Watch as Coach Mike Baxter explains and demonstrates with a hitter some band work drills that address specific issues. The coach’s goal is to give the hitter’s body an awareness and a directional feel that […]
Setting Effective Goals
By: Dr. Colleen M. Hacker Originally Published in: Achieving Excellence Provided by: Human Kinetics Olympic athletes, like most high achievers, commonly set goals to guide and motivate performance. These elite performers would not engage in […]
Everything Counts: Build a Winning Culture with Dan Cimini – Northville High School (MI)
Watch as 5-time Michigan State Champion and Hall of Fame Coach Dan Cimini explains his team’s success that is based on culture, not talent. His culture is based on his beliefs and not on someone […]
Model, Teach, Test, Reward with Stephen Mackey – 2Words Character Development
Watch as Stephen Mackey discusses how leadership is critical in the teaching progression of athletes. He explains “Model, Teach, Test, Reward” as a method of teaching that produces results. How you work as a coach […]
Line Drills for Infielders with Ricky Watkins – BF Terry High School (TX)
Watch as Coach Ricky Watkins explains, and players demonstrate these line drills for infielders. The Descending Line Drill works on speeding up the feet and fielding different types of hops. The Forehand/Backhand Drill involves a […]
Defense: Fly Ball Verbal Communication with Steve Trimper – Stetson Univ.
Watch as Coach Steve Trimper discusses fly ball verbal communication and the importance of having rules on who makes the call on a ball hit into the air. Whoever makes the call must wait until […]
Leadership: What Type of Team Do You Want to Be? with Robert Grasso – La Jolla Country Day School (CA)
Watch as Robert Grasso discusses how coaches must determine with their players what type of standards and values they must set that define their teams. It is important to ask questions so that players understand […]
You Have Served and Served Well
By: Adam Sarancik Author of: Coaching Champions for Life There are very few certainties in life. In coaching, one of those certainties is that no matter the season, no matter the league, no matter the […]
Hitting: Swing Decision Drill with Robbie Britt – Eastern Michigan Univ.
Watch as Coach Robbie Britt explains that for him, swing decisions are a very valuable part of hitting. Many young players need to work on their swings, but to improve your team offense the low […]
What Are We Doing to Create a Championship Culture? with Robert Grasso – La Jolla Country Day School (CA)
Robert Grasso asks the question, “What are we going to do to create a championship culture?” Every team has a culture – are you working to develop the kind of culture you want? Robert states […]
How to Maximize Participation with Full Rosters with Larry Vucan – Carroll High School (TX)
Watch as Coach Larry Vucan explains how his program adds non-athletes to the baseball program. This includes the analytics team, managers, and a communications group that all fill specific needs that contribute to the program’s […]
Catchers Throwing to Bases Drill with Blake Sandford – Brownwood High School (TX)
Watch as Coach Blake Sandford explains, and catchers demonstrate this throwing to bases drill. The drill involves 3 catchers throwing to the bases and infielders covering and working on tags. The catcher on the right […]
Improving Your Players’ Confidence with Zack Etter – Univ. of Massachusetts
Watch as Zack Etter discusses improving your players’ confidence. It is key that the players understand that the conversations they have in their head (self-talk) can be either beneficial or detrimental. The words you use […]
Assistant Coach Checklist
By: Denise Corlett – (Retired) Stanford University Originally Published in: Winning Ways of Women Coaches Provided by: Human Kinetics ☐ Always be loyal to your head coach, staff, and school. At some point you might […]
Athletes’ Stressors & Resilience with Dr. Peter Ormsby – Univ. of North Carolina at Pembroke
Watch as Dr. Peter Ormsby discusses athlete stressors and resilience. Nearly 33% of athletes report mental health symptoms which is higher than general population samples. He will explain some of the types of stressors that […]
Baserunning: 2nd Base Leads with Dan Fitzgerald – Univ. of Kansas
Watch as Coach Dan Fitzgerald explains and shows practice video of 2nd base leads. He reviews the length of the leads but emphasizes that the important factor is for the 3rd base coach to know […]
Mental Toughness: A Skill That Can Be Developed with Dr. Colleen Hacker – Team USA / Pacific Lutheran Univ.
Watch as Dr. Colleen Hacker explains that mental toughness is a skill, and it can be developed. It is about how an individual responds to adversity, difficult situations, setbacks, and failure. Mental toughness is not […]
Infielder’s Gauntlet Drill with Tyler Gillum – Savannah Bananas
Watch as Coach Tyler Gillum explains and shows video of this infielder’s Gauntlet Drill. This is a challenge drill with an emphasis on the fielder staying low with loose limbs and working on transition from […]
Location Hitting Drills with Zach Dillon – Baylor Univ.
Watch as Coach Zach Dillon explains and shows video clips of these four location hitting drills. The Target Practice Drill works on angles and getting the body under control when hitting to a location. The […]
Technology Is Not Everything with Todd Genke – St. Charles North High School (IL)
Watch as Coach Todd Genke explains that technology in baseball is wonderful but cautions against trusting the intel from the technology more than the conversations that you have with players. He feels there is room […]
A Coach’s Eye and the Teaching Process
By: Adam Sarancik Author of: Coaching Champions for Life With one out and a runner on first base, a batter hits a 3-hop ground ball to shortstop. The shortstop fields the ball, throws to second […]
Infielder’s Targeting Drills with Billy Boyer – Detroit Tigers
Watch as Coach Billy Boyer explains, and infielders demonstrate these targeting fielding drills. Coach believes that most throwing errors are a result of catching the ball poorly and synchronizing poorly. Good targeting allows for stopping […]
Coaches’ Stressors & Mental Health with Dr. Peter Ormsby – Univ. of North Carolina Pembroke
Watch as Dr. Peter Ormsby discusses coaches’ stressors and mental health. He cites case studies that indicate the three main stressors are performance-related, organizational-related, and personal. Performance stressors deal with injuries to athletes and poor […]
Outside Noises Are an Excuse to Make Players Feel Good with Omri Rachmut – The Program
Watch as Omri Rachmut explains that outside noises are an excuse to make players feel good. There are outside voices that your players hear besides the coaches. Sometimes it is parents who are providing the […]
Don’t Overuse Pitchers with Skip Johnson – Univ. of Oklahoma
Watch as Coach Skip Johnson discusses the overuse of pitchers. Coach believes that preparation is important for keeping pitchers healthy. Most pitchers are playing in the spring, participating in select summer tournaments, and fall ball. […]
Head Coach Blueprint: Cover Letters Are the Key to Getting Interviews with Chris Fore – Eight Laces Consulting
Watch as Chris Fore discusses how to get that first head coaching job. The key factor of getting an interview for the head coaching position is the cover letter. A great cover letter can make […]
You Are What You Eat
By: Adam Sarancik Author of: Coaching Champions for Life One of the most dramatic and consequential shifts in my lifetime in the personal habits of people, including many athletes, is the casual way in which […]
4 Corners Infield Drill with Ricky Watkins – BF Terry High School (TX)
Watch as Coach Ricky Watkins explains, and infielders demonstrate this 4 corners drill with different variations. The infielders start out focusing on being quick as they move the ball around. The 2nd phase is an […]
Leaders Must Look for Opportunities to Serve with Robert Grasso – La Jolla Country Day School (CA)
Watch as Robert Grasso explains that leaders must look for opportunities to serve. Leadership is not about power, prestige, or a title, but about looking out for others. He explains to the athletes that their […]
Baserunning: Nobody Out with Dan Fitzgerald – Univ. of Kansas
Watch as Coach Dan Fitzgerald discusses his baserunning risk management rules for zero outs, 1 out and 2 outs. He tells his players not to take any chances with zero outs. In a 1 out […]