Creating competition by using challenges

In one of our last posts, we discussed ways to keep practices fun and energetic by using tactical games.  Another effective method that will accomplish the same goal while creating pressure is to use a daily skills challenge.  We start every day with a specified amount of conditioning at the end of practice (not a huge amount, but enough to motivate).  At some point during practice, we select up to four players to participate in a skills challenge.  Each time they perform the task successfully we take one rep off the conditioning.  For example if they started with twelve “poles” as conditioning, and performed the task correctly eight times, they would only have four “poles” at the end of practice.

I do not believe in using conditioning as a form of punishmnet.  I believe that it creates resentment, and players begin to view conditioning as a negative experience instead of a tool to make themselves better.  Even though these challenges do tie performance to conditioning, it is not in a negative way.  Because they start with a specified amount and are able to work them off, this is giving a positive reward for a good performance instead of punishing for a negative performance.  You MUST frame it that way to your athletes.  When they accomplish the goal set forth, be sure to subtract from the overall level of conditioning.  Do not start from zero and add one for every failure.

Long tee challenge

Set up a tee at one end of the cage.  Their goal is to hit a line drive off the back of the cage.  We set the conditioning level at six, 60-yard sprints.  Three players get two swings each.  Each time they hit a line drive off the back of the cage, we take a sprint away.

Bunting Challenge

Set up cones about four feet off each foul line.  Players are to sacrifice bunt between the cones and the foul line.  We set the conditioning level at eight “poles.”  We take one away for each successful bunt.

Catcher blocking challenge

Draw a circle around home plate in the dirt (approximately 6-8 feet in diameter).  Throw balls in the dirt for the catcher to block.  Their goal is to block the ball, scramble to their feet and get the ball back in their hands before the ball leaves the circle.  Each time they accomplish this goal, take a sprint away.

Pitcher/Catcher to 2nd base

Pitchers deliver a pitch from the stretch, the catcher receives it and throws to second base.  Their goal is for this combined time to be less than 3.5 seconds (at the high school level). We set the conditioning for this particular challenge at ten straight steals.  This ties the conditioning to the skill being challenged.  Again for each successful try, take a straight steal away.

With this challenge, be careful that your players don't "cheat" by not using proper mechanics on the mound or by jumping out early behind the plate.  If they cheat, count it as an unsuccessful try.

General advice 

As I mentioned earlier, I do not like to use conditioning as punishment, but the reality is that baseball players do need conditioning.  We have simply allowed our players to decrease the amount of conditioning by accomplishing skills that we deem important.

I recommend having the whole team around watching the challenge.  This increases the intensity and helps your players learn to perform in pressure situations.  Also, feel free change the level of success in your individual challenges.  Ideally, you would like the challenges to be difficult, but attainable.  A quality challenge will allow the players to reduce their conditioning by about a half.

Running an Effective Tryout

A major winter storm barreling down on the Chicago is a sure sign that baseball is upon us.  For those of you not from the north, this is, in fact, a common occurrence three days before the first day of tryouts.  Many coaches in cold weather climates run into the same dilemma that I have; you need to assess your players and select your team without actually getting to play outside. I can count on one finger the number of times I have held a tryout outside in my ten years of coaching. 

 
As I am preparing for our season, I am reminded that tryouts are a very bittersweet time of the year.  It marks the beginning of baseball season, which is very exciting.  But inevitably, it marks the end of someone’s baseball career, which is upsetting.  The worst part about it is that I get to choose whose career effectively ends next week.  This task has not gotten any easier over the past decade, so in order to rationalize the large responsibility I have been granted, I have come up with a few rules for our staff during tryouts: 1.) Keep the maximum number of feasible players, 2.) ensure that the tryout is fair, equitable, and takes as many facets of the game into account as possible, and 3.) be objective and honest in the cut process.

Below are some methods for making tryouts as fair and equitable as possible:

1.) Allow players to make as many decisions as possible in tryouts

     a.) Evaluate how they work/behave when nobody is directing them

     b.) See how they will perform when they are on their own

2.) Give specific expectations ahead of time

     a.) What intangible characteristics will you be looking at?

     b.) What skills will you be looking for at each position?

     c.) Share the evaluation tool with parents and players ahead of time

3.) Measure as many things as possible

     a.) Measure speed, don’t guess who is faster

     b.) Measure batting practice rounds

     c.) Measure velocity (if you can)

     d.) Measure strike and quality strike % for pitchers

4.) Decide what skills you want to emphasize ahead of time

     a.) Will you value offense or defense more?

     b.) How much will you emphasize speed?

     c.) What type of team do you want to have?

     d.) How many pitchers do you need for your season?

     e.) How much do you value players who play multiple positions?

Making cuts

The actual method of making cuts is not a one size fits all process.  Each coach needs to decide which method fits them and their community best.  The three basic methods are face-to-face, posting a list, and player letters.  Each has their advantages and disadvantages but as long as you are honest and unbiased, the process will go as painlessly as possible.  Below is a list of keys to making the cut process as painless for yourself and the players you are cutting:

1.) Be honest

2.) Be gentle (don’t go on and on about why you are cutting them)

3.) Give useful feedback

4.) Encourage 

5.) Keep ratings confidential (shared only with the parent and the player)

The cut process is not one that any coach looks forward to, but with a little planning the pain can be minimized for both your players and you.  

Using Tactical Games in Baseball Practice

It is very easy for basketball, soccer, and football coaches to create practices that closely resemble playing the game.  They are able to keep many players involved, because during virtually every play in their games, almost every player is active.  The same cannot be said for baseball.  Players have responsibilities on every play, such as knowing the situation should be ball be hit to them, or backing up a base, but with the exception of the catcher, pitcher, and first basemen, the possibility exists that a player may go through an entire game without touching the ball defensively. 

Unfortunately, many baseball practices resemble this game play.  As a result, baseball is perceived as boring, and athletes are choosing other sports.  Quite frankly, if I came to a practice, took eight swings and fielded ten groundballs in two hours, I would be bored too.  Creating a practice that resembles game play and keeps all players active is difficult and takes knowledge, skill, and planning.  Rule number one for creating such a practice is to avoid lines in your practice.  We use short lines (two or three players) to give our athletes rest between activities.  If the lines in practice are much longer than three players, boredom will begin to set in and only those who truly love the game will continue playing.   

Another option to keep all players involved is to employ the use of tactical games.  These games teach baseball through competitive, controlled situations where players play a structured game to learn a skill or tactic.  Below are two examples of tactical games, one for players of all ages, and one for players over 14 years old. 

For all ages

Set up two sets of cones, each set is the same distance from each other.  The distance between the sets can be adjusted depending on the age and skill of the player.  A good starting distance for a 14U player would be between 100 feet and 150 feet.  (see set up below)

        X                                                                                            X

  P    T                        <-- 100-150 Feet -->                                    T     P

        X                                                                                            X

This game can be played one on one, or in teams of two.  Each team hits a ball off the tee toward the other team (it is a good to give each team gloves to field the ball as it comes at them).  Their goal is to hit the ball between the two cones, or hit the tee.  If they hit the ball between the cones, they get one point.  If they hit the tee, they automatically win, and the game restarts.  This game teaching a line drive, up the middle swing.  You will be amazed how players who may be casting their hands and consistently yank the ball, adjust their swings in order to compete.  Either play a specified number of swings, or to a point total.

Over 14 - Small ball game

Divide the team into smaller teams of four to six (no less than six).  The numbers will dictate how you handle pitchers and catchers.  One option is to have teams of six where each has a pitcher and catcher.  Another option is to have a few pitchers and catchers who play on their own team offensively, but only pitch and catch on defense.  Allow the teams to create their own signs and strategy.  Each team will have players as base coaches (wearing helmets) and will coach themselves.  

Teams will set up defensively with only an infield.  The defensive team is not allowed to play any player closer to home plate than the baselines until the offensive team shows bunt.  Any ball hit out of the infield on the fly is an automatic out.  The offensive team can bunt, steal, hit and run (as long as they don’t hit the ball out of the infield on the fly), or squeeze bunt.  Their objective is to get runners on, move them over and get them in.  We usually give each offensive team six outs and clear the bases after the first three to keep the game moving quickly.  

The only time we reward our players for hitting the ball out of the infield on the fly is if there is a runner on third with less than two outs, if they hit a deep flyball, they are still out, but we allow the runner from third to score.  

Feel free to modify the rules to meet your needs.  We have started with a runner on first or second with nobody out, but it is fun to watch them try to get on base by bunting for a hit or hitting a hard groundball through the infield.  

This game gives athletes the chance to make decisions, stay constantly involved (we usually have three teams of six and have the team that is not hitting or fielding working on hitting drills), and work on all offensive and defensive aspects of the small game.  

Incorporating tactical games is just one method you can use to keep practices fun and exciting while teaching players to compete and play the game. Coaches who complete Cornerstone’s Silver Certification will learn mores ways to incorporate tactical games into their practices, learn how to develop appropriate tactical games, and will have access to many age appropriate games through Cornerstone’s silver library.  

My Take on Super Bowl XLVII

      Super Bowl 47 was one for ages for many reasons.  The “HarBowl” as it was dubbed, lived up to all of the expectations.  The game was competitive, and showed off two of the best, if not the best, coaches in the NFL... and oh yeah, they happen to be brothers.  As I was watching the game, it became clear that these two coaches get their players to fully buy into their system and are able to motivate them to perform at or near the peak of their abilities.  Both coaches made mid-season gutsy calls that propelled their team to the Super Bowl, decisions that I, admittedly, would not have made.  

As coaches, we are all far from perfect, but it is my opinion that one of the coaches in last night’s Super Bowl made a glaring mistake that nearly cost his team the game.  Shortly after Jacoby Jones returned the opening kick off of the second half for a touchdown to make the score 28-6, the power went out in half of the Super Dome and caused a lengthy delay in the game. 

     Obviously this is not an idea situation for either team.  The Ravens had just taken a huge lead and the momentum of the game seemed to be in their favor.  To me, this is the ultimate “live in the moment, control what you can control” situation in a game.  You cannot control the fact that there was a delay, you cannot control how long the delay will be.  The only thing you can control in that situation in your reaction to the delay.  What has happened up to that point in the game is irrelevant, the fact that you are in the most important game of your life and are waiting around for what must seem like forever is irrelevant.  As a coach, you have to make sure your players stay focused only on the task at hand, the next play, and not the delay. 

     As the delay was coming to an end, the cameras showed John Harbaugh becoming very animated with some of the “suits” from the NFL.  He later admitted that he overreacted to the situation and should have handled it differently.  While his reaction was likely not the sole cause of the 49ers comeback, it certainly may have opened the door a little bit for them to burst through.  His reaction gave his team and excuse to fail.  It gave them something to blame if they did happen to lose the game.  While it is unlikely that many of the Ravens players even heard what John Harbaugh was saying, the player’s focus was taken off the “one snap at a time” mentality that likely got both teams to that point.  They had something else to focus on, something to point a finger at if they failed.  They were no longer living in the moment. 

 

     Perhaps I am being overly critical of a coach who reached the pinnacle of his profession last night however, I do believe that in the most critical of times, coaches must be leaders and set examples.  In that specific instance, John Harbaugh made a critical error that decreased his team’s chances of winning.  Even the coaches who are at the top of their profession can keep on learning and improving.  This should be motivation to all of us down the food chain.  Even the best coaches in the world make mistakes, all we can do is learn from them and improve every practice, and every game.   

Coach Code of Ethics

A baseball coach...

...  will be a positive role model on and off the field.

… will monitor student’s grades and see that they are achieving in the classroom.

… will provide a safe learning environment for his players

in practice and during games.

… will use losing and winning as an opportunity to teach young men how to handle these situations properly.

… will keep in mind that youth sports are for athletes, not he adults coaching them

… will keep an open line of communication with other coaches, players, parents, and administrators.

… will have written practice plans that challenge players, teach new aspects of the game, refine skills, and execute them in a fast pace, fun manner.

…will represent the ideals of Cornerstone Coaching Academy in a positive light at all times on and off the field.

… will promote and demonstrate good sportsmanship by showing respect to opponents and officials at every game.

… will hold athletes accountable for their actions and will teach them how to take responsibilities for their own actions.

… will put the athlete first and strive to build champions on and off the field.

2013 Clinic Summary

Over the past few weeks, I have had the pleasure of attending the ABCA convention in Chicago, the I-70 clinic in Greenville, Illinois, and the Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association clinic in Lombard, Illinois.   It is the first time I can remember that I attended three clinics, and while I admit it was a bit overwhelming to imagine incorporating all of the great ideas that were presented, I am going to summarize some of the best and most innovative ideas from each of the clinics below.

ABCA
Andy Lopez, Head Coach, University of Arizona
Coach Lopez wrote the first book I bought when I became a head coach, so getting to hear him speak was very exciting.  Coach Lopez is a very engaging, and demanding player.  After hearing him speak, I understand why he gets the most out of his players.  The greatest takeaway from his speech for me was the using kids as demonstration.  I have done this in the past, but he talked about having freshmen watch the bullpens of their seniors to see what it takes to be great.

Mark Senk, Head Coach, Stony Brook University
It would be hard to argue with the success that Coach Senk has had at taking Stony Brook from DIII to the College World Series last year.  The best drill he talked about was putting a tee at first base and third base (with protective screens to the home plate side of them), having the player at 1B working outside tees (for RHH) and the player at 3B (again for RHH) working inside tees while the batter at home plate hit live.

Butch Thompson, Pitching Coach, Mississippi State
Coach Thompson was an incredibly engaging an entertaining as a speaker.   After hearing him speak we will be throwing all of our bullpens with a string about 18 inches off the ground.  This allows your pitchers to focus on one thing, getting the ball under the string and working on the top half of the ball.

Justin Stone, Elite Baseball Training Facility
Justin is one of the best clinicians on hitting that I have seen.  He gives a pretty similar presentation every time I see him talk, but each time it reinforces the absolutes of hitting that I should be teaching.  This talk reinforced the concept of a scap-load and pointing the back hip pocket to the pitcher while resisting the upper half of the body in the “hitting position.”

I-70 Clinic
John Cohen , Mississippi State, Head Coach– Hitting Drills
Even though it took him a while to get to the hitting drills (trust me, I didn’t mind, he is incredibly entertaining to listen to), he did give a few great drills as well as concepts for hitters to think about.  He simplified the hitting process by saying “hitting is the act of transferring weight from back to front on time.” This is a great cue for young hitters.  He also gave a great drill where you put a helmet up against the outside of the hitter’s back foot.  When they swing, they should not hit the helmet.  If they hit the helmet, they are not transferring their weight effectively.  If them miss the helmet, they are transferring their weight correctly.

During his speech on practice organization, the best idea I took away was having a different “challenge” each day after throwing in practice.  The example he gave was having your catchers have to block two balls each and keep them inside a circle around them.   Do this while the whole team watches to try to create a pressure situation.

Brad Mills, 3^rd Base Coach, Cleveland Indians
Coach Mills is an incredibly passionate baseball man, and many of the qualities that made him a major league manager came out during his presentations.  I feel like with such a knowledgeable baseball man speaking to me, my biggest takeaway shouldn’t have been something so simple, but sometimes it is the simplest things that make people great.  He talked a lot about personal accountability including being on time.  It was obvious to me that we should start on time, and should hold players accountable for being on time.  What struck me, was his insistence that you be done on time as well.    If you plan for practice to go two hours, then practice should go two hours.  You owe it to your kids to keep your word, just like they owe it to you to be on time.

IHSBCA
Perry Roth, Assistant Coach, University of Alabama Birmingham
The thing I liked most about Coach Roth’s two speeches was his attention to the process over the results.  The process scrimmage they run is very innovative and gives teams points for things like hustle, blocking pitches with a runner at third, advancing on dirtballs, and taking quality at bats.

His zone hitting concept was also unique.  They divide the strike zone into five zones.  Their hitters then look the pitches in certain zones based on count and the pitcher.

Jacob Goebbert – Houston Astros Minor League Outfielder
I coached against Jacob when he was in high school.  He was one of the best high school players I have seen, and a great person as well.  He did a great job for what I would assume was one of his first public speeches to a group a coaches.  His “bill of the cap” rule for line drives right at you was very good.  The rule is, if there is a line drive at you and the ball goes over the bill of your cap, you will probably have to go back on it, if the ball stays under the bill of your cap, you will probably need to come in.  I do not accept this as a perfect rule, but I intend to try it out to see how it works.

Travis Kerber – Elite Baseball Training Facility
Watching Travis’ presentation was like watching the pitching version of Justin Stone (this is a good thing in my opinion).  His talk reemphasized the reality that pitching and hitting have many of the same mechanics, especially with the timing and sequence of the body.   He gave some really good warm-up drills for helping to create separation between the lower and upper half while throwing.


I have never attended three clinics in a month before, and the amount of information was quite overwhelming.  When I started writing this post, I intended on summarizing every speaker I heard this January.  Shortly after starting, I realized what an undertaking that would be.  There were many other excellent speakers at each of the clinics, but I would not be able to summarize them in a reasonable amount of time.

Opposite field hitting: Theory, cues, and drills

The ability to spray the ball to all fields becomes more and more important as a player gets older and pitchers begin to locate their pitches.  Show me a hitter who cannot hit the ball to the opposite field and I will show you a player whose time in the game is limited.  At some point, regardless of how good their hands are, they reach a point where their inability to hit the ball the opposite way puts a ceiling on their playing career.  In this post, I will be discussing the thought process behind hitting the ball to the opposite field, a few common mistakes coaches make, some good cues to give your players, and a progression of drills to help them translate what you do in practice to the game (which is the ultimate goal).

Thought process and cues

One of the largest hurdles young players have in hitting the ball to the opposite field is mental.  At the early youth level, the best pitchers do two things well, they throw strikes (probably not yet locating) and they throw hard.  Hitters quickly learn that in order to hit the best pitchers in their league, they have to get the bat to the ball fast.  Many times they end up cheating by lunging forward, trying to start earlier, and greatly shortening their swing.  As they get older, the best pitchers not only throw hard, but can locate pitches on both sides of the plate, and change speeds effectively.  At this point, those “cheats” that may have been successful in the past, now make you susceptible to pitches on the outer third and off speed pitches.  At this point the good hitters are the ones who are quick enough to catch up to fastballs, but have the ability to wait on fastballs away and off speed pitches.  

The first step in teaching hitters how to go the other way is to ensure that they are working with a solid mechanical base.  If a hitter cannot demonstrate proper mechanics on a ball down the middle, trying to teach them to hit to the opposite field will be a lost cause.  Feel free to introduce the skill of hitting to the opposite field early (9 or 10 years old) to more advanced players, but for average players, this is a skill best taught with emphasis a year or so before when most pitchers begin to be able to locate (12 to 14 years old).

The phrase I like to use to introduce the theory of opposite field hitting is “let it get deep.”  This means that hitters need to hit the ball near the middle (or toward the back corner of the plate) of their body instead of out in front of the plate where they used to hitting it.  This is a difficult adjustment for many young hitters because they are afraid of being late.  To help them get over this fear, have them watch a major league game and see how many foul balls go the to the opposite field, and how many foul balls go to a hitters “pull” side.  Major leaguers are late all the time, by design.  

Getting your players to wait to let the ball get deep is the single most important concept to master when a players is trying to hit to the opposite field.  This will allow them to not feel as though they have to “guide” the ball to the opposite field.  You will know a player is trying guide the ball when they drag the barrel under their hands and have a very tentative swing.  It will appear as though they are “aiming” the ball that way.  The phrase we use to avoid this is “let it get back, and attack.”  This reminds them that they can take their normal aggressive swing as long as they let the ball get deep in the zone.  

Drill Progression

Deep tee slow to contact - Set up a tee on the outside corner toward the middle of the hitter’s body.  Have them take slow motion swings to their contact position.  Emphasize proper hitting mechanics, and not changing the swing to hit the ball to the opposite field.  

Deep tee drive - The set up is the same as the previous drill.  This time, the hitter is taking a normal stride and load, and “driving” the ball to the opposite field.  Emphasize that they take a normal, aggressive swing with the ball deep in the hitting zone.  Do not move to other drills until this drill is mastered.  If they cannot hit properly to the opposite field off a tee, they will not be able to hit execute when a ball is coming at them.  

Inside/outside tee - Set up one tee on the inner half (out in front of the plate) and one tee on the outside corner (deep in the hitting zone).  When the hitter begins their stride and load, say either “inside” or “outside.”  They are to hit the appropriate ball to the correct field.  If their mechanics begin to break down, or they begin guiding the ball to the opposite field, back up in the drill progression.

Outside front flip - From behind an L-screen, flip the ball to the outer third of the plate.  Emphasize that they let the ball get deep and don’t guide or “aim” the ball to the opposite field. 

Angle front toss (Described for a RHH, a LHH would be reversed) - Angle the plate to so that the front of the plate is lined up to where the shortstop would play.  Have the hitter line up as he normally would on home plate (he will also be angled toward the shortstop).  The pitcher will be tossing from the same spot as normal (will be at an angle to the hitter).  When the pitcher tosses, the hitters goal is to hit the ball back at the L-screen.  In order to do this, he will have to let the ball get deep in the hitting zone and drive the ball the other way (in relation to the hitter).  Do not allow them to start early and hook the ball.  

Front toss mix up - Once they have mastered front toss drills where they know the ball will be thrown to the outer part of the plate, you can do front toss drills where you mix up outside, middle and inside pitches.  After each pitch, have the hitter tell you if they hit the ball to the correct field.  

Outside short toss (overhand) - Set up the L-screen about 40-45 feet from home plate (less depending on age group) and throw pitches only to the outside part of the plate.  Since this is easier said than done, you will miss sometimes.  For the purpose of this drill, have them try to take everything to the opposite field by letting the ball get deep in the hitting zone.  

Short toss mix up - Using the same set up as the previous drill, mix up inside, middle, and outside pitches.  Similar to the front toss mix up, have them verbalize if they hit the ball to the correct field or not based on the location of the pitch.  

If at any point the drill seems too advanced or mechanics break down, move backward in the drill progression.  The ultimate goal is that the hitter is able to recognize the outside pitch and react appropriately.  In order to do this we must get players to make decisions on their own once they have the proper muscle memory.  

Teaching your hitters to hit the other way will not only help your current team, but it will also help your hitters reach the their fullest potential at the plate.