This summer was a lot of baseball, I helped coach three teams so yes at times I felt like myself as well as our staff was spread a little thin. You know though we were able to make it work and each team finished a pretty good season. We were able to make this happen because of our ability to put these kids in places on the field and in the lineup where they could succeed and experience success.
One way that Mike and I were able to succeed with this was when we look at making a lineup we think about where are the athletes do their best, rather than "where can we hide them." During the game it takes a little more coaching or guidance from the staff so the athletes are able to focus on what "needs to happen" and not "what might happen." When players start to over-think they will stress out and not perform there best. The boys need to know that coaches believe they can do well at that position and they will do well. Bottom line Mike and I made sure these kids we having fun playing the greatest game ever!
Teams that remember that playing baseball is fun tend to have better seasons. I am not necessarily talking about wins and losses. Many people get too stuck on record and often times weaker players fall through the cracks of focusing only on wins and losses. For us that was not the case we focused on making sure the kids had fun and even on the 90' diamond when things get competitive baseball can still be fun and is supposed to be fun! A better season meaning a better experience for everyone, coaches, players and parents as a whole will feel more positive about the season. This all comes from the simple thought of "a kid does not sign up for baseball to ride the bench."
I am excited for thee coming fall-ball season because now I can really take the time to see these kids get better. Fall ball is all about developing players skills. Areas like pitching and catching, hitting as well as learning new positions in the field. Fall ball is going to be AWESOME!!
Does coaching like this make me a genius? Do I know everything about coaching baseball? No, these are my experiences and hat seems to work right now. I want to give the kids the best experience possible and I have found that putting these kids in an environment where they can succeed is the best way to do that. I think that we take a Tampa Bay Rays approach to baseball where e take the players we have and we develop them into the best player they can be.
