Stay in Game Shape While At Home

Aim to build a culture obsessed with development and competition. 🇺🇸

You can still work out and do drills to stay sharp, improve, and be ready while you are still staying at home!!

Driveline Baseball Practice

“First and foremost, I’d aim to build a culture obsessed with development and competition.”

https://twitter.com/JasonOchart/status/1032407567039787008?s=20

–Help motivation: Objective feedback is a very powerful tool. The feedback most hitters are used to receiving is the coach’s saying “yeah that looks better!” They’ve been hearing that from every coach in every lesson since they were five. However, when its objective and public, it is very powerful. Furthermore, getting “wins” in training is extremely motivating. When an athlete after two weeks sees that he has gained 3 mph of exit velocity, it validates his hard work, and he will know that the training works. We love talking about how failure and #haters drive us, but what’s often forgotten is that success and progress are very motivating.

–Create Accountability: Players will be more hesitant to slack in the weight room or in training if they know they are retesting every two weeks and that the numbers are important to the coach. Whether coaching high school or college athletes, hitters should not be getting worse over time. They are growing and getting stronger at a rapid rate. Long term, you should be seeing improvements. This holds the trainer (you) and the trainees accountable. If someone isn’t getting better, or is getting worse, you’ll know and can start to look into why: ineffective training? Injury? Lack of sleep/recovery? Diet? etc.

High Performance/High Pressure: Task is relatively easy, but there is pressure to succeed. Pressure can come from coaches, teammates and self. Put something on the line. Losing team does field work, conditioning, or whatever. Be creative. I call these “don’t panic” drills. It’s a task that the athlete knows he can complete, but the stakes are high. If you have an athlete who crumbles under pressure, let’s not wait until season to find out.

• Consecutive line drives v front toss or low velocity
• Execution rounds v standard BP
• Competition: Split into teams, 2-0 count, each player gets 1 swing to hit it hard.
• Endless possibilities here; be creative

Low Pressure/High Performance: 

Taking it easy and feeling good. 

Goal: build confidence, get loose, flow.

• Standard pre-game BP
• Basic front toss w game bat
• “Feel good” tee work

For the full Driveline Practice Instruction, Visit the Links on this Page. It will take you to the Full detailed Workout, Practice, Drills, Batting Practice, and More… With Detailed Instruction and Videos…

https://www.drivelinebaseball.com/2017/08/implementing-driveline-hitting-into-team-practice/

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Slow The Game Down

When the Pitcher is struggling, the Catcher can slow the game down to help the Pitcher regain their composure and minimize the opponents momentum ⚾

"Slow The Game Down"

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Hit And Run Baseball

"Hit And Run Baseball" 🇺🇸

Adding Base Runners to start off innings can increase run scoring, create more diverse game situations, and increase player's understanding of how to play in those situations. This is why it's important to get runners on base early in the inning. ⚾

Use Failures As A Springboard

Players: 🇺🇸

Failure itself is good. There isn't a single MLB Player who hasn't used failures or struggling as a springboard to make it there. Every Player will hit a slump at some point, it's just how you work through it to come out of it.

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Being A Good Teammate

Being a good teammate effects team chemistry and motivation. Caring about your team more than yourself is one of the main qualities coaches desire. It's important to be a good Teammate 🌎

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Earth Day 🌎 2020

Happy Earth Day 🌎 2020

Reliability and Discipline

Coaches: 🇺🇸

Reliability is truly one of the Game's most valuable skills. ⚾ For Hitters, reliability takes on the image of consistently having Quality At-Bats, where the strike zone discipline is a staple of their everyday experience in the Batter's Box.

#CoachesCorner
#USABaseball #USABDevelops #USABFirstPitch

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Element Of Competition

       🇺🇸 The Elements of Competition 🇺🇸

Coaches: 🇺🇸

One of the greatest challenges in coaching is to get our players to embrace practice as much as we do. Coaches, allow your Players to stay in the comfort of their daily routines but enable them to grow every day by making those routines even more productive with the added element of competition. ⚾ 


#CoachesCorner
#USABDevelops #USABFirstPitch #USABaseball


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Aspirations of Playing Baseball

Parents and Players: 🇺🇸

It’s vital for those with aspirations of playing High School Baseball, College Baseball, or playing in MLB to take a deep look, not just at life on the diamond, but also in the Classroom ⚾

Use The Hardships As Motivation

Baseball is filled with adversity. Whether it be a professional getting demoted, a college player being benched, or a high schooler getting cut, it is easy to wallow in self-pity. In today's #FUNdamentalSkills, learn how to use hardships as motivation. #USABaseball


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Jackie Robinson Day!! ⚾ #42

Jackie Robinson Day!! ⚾ #42
April 15th, 2020

2020 Jackie Robinson Day!!

2020 Jackie Robinson Day!! ⚾ #42
April 15th, 2020

SHS Baseball ⚾ on InstaGram

Liam Potichen with 2 RBI Single

Liam Potichen (2B) for SHS Baseball goes 2 for 4 and drives in a 2 RBI Single to right field in the 4th Inning...

Liam Potichen #22 (2B) hits a 2 RBI Single into the Left/Center Field Gap. Driving in Frankie Rago #14 (CF) & Gavin Muller #1 (3B) for 2 Runs

Catchers Receiving Pitches

Coaches and Catchers: 🇺🇸

The better a catcher receives pitches, the more value he brings to a team. For Catchers, catching the outside parts of the ball for inside & outside pitches, top of the ball for high pitches, and bottom of the ball for low pitches will put catchers in position to receive them correctly.

Happy Easter 🐣 2020

Happy Easter 🐣 2020

Off-Season Development

Many view the off-season as a time to focus on individual development. 🇺🇸 Today's #FUNdamentalSkills discusses how teammates can push one another beyond their limits during this time & Work Together.

#USABaseball #USABDevelops #USABFirstPitch

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Set Individual Goals

Each person on the Team should have goals unrelated to the team's overall performance. Learn how to pivot focus on individual goals, so athletes recognize their hard work and dedication even if the Team is struggling or winning. 🇺🇸

#USABaseball #USABDevelops #USABFirstPitch

Player's With Leadership 🇺🇸

Catchers: 🇺🇸

While leadership amongst all players is a great attribute, it’s never more important than at the catching position. Regardless of talent level, there are basic ways in which a catcher can have a positive impact on the team. ⚾

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Building Championship DNA 🏆

It's never too early to instill responsibility, accountability, and good habits within a group & Team. 🏆

This is why establishing a high-quality team culture is often a part of a championship-caliber team's DNA 🇺🇸

Cultivating A Team Identity

"Cultivating A Team Identity"

When You are the Head Coach of the Baseball Team it is important to solidify your Teams' Identity & Culture right from the first Practice of the Season. It's important for both Coaches & Players to be on the same page to ens the Teams' Success.

                    -- Joe Rago (SHS Baseball)

“Play all nine innings.”

For four years as a player and another six as a coach at Rutgers University, that was the consistent theme at my alma mater under our head coach, Fred Hill, an American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Hall of Famer. It wouldn’t be until years later when I had my own clubs as a Minor League manager with the Red Sox when I could truly understand the impact of that consistent message year in and year out.

At Rutgers, one of the things that we prided ourselves on was our competitive drive. For the longest time, I thought it was the on-field translation of that large chip residing on our collective shoulders as a result of our Jersey roots. While growing up in the Garden State did give us a “unique” predisposition, the reality of that competitive drive of the Rutgers University Baseball program was, in fact, a result of the intentional work of Coach Hill, instilling an everyday mindset to every single Scarlet Knight that ever wore the uniform. “Playing all nine innings” was his broken record that we heard ad nauseam.

Coach Hill rarely talked about winning. He was of the belief that if we played up to our abilities and executed the fundamental skills of the game that we practiced day in and day out, then the wins would take care of themselves, as they often did. What he did speak of repeatedly, before games, during games, after games, and around practices, was the importance of competing for the entire game. Baseball is a unique sport in the respect that there is no clock. No matter what the score is heading into the last inning of the game, the losing team has a chance to win…NO MATTER the score. Down one run to start the bottom of the 9th, we had a chance to pull out the W. Down 10 with just three outs to go, we still had that opportunity to earn the victory. Whether it be a Todd Frazier walk-off grand slam to overcome a late seven-run deficit against the University of Connecticut, or a 1-0 complete game gem out of Bobby Brownlie to clinch the Big East title against Seton Hall, we won more games out of sheer competitiveness than most could ever dream.

As coaches, we are a product of those who we played for and worked under. I am no different, as much of my approach to developing players and teams is a direct result of being around Fred Hill for ten years, not to mention a handful of others who have helped shape me into who I am today. Unlike college where the core group of players is together for years at a time, in the professional ranks, I am handed 35-40 players over the course of the five-month, 140-game Minor League season before getting an entirely new crop of players the following year. The makeup of each team, each season, is always different, with players ranging from college educated, to high school draftees, to “peloteros” from Latin America who had never been to the United States prior to the start of Spring Training.

But as different as our roster looks every year, before long, each club every year tends to take on the same look. We play the game the right way. We play the game with intelligence (most nights). And above all else, we play the game with a competitive drive that makes our staff proud. While some years we win more than we lose, and in others we lose more than we win, every year, opposing managers in the South Atlantic League have known what to expect when playing against the Greenville Drive, much in the same way rival coaches in the Big East probably knew they were in for a fight when competing against a Fred Hill coached team.

Every September, while recharging the batteries from the long season, I am able to look back with some perspective on the year as a whole, and every September I am amazed at how each team, with its own unique personality, manages to take on the same look as they had in years prior. A couple years ago, at the completion of my third season as a manager, it hit me how this happens: it all comes from being consistent.

For ten years, I witnessed Fred Hill preach about the importance of playing all nine innings of a game. Ten different years, one singular message. That message – because of its consistency – resonated with our clubs year in and year out and became a staple of who we were as a program and what our identity was as a team.

My message, though very different than Coach Hill’s, comes with that same consistency to my teams, no matter how our season is going:

“What is the best part about yesterday? It’s over.”

Good or bad, win or lose, yesterday’s results have no bearing on what happens in the present. Whether it be individually for one player, or collectively as a team, if yesterday we played the perfect game, running on all cylinders, well then today represented an opportunity to do it again. Again, whether it be one guy or the entire club, if last night we got crushed, unable to do anything right, well then today gave us the chance to right the ship. As a staff, we would not allow the past to affect the way we went about our business in the present. And because everyone on our staff was on the same page with regard to our consistent, daily approach, our players couldn’t help but fall in line.

Over time, the players come to appreciate that consistency. When coming off of a high, we made sure they were grounded with the understanding that there was a lot of work still to be done. If licking our wounds, our players knew that they wouldn’t be walking into a fire storm from the staff upon arrival at the ballpark the next day. Over time, that consistency will shape your players and your program into whatever you want it to be.

While the results can make some days better than others, the model of consistency that we can offer our players will soon be what they become; consistent with their work, and consistent with their play.

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Agility Drills

"A comprehensive list of agility drills to work into your program"



 Agility drills incorporate speed and quickness, muscular endurance and balance, and spatial awareness. A good agility program will challenge your nervous system and equilibrium, improving gross movement skills, reaction time and foot speed.



When starting a new agility drill, it is very important to begin slowly. Master the footwork and balance required by the drill before you increase the tempo of the drill.



All agility drills must be performed under total control. You should never get hurt during training; stay in control at all times. Make sure the surface you are using is smooth and clean. If you are doing your agilities on grass, wear your spikes. Perform a complete warm-up prior to starting your agility program.



BALL DROPS:

 (Done with a partner and 2 baseballs)



• Start facing your partner

• Partner 1 (P1) on a line with the two baseballs in hand.

• Partner 2 (P2) will begin to backpedal.

• P1 with an arm held straight out will drop the ball.

• As soon as P2 sees the ball drop, sprint to P1, pick up the ball, hand it to P1 and start to backpedal again.

• P1 drop the ball at different times making P2 react to short and long delays.

• Perform 2-3 sets of 10 drops



Note: When Partner 2 is changing direction, rotate the hips to the left or right and plant with an open foot. Alternate the plant foot on each rep.



BALL PICK-UPS:

 (Done with a partner and 2 baseballs)



• Start facing your partner, 5-10 yards apart

• Partner 1 (P1) on a line with the two baseballs in hand.

• Partner 2 (P2) will begin to shuffle side to side in fielding position

• P1 will roll the ball to the left never more than 5-6 yards on either side of P2

• As soon as P2 sees the ball, side shuffle to the ball, field it and softly toss it back to P1

• As soon as P2 tosses the ball back to P1, P2 should get back to the middle for the next ball.

• P1 should mix up the direction of the rolls to force P2 to react to the ball

• P1, be sure P2 can reach each roll, make it challenging but possible

• Perform 2-3 sets of 10 drops


Note: Absolutely NO Diving for balls! If Partner 2 cannot reach a ball, let it go!

2020 SHS Baseball | USA Baseball 🇺🇸

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Umpires: The Youth Baseball Experience

Coaches and Umpires: 🇺🇸

Setting a good example for the players and fans keeps everyone focused on what matters most – the players.
Intentionally or not, Managers & Coaches who frequently argue with Umpires or share their disagreement with calls, send messages to Players & Fans that can degrade the Youth Baseball Experience. Same applies when Umpires act out toward the Players & Coaches. ⚾

Catching Skills

Often told to "Be A Wall" from coaches, Catchers are often the last line of defense when tasked with blocking balls in the dirt, Framing Pitches, quick reaction, and quick pop time and release to hold runners on. This is why it takes grit and diligent determination to sharpen these skills 🇺🇸


             🇺🇸  SHS Baseball 🇺🇸

Know The Situation | Be Aware

Infielders: 🇺🇸

 When determining where infielders should position themselves, understand the importance of knowing the situation, where the runners are on base, the speed of the runners, along with each guy’s arm strength and range. #USABFirstPitch #USABaseball


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High Performance Coaching

In this article, we will examine high-performance coaching. From here, we will look at specific coaching behaviors and how they affect performance. Today, we see the word “coaching” being used in many different fields. Whether you are a coach in sport, business or even in a leadership role, the word “coach” describes a way of interacting with people. Coaching is a specific type of behavior. Many leaders use coaching-type behaviors. We see these behaviors in leadership models such as transformational leadership theory (Wagstaff, Arthur, Hardy, 2017). The purpose of this article is to look deeper into specific high-performance coaching behaviors and how these coaching behaviors affect performance. 

First, let’s look at the definition of COACHING and then HIGH-PERFORMANCE COACHING:

• COACHING -> Leaders attempts to improve performance by facilitating the acquisition of newknowledge, skills, and competencies.


I have highlighted the words that I think are most important for us to examine for the purpose of this article. Please read through the entire definition and then take a second to reflect on the words highlighted. If we take the first definition of coaching, the keywords highlighted are knowledge, skills, and competencies. If you remember from the ABC’s of Self-Determination Theory, this theory says that the key elements needed in a person’s life to nurture intrinsic motivation are autonomy, belonging and competence. These elements lay the foundation for intrinsic motivation leading to a self-determined individual. The C within the ABC’s of Self-Determination Theory is competence when developing knowledge and skill.

• HIGH-PERFORMANCE COACHING -> A systematic application of collaborative, individualized, solution-focused psychological practices by leaders to enhance individual, group, or organizational performance. It is intended tosupport individuals in better regulating and directing their intrapersonal and interpersonal resources to attain goals and help individuals tomaximize strengths through self-directed learning.

The words of importance highlighted here are:systematic application, enhance performance, support individuals, attain goals, help individuals, maximize strengths, self-directed learning. Out of these words, support, goals, help and self-directed learning are keywords/skills for our attention. These words speak to the A and B of the ABC’s within Self-Determination Theory which is the need for (A) - autonomy (goals, self-directed learning) and a sense of (B) - belonging (support individuals, help individuals).

In the field of psychology, we are interested in creating theories and frameworks from knowledge acquired that help us better understand and predict behavior. Keeping the Self-Determination Theory’s framework in mind, let’s next look into specific coaching behaviors.


Regardless of the employment area, the literature on all high-performance coaches has similar behaviors. Those behaviors are: observing and performance analysis, ask effective questions, facilitate goal setting, provide developmental feedback and motivational feedback (Wagstaff, Arthur, Hardy, 2017). These specific behaviors have been proven in research to offer psychometrically sound, brief, and easy ways to measure high-performance coaching behavior. This framework was developed through the workplace, leadership, and sport coaching literature (Wagstaff, Arthur, Hardy, 2017). What are these specific behaviors?

1.    Observing and Performance Analysis
1. Plays close attention to what the athlete does
2. Carefully observes athlete’s skills
3. Carefully watches athlete doing the skills and drills
4. Analyzes athlete’s performance 

Observation as a coaching behavior key. Try stepping back and taking a researcher’s eye to practice. Training as a researcher, one of my assignments in graduate school was to go into an environment that we were familiar with and sit back and observe. This allowed us to see the familiar environment through a different lens and from a different perspective. I challenge you to do the same. Step back, slow down and intentionally watch interactions and skills being practiced. What do you observe? Be specific on what you observe. Write down what you observe and think. Later allow yourself time to process what you have observed as it relates to performance analysis.

2.    Effective Questioning 
1. Encourages athlete to think about how they can improve performance
2. Encourages athlete to question the way they do things
3. Encourages athlete to make suggestions on how they think they can improve performance
4. Asks the athlete’s opinion on how they can improve performance


My graduate school professor would often remind us that, “It is twice as hard to LISTEN as it is to talk. This is why we have two ears and only one mouth.” Take the time to ask the right questions and then being PATIENT enough for the reply.PATIENCE can be very challenging yet extremely important and effective in helping our athletes perform. Coaches need to create space for their athletes to answer questions. Great teams I have been part of, have done this at team events, dinners and on bus rides when practice times did not allow for the time and attention needed. Effective questioning allows the athlete to understand and digest what they are learning. Effective questioning allows the development of a key piece of autonomy (ownership). Two challenges: 1. Think about a specific athlete and create a list of questions that get at helping them perform better. 2. Create a question list that addresses the four items listed above. 

3. Goal Setting
1. Monitors athlete’s progress toward goals
2. Helps athlete set short-term goals
3. Helps athlete identify targets for attaining goals
4. Helps athlete set long-term goals
5. Provides support to an athlete to help attain goals

Coaches, hopefully, are usually pretty good at goal setting. They have meetings with their athletes at the beginning of the season, meetings (individual/team) throughout the season and reflection/summary/team input at the end of the season as well as setting goals for the off-season. I would encourage you to continue to improve on the five areas listed above. Continue to talk to your athletes about the process of success. Continue to build the vision for them on where we are going and how each individual in practice and training is responsible for helping us get closer to the end goal.


4. Developmental Feedback
1. Makes sure athlete understands what they need to do to improve
2. Gives athlete advice on how to improve their skills
3. Offers advice on what the athlete needs to do to improve
4. Shows the athlete how to improve their skills


Feedback is critical information that helps individuals understand how they are performing and what changes, if any, need to be made. Coaches have a lot of different ways in which they give feedback. Coaches employ different tools to give that feedback. Key factors for feedback are the development of skills and strategies that align with your athlete’s and team’s goals. Developmental feedback provides athletes with direction, builds self-awareness, allows for self- reflection, and performance improvement. In the organizational psychology literature, it has been found that developmental feedback is aligned with intrinsic motivation which enhances learning and improvement. What this is saying is that developmental feedback helps build intrinsic motivation in your athletes which helps them be more engaged in the learning and focused on improvement. 

5. Motivational Feedback
1. Tells athlete when they do a particularly good job
2. Sees that the athlete is rewarded for good performance
3. Expresses appreciation when an athlete performs well
4. Gives athlete credit where credit is due

There is a lot of research that highlights the importance of positive feedback and/or behavior that is reinforced or rewarded by the coach. Motivational feedback recognizes when the athlete performs well or does something well in training or competition. Providing genuine positive feedback about an athlete’s development and progress help coaches recognize improvement, build autonomy, and competence within their athletes. Coaching research shows that these autonomy-supported environments have been related to self-determination, persistence, and motivation. Autonomy-supportive coaching behaviors are important in helping our athletes perform and succeed (Wagstaff, Arthur, Hardy, 2017).


In closing, the purpose of this article was to look deeper into specific high-performance coaching behaviors and how those coaching behaviors affect performance. These behaviors are: Observing and Performance Analysis, Ask Effective Questions, Facilitate Goal Setting, Provide Developmental Feedback and Motivational Feedback.

Base Running Awareness

📝 Coaches and Base Runners: 🇺🇸

As with many aspects of the game, being a great base runner is often not about pure speed, but rather by taking pride in the hustle and game awareness that it requires. Be aware of all of the situations around you when on base. The Batter at the plate, the count, the pitcher, and how many outs.

"Strong Team Mindset"

"How to get back in the game with a stronger team mindset" 🇺🇸

All teams face challenges and disappointments, and one of a coach’s most important roles is teaching young athletes how to deal with setbacks and come back stronger. According to Dr. Jim Afremow, PhD, sports psychologist and author of The Champion’s Comeback: How Great Athletes Recover, Reflect, and Reignite, successful comebacks begin with a team’s mindset.


SHS Baseball Head Coach has put together what he calls the “Seven L’s” for creating a successful comeback:


• Let go
• Look for support
• Love the Game
• Learn, Labor
• Learn optimism
• Lean on your mental game


While you can learn more about all seven in other posts, Three of particular interest to coaches are: Let Go, Learn Optimism, and Lean on Mental Game.


{Let Go}

“Ruminating about our mistakes and failures is like holding on to a brick,” says Afremow. Some young athletes benefit from a more literal demonstration, so he recommends bringing an actual brick to practice, discussing the importance of “releasing the brick” and being freed from the weight of past mistakes. Some teams adopt “release the brick” as a mantra and even pantomime dropping a brick as a physical cue following an error.


Coaches have to set a consistent example to reinforce the “let go” attitude, which means not dwelling on setbacks. “Getting over a tough loss or a poor performance is about moving forward,” - Joe Rago

Encourage athletes to shake off mistakes and focus on the next play. After a loss, acknowledge what went wrong, but emphasize what went well and what can be improved.


{Learn Optimism}

“Optimists see success as personal, permanent, and pervasive, whereas failure is situational, short-lived, and specific,” - “Optimists are more likely to sustain success and bounce back when knocked down.”


Humans have a natural inclination to be critical and learning to be consistently optimistic can require a great deal of positive reinforcement. It is recommended adhering to a 5 to 1 praise-to-criticism ratio when providing feedback to individuals and whole teams.


Expressing five positives for each negative may not always come easily, but the impact on young minds is worth the effort. It is a good idea for a coach to occasionally track comments (or have an assistant coach do so) to see how well they are actually balancing positive and negative feedback.


{Lean on Mental Game}

Developing an effective mental toolbox during childhood can help prepare athletes for success throughout their academic, personal, and professional lives. Dr. Afremow reminds coaches of three techniques they can teach to help young athletes develop:

• Mindfulness: “Mindfulness is paying attention to what’s happening in the moment." Find moments during stretching, breaks, or practices for athletes to be quiet and mindful in the moment. Focus on fully experiencing what’s happening now instead of what just happened or is about to happen.


• Visualization: Visualization is doing mentally what you do physically. Effective visualization requires training and practice. Facilitate brief exercises with individual athletes and the team. Guide them through the process of “seeing” and “feeling” themselves executing particular skills and achieving success.


• Body Language: “Body language is nonverbal communication through postures, gestures, facial expressions, and eye movements." When athletes exhibit positivity they invite positivity, even following mistakes.


In all areas of life there will be wins and losses, triumphs and setbacks. Teaching young athletes to lose and come back stronger is as valuable as teaching them to win.