Developing and Protecting Arms || Baseball Dudes LLC

It’s been asked so many times, it’s hard to keep track of.

“How do you protect arms and stick to pitch counts/limits in tournament situations?”

My answer:
Put your pitchers on a rotation. Stick to it, not matter what. Have hard limits. Being so concerned with who’s going to pitch in the championship game hinders a pitchers development as it’s not always guaranteed you will get there.

Coaches who plan like this will find that they end up pitching that kid, they are saving, in an earlier game, the day before and even worse, in the same day, so they have a better chance at getting to that championship game. And then starting that kid, sometimes in the same day, in that championship game.

What also happens is that pitcher who is being saved, ends up not pitching at all and then that pitcher misses the opportunity to develop.

Plan with the players development in mind. Stop planning for the win!!

This is one difference in Development based coaching and Win based coaching.

Coaches, stop being 50/50. If there is even a hint of you that makes decisions based on what is best for you and your ego, then it’s NOT all about the kids. If you want to develop at all costs, THEN BE ALL IN!! You either have a decided and committed heart to the kids or you don’t.

Once again, this is youth baseball, not the big leagues.

Chris Gissell (172 Posts)

Founder of Baseball Dudes. Blessed with three beautiful children and an amazing wife. Baseball is my life, after my family, and I love sharing what I have learned from it. Thanks for taking the time to view what we offer here at Baseball Dudes.

Perspective

I’ve been instructing for I don’t know how many years. At first it was just something I did during the off seasons but had no idea what it was leading to.

Fast forward to 2012, the Angels gave me an opportunity to lead their young draft picks, teach them the game and how to be a professional, my eyes were opened. Since then my appreciation and understanding of coaching has grown deep. The amount of time coaches put in, the level of patience required, the attention to detail necessary, the consistent body language needed to lead by example, the understanding of what’s really important and what’s not, the importance of being able to relate to all different personalities, athleticism and abilities, the fact that being a good coach means consistently growing ourselves and coming to the realization that the one thing that matters most in all of this is finding ways to use the game to help them prepare for all those years when they are not playing the game.

I need to say Thank You to all my past coaches and to all the current coaches who take pride in giving the kids in front of them what they need on top of baseball skills. It’s often a thankless role but remember that no matter where they go in the game, they are going somewhere in life. That’s our mission.

– Chris Gissell

“My purpose, MY WHY, is to provide for my family, while also doing everything I can to develop quality people through the many life lessons that Baseball provides daily.”

17 Years Professional Experience (14 as a player, 3 as a coach). MLB debut 8/22/2004 with the Colorado Rockies. Retired from professional coaching on 10/31/14 to focus on family and developing youth baseball players full time.

Developing and Protecting Arms

Perspective

Our Training Home

Mailing Address

Connect with Us on Social Media