CP7 Baseball

Successful coaches learn to teach not tell. Tellers provide nothing but words and expect things to magically change with announcing the obvious. Teachers help players problem solve together with 2 way communication. Tellers think identifying and saying the problem is the solution. Teachers work with the athletes to help them understand how to fix the issue. If telling worked, non athletes could just tell themselves to be athletes. Teaching requires more planned preparation with understanding of human behavior.

High school athletes with college aspirations should be bulletproofing their arms over winter break.

HS Freshman, Boone HS, FL

Transactional coaches think about the outcome more than player progression. Play mind games that rarely work. Force injured players to play hurt. Punish kids giving their best because the ego won’t allow misunderstanding or “disrespect”. Full comprehension takes failure with continued positive reinforcement. Bad coaches usually aren’t doing things the best way anyway, but force it on players. We lose “My way or the highway!. Over time, players talk and those programs can’t get the elite players because the coach can’t win, won’t learn and refuse to pivot away from failed attempts. Some players will stick it out ….out of loyalty and others will move on to develop under new leadership because they identify the coaching pattern. Coach has to transform before he/she can be a transformational coach to others.

Sometimes a forced progression is what is needed to learn movement patterns. Pulling off the ball(misdirection) is a flaw many kids can’t feel or fix by just telling them. Once a coach has exhausted all verbal cues, it’s time to make it happen for them. Next thing you know, they are breaking personal records with better contact quality and adjustability.

I could give a bunch of examples but the best coaches are the quietest at game time. The players get to play. The coaches are confident. The players need the freedom to show what they know and try to execute. The coach understands the competitive dynamics of letting them play. Players are distracted, play slower and will second guess themselves trying to please the decision maker. Teach at practice. Players will surprise you when you shut up and allow them to compete.

The same coaches get exposed every year. They blame the players. They blame injuries. They blame circumstances. Blame your preparation. Blame your work load ignorance. Blame your game management. Other coaches have challenges too. They solve the problems with solutions. Winning isn’t a gift you earn for trying. You have to try better than your opponents.

I use it differently.

Losers attack the character of players when things get tough. Point fingers. It’s crazy how loser coaches find ways to deflect accountability. Just take the punch on the chin and get better. Pick the team up by providing solutions, not creating bigger issues which you obviously didn’t prepare for. After losses everyone has to look in the mirror first. It’s always the coaches who don’t have real problem solving ability who say “you just have to want it more”. Not true in team sports. The standard and strategy starts in practice. Winners adjust faster, learn quicker and implement the solutions ASAP. youtu.be/7DpcSJj8hWg?is=VnMX…

These days the hype train is real. Players think they’re better than they are. Programs market themselves as being successful when they’re not. Executing your job whether a player or a coach is still king. Coaches who play the players who are not executing, lose the most significant games that matter. Take the blinders off and do the things that winners do.

Young LH hitter putting the lumber to good use. @LukasSmiley proud of you kid!

Imagine that. Cupcake Schedule can temporarily make a team look the part. The playoffs separate the coaches from the posers. Great coaches fix issues all the time not just in losses. Can’t fix what ya can’t see. Head coaches should never be allowed to under achieve over a long period of time.