A few weeks ago I brought up the notion of coaching the verb vs coaching the noun. We are well into the fall and I hope you are seeing that in our coaching staff. If you are not, please let me know. I’d like to speak on this today. 706 is truly meant to develop the player. We want to be the verb of a great coach.
We live in a results minded, win first culture. Travel sports/select clubs are emphasizing wins and most of you by now know my stance on this. Teaching kids how to be winners and emphasizing winning at the youth level is totally fine and important but not when it becomes the “at all cost” motive and validation for the team/coaches/players. We are seeing high attrition numbers in this game and kids are starting to drop out earlier and earlier. Perhaps it’s because they were thrown into a pressurized, win now environment and they emotionally can’t handle the weight of that. So they quit. They do something else, maybe esports because they are good at video games. They are good at video games because they spend more time on the console and so they are competent and confident. Listen to them banter and compete over Madden or the Show compared to how they converse in baseball. A lot more bravado out of a young teenager when it comes to their Fortnite than when it comes to hitting a baseball.
Baseball games are great but it isn’t the developing tool to make them competent competitors. Developing the skill sets are vital in the success of these players. So I am attaching something that every player will get. It is individual skill progression cards including arm care (pre & post throw) and hitting drills that they can be doing to develop their skill. We will be rolling these outs within the next couple weeks. They will be laminated and consolidated to a key ring. Most of these will be foreign to you but I am here to help. Fire away with questions and I will send you videos of a demo.
One of the action steps of a great coach is accountability. Now players will have 2 months of lifting with nutrition guidance, arm care routine, individual skill progressions based on positions, hitting drills, and athletic throwing routine. Our job is to hold them accountable and their job is to get better by including these resources into their daily habits.
