“I don’t care.” I guarantee some won’t understand this and some will say “You’re wrong!” But here you go. This was part of my growth as an athlete. I was the same as dang near every youth athlete. I would hold onto mistakes. I would get upset with what I thought were umpires mistakes. I would blame my coaches. I would play scorekeeper in my head when my teammates made errors. When the game was over I would think way more about all of the mistakes everyone else made except my own. These moments of weakness would turn one walk into two. Turn a bad inning into a bad game. Turn a bad game into a m ..read more

Pitchers: Walks are our enemy!! Sure there may be times later in a game where we might pitch around the batter to set up a DP or force situation but in general they aren’t good. At the end of the day if I’m throwing multiple “ball 4’s” I’m putting myself and my team in unnecessary and unwanted situations. One of our main goals as a pitcher should be to limit them as much as possible. Try focusing on these to help: • Focus better on mechanics and location during catch play. Throw all your pitch types during catch. If you’re all over the place in catch there’s a great chance you’re all over the ..read more

It doesn’t matter what you want to call it: • Travel ball • Select ball • Tournament ball • League ball • City League ball • Little League ball It’s still youth baseball. It’s a hard game being played by kids. That alone is a challenge but then add in adult emotions and intentions of wanting to be “superior” and you have a recipe for disaster. Keep those expectations realistic. Even though some of these kids have grown quicker than others, were born with different abilities than their peers, they are still kids. They will make mistakes (a lot), struggle with focus, look amazing one second then ..read more

1. Pitching inside. In my 7th season, I had a pitching coach (Bob McClure) who spent a lot of time with us (his pitching staff) talking about how to use the inside part of the plate. How it affected hitters. How it opened up the outer half. How it made your other stuff better. Only a few were able to grasp the concept and execute it but for those of us that did, it was a game changer. I’m convinced it’s what gave me another 7 years, a shot at the big leagues and a contract overseas. 2. Accountability. I stopped making excuses. Stopped blaming my teammates. Stopped giving attention to the umpir ..read more

Once upon a time my life revolved around a baseball for a few months, then a football for a few months and then a basketball for a few. Then there was a local public swimming pool for the remaining few. Mix in some yard work, riding bikes, finding some pond to fish in or creek to catch some crawdads to take up the rest of the time. The outside was our distraction. I’m almost 46 and just like others around my age, this was the story of our youth. I loved playing sports (still do) and my father was my biggest supporter. Whatever the sport was, he was my teacher (did it the best he could). My fon ..read more

Strong competitors are solid with both but what’s the balance? Is one more important than the other? When do you work on mechanics? When do we talk and teach approach? In my opinion and experience both should be a constant focus but we see it time and time again, athletes who are great with their body movements but struggle with competition. Even though they may be hearing and learning about the head game, in the heat of the moment emotions push approach out the window leading to trying to compete via anger, embarrassment, fear and over aggression. For many involved in the game, athletes and a ..read more

We need to be so confident in our abilities that when we do make a mistake, have a tough day, fall into a little slump, we trust that it’s temporary. We know without a doubt we will work through it and come out better because of that adversity. Playing free is not caring who is watching because you know you’re giving your best but that doesn’t always mean you’re going to be the best. Your level of focus, purpose and intent will allow you to keep getting better. Playing free means you don’t panic or lose yourself when things become uncomfortable and don’t go your way. You stay the course and k ..read more

Sure, it’s said with good intentions. Makes you feel good about yourself. Makes others think good things about you. Happens all the time. But then things get real! Those actions…They will catch up to you. Words are great and all but it will always come down to actions and effort. What you DO will ALWAYS carry more weight than what you SAY. So you might want to ease up on the Smoke, stop saying things and making promises you can’t keep, or to be honest, don’t know how to keep. This is life. Everyone is a salesman to some extent. Whether you’re a parent, a teacher, a coach or even have “Salesman ..read more

1. Control your emotions. Be a consistent example of mental stability. Show them how to properly respond when things don’t our way. They will be able to get the most out of their skills when they are mentally in control. 2. Support them away from their team. All players should practice their sport on their own time. They will always have more time away from their team to get better than they will while with them. Help them develop this great habit. Help them learn to take their development into their own hands. 3. Be realistic. Put them in a position to thrive. We want them to get better but j ..read more

I am 45 years old. Grew up in Concord, CA until I was about 14 years old. We moved to Vancouver, WA the summer before my freshman year of high school and moved to Tyler, TX about 2 years ago. Let me give you a little history… My parents recently did the parent thing and broke out old video to enjoy some laughs and some memories. There was a lot of amazing video that was great to see. But one thing I realized was that I didn’t remember any of it. Video from when I was 11/12 years old to video of me playing ball in HS. I remember the people of course, but the moments…Well the memories are few an ..read more