Coaching || Page 5 || Baseball Dudes LLC

What Opened My Eyes

May

In 2012 I accepted a minor league pitching coach position with the LA Angels. I spent the next 3 years around some great Baseball minds, learned a ton about development but was shocked and surprised when over 50% of our new draftees each year came in with a zipper on their arm (that’s a name for the Tommy John surgery scar). What the heck is going on??

Before my third season, I informed them, the Angels, that would be my last year. I would be committing my time to my family, and the families I worked with back home, full time. They needed me home and my students and their families needed someone to not just help develop their kids as players but they needed someone to help educate them.

While in the pro game, the more and more I got to know my players, build relationships and helped them achieve their dreams, the more and more I started to learn why these kids were coming in as damaged goods.

The odds of a full recovery from one TJ are pretty good now. The odds from a full recovery after your second drops from around a 90% success rate to 65%. The odds of recovering from a third, well let’s just say it’s not that good.

So that means that these young men are coming into pro ball one major injury away from a dream shattered. Let’s remember that this is a wear and tear injury (sure there are cases where a healthy ligament breaks) that should only happen to grown men who have been playing baseball for a living for many years. Not something that kids who have just started shaving are having to go through.

Overuse as a pre-teen, teenager and college player. Not enough rest for their arm in the off season. Attending showcases in the off season months. Training to throw harder but lacking an arm care program. Poor mechanics but no one suggesting a fix for them because the player is having success and generating wins. Pitching in multiple games in the same day. Pitching multiple innings and catching multiple innings in the same day or pitching a high number of pitches one day and then catching multiple innings the next day. Continually throwing more pitches than what their arm is conditioned for year after year. The overwhelming desire to throw fast, faster and to be the one who throw the fastest. Too much down time, no mound work or pitching competitively, between tournament weekends where the arm loses stamina and strength and then making an extraordinary amount of throws over a 2-3 day period and then repeating this cycle week after week, month after month and year after year. There are so many different factors that are leading to this that weren’t present in the youth baseball world before this injury epidemic.

Bottom line, they came in damaged because of what they went through and how they were handled as a young player. Between their 9 year old season through the college years, something went wrong.

When I was drafted in 1996, it was a truly rare thing to hear about a major injury. Fast forward 5 years, the game changed. It slowly started to become the norm to see more and more of these major injuries each year. The more and more I learned about the timeline, the more obvious it became that it all started around the same time that tournament style and showcase baseball exploded. These two things can absolutely be done right, but they obviously are not. There is no one holding anyone accountable when there obviously needs to be. Adults are playing with kids’ future because their desire to win supersedes their common sense.

We will continue to talk about this. As I have said, there is no argument that anyone can bring up that will make any of this ok. It’s abuse, it’s ignorance, it’s ridiculous, it’s absurd, it’s nonsense and it’s flat irresponsible. Adults, it’s time to wake up.

It’s time to make some changes…

Chris Gissell (168 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.

Categories : Baseball Life, Catching, Chris Gissell, Coaching, Dudes Blog, Parents, Pitching

Mentor

May

050316_MLB_Bob_McClure_PI2.vresize.1200.675.high.20
Bob McClure

This Dude changed my career. He taught me to compete mentally. He taught me how to pitch inside with my VERY average fastball. He taught me how to make the hitter uncomfortable. He taught!!

It’s an honor to call him a mentor. Though we haven’t spoken in years, his leadership was a force behind every pitch there after, every game, every day as a coach, every thought, every word and every moment since meeting him in 2003.

Here are some words I would like to point out from the article…
– Creating a positive environment, coaching instead of dictating, letting players breathe.
– He is a guy with a great deal of backbone. He wasn’t afraid to address things that had to be addressed.
– He has an emotional compass when it comes to dealing with young players.
– He creates authentic relationships with everyone so that everyone trusts him.
– He is a very deep thinker who is intellectually gifted. He has no ego or agenda — he is a very humble man who is always open for suggestions.
– But it doesn’t matter what kind of curveball you have if you can’t command your fastball.
– The better you can repeat your delivery, the easier it is for you to command a baseball.
– He’s a very calm personality, how he talks with people, how he engages with people.

Please take a moment to read. Thanks for being the person you are and for everything you do Mac.

CLICK HERE to view the article.

Chris Gissell (168 Posts)

Categories : Baseball Life, Chris Gissell, Coaching, Dudes Blog

RESPECT…

May

Last Saturday after my oldest sons game, he’s 13, we had our usual post game discussion to cover areas we need to keep working on and areas that they are improving at and doing well. There are three of us coaches (I’m not the head coach, just there to help when I can) and it makes me very happy to hear the message the other coaches are giving these young ones.

Here is the message that the head coach left them with after we discussed the game…

You boys have a very unique opportunity this season to have three coaches on the field that are not going to be mad at you when you come back in the dugout after a mistake. You won’t find us angry, mad, or upset. It’s just not how we roll. There may be times that we are frustrated with a decision made, but it would only be used as a teaching moment.

You boys need to take advantage of this opportunity to learn how to deal with failure. You are going to strike out looking, you are going to go down swinging, you are going to make the wrong decision on when to steal and be thrown out. You don’t need to hang your head, get mad at yourself, tear up, or pout. You need to learn to just say, “ah, crap!” and own your mistake, keep your head high, say “yes coach” when being taught, and go out on the next play and take one back for yourself and the team.

We are giving you the freedom to make your own judgement calls on the field a lot of times, and we do expect you to fail. We also hope we’ve coached you well enough that most of the time you are succeeding. You’re going to have way bigger failures, face way bigger disappointments, and struggle through much more difficult things later in life, and this is a chance for you to learn how to deal with those times on a small, safe scale.

There should be no doubt in any of your minds that all the coaches out here care greatly about you as young men, not just about you as players with talent. This is so much more than just baseball!

**********************

Parents & Coaches, let’s not ever forget that this is just a game. The bigger picture is life. Build them up. Let them fail and then help them learn from it. Be a positive leader. Be a mentor. Be the reason they enjoy going to the field each day.

As I have said before, if at the end of the season, they have a new found love for the game and some new found confidence, Thank You for you are doing a great thing.

RESPECT

Chris Gissell (168 Posts)

Categories : Baseball Life, Chris Gissell, Coaching, Dudes Blog, Parents

Professional Coaching

May

This question comes up every once in a while…

Why do coaches and instructors not working for a MLB organization call themselves a “Professional Coach”?

My thoughts…

From private instruction to youth/amateur coaches to HS and college coaches to professional coaches, the term “Professional Coaching” is heavily used. So many throw the term around that unfortunately it seems to have lost its value. It seems to be more of a marketing ploy than actual truth in many situations.

Can a coach who only played HS Baseball consider himself a “Professional”? Can a coach who only played/coached College Baseball consider himself a “Professional”? Can a coach who only played/coached Minor League Baseball consider himself a “Professional”? Or does he have to have played/coached in the Big Leagues to be able to call himself a “Professional”?

The term is up to personal opinion but the deeper I get into the youth/amateur Baseball world, the more and more I am seeing a lack of good experienced coaching. I’m not just talking about with the young ages, I’m talking all the way through college ball. In the professional world, it’s too often brought up about how under developed physically and mentally young professionals are. Yes, they may throw really hard and hit the ball really far, but game awareness lacks mightily. Instincts are lacking and common sense leaves coaches scratching their head.

For me, there are so many factors that could go into this term. Playing and coaching experience, leadership skills, age, reputation/word of mouth, is it a side gig or full time gig, how do they relate with the kids and their parents, how do they speak, how do they carry themselves, etc. Understand too that just because a coach/instructor played college or professional Baseball, that by no means means they can teach it. There is a HUGE difference in playing the game and teaching the game. To be a good teacher takes time. It takes experience. It takes the right mindset. It takes being coachable. It means pushing ego to the side and being open minded to what the more experienced have to offer. I have played for and worked with some great coaches who never picked up a Baseball after their HS career. Just imagine how much they had to learn. How long it took them to gain experience. How many questions they had to ask and how often they had to just keep their mouth closed and listen.

Again this is up to personal opinion. Make your choices by asking around. Find those in your area that you trust and have older players as those families will most likely have the most experience with multiple coaches/instructors. Be very careful of just going off of what you see on some flyer or on a website. Do your research. Make an educated decision as this may be one of the most important choices you make for your Dude.

Chris Gissell (168 Posts)

Categories : Baseball Life, Chris Gissell, Coaching, Parents

Infatuated with Velocity

May

We all love to see a hard thrower. Realistically, when they are younger, they can be the most effective pitchers. The hitters are scared, they tend not to swing, or you see late panic swings as the hitters are on their heels from the beginning.

What many of these young hard throwers are not prepared for though is as they get older, the hitters get better and develop a better eye at the plate and all of the sudden, those hard throwers aren’t seeing as many swings on those poorly located pitches and their strike percentage drops as their walk rate increases. You may also see them start to get hit harder because those mid thigh/belt high pitches they used to blow by the hitters are now being deposited into the gaps.

From day one, there needs to be a constant focus on commanding the Baseball, throwing strikes and eliminating walks. Players, Parents and Coaches, do not be surprised when a young hard “thrower” never ends up becoming a successful pitcher, if a pitcher at all, in HS when there was never a CONSISTENT focus on a proper CONSISTENT delivery and to CONSISTENTLY command the Baseball.

And don’t be surprised when those softer throwers, the ones who saw less opportunities because they didn’t possess as much “velocity”, but threw more strikes, become valuable pieces to their HS/Summer programs. Notice that by the end of a season, it’s the strike throwers, not the velocity guys, who have become the go-to guys as they have proven to be more reliable.

Velocity will come with time, work on developing a powerful and healthy delivery and with maturity. Trust the process. For long term success, at the youngest of ages, instill a mindset of focusing on…

“Strike Percentage & Walk Rate”

Chris Gissell (168 Posts)

Categories : Chris Gissell, Coaching, Dudes Blog, Pitching

Pitchers: Throw Strikes!

May

Pitching 101

What’s your mindset? When you throw a pitch, is your focus on the catcher, or is your focus on a spot inside his glove? Are you just throwing a breaking ball in an 0-2 count, or are you trying to bury it in the dirt behind the plate? Are you throwing a fastball away, or are you visualizing yourself throwing it at the knees on the corner?

Fine tune your focus. Challenge yourself to see how many times you can hit the glove and execute pitches. If your focus in on an “area”, then that’s what you are going to see, a pitch to an area. You need to be better than that. Your job is to hit “spots”. There’s a big difference.

Remember though, to hit spots consistently, you need to be able to repeat your delivery. Your struggles with this will be reflected in your low strike percentage and your high walk ratio. Tighten up that delivery, learn right from wrong and command the Baseball.

The pitchers that win the most pitches, are the pitchers whose team can rely on them the most.

Throw strikes Dudes!!

Chris Gissell (168 Posts)

Categories : Chris Gissell, Coaching, Dudes Blog, Pitching

Calling Pitches

May

We talk a lot about helping the players develop game awareness. This is a big.

Let me remind you that this is THEIR game. Teach them to think.

Pay attention to what the hitter is doing in the box…
– Is he far off the plate?
– Where is his stride foot going?
– Is he late or early?
– What is his pitcher doing well with and not so well with…
– Is he yanking everything off the plate?
– Is he missing arm side (3rd base side for righties and 1st base side for lefties)?
– Is he commanding his change up well?
– Is he getting his fastball in well on right hand hitters but not lefties?
– What the situation is and what we want the hitter to do…
– Is there a runner on 2B and we want the hitter to hit the ball to the left side so the runner doesn’t advance?
– Is there a runner on 3B with less than two outs and we want a strikeout?
– Is there a base open and we want to be careful with the guy in the box as we don’t want him, their best hitter, to beat us?

This is Baseball. This is developing a smart player. When coaches call every pitch, and don’t teach from what they are calling, all they are doing is creating a robot. It was always disappointing to me when we would draft a new pitcher or catcher and would find out that they have never been allowed to call their own pitches. Instantly, they were so far behind. So much to learn.

Coaches…Let loose of the reins. Let them think. Let them learn. Coach’me up!!

Chris Gissell (168 Posts)

Categories : Catching, Chris Gissell, Coaching, Dudes Blog, Pitching

Coach, You’re a Psychologist

May

Life experience, playing experience and coaching experience may be the only way to truly understand the importance of this. Too many young coaches will fail in this area simply because they don’t have the experience. Keep in mind too that playing and coaching are two very different skills.

Understanding the mental stability of a child, let alone a HS, college or young professional, is key to a coach making a positive impact on a player and a team.

Inexperienced & experienced coaches, please take this to heart. You can not verbally insult, embarrass, belittle, berate and take your frustrations out on the players and expect them to remain confident. Expect them to remain motivated. Expect them to trust you.

That stud player on your team is just as mentally soft as any other kid his age. They are just kids and if you want to get the best out of them, and this goes for any age, you MUST help them believe. You MUST help them develop confidence. You MUST show them respect. You MUST be a compassionate leader and you MUST have their trust in moments of failure. They need to be able to fail with confidence knowing that their leader will have their back and be there to help them.

To become the best coach you can be, you need to become the best psychologist you can be.

Chris Gissell (168 Posts)

Categories : Chris Gissell, Coaching, Dudes Blog

Young Power Arms

May

I want to make you aware of some certain truths about your dreams, goals and your future.

Truth…Your god given talent of velocity may very well open some doors for you. Possibly a college scholarship and maybe even your name being called at a MLB Free Agent Draft one day.

Reality…This is just the first step. Assuming you have the end goal of being a big leaguer, understand that to be able to achieve this dream, you must be able to command that power. You must be able to dot the “I’s” and cross the “T’s”. The higher you go in this game, the better the hitters get and they will turn 95 around like it’s batting practice when you leave it up and over the plate. Also realize that mid-thigh IS up! You must be able to command that fastball, command multiple off speed pitches, be able to pitch inside, change eye levels, pitch to contact, command multiple put away pitches, have situational game awareness, notice hitters tendencies, to just name a few.

When you possess 90+ as an amateur, you feel invincible out there. Very few are confident against you when they step in the box. You are on top of the world. As an older player, you will need this confidence to make it. Don’t ever forget how to believe in yourself. I say this because at some point, if you have never truly understood the concept of “Pitching” and have seen success solely on “Throwing”, reality will jump up and bite you. You will be humbled as you failed to study the craft of “Pitching” and now the hitters are letting you know how good of a “Pitcher” you really are.

So my strong suggestion to you as a “Young Power Arm” is that you not only focus on what the radar gun says, you also focus on learning to be a “Pitcher”. It’s NEVER too early to learn your craft.

Raw talent may get you in the door but only developed skill will elevate you to the top.

Chris Gissell (168 Posts)

Categories : Chris Gissell, Coaching, Dudes Blog, Pitching

Baseball Weekend

May

With the 3 day holiday weekend approaching (Memorial Day Weekend), there is a lot of baseball that’s going to be played across the nation.

I’m going to be honest, it makes me nervous. I’m concerned for all of the young pitchers and catchers out there.

Coaches, follow pitch counts, not inning limits. If they’re not a teenager, DON’T pitch them back to back days. Even though our chart here says it’s ok for 11-12 year olds to if they throw less than 15, if it’s not 100% necessary, don’t do it. Think about all of the other throws they are going to be making this weekend.

DON’T forget about those catcher too. For every pitch made, that’s a throw back to the pitcher and that’s another squat. No player should pitch and catch in the same day once they pitch or catch more than 30-40 pitches. And to be on the safer side, just stay away from the combo in the same day all together. Again, these choices are for their future.

DON’T pull a pitcher just because you take an early lead so you can save him for another game. If he’s the starter, use him. Let them reach their pitch count (whatever they are conditioned for), tell them great job, and use your other pitchers for the rest of the weekends innings. STOP making foolish decisions, that aren’t what’s best for the kids, just because you want to win some “big” tournament. And don’t ask the kid if he thinks he can pitch again, of course he’s going to say yes. Don’t ask the parents either if he can throw again, you are putting them in an uncomfortable spot. Man up and make some morally right decisions.

So many kids are going to get overused this weekend. Parents who follow us and read our words, LISTEN, it’s not worth it. Pay attention, be observant, know right from wrong and if you see something foolish happening, DON’T let it.

Their future is SO much more important.

Click here to view and download our pitch count chart

Chris Gissell (168 Posts)

Categories : Catching, Chris Gissell, Coaching, Dudes Blog, Parents, Pitching

Aptitude

May

This word is used often amongst coaches at the higher levels of this game.

The higher you get, the better the players get and the quicker and quicker you will need to be able to make adjustments.

It all starts with being aware. Being aware that you’re late in the batters box. Being aware that your timing is off in your delivery. Being aware of what your body is doing. Being aware of your mindset. And recognizing that you need to change something right now.

As a coach, it’s a special thing to come across players with great Aptitude. Realize this too, just because a player has a lot of talent, that does not mean that he has Aptitude.

Aptitude can be developed but it starts with being a student. Wanting to learn. Being an observer. Paying attention to detail. Learning right from wrong and being persistent.

Never stop growing and wanting to learn Dudes!

Chris Gissell (168 Posts)

Categories : Baseball Life, Chris Gissell, Coaching, Dudes Blog, Parents

Dead Arm

May

3872583153_189428c2c3 I first experienced “Dead Arm” as a young professional. It’s painful. It’s annoying. If it gets bad enough, it feels like your arm will break at any moment with each throw. It can even wake you up at night. It sucks!!

“Dead Arm” is a fancy word for “Fatigue.” It seems it hits most players in a few different areas. The biceps muscle, the triceps muscle, the posterior side of your upper arm and bicep tendonitis is also a sign of fatigue.

With the first three, you will experience a dull ache, not a sharp pain. The area feels very tight. With the tendonitis, you will experience a sharp pain in the front of your shoulder when your arm is laid back and as it comes forward to throw. Think “External Rotation”.

These all happen when your arm isn’t ready for what you are doing to it, in other words, when it’s not in shape or conditioned for the number of throws you are making or made or for the amount of effort or intent you are throwing with or your delivery (pitching/throwing mechanics) are inefficient causing more strain on your arm. Point blank, your arm isn’t in shape for what you are demanding from it. Here are a few examples that may lead to “Dead Arm”…

– An easy week of Baseball, maybe 2 days of easy catch, and then a busy week filled with multiple practices and games which equals a lot of throws and competitive throws, often too many for what your arm is conditioned for.
– Going from being a one to two inning guy, 15-30 pitches, to all of the sudden throwing multiple innings with an extreme number of pitches compared to what your arm is used to.
– Not pitching in game situations for a week or two and then going out and being pushed to a max pitch count, 60/70/80/90 pitches. You will have felt great in the game and most likely the few days after but when it, “Dead Arm”, comes, understand it’s most likely because of what you put it through the week prior.
– Finishing a school ball season, taking a week or two off to “recover”, and then jumping right back into long practices and games. Ouch! This happens all too often. Understand that all it takes is 3-4 days of no throwing for a pitchers arm to loose stamina, for a pitcher to loose feel for their delivery and feel of their release point.
– Poor mechanics that cause a pitcher to try and create velocity with their arm. Velocity is a byproduct of power, momentum and torque created from proper use of the body.

This can all be managed with…
– A good arm care routine on throwing days.
– Taking a day off from throwing a baseball once or twice a week.
– Following a pre season throwing program leading up to the season so you are built up and ready to throw 45-60 pitches your first outing.
– Not completely shutting it down between school ball and summer ball.
– Keeping your delivery on point where you are using your body to create power and not using your arm to generate velocity.
– Throwing regular weekly bullpens in a competitive manner, in other words, as close to game speed as possible.
– A continual focus on how your body moves while throwing the ball.

With a little bit of rest, you can see the symptoms go away within a week or two.

If you are a parent and coach who did not pitch as a player, it may be hard to really understand this. Please take this information seriously as pitching is hard enough as it is, let alone doing it with this sort of ailment. Take care of those arms. Make decisions based on what’s best for the player and their safety and health. Make sure they are throwing regular bullpens and make sure they are utilizing some sort of arm care routine.

MOST IMPORTANTLY…MAKE SURE THEY ARE CONDITIONED FOR THE NUMBER OF PITCHES YOU ARE WANTING THEM TO THROW.

Respect those arms Players, Parents & Coaches!

Chris Gissell (168 Posts)

Categories : Chris Gissell, Coaching, Dudes Blog, Parents, Pitching

Conditioning a Pitcher’s Arm

May

2015-04-23 06.49.31 What does it mean to “Condition” an arm and why is it important?

Conditioning an arm means to get it in shape. This takes, at minimum, a month (I recommend 2-3 months) of a regimented throwing program. You can compare this to a marathon runner training for that 26.2 mile run. If they were to go out and try to do the whole run on day one, they will fatigue quickly, have a hard time finishing the race and put themselves at risk for injury. They need to work up to that type of distance, which takes weeks, to be completely prepared and ready to run a strong race of that length.

Now, think about our pitchers. Throwing bullpens leading up to the season is a must. This is how we get comfortable with our deliveries, fine tune our command, get feel for our changeups and tighten up our breaking balls.

With that said, just because a pitcher has been throwing regular bullpens, 30-40 pitches, does not mean they are ready for 60-80 pitches their first game out. They NEED to be built up to this type of number. This can be done before the regular season games start with throwing simulated innings (throw their pregame routine, rest, get back up and throw their warmup pitches followed by simulating three outs and repeat this to build up stamina and strength) AFTER their bullpens or if they have not done that, they need to build up their pitch count over the course of games pitched. For example…

Game 1 = 2 innings or 30 pitches
Proper days rest!
Game 2 = 3 innings or 45 pitches
Proper days rest!
Game 3 = 4 innings or 60 pitches
Proper days rest!
Game 4 = 5 innings or 75 pitches
Proper days rest!

Sending a pitcher out there, whether he is 9 or 29, and throwing them 60+ pitches for their first outing of the season without being properly conditioned, is setting that pitcher up for failure and an injury. Fatigue will instantly set in and with fatigue comes a higher risk of injury.

Another common issue is when pitchers have an extended period of time between games pitched. The arm loses stamina very quickly and when pitch counts aren’t maintained week after week, that game a pitcher had 3 weeks ago where he threw 80 pitches, means nothing today when deciding how many pitches to allow them to throw. He most likely will be good, arm health wise, for 30-40 pitches.

Let’s also be clear that all pitchers need proper warmup in the bullpen before they go into a game to pitch. They should have a 20-30 pitch routine they like to do that will help them be prepared for battle! I know sometimes, this is not possible in youth baseball as you may only have enough players to field a team, but if you do have enough players, have the pitcher you plan on using next, on the bench ready to warm up if the situation presents itself.

Chris Gissell (168 Posts)

Categories : Chris Gissell, Coaching, Dudes Blog, Pitching

Primary & Secondary Leads

Apr

4402-BASEBALL-OE Such an important piece as our young ones are preparing for their baseball life on the big field and their High School career and hopefully beyond.

The more and more I see big field rules played on a small field (46/60 and 50/70), the more and more I am seeing this skill not being taught. It seems so many are so concerned with stealing 2nd and then 3rd within the first two pitches, that we aren’t teaching the game. When you play these teams, if you watch close enough, you will see how under developed most of these players are with these two skills when they don’t steal on a pitch.

It’s so bad that in many situations players are told to fake bunt on the first pitch every time so the runner can take second or third. We all know the odds of a successful steal are often above 90%. How about teach them how to execute a hit and run? Or how about we stop taking the bat out of the hitters hands in that great hitters count…0-0? How about we teach them to look for patterns in pitch selection on that first pitch and teach them what to do and when to do?

Yes, pitchers and catchers need to get better at holding runners, varying hold times, getting rid of the ball quicker behind the plate but these skills take so much longer to develop than learning how to steal on first move that we see these completely normal weaknesses being taken completely advantage of by coaches who care more about the score board than teaching and preparing. Teach them to be aggressive and when to be aggressive but understand development.

Many leave Little League style ball because they want to play by the regular rules and “Real” baseball. I understand that but if you want to play by the regular rules and play “Real” ball, then let’s teach them how to play real/realistic baseball like they will when they get to the big field.

They won’t be able to do this stuff when they get to HS. But what they will need to be good at is taking a good aggressive secondary, reading the ball out of the pitchers hand, anticipating the ball in the dirt and having that right foot coming down as the ball is crossing the hitting zone and learning how to read and what to look for in both pick off moves from right handed and left handed pitchers.

Coaches…Are you teaching this?

I don’t care if your opponent playing this style of so called “baseball”. This is about your approach. About you teaching your players the game. About you preparing them for what the real game is like. Why are we so concerned about winning and teaching habits that are just short term? Teach them the REAL game. A game that will give them some value as a HS player. Our job is preparing them for the next level and EVERY player on a small field should be preparing for the game on the big field.

Coach’em up coaches!!

Player Development 101

Chris Gissell (168 Posts)

Categories : Baserunning, Chris Gissell, Coaching, Dudes Blog, Hitting, Parents

Mental Toughness Revealed

Apr

Having had many teammates and many coaches, there’s one common theme with the best. The ones who saw more long term success. The coaches who had the most trust from their players.

They handled failure and adversity with grace. At the higher levels of this game, very rarely will you ever see a player or coach carry a bad day over into the next day. When they go to bed on the night of a not so good day, that’s it. It’s over. Move on. Tomorrow is a new day. Their attitude the next day will seem as if the day before never even happened. And if the next day is rough again, they will repeat that cycle.

This is what it takes to be successful in this game and in life. You must be able to move on. If, and when, you are unable to is when it will start to fall apart.

A loss is a loss. A bad day is a bad day. Your mental toughness will be revealed when you show up to the field the next day.

Players and Coaches, self evaluate, do you carry a bad day into the next?

Chris Gissell (168 Posts)

Categories : Baseball Life, Chris Gissell, Coaching, Dudes Blog, Parents

Archive for Coaching – Page 5

What Opened My Eyes

Mentor

RESPECT…

Professional Coaching

Infatuated with Velocity

Pitchers: Throw Strikes!

Calling Pitches

Coach, You’re a Psychologist

Young Power Arms

Baseball Weekend

Aptitude

Dead Arm

Conditioning a Pitcher’s Arm

Primary & Secondary Leads

Mental Toughness Revealed

Perspective

Our Training Home

Mailing Address

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