Archive for Parents – Page 5

Change-Up

IMG_5424There are plenty of different Change Up grips to try/use.

• Comfort.
• Maintain normal tempo of delivery.
• You MUST have the same arm speed with it as you do with your fastball.
• Throw it enough times in catch and in games to where you have just as much confidence in it as you do your fastball.

The grip in the pic is the grip I have found that feels the most comfortable to many and has proven to be the easiest to command. Think fastball with your middle and ring fingers. With that, it doesn’t work for everyone. Find a grip that works. Stick with it even if you have an off day with it.

Force reps in game situations with it. The only way to build confidence with it is to throw it to live batters.
The biggest issue I see is young pitchers chocking their CH grip too deep in their palm. This makes it tough for most to command. It should rest at the base of your fingers. Think about where your hand would callus up with a lot of hitting. Notice this in the pics.

Myth…The thumb does not need to be on the side of the baseball like many believe. While this may take some additional speed off, it can make it very tough to command. It’s OK to have your thumb directly underneath, as you see where my thumb is in the pics.

If the grip isn’t taking enough speed off, there are things you can do with your lower body to help take speed off.

• Less back leg drive.
• Drag longer.
• Think to leave your foot on the rubber as long as possible.
• Fall instead of drive with the lower half.

Though more advanced, I have seen all of these help different pitchers. Find which one works best for you, or your pitcher(s).

Hope this helps some of you. Throw that Change Up!!

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.


Pitch Counts

Pitch Counts
If you decide to take some time to look over this, let me explain why this is so important to me.

First, YES, I am on the conservative side. Why? Because young baseball players these days play twice, if not three times, as many games as we did back in the 80’s and 90’s.

Second, baseball is, and has been, my life and career, especially pitching, for the last 20 years. After pitching over 1,500 professional innings and then coaching it for three seasons, I feel I have a good understanding and feel for what it takes, both physically and mentally, to survive long term.

You can take my opinion for what it’s worth. I don’t care about hearing about youth programs win-loss records nor does it matter to me how many tournaments they have won or where they rank on some national ranking list. I want to know how they are taking care of their players. How they are developing them. How they are preparing them for High School baseball. How are they teaching them the mental game and how are they at developing character.

When I first broke into professional baseball in the late 90’s, it was a big thing when someone went down with a major arm injury. As it moved on into the 2000’s, it started to become more and more wide spread. Flash forward to 2012-2014 when I was coaching, I was blown away at the number of players we drafted who already had a zipper on their elbow (Tommy John Surgery Scar).

For some reason, many seem to ignore the facts and truth, that this is all a direct cause of year round baseball, competitive pitching in the winter months when they should be resting or building up for the upcoming season, too much baseball over a 2-3 days span in some tournament, pitching without proper rest, pitching too many pitches when their arm is not conditioned for it, pitching too many pitches with poor mechanics, etc.

I understand that there are not many real pitching coaches out there. And to add to that, most coaches were not pitchers themselves growing up, so the true understanding of what it takes to throw strikes, what it feels like to battle through a long inning, what dead arm (fatigue) feels like, what proper mechanics look like and how to teach them, how to handle a pitching staff and what they need to be rested and ready for their next outing, the knowledge and experience is just not there.

The good ones will go out of their way to seek information. They will have a desire to educate themselves because they know how important that position that sits in the middle of the field on a small mountain, really is.

Bottom line, what you see on this document, is all about the kids. It is a real issue, so big that even MLB has put out their stance on it. Parents, you have to take matters into your hands if your Dude is not being handled correctly. For the sake of your kids health and development, you HAVE to find the right coach(es) and program. They get one shot at living out their dream as far as their talent will take them. You don’t want it to be an injury of over usage that puts an end to it.

**See these numbers as a guideline. You need to have “feel” for the moment. What are stressful pitches and what are efficient pitches. A pitchers ability, stamina and mental toughness should all play a factor in how they are dealt with in game action.

Click here to view, download and print the PDF file of our Pitch Count Chart

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.


When the Student is Ready

IMG_5664The first time I heard this was during my first year coaching. It took me a while to really understand this. Now, this thought runs through my head nearly every day. From the students I work with, to parents, to fellow coaches and instructors, this couldn’t be any more true.

“When the Student is ready, the Teacher will appear.”

As a coach/parent, my one and only purpose is to give. Give as much as I can. GIVE RELENTLESSLY.

With this, I have come to learn that not everyone is looking for it. Not everyone is ready for it. Many will give signs that they desire it, but when it comes down to it, they simply aren’t there yet. Maturity, experience, ego, ignorance, pride, conceit…Whatever it is, they just aren’t ready.

That’s perfectly fine. When they ARE indeed ready, they will come find you. From an early age, it was ingrained in me to seek knowledge. My father reminded me often about who I was around and to “Pick their brains.” Learn as much as you can from everyone you can. Through this life long process, it has become quite clear that not everyone is the same. Everyone sees things in a different light. There is more than just one way to succeed.

Let me share a story…

My first year coaching, one of the pitchers on my staff was from a major D1 school. He was a high draft pick with a great arm. Long story short, he fought suggestion. His ego was like a brick wall. He had an issue repeating his delivery which in turn led to a not so good strike percentage which led to poor performance on the mound. As the season went on, one constant topic in our daily pitchers meetings was the importance in our ability to command the baseball and command the strike zone.

What many amateur (college and lower) pitchers/parents/coaches fail to realize is that a good fastball will only get you so far. It can get you in the door, but if you can’t dot the i’s and cross the t’s with it, you will never make it all the way. Hitters at that level have a better idea of the strike zone and seem to be born to turn around a 95 MPH fastball like it’s batting practice, when it’s left up and over the plate. Command, execute and repeat is the name of the game and if they can’t do that, their dream of becoming a big leaguer will vanish much quicker than they had ever imagined it would that day they signed their first professional contract.

About half way through the season, we had a miserable series. As a whole, we were struggling. It happens. That’s baseball, that’s life. It came to a head one night and I called a meeting with my pitching staff after the game. It was a tough love lecture. The truth hurts kind of message. “Some of you may find yourself at home come this time next year if you don’t figure it out!”

About two minutes after that meeting was over, this young man came into my office and asked to talk. He broke down. It was hard to see but was obviously a turning point for him. His words…”I’m ready.”

He was starting to see the writing on the wall. The competition at that level is like no other. The best player in your area becomes just another guy when they step into a professional locker room.

After a change in mindset and a couple weeks of work, he started to turn things around. He finished the season with a different approach and better results. Unfortunately for him this all happened a little too late. A couple years later, his opportunity came to an end. This is a story like many, an amateur player with a lot of talent. He was never really TAUGHT how to turn that talent into a skill. He developed as a thrower, and not a pitcher, and was never able to fully overcome this. His ego and lack of being coachable. His maturity level and his lack of humility. They buried him.

Players, parents and coaches, don’t let this happen.

I’ll tell you right now young pitchers, your big fastball is just a talent. It may get you somewhere but if you desire to make it all they way, you better learn how to command it.

Parents, raise humble, coachable, selfless young men. Men who want to learn.

Coaches, BE COACHABLE. None of us have it all figured out. When we stop looking for information, for inspiration, for guidance and for assistance, we have put a ceiling on the amount we will be able to give our players, children and your family.

“When the student is ready, the Teacher will appear.”

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.


Expectations

2014-07-25 14.30.55-1Woah…Slow down…

They’re 8…They’re 9…They’re 10…They’re 11…They’re 12…They’re 13…

They are kids. They trip for no reason when they are walking. Their knees hurt because they are growing. They are starting to go through puberty. Their social life is becoming more and more important to them. They’re kids!

We as adults seem to forget this. They have a bad day, it doesn’t matter how much they train or who their coach is, it’s going to happen. It’s just that, a bad day. We have to keep this in perspective. If you played growing up, don’t forget how hard it was. If you didn’t, it may be hard to truly understand, maybe go out on the field and try to do everything they are doing.

These kids love the game. They just want to play with their buddies and have a good time. They train to be the best they can be and we take that very serious, but let’s not forget that this is a game. In the end, they should never have a bitter taste in their mouth because of a coach whose priorities were in the wrong place and treated their players like garbage. They should not hate Baseball because of how their parents talked AT them when they had an off day. It’s not easy to hit. It’s not easy to locate every pitch you throw. It’s not easy to field a ground ball on a bumpy youth field. IT’S NOT EASY!

I have been in the dugout for many games (who knows how many youth games and approx. 3,400 professional games) and unless your last name is Jeter, and you are on a winning team nearly every year, you WILL most likely see just as many losses as you will wins, over the course of your baseball life. It’s just a game. I love to compete, but I’m here to tell you, that losing a baseball game is not the end of the world. They won’t win every game just as they won’t lose every game. In fact, the truth is, EVERY player can grow more from those loses (when they learn how to process them correctly) than they will from success as failure is a much better teacher.

Coaches and Parents, understand this, at the end of the day the wins don’t mean anything AND the losses don’t mean anything. It’s the experience they are gaining. It’s them getting to do what they are passionate about. It’s them developing great life skills along the way.

Find a coach. Find coaches. Find a program. Find an organization that understands this. One that focuses more on the person than they do the win. Find those with a passion for the kids and teaching. Find those with experience and knowledge. Find those that genuinely understand what “the process” means and have the patience for it. Find those who have, and have proved to have, a mindset on development, no matter what time of year it is.

THIS IS YOUTH BASEBALL, not the big leagues. Keep your Expectations realistic.

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.


What You Allow

IMG_5469Coaches & Parents…

What you allow is what you are teaching. You may not be using words to say it’s ok, but your actions are. By turning a blind eye to poor sportsmanship, disrespecting teammates, umpires, opponents and coaches, having a lack of eye contact when speaking to or listening or a lack of hustle, you are allowing habits to develop that can be devastating and difficult to over come later in life.

I could care less if that’s the “best” player on your squad, BENCHED! I could care less if it’s the championship game of some “major” youth tournament, BENCHED! You preach development..I can think of no better moment to develop then when a child shows Character issues.

What are you instilling by letting this slide even once? In the real world, these type of mistakes can result in poor parenting, poor students, poor employees, poor business owners and a life headed in the wrong direction.

I have three children and deal with this in some fashion each day. It’s a battle, I completely understand. But coaches, we are an outside voice of reason. Sometimes they will take your words differently. Even though you may be preaching the same thing as mom and dad, it just hits them different.

You are a role model. You are a mentor. You are a teacher. You are a leader. Lead with their future in mind, don’t get caught up in the moment, and NEVER let a teachable moment pass by.

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.


Your Approach

2015-05-29 20.22.42I woke up this morning thinking about our 9/10 year old Instructional League group. They are great. What a fun group of energized little people. They are all happy to be there. Want to learn and are doing their best to take in as much info as they can.

When we make the lineups for our games, we make it a point to move the players all over the field. The goal is that by the end of this, they all have learned about every position on the field. Even if they aren’t a catcher, they should have learned something about it. Even if they aren’t a pitcher, they should have learned something about it. It’s important that they learn about the game and there’s no better time to start than at this age.

If you were to watch one of these workouts, grade the levels of talent out there, the arm strength, the bat speed, their running speed, their ability to just catch the ball, it would be all over the map. And to be honest, if you came to watch all of our different age groups, you would see the same.

Now with that said, are we going to give some more attention than others, NOPE. Are we going to give the more talented ones more playing time, NOPE. Will we banish the weaker players to the outfield, NOPE. We are here to teach.

Even though this is an Instructional League, if I were running some sort of LL team, Travel/Tournament team, the same approach would be taken. Youth baseball is about learning. It’s about developing the player AND the person. Will all of these players play HS Baseball, no. Will some of them play College Baseball, yes. Will any of them play Baseball for their whole lives, haha, of course not. Baseball is such a temporary phase in their lives, but a phase, that if handled correctly, can be one of the most positive and impacting phases they may experience. So many aspects of life can be learned on the field. Youth coaches, it’s up to us to help them learn from each and every day they are on it.

Their talent will take them as far as it can, Their focus and dedication will take them as far as it can. Their level of mental toughness will take them as far as it can. Their level of perseverance will take them as far as it can. It’s our job to help them develop these traits to allow them to gain the most experience possible on the field.

Our job is to give them every opportunity possible. And those who are truly development minded, will make it a point to give them the chances. It’s not our job to tell them they aren’t good enough. That job is for their HS, College and Professional coaches. Your job is to prepare them for High School Baseball and LIFE.

Get your mind in the right place. Remember who this game is about (the players). Don’t ever turn your back on the lesser talent, give them every opportunity to learn from what this game has to offer them and be there to help them learn from every teachable moment.

Your Approach will determine your Character as a Coach.

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.


Pitch Smart

DSC_0008Parents and Coaches…

I URGE you to take some time to read through the website “PITCH SMART” by MLB. Youth Baseball is in a time of weekly tournaments (4-6 games in a 2-3 day period). These tournaments are an amazing opportunity for hitters to get in a ton or reps in a short period but CAN be (with poor coaching decisions) the worst possible situation for pitchers to be in. Pitching in multiple games in the same day. Pitching on back to back days even after throwing 20+ pitches on the first day. Exceeding a proper number of pitches in a game because you feel the need to save your other pitchers for a later game. Having a pitcher pitch through fatigue. And let’s not forget about the catchers!!

If your team doesn’t have enough pitchers to cover all of the innings that your squad may play, then you should not be playing in that tournament. Once again, these type of decisions come down to what’s right for that player. What’s best for his future. You can’t preach development and then make decisions that put your players at an elevated risk of injury because of your drive to make it to the championship game. PLEASE take a moment and think about what’s best for the players.

Coaches, thank you for all you do and always remember that these kids development and future is in your hands when they are on your roster. The words you use, the choices you make and the manner in which you carry yourself can make a bigger impact on their future than you may realize. Take pride in what you do and don’t ever forget that this game is 100% about them.

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.


Life Lesson: Handling People

2015-01-30 13.30.58-1Another great life lesson this game can teach you, if you allow it, is how to relate to all different types of people.

The longer you get to play, the more teammates/coaches/fans you will get to meet and spend time with. You will come to learn that they are all different. They look different. They talk different. They dress different. They have different abilities. They have different personas and they have different opinions.

Understand that they are who they are. Accept them for who they are. If you don’t agree with how they do things, that doesn’t mean you have to be rude and shun them. Be friendly, be kind and be an acquaintance.

You will come across many Type A personalities. They are who they are. Have very strong opinions and will be unlikely back down from an argument. There egos are often larger than life. You be you and hopefully they will notice and try to emulate.

You will come across many with self doubt. Be kind and give them support in success AND failure. It can affect them more than you realize. They are looking for some guidance. If you can help, then ask them what you can do.
Then you will come across many of my favorite type. The humble ones. Those with quiet confidence. Watch them. See how they carry themselves. Watch how the react to success. How they react to adversity. Watch them and emulate them for they are the ones that many of us strive to be like.

Bottom line, be the best person you can be. Learn how to handle yourself around all different types of people. Accept them for who they are. Be kind. Be respectful. Be honest and be true.

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.


So You Don’t Like to Fail…

IMG_6345Well neither does the person next to you, the person in front of you or the person behind you. I’m sorry to break the news to you but, you’re going to. You will do it more often than you would like to think about.

Understand this…That guy that plays Baseball on TV that you love watching, well, he has failed way more than you have in your life. He fails almost everyday at something. Whether it’s a swing and miss…FAIL, an error in the field…FAIL, a caught stealing…FAIL, a strikeout…FAIL or a pop up to the cather…FAIL. Failing is a part of this game, and to be honest, it’s a part of life.

The sooner you get a grasp of the realization that it’s going to happen, the sooner you will be able to make progress. Stop being so hard on yourself and relax. Remember, the best of the best in the world fail too. It’s a part of it. If you want to be one of the best at whatever it is you want to do, develop the ability to handle failure better than the person next to you, the person in front of you and the person behind you.

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.


Entitlement

2015-04-23 09.22.08With success, you may see it. With talent and ability, you may see it. With a job title, you may see it. With age, you may see it. With a certain last name, you may see it and with experience, you may see it.

In the end, it comes down to ego. You can see it at all different ages. Parents, our goal should be to raise young people who understand what this means and make it a point to not let this happen.

Teach them to give by nature and to not expect. Be ok with being treated as an equal no matter if they are the best player on their team, the coaches kid or if they have been playing longer than their teammates.

Acting as if you deserve to be treated differently reveals a selfish mentality. This attitude can rip teams, families and relationships apart. Yes, your experience may be deserving of a different treatment, but carrying yourself in a manner that you are on a higher level than those around you will lead to a reputation of there being one person that matters most to you…YOU.

Most would care to not have this type of reputation, but if you find yourself thinking that you deserve this or you deserve that, then yes, you have a “Sense of Entitlement”.

Be Selfless, think of others first, stop wanting and start giving. Stop thinking about what you don’t have and start thinking about what you do have.

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.


Emotions and Body Language

2014-06-12 15.28.26True competitors are often very emotional. They have the tendency to get very excited when great things happen and get very frustrated when things go against them. This is the nature of a competitor.

You watch any game in person or on TV, there is a good chance you will see both sides of this. I was brought up to never do something that will let your opponents know that they are getting the better of you or do anything that would rub your success in their face. These traits, I believe, are a huge reason why I feel I was able to play for as long as I did with very average stuff.

Don’t get me wrong, there was a learning curve. I had plenty of games, early in my career, where I let my emotions get the best of me, but I did get a grip on it. Through trail and error, it got to the point where I had coaches who would ask if I was happy with my performance or if I was disappointed. Of course I was happy when I did my part and the team won, that was my job, and of course I was disappointed when the team lost, but I would never let my emotions waiver. This is what I learned about myself and what would allow me to stay in the right place, mentally, to go out and perform outing after outing. Never get too high and never get too low. Stay even keel through success AND failure.

When you do see a player who has poor body language, you are seeing a player who is most likely one of the mentally weaker ones on the field. If they can’t control their appearance, in my experience, they will have a hard time controlling their emotions when they are on the mound or in the box in a big situation.

The player who is great at controlling their body language, in success and failure, is the player who is mentally stronger and will win the battle of longevity in the end.

Here are some examples of poor body language to look out for…
-Throwing their hands up in the air, or throwing their head back, after they think the umpire missed a call.
-Yelling at their teammates, while on the field, when they make a mistake.
-Striking out and slamming their bat, or helmet, on the ground.
-Yelling out curse words when they get to the dugout.

This goes for us coaches too. Remember, we are our Dudes role models. How we handle success, and adversity, is an example to them. We are telling them how we think it’s okay to act. With that in mind, keep yourself in check at all times.

Poor body language is a direct reflect of ones mental toughness. Learn how to control your emotions boys!

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.


Leading By Example

2015-03-19 16.58.16Being around this game from the Little League level to the Big League level, one thing that is consistent from level to level is the human factor.

Let’s talk about the strike zone. Don’t pay attention to what the rule book says as all umpires have their own version. Some are bigger up and down than they are side to side while others are bigger side to side than they are up and down. If you have never been behind the dish, then you really don’t know how difficult it is to be consistent back there. This is part of the human factor. Just as the players have a tough time repeating their swing pitch after pitch and the pitchers have a tough time executing pitch after pitch, the umpire behind the plate can battle calling the same strike zone pitch after pitch.

We ALL need to recognize this, chill out and let the game play out as it will. One thing that I learned over the years is that it all evens out. For all the pitches that we believe the umpire missed, if we sit back and think about it, how many times has a pitcher thrown a pitch off the plate, side to side or down or up, that should have been called a ball but was called a strike??

The part I have a hard time with is seeing/watching players, young and old, complain, throw their hands in the air, yell at the umpires and act as if they are constantly being screwed. Where do you think they learned how to act like this?? Think about it parents and coaches…Who do they look up to? We, parents and coaches, are their closest role models. What type of example are we setting when we act like this?

Missed calls are a part of the game. Deal with it, stop complaining, act professional and use this as an opportunity to learn how to handle some adversity because if they can’t handle it in a game, how will they handle it in real life??

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.


TRUTH

2015-02-28 13.27.37-1
TRUTH…The chances of an amateur player becoming a Major Leaguer (Just because a player is drafted, it does not mean they are a Major Leaguer) are so slim. I’ve heard all sorts of odds but have no idea what is exact. Personally, I have seen some of the most talented players in the world fall victim to the quality of competition, the amount of players in professional baseball as talented as they are along with all of the politics that come with all youth and professional sports. As parents, we need to keep this all in perspective while supporting our Dudes in any way we can. Motivate them to be the best they can be while at the same time, not overdoing it when it comes to pushing them and/or providing them with opportunities.

Use this game to teach them about life. How to deal with other people. What dedication is. What it means to have a strong work ethic and how that will affect them, for better or worse, later in life. How to handle themselves properly in moments of adversity and the proper way to handle success (Be Humble!)

The number of years they will get to play this game will be so small compared to the number of years they live but the number of life lessons they can learn in those years is why this game is so great. If they have a great day, be proud of them and help keep them grounded and when they have a bad day, help them learn from it as they need to be able to accept the failures in baseball, and in life, if they want to grow.

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.


Baseball Lessons=Life Lessons

2014-11-26 18.47.12-1If you play this game long enough, you will most definitely experience failure over and over and over. I was blessed to play this game for a long time, briefly make it as far as you can, and experience some amazing highs and the lowest of lows. From MVP awards to not making it out of the first inning while giving up 6 runs and only getting one out!

The lessons this game has taught me have molded me into the adult I am today. Along the way, people were put in my life that taught me valuable lessons. From coaches who were amazing teachers to coaches who had no business being in the position they were in. They taught me how I wanted to act and how I most certainly didn’t want to act.

I will always remember how tough this game is to play…Remember how hard it is to hit a baseball, how hard it is to throw the ball to a specific location, how hard it is to field a ground ball on a bumpy surface, how hard it is catch a fly ball on a windy/sunny day and how hard it is to be consistent at all of it.

With that said, as long as a player is giving me their best attitude and their best effort, I will never get upset with them over their ability and game play. If it was as easy as many think and/or act like it is, there would be a lot more MLB teams than just 30.

Bottom line…Be positive, be motivating, be inspiring and be supportive of your Dude when it comes to playing this game. So many lessons to be learned and the more they will get to experience the longer they play.

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.


BE SMART

2014-11-16 22.31.04BE SMART…Our PDP students will not pick up a baseball from October thru December. Somewhere along the line, the idea of throwing a baseball year round came about as a way to get ahead. Well…It’s Not! The arm needs a break. Time to heal up and give a player some time to play another sport, focus on the mental side of the game, focus on overall strength or just be a kid. I strongly recommend taking at least 2.5 months off of throwing, and 3 would be great!

We use the months of November and December to focus on our Mental Toughness & Leadership Skills through class room work and also meet to focus on arm care routines, the fundamentals of our swings, the fundamentals of the different positions and some speed and agility when we can.

Parents…Take care of your Dudes arm. Please educate yourself on this and have a plan for the off seasons. If you want suggestions on this, please feel free to send us a message or email us and we will help in any way we can.

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.