First, they could have taken the players aside, individually or as a group, and asked them why they were acting inappropriately?  Individually, if the coaches had developed the proper personal connection to the player, he may have disclosed reasons outside of the sport, at home or at schools, which were causing him to act out personal anxiety or stress.  The coaches could then explain to the player that this was not a reason to be uncooperative, but the coaches’ empathy may be enough to get the player to lock in.

As a group, the players may have disclosed reasons why they thought other drills would be better for them or why the ones chosen were not being taught to them in the best manner or at all.  If this was true, the coaches could teach the players a valuable life lesson by admitting the coaches bore some of the responsibility for things going poorly too.

Second, the coaches could have had competitions at each station with significant rewards for respecting the process and giving their best effort such as extra swings at the station or being team captains for the end of practice game-sim.

Third, the coaches could have pulled the players who were acting inappropriately out of practice for a period of time to watch the players who were acting appropriately and then assimilate them back into practice individually with players who were giving their best effort.  If this did not work, they could pull them out of the practice permanently or send them home.
Players must learn that they must give their best effort even when they do not feel their best or when they do not agree with the current approach being used.  They must also learn that being accountable yourself means holding your teammates accountable.

However, coaches must work to be better than merely defaulting to making them run as an easy punishment for a problem caused by us.  Doing so may accomplish nothing more than running the coaches away from the respect of their players.
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Tips and Guidelines for Better Communication and Habits to Protect the Mental Health of Your Players

3/1/2025

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At all times we must remember the influence we have on the players we coach.  If the way we act toward them and the way we communicate with them are done properly, the affect will be very positive now and for the rest of their lives.  If not, the effect on their mental health can potentially be negative and lead to self-destructive behaviors.  

Here are some tips and guidelines for better communication to protect the mental health of your players which will have positive impacts on and off of the field or court.

For Coaches to Protect the Mental Health of Their Players They Must Remember and Teach:
  • “When things do not go well, look first in the mirror with honest intent.”
  • What you do not say or do not do can be more powerful than what you do say or do.  Be very careful (and have your assistant coaches monitor very closely) your non-verbal communication, (i.e., your body motions and gestures, your physical appearance, social distancing, touching behaviors), as well as, your voice characteristics (e.g. volume and tone).
  • Reward adherence to the process, effort, and the demonstration of life skills twice as often and much more than sport skill results.
  • Keep the ratio of positive to negative comments 99:1.
  • Always start your comments about the results of a drill, a part of practice, practice itself or of a game with as many positive things as possible and always start with feedback from the player(s) first. In your mind, always start with giving yourself credit for what went right, too.
  • Keep and reward the energy and feedback from the team and teammates positive.
  • “Motivate by catching the players doing something right.”
  • Motivate by inspiration, not intimidation.
  • Role model at all times, in practices and games, what you are asking your players to learn, particularly “staying positive, staying present”.
  • Give praise publicly and constructive criticism privately.
  • Constructive criticism is always about the play and never about the player.
  • Never breach a player or team confidence.
  • In games, coach forward, not backward.  Do not micromanage them.  Let the players play.
  • After games, give and receive only positive feedback.  Save the “teaching moments” to the next practice.
  • Become a master teacher.  Spend 85% of your time teaching your players skills to help the team get better as people, athletes, and players and only 15% on praise and discipline.  “When you teach them they can be good at something, you will give them the confidence they can be good at anything.”
  • Teach them to appreciate what they already have and have already accomplished as a stepping stone to what they can achieve in the future.
  • Teach them to fully appreciate when good things happen and to believe they will happen again even when bad things happen.
  • Proactively conduct a meeting of the minds between coaches, players and players’ parents regarding expectations relating to wins, losses, attendance (tardiness and absences for personal matters, vacations, etc.), being fans, conduct/temperament during games and practices, playing time, etc. at a pre-season meeting.
  • Discuss life lessons using quotes, acronyms, role plays, and guest speakers about work ethic, attitude, adversity, leadership and accountability at the beginning of practice and about life lessons involving character, personal integrity, and success at the end of practice to teach the players about how what they are learning on the field or court translates to their lives as brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, friends, students, and future husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, and business and community leaders.
  • Learn generally about what is happening in the players’ lives at school and at home so you can connect with, understand, validate, and support them as persons on and off the field or court, too. “The first step in making an athlete believe they can be a good player is to first make them believe they are a good person.”
  • All parts and aspects of practice must include competitions so players can learn the critical lessons of learning to control what they can control and being comfortable being uncomfortable.
  • Educate players about the difference between who they represent and are responsible to with the choices they make in attitude and effort versus not being responsible for those people’s lives and feelings when things do not go well.
  • Do community service without the expectation of monetary return, particularly games with Special Olympics and Miracle and Challenger Leagues.
For Players to Play Better and To Protect Their Mental Health They Must Learn:
  • “You cannot become on the field or court, what you are not in life.”
  • No matter the outcome, you are loved and supported by your family, friends, coaches, and teammates.  This season is part of a journey; it is not a destination.
  • You have talents, gifts, and abilities that will allow you to succeed outside of baseball.  In this regard, it is critical you choose your friends wisely and a college first as if you were not an athlete.
  • Who you are becoming is more important than what you are accomplishing.
  • During a game, you do not perform to the level of your talent; you perform to the level of your training. “You have to earn the right to be disappointed.”  These habits begin outside of your sport.  Good grades, for example, are not a true indication of your achievement unless they were obtained from high standards, against elite competition, and through consistent hard work.  The same can be said for the benchmarks of success in your sport.
  • Your teammates must be held accountable to meet these same standards of excellence so that during the game you can trust their preparation too.  Learn non-verbal skills to communicate holding your teammates accountable.
  • Control what you can control (e.g., your attitude, effort, and preparation) and to adapt to what you cannot (e.g., weather, field conditions, umpires’ calls, fans, etc.).
  • Establish and proactively practice personal and team “mistake rituals”.
  • “When practicing to get better, chase one rabbit, i.e., mechanic or concept, at a time.  If you chase two, they will both get away.”
  • Ask yourself first, “What did I do well, e.g., with that throw, pitch, or hit?”
  • Take your best aspects of every practice or game e.g., throw, catch, hit, and pitch, home with you in your mind.  Choose to remember the positive in every day.
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handle hard better!

2/1/2025

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 This is the best inspirational speech you can show to everyone you coach and mentor: 

KARA LAWSON - HANDLE HARD BETTER - www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDzfZOfNki4

Watch it with them today and often!

Peace and be well,

Coach Adam

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Recruiting, Scholarships, and Student-Athlete Priorities

1/1/2025

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“Be a Student-Athlete and the Student Comes First.”

During a guest appearance on a podcast recently, I asked the host who is a long-time college coach and professional scout, “During all of your years as a high school and college coach, how many of your players worked a job for four or more months in a year?”

He immediately held up his hands to form a big zero.

This emphasizes the sad reality of how few high school athletes are educated about how to determine and develop their marketable skills and how those skills relate to their goals and passions in life. This discernment is essential to an informed decision about whether college is necessary at all, and if so, which one is the best choice for them.

Athletic careers can be over in a second for a variety of reasons.  Yet, few athletes ask themselves, “If my playing days were over or if I were not an athlete, would this college be the best fit for me given my other career goals?” If not, the athlete should not have attended that college to begin with.

Typically, elite high school athletes spend almost all of their “free time” training and playing sports with no balance in their life.  Their college choice is based on which schools offer them the best financial incentive package after the athlete attends a “showcase.”

The showcase-first process is flawed because not all colleges offer the same quality of education and preparation for the working world and not all careers can be studied at every college.  If a major is not offered, a student cannot study it.  Not all academic departments between colleges or, even within a college, are of the same quality with regard to their professors, facilities, internship and job placement opportunities, etc.  College may not even be necessary for the best career choice for a particular athlete.

If college is necessary, the student-athlete should first determine what college is the best fit academically for their possible career paths and then attend baseball camps at those colleges or showcases where coaches from those colleges will be present.

A student’s goal should be to graduate college with a degree that affords them many high-quality choices to pursue a life-long career the person is passionate about. The college degree alone only certifies that the student completed the school’s curriculum for a particular major. The curriculum and the work experience afforded by the school’s placement department, or lack thereof, may not be respected by graduate schools or the working world. And the degree certainly does not certify the student will be happy in the career choices that the degree can offer them.

Approximately, 40% of college students today drop out and 46% of the students who graduate work in a career that does not require the degree they received.  33% work in a career that does not require a degree at all!  Only .5% of all high school baseball players will ever be drafted by an MLB team even if they play baseball in college.
With the exception of a very few top athletes in a very limited number of sports, the average financial incentive package pays an athlete only a fraction of their annual tuition and expenses.  Therefore, the scholarship only partially finances the debt the student-athlete will incur to earn a degree they may never use or do not need.

Today, an athlete cannot even be assured the coaches and their teammates will be the same year-to-year because the fluidity of the transfer portal is causing coaches to leave the profession and teammates to transfer to other programs.  If athletes prioritized a career path and academics over sports, they could tell a coach who is recruiting them that they will stay with the program regardless of money or playing time because their enrollment at the college was based first on the ability of the college to afford them the best education to pursue their career outside of the sport.  This may be a scale-tipping factor for whether that athlete receives a scholarship over another one who is prioritizing money and the sport.

Elite athletes deserve to be compensated for their talent.  There is nothing inherently wrong with scholarship money.  Athletes just need to be careful that when they are considering it, they do not prioritize short-term money over their long-term career goals and happiness.  In many cases, the short-term scholarship money may just be an enticement that in the long-term will get them nothing more than a purely symbolic piece of paper.  


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holistic coaching for the benefit of all players

12/1/2024

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“Never confuse winning with succeeding.  A successful league and team is one that inspires its players to want to come back again tomorrow.”
 
Too often, leagues and teams define their success by their won-loss records.  And yet, if evaluated objectively, those wins and championships were more a consequence of a few elite players and mediocre competition than general player development.  The individual skills of the overwhelming majority of players on every team did not significantly improve at all during the season or, if they did, they were a result of private coaching outside of the league.

Here are some concrete steps leagues and teams need to take so that every player on every team along the entire ability spectrum improves and develops every season:

1) Leagues should redefine success and distinguish it from winning.  Success is having systems and a process to develop better people and better athletes, not just better players.  Success is when the players use the life skills they learned on their team to be better sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, students and friends.  Success is also when the players learned athletic and self-care skills that will benefit them in all sports and later in life. 

2) In practices and games, coaches and leagues should prioritize rewarding intangibles such as leadership, kindness, forgiveness, tenacity, perseverance, etc. Educational talks and role plays using quotations, role plays, and guest speakers should be proactively programmed into every practice and training session so that life lessons are taught within the game for beyond the game.

3) The philosophy and systems must be required for all teams and coaches in the league.  The system should also be monitored and progressed year-to-year so more is expected from the players as people and as athletes every year.

4) Leagues should do much more than administer practice and game schedules and adjudicating coach-parent-player disputes.  Coaches should be trained and should prioritize being master teachers of individual athletic and sport skills not just playing the game with better tactics and strategy.  Leagues and coaches must regularly assess and monitor whether the athletic and sports skills of every player on every team is improving. This may require re-thinking how practices are structured.  Instead of receiving “instruction” from the same set of coaches for all aspects of the game, players may need to attend mini-clinics 2-3 times per week from league coaches or instructors who specialize in teaching different individual skills of the game.  Coaches must teach using all of the learning modalities, auditory, visual and kinesthetic, appropriate for each player.

5) The players in the league should be divided into different development levels and the “games” they play may need to have different formats.  Only when the pitchers can throw 70% strikes, catchers can regularly throw out runners attempting to steal, hitters can regularly put the ball in play, and fielders rarely make an error should teams play traditional baseball games.  Lower development level teams, maybe even the entire league, should play games where a) every batter puts a ball in play, i.e., no strikeouts, no walks, b) making baseball plays is prioritized, i.e., no stolen bases, and c) every player hits and plays defense, i.e., no outs, every inning so that maximum engagement is achieved.   

If these criteria were used and steps were taken, leagues and their teams could honestly state that they are working for the benefit of all players and not just a select few. 
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Between Innings: Lost Opportunities for Team Preparation and Development

11/1/2024

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Many times I think youth coaches copy what other coaches do without thinking why they are doing it.  One of those times this is frequently done is between innings of games.  During those times, much team preparation and development could be happening, but is not.

Elite team and player development is very difficult and takes a ton of hard work.  To accomplish this development, every throw, reception, and swing a player takes needs to be done for a specific purpose and with intent to be better.  Typically, the priority today in youth sports is preparing for and playing as many games as possible and not on practicing to improve individual skills.  Therefore, coaches teaching their players before, during and after every minute of a game is critical.

The following is a description of what typically happens between innings during a youth game and what I think could be done to better prepare the team and the players when the game begins.  

Pitchers and Catchers
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Here are some of the important factors that need to be accounted for to properly prepare pitchers and catchers for the game:

A knowledgeable coach, not just a teammate, needs to help warm-up the pitcher.  The pitcher must warm-up at the same distance as the pitching distance in the game, on a mound with the same slope as the mound in the game, and facing the same direction as the mound in the game.  The pitcher must work on all types of pitches from both the stretch and the wind-up ending in whatever delivery he will start the game.  They must not throw too many pitches in the bullpen so they leave their best stuff there. 

The pitcher must know the “umpire’s zone” not just the strike zone before they take the mound.  The pitcher must be prepared mentally to attack the weaknesses of the hitters they will face and to play defense to the offensive tactics of the opposing team.  During the between inning warm-up, the catcher must remind the pitcher of these same things. 

The catcher must receive every pitch for a purpose based on the pitch type and delivery.  The pitcher’s last warm-up pitch before the game begins must be one the catcher can easily handle to make a good throw to second base.  Coaches should be prepared to warm-up a pitcher between innings if the catcher needs time to put on their gear.
League or tournament rules typically dictate the maximum number of warm-up pitches a pitcher is allowed to take before the first pitch or between innings.  But what occurred prior to the pitcher ever taking the mound may have as much or more of an impact on whether the pitcher performs at their best or not.  The weather and the amount of throws the pitcher already threw in prior innings, before the game in team warm-up drills and in playing other positions during the game may dictate the pitcher may not need that many pitches or may need more pitches to warm-up. 

Infielders

First basemen should be able to throw ground balls at different heights and speeds to the infielders to simulate what they will experience during the game.  This is a skill that needs to be trained during practice!  The first basemen should deliver those throws from off of the base so they have to move to the base after each throw to execute proper footwork.  Every throw from an infielder should be caught. Period. If the throw is not accurate, after catching the ball, the first baseman should be sure to touch the base after every throw.  The first baseman should properly stretch for every throw.  An extra ball should be placed behind first base so valuable time is not wasted chasing wild throws. A coach should throw two balls to the first baseman at the end of each inning so they have them ready for the start of the next inning.

The other infielders should field every ball from the first baseman with game-like intensity and purpose starting at the maximum distance they could throw in the game.  They need to work on all types of fielding e.g., forehands, backhands, etc., all types of footwork that accompany those balls, and all types of plays they might perform in the game, e.g., double plays and force plays.  Coaches need to observe and coach not just the result of those throws, but the process and mechanics that lead to the results.

Outfielders

Outfielders should not just play catch.  They should throw each other fly balls and ground balls using momentum for each throw to protect the health of their arm.  If their skill level does not allow them to do it, coaches should do it.  Similar to infielders, every throw and catch should have a purpose.  All types of catches, forehand and backhand, lateral, drop step, “wrong way” turns, and balls in sun with all of the accompanying footwork, e.g., inside pivot, reverse pivot, step behind, “do or die”, etc. should be practiced. 

Hitters

All at bats begin in the dugout.  Before a player ever reaches the batter’s box, they should know the game situation which may dictate the sign they will receive to do their job, the umpire’s zone, the pitcher’s tells and tendencies, how the pitcher will attack them as a hitter and base runner, and the pitcher’s rhythm so they can work on their timing in the on deck circle. 

Bench Players

All team members are players and are in the game whether they are on the field or not.  They are thinking along with and communicating with the players on the field and the coaches in the dugout about what the players who play their position should do, did do or did not do during the game.  At the appropriate age, the bench players should help keep all of the game stats not the coaches in the dugout or the parents in the stands.

Most importantly, all players need to hold each other accountable for all of these things including communicating with each other, verbally and non-verbally, about the score, the other team’s potential tactics, and what they need to do to counter them so they are mentally prepared to compete at their best when the inning begins or a new hitter is at bat.  The accountability and communication must continue forward, backward and side-to-side among all the players on the field for every hitter and after every stolen base during the game.

My experience is youth baseball teams and players rarely do these things between innings of games.  As a result, many opportunities for optimum game preparation and player development are lost.
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Five Tips for Five Phases of Practice to Dramatically Improve the Coaching Methodology of Youth Coaches

10/1/2024

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I have spent as much time in my 45 years of coaching watching other coaches coach players at all levels as I have coaching teams myself.  What I have observed are coaches with a ton of well-meaning energy and effort underachieving in the development of their teams.  This is not completely their fault.  In my experience, youth leagues rarely give their coaches enough equipment, resources, and training to enable them to do their jobs well.
Here are some essential factors missing from many coaches’ approach and practice plans that will dramatically improve how and why they coach.

Pre-Practice

1. Do your homework – set goals for the team as persons, athletes, and players for the season, each week and each day and consult reputable resources to be sure what you are teaching is fundamentally sound.  Do not assume what you were taught as a player was or is correct.
2. Master teaching what you know for the entire ability spectrum before expanding what you know.
3. Prepare physically and mentally to mentor the person, train the athlete, and develop the player.  A team member will not fully accept what you have to say unless they can trust that you understand them as a person.  The best athletes have the most potential to be the best players.
4. Post a written practice plan with timed segments that the players read before practice that has a logical progression leading to an end of practice game-sim or scrimmage where the coaches do and say nothing to see what the players have learned.  Be sure quotes, acronyms or guest speakers for the discussion of life lessons are included in the plan.
5. Coaches should arrive early enough to prepare the field, set up all equipment and stations, and to discuss who, what, and how practice will be done so that the transitions will be short and, most importantly, so that all coaches, at all times can teach, role model and mentor from the moment the first player arrives until the last player leaves.
 
Dynamic Movement and Stretching Routine

1. Have one.  Running to a tree or a pole and back will not prepare your team mentally or physically to be trained as athletes or developed as players.
2. Be present and physically able to teach it.  Do not simply show the players what to do at the beginning of the season and tell them to go do it at the beginning of every practice and game.  The word Coach is a verb, an action word.  In youth sports, telling is not teaching.  You must be able to demonstrate and teach it using the appropriate learning modality for each player. Take this part of practice as seriously as you do teaching throwing, fielding or hitting fundamentals and mechanics.  In fact, it is the foundation for success or failure for all of those things.
3. All team coaches and the league itself must have a system to assess, teach, program, progress and monitor each player practice-to-practice and season-to-season how to crawl, walk, march, skip, run, bound, sprint, shuffle, backpedal, jump and hop in all planes of motion optimally in a coordinated and synchronized manner. The training must include mobility, flexibility, stability, balance, breathing, visual acuity, mental mindfulness and focus, speed, agility, quickness, strength and power.
4. Train preparation, anticipation and reaction, as well as, action.  Explosive and baseball actions and footwork, e.g., chatter steps, lateral/crossover steps, drop steps, “wrong way” turns, must be taught here first in dry mechanic progressions before you ask the players to do them on the field.
5. Make it fun, rewarding, and motivating by having competitions here too by using speed ladders, shuttle runs, gauntlets, and all types of chase/tag games.   Incorporate baseball tosses and receiving often.

Throwing and Receiving Progression

1. Do an arm care routine for every player before this part of training at every practice and game.
2. The players should never perform just “catch play.”  Every day coaches must carefully teach the mechanics of receiving, transferring, and throwing a baseball so that at the end of the season every player has dramatically improved these skills.
3. Every throw and every reception must be done for a specific purpose and with an intent to be accurate and mechanically correct.  Use training gloves and striped balls to aid this process.
 4. Every type of throw, e.g., underhand, backhand, dart, glove flip, relay, long hop, clock throws, right foot, “do or die”, muff and dive that every position player will be asked to make in practice and, eventually, in games must be practiced here every day. Every situation, e.g., relays, rundowns, tag and force play mechanics that a player will be asked to execute in practice and games must be practiced here first every day.
5. This is the most individual part of practice.  Not every player should perform the same number of throws from the same distance every day.  Their health/fatigue, conditioning and level of development may dictate fewer or shorter throws.  The positions they play may eventually dictate at a certain point in the season that some players work more on certain types of throws than other players, but versatility is a key asset for a youth player.

Position and Hitting Fundamentals

1. Follow the six step teaching process. A player fielding a ball hit to him during position fundamentals or hitting a ball during batting practice is step five in the process, not step 1.
2. Use training aids such as speed ladders, discs, cones, hexagons, hurdles, bands, training gloves and weighted balls to teach using all of the learning modalities, not just auditory commands.
 3. Teach by doing the skills with your players; let parent volunteers or non-coaches roll, feed and hit balls.   At the high school level, invite youth coaches from your feeder programs to do these things so they can watch you coach and learn what you teach.  High school coaches should only have to refine, not reteach when the players arrive.
4.  Multi-task at all times, e.g., 2-in-1 and 3-in-1 drills; priority, shadowing, relays and tags at home plate mechanics with fly balls; baserunning mechanics and game situations with team hitting (shag balls after every round, not during, unless it’s necessary for safety).
5.  Please do not have players line up.  If a coach has more than 2 or 3 players at a station you have design flaws in your practice plan. Have enough coaches, equipment, and stations so that all players are active all of the time.  There is no line standing; only mental and physical preparation doing.
 
Pitchers and Catchers Bullpen
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1.  Again, please take care of your pitchers’ arms by being sure they have done arm care and dynamic movement routines before any of their throwing.
2. Utilize valuable time by coaching both pitchers and catchers at the same time, e.g., when a pitcher is pitching out of a wind-up, the catcher is working on signal calling, a no runners on position, and framing; when the pitcher is pitching out of the stretch, the catcher is receiving in a runners on position and is working on ball transfer and footwork for to throws to bases.
3. Have hitters stand in to work on pitch and strike recognition and load and stride timing. Coaches should take turns standing in too. A pitcher’s effectiveness is more than what the data indicates.
4. Do not overuse technology.  Pitch selection and sequencing, managing emotions, overcoming adversity, mental mindfulness and focus are just as important as grips, spin rate, spin axes, velocity and location.  A player’s mind is always with him.  His device is not.  
5. Carefully monitor the number and intensity of the throws and pitches the pitchers make during practice and games at all positions, not just as a pitcher; count throws in bullpens and between innings, at private trainings, and on other baseball teams.  The arm does not know whether a player is pitching.  It only knows how well, how hard, how often, and how many balls he is throwing. 

Recommended Resources for Coaches’ Education and Practice Plans:
CoachesInsider.com; ABCA Barnstormer Clinic and National Convention Videos; overtimeathletes.com; @CoachLouColon or Coach Lou Colon on YouTube; troskybaseball.com;; ericcressey.com; drivelinebaseball.com  
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it takes more than a pitch count to care for a pitcher's arm

9/1/2024

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While watching youth baseball and even the Little League World Series tournament games, I am sad to see how many pitchers are removed from mound duty as a result of a sore arm or shoulder.  I think it is a tell-tale sign that after being removed from the mound, the pitcher almost always goes to shortstop or to an outfield position.  The pitcher replacing them typically comes in to pitch from one of those positions too.

This illustrates an often overlooked and critical fact about arm care; the arm does not know whether you are pitching or not, it only knows whether you are throwing well, too much and too often.

A February 28, 2024 article in the Seams Up Journal listed these alarming facts:
  • Up to 74% of youth baseball players (ages 8-18) admit they have some pain when throwing.
  • The number of Tommy John surgeries – a surgery that reconstructs a torn elbow ligament – among athletes ages 15-19 has risen by over 50 percent since 1974 when the surgery was first performed.
It is also very important to note that the same article listed not one, but six factors contributing to these injuries; fatigue, overuse, biomechanics, immaturity, velocity and pitch count.  While the Pitch Smart Program put into place some necessary controls on the pitch count factor, it may have caused coaches, leagues, and parents to overlook and underestimate the importance of the other factors.

Throwing a baseball at maximum velocity is one of the most stressful movements on the human body in all of sports.   And yet, the focus of most coaches and leagues is almost entirely on how much and how often a player pitches in games, not how often they pitch in practice and throw at other positions in practices and games.  No count is kept of how many throws are made at maximum velocity in general and the pitch count in games does not include pitches thrown in the bullpen during warm-up or those thrown between innings.

Even more alarming is how rarely youth coaches carefully and methodically instruct players how to throw the ball properly during “catch play” at the start of games and practices.   The average youth player’s throwing mechanics do not improve significantly during the season except if they can afford quality private instruction outside of the league team.  If the players can throw hard and relatively accurate most of the time, and if the team is “winning”, the coaches typically take a hands off approach to improving the players’ throwing mechanics.  This is assuming the youth coaches could properly instruct them how to do it if they wanted to do so.

When asked if there was one thing they would have done differently during their days as a youth player, almost all college and pro baseball players say they would have taken their nutrition more seriously.  Assumed, of course, in this response are the other factors that are essential to development and recovery, e.g., rest, quality sleep, hydration, and arm care (both pre-season and during the season).  Even if their nutrition was proper, chronic fatigue would likely still have been a huge problem contributing to arm problems for them because it is very common for players to play on multiple teams and in multiple sports during a baseball season.  It is also very common for players to play in many more games than they have practices and in those games and practices, as stated above, proper throwing mechanics are rarely properly coached.  

Too few parents and players know enough about these factors to set, monitor, and execute guidelines for them.  Most coaches and leagues certainly are not vigilant about them either. 

It is long past time to take a more diligent and holistic approach to the care of the arms of youth baseball players.  Their long-term health and that of our nation’s pastime depend on it.
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when "winning" is not winning

8/1/2024

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During the first week of the season, I watched an 11 year-old pitch one inning of a game against a much superior team.  He threw only fastballs, surrendered six runs on thirty four pitches, six hits, three walks, there were four defensive errors and two dropped third strikes with the batter advancing safely to first base.  During his pitching, the player exhibited frustration with his own performance and the lack of support by his defense.  When the pitcher finished the inning, he was greeted with a “nice job” by his coaches, and seemed generally satisfied and relieved that he survived his outing without giving up more damage.

I witnessed this same player pitch four innings in the last game of the season.  He threw both fastballs and change-ups, 54 pitches, struck out six batters, gave up four unearned runs on four hits, two of which were “home runs” on errors by the outfielders and missed relays.  He picked off two runners at first base and one at second base (although none were thrown or tagged out) on pick-off moves that would make a high school pitcher proud.  He was calm and composed the entire time and supported his teammates in every way during the game.  Once again, when he was done pitching, he was greeted with a “nice job” by his coaches.  However, this time when he arrived at the bench, he was visibly very upset.  The game and the season ended for the Tigers about 15 minutes later. 

Despite the best efforts of his coaches and parents to console him after the game, the tears continued to flow.  When asked why he was so upset he exclaimed, “I did terrible.  I’m a horrible pitcher and player.  I hate baseball!”  That would be his last and most indelible memory from the season.

By any objective measure, this pitcher had obviously improved significantly in every tangible and intangible way.  Yet, the player did not realize or feel any of it.  He only knew that his team record was 2-19 and he failed to “win” a single game as a pitcher.  In his words, he and his team “were a bunch of losers.”

Why was there such a disconnect between the reality of his performance and improvement and his perception of them?    

First, the district and league set his team up for disappointment.  There were no regulations at this age for limiting mismatches.  No rules existed for stopping an inning after a given number of runs were scored or stopping a game when the “winning” team was ahead by a given number of runs after a certain number of innings.  The Tigers lost almost all of their games by 10+ runs and were behind by as many as 21 runs in one inning.  Most games were only remarkable by the number of runs scored by both teams by walks, stolen bases, wild pitches, passed balls, and errors.  Rarely did a team on offense have more hits than walks or errors by the defense. 

Second, the priority for all teams was on playing games and not on practicing to improve athleticism and individual skills. The players’ abilities did not improve during the season regardless of the team’s record, the pitchers’ ERA’s or the hitters’ averages except through private coaching outside the team and the league.

Finally, and most important, the season was sabotaged because “winning” was defined solely by the final score.  Prior to the season, the league and its coaches should have established a list of process-oriented goals for pitchers, position players, and hitters and a list of athletic and life skill goals to be taught proactively during the season. These goals should have been tracked, recorded, communicated and rewarded after every practice and game regardless of the score. 

In fact, the game best suited for the development of the players in this league would have been one in which no score was kept, each batter put a ball in play for the defense to handle, i.e., no walks or strikeouts, no stolen bases, and in every inning each player on the team had an at bat on offense and played a position on defense.

If these things had been done, the Tigers’ pitcher would have ended his last game and the season with a smile on his face, a huge boost to his self-esteem, and a growing love for his sport.  At a minimum, he would have recognized he was able to throw two pitches for strikes in any count, had developed excellent pick-off moves to first and second base, and could pitch with confidence and composure for a much longer period of time no matter the support he was getting from his defense.  Most importantly, he was able to support his teammates regardless of how he was performing individually.

Sadly, after coaching and observing youth sports for more than four decades, I think the scenario of the Tiger’s pitcher is the rule, not the exception.  Despite the best efforts of all coaches to rehab hurt feelings and damaged self-esteems, players only feel like “winners” when their teams win the game.  Most youth coaches do not realize that a won-loss record is not indicative of the quality of coaching, of a “winning” team or of the players’ long-term success.  Players do not realize that elite statistics do not necessarily indicate improved or elite skills.
  
Training, tracking and rewarding the process of sport, athletic, and life skills develops champions, Champions for Life.
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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. 

    In baseball, Adam’s teams have consistently won championships at every youth league and high school level.  In administration, he has served as league founder, board member and coaches’ and players’ clinic director many times in his 40+ year coaching career.
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    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 is also a favorite guest on national podcasts for coaching sports. 
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    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.

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