By: Carolyn Peck Originally Published in: Winning Ways of Women Coaches Provided by: Human Kinetics Inviting the media into your sports program means they have access to the student-athletes. I highly recommend, before you allow media […]
3-2-1 Trio Infield Drill with Leah Campbell – (Retired) Rockwall High School (TX)
Watch as Coach Leah Campbell explains and shows practice video of the 3-2-1 Trio Infield Drill. This drill involves the full infield defense, as 3 balls are hit consecutively to the same player. The 1st […]
Teaching Intentional Tee Work with Larry Wooten – Wade Hampton High School (SC)
Watch as Coach Larry Wooten discusses intentional tee work. Many times, players want to do this as fast as they can. Coach Wooten wants to make tee work as close as possible to batting in […]
Three Impactful Ways to Help Athletes Build Mental Strength Right Now
By: Julie Hatfield-Still Athletics are about more than just winning games or improving physical skills, it’s also a critical time for building the mental strength athletes need to succeed in sports and life. As a […]
Pitching: Reverse J-Bands Drill with Paige Cassady – North Carolina State Univ.
Watch as Coach Paige Cassady explains, and pitchers demonstrate the Reverse J-Bands Drill. The pitchers are creating a force forward and the J-Bands are pulling the back leg in the opposite direction. This allows the […]
Working on Bunting with Jen Fisher – Colorado State Univ.
Watch as Coach Jen Fisher explains and shows practice video of players working on bunting. This drill works on visual skills of recognizing if the pitch is a strike or not, and recognizing pitch zones. […]
Pitching: Split and Get Drill with Norie Mueller – Veritas Preparatory School (SC)
Watch as Coach and AD Norie Mueller explains, and a pitcher demonstrates the Split and Get pitching drill. This is an everyday drill that helps pitchers get off the mound with a sprinter’s lean into […]
Drill Progression to Introduce Blocking to Your Catchers with Kelly Inouye-Perez – UCLA
Watch as Coach Kelly Inouye-Perez explains the drill progression for introducing blocking to catchers. The drill starts with catchers fully geared up and on their knees, working on body blows. The coach throws the ball […]
Leaders Must be Great Communicators with Robert Grasso – La Jolla Country Day School (CA)
Watch as Robert Grasso explains his philosophy of leadership on how athletes must be great communicators. They must be able to communicate with teammates as well as the coaches. He stresses that team leaders should […]
Leading Others
By: Jamy Bechler – Athletic Director at Midway University (KY) Originally Published in: THE LEADERSHIP PLAYBOOK It is not just enough to lead yourself effectively, you must also have a positive influence on others, John […]
The Pitcher’s Priorities with Rachel Lawson – Univ. of Kentucky
Watch as Coach Rachel Lawson explains her pitchers’ priorities: #1 Priority is to get the strikeout. She explains that this does not mean pitching to contact. #2 Priority is to control the batter. The pitcher […]
Minimizing Your Athletes’ Anxiety with Robert Schinke – Laurentian Univ.
Watch as Robert Schinke discusses minimizing your athletes’ anxiety. Lack of confidence is the main cause of anxiety for athletes as an upcoming event nears. Focusing on previous negative performances instead of their positive performances […]
Being Recruited Guidelines: Jerry Grasso – Wilmington Univ.
By: Jerry Grasso - Wilmington University One of the best resources for a student-athlete is their school counselor. The school counselor can help the student-athlete with signing up for the NCAA Clearinghouse and help with other NCAA […]
Hula Hoop Hitting Drill with Josh Bloomer – Arizona State Univ.
Watch as Coach Josh Bloomer explains, and a player demonstrates this hula hoop hitting drill. The drill works on sequencing within the swing, allowing the hitter to feel the sequence of the swing, pelvis, torso, […]
PVC Pipe Middle Infield Drills with Colby Corn – Greenville Senior High School (SC)
Watch as Coach Colby Corn explains, and infielders demonstrate these PVC pipe middle infield drills. The Step-Over Drill helps the players when moving through the ball and throwing to 1st base. After working on footwork, […]
Practicing Passed Ball Flips to the Pitcher with Kelly Inouye-Perez – UCLA
Watch as Coach Kelly Inouye-Perez explains that the catcher has two options on a passed ball. Depending on the situation, the catcher can use either an under-hand or back-hand toss. Be sure to open up […]
Character, Attitude, Discipline with Mike Candrea – (Retired) Univ. of Arizona
Watch as Coach Mike Candrea discusses the foundations of his program: Character, Attitude, and Discipline. The five features of character, including players’ commitment, are explained, as well as the four types of players (kids who […]
Popcorn Flyball Drill with Michele Biffle – Langham Creek High School (TX)
Watch as Coach Michele Biffle explains and players demonstrate the Popcorn Drill for infielders. This is a partner drill that works on fielding and catching, focusing on covering every angle that can occur in a […]
Holistic Coaching for the Benefit of All Players
Originally published in an Adam Sarancik Book “Never confuse winning with succeeding. A successful league and team is one that inspires its players to want to come back again tomorrow.” Too often, leagues and teams […]
Daily Outfield Drills with Vicki Corn – Greenville Senior High School (SC)
Watch as Coach Vicki Corn explains, and players demonstrate these daily outfield drills. Coach Corn will cover the following drills in detail: Crow Hop Drill, Ball in Glove Flyball Drill, Safety Catches Drill, Do-or-Die Drill, […]
The Set-Up: The Hitter’s Contact Points with Rachel Lawson – Univ. of Kentucky
Watch as Coach Rachel Lawson explains that the set-up of the swing involves the start of the swing, all the way through the load into separation and toe touch. She discusses the adjustments a hitter […]
Best Versus Worst Performances
By: Dr. Colleen M. Hacker Originally Published in: Achieving Excellence Provided by: Human Kinetics By examining your best performances and comparing and contrasting them with your worst performances, you can identify the key elements of […]
3-Pitch Plate Drill with Marissa Young – Duke Univ.
Watch as Coach Marissa Young explains, and a pitcher demonstrates this 3-pitch plate drill. The pitcher will start on the inner part of the plate and pick 3 different pitches that they throw back-to-back on […]
Why Play the Short Game? with Karen Weekly – Univ. of Tennessee
Watch as Coach Karen Weekly explains that more games are lost than won as players make errors and mistakes by playing too fast. The short game puts pressure on a defense and causes them to […]
Levels of Commitment with Jeff Janssen – Janssen Sports Leadership Center
Is your program comprised of people who see the work they put in as an investment or a sacrifice? Watch as Jeff Janssen discusses seven levels of commitment that exist within every program and how […]
Pocket Drill for Catchers with Lee Murphy – Berea High School (SC)
Watch as Coach Lee Murphy explains, and a catcher demonstrates this pocket drill that focuses on preventing a catcher from having a sore thumb. The drill works on catching the ball in the pocket, starting […]
Be Able to Lead Yourself Before You Try to Lead Others with Jeff Janssen – Janssen Sports Leadership Center
Watch as Jeff explains how kids can start to ‘check out’ if their expectations are not met and how this can make it hard for them to demonstrate leadership. He discusses that kids need to […]
The Mental Approach to Coaching
By: Adam Sarancik Author of: Coaching Champions for Life “When evaluating your team, look first in the mirror with honest intent.” What is your mental approach to coaching? By your mental approach, I’m not asking […]
Infielder’s Hot Wheels Drill with Kat Ihlenburg – Georgia Gwinnett College
Watch as Coach Kat Ihlenburg explains and shows video of this infielder’s hot wheels drill. The drill consists of 4 players who start on a base and covers the 6 most common throws that occur […]
Empowering Coaches: Strategies for Supporting Youth from Struggling Homes in Athletics
By: Scott Garvis, CMAA Provided By: NHSACA As a coach, it’s essential to support students who come from struggling homes. These kids may face various challenges, and coaches can play a vital role in providing […]