Ahead Of The Curve with Jonathan Gelnar

fredhutch.org/coachesvscovid Today we have on Athletic Training Institute founder Kirk Bradshaw. ATI works with athletes and individuals who aspire to be athletic to develop and maintain their potential utilizing Muscle Activation Techniques, Performance enhancement and integrated systems. On the show, Kirk and I discuss how athletes compensate, which is vital for our survival but can be a good or a bad thing for out athletic movements. We get into muscle activation techniques and a ton of different ways to recover including sleep and what we eat. This was such an enlightening conversation, and you’re gonna love it with Kirk Bradshaw! Contact Info 425-882-2122 [email protected]

fredhutch.org/coachesvscovid Todays conversation is with two college hitting coaches in Neil Walton from Cal State Northridge and Ronnie Prettyman from the University of Washington. On the show, we discuss how they train hitters through collaboration and freedom. We talk about how we (as coaches) can best adapt to our players, we go over game planning, scouting reports and how to adjust. Both of these guys are rising stars on the collegiate level, and you don't want to miss this conversation with Ronnie Prettyman and Neil Walton! Neil Walton Contact Info @ _neilwalton11 @CSUNBaseball Ron Prettyman Contact Info @rpbaseball15 @UW_Baseball

Today we’re joined by Darin Everson. Hitting coordinator for the Colorado rockies. On the show, we talk about all things hitting. Including swing prep, game planning, communication and so much more Twitter @eversonbaseball Show notes courtesy of Zach Casto.

Josh was a scout and coach for the dodgers organization before heading overseas to coach in the KBO and on the show we talk about how his scouting background has helped him become a better coach, we discuss some of the first steps when he took his coordinator role, some differences between Major League Baseball and the KBO and much, much more.

Coaching with Flexibility and Communication with James Ramsey During this episode of Ahead of the Curve, I interviewed James Ramsey, Hitting Coach at Georgia Tech. James Ramsey talks about the importance of clarity, simple wins, communicating with players, measuring players in the off-season, his BP set-up, what a hitting meeting looks like in the fall, and not overthinking things. Episode Highlights: How did James Ramsey get involved in baseball and as a coach? Was coaching something that he had in the back of his mind when he was playing baseball? What are some life lessons that he has learned from other coaches that he will never forget? What was his transition like into the Georgia Tech program? What did this past off-season look like for him? Are there any set things that he is looking for in players to group them together to address their needs? When new players arrive on the team where does he start with them? What does ‘plan and approach’ mean to James? What kinds of competitions have they used in their training practices that they really like? What are some different ways that he really likes to train game-like practices, especially on the hitting side? What are some different ways that we can train players to make better decisions? What is his advice to be a better communicator? What does his BP set-up look like? What is something that James Ramsey is excited about learning and applying? What changes has he been making from last year to this year? What are things his players get excited about doing during practice? Is there anything that he believes that other coaches might disagree with? What is something we would notice at one of James Ramsey’s practices? Are there any resources that James Ramsey would recommend? 3 Key Points: Make sure you are ready for when your opportunities come. Keep the most important things important. Have an accountability partner on the field that can keep the expectations going on and off the field. Tweetable Quotes: “I love to read and it’s baseball, it’s mental toughness, it’s corporate culture books. I think that baseball has a lot to learn from some other areas.” – James Ramsey (09:18) “Being able to kind of relate off the field too as well. I think telling the players, ‘I don’t know what I don’t know and I’m new to this as well and I’m going to make mistakes. But I’m going to make them aggressively.” – James Ramsey (11:46) “I did 6 BP groups, laminated them, stuck them out there so I didn’t have to take the time on the day-to-day to do it and so, some of them are grouped by ‘rightys’ versus ‘leftys’ as basic as that sounds. Can we throw a different angle on the machine?” – James Ramsey (15:54) “I have clarity. That is one thing I try to search for.” – James Ramsey (18:20) “These guys have grown up in a showcase setting where some of them have never had a first and third plays put on.” – James Ramsey (19:22) “As far as the team is concerned, doing self-evaluations, doing evaluations on the coaching staff, I want to make sure, hey, am I communicating this clearly?” – James Ramsey (22:05) “We can overthink it sometimes too. So it’s, can I just fundamentally get to, where did this kid come from? What is his style of learning? What is his style of coaching? What is his motivation style that he likes?” – James Ramsey (22:58) “Every pitch a pitcher is forced to throw, I believe that there is probably a good correlation to winning a game.” – James Ramsey (40:24) Resources Mentioned: Ahead of the Curve Podcast Twitter: @AOTC_podcast James Ramsey: Twitter Instagram

During this episode of Ahead of the Curve, I interviewed Matt Borgschulte, MiLB Hitting Coach, for the Minnesota Twins. Matt Borgschulte discusses where his baseball career has taken him, the importance of working on the swing in the off-season, helping players process the mental side of success, how to train for adjustability and pitch recognition.

During this episode of Ahead of the Curve, I interviewed Kyle Wilson, Milb Hitting Coach for the Tampa Bay Rays, OBU-TPI-FMS Certified, and Owner of TPA (The Performance Academy) in Apex, North Carolina. Kyle Wilson talks about how he got into coaching, starting his own performance facility, keeping players interested and engaged, making training more like real games, the importance of balance in your swing, and giving back to younger players through training and mentorship. Episode Highlights: How did Kyle Wilson get involved in baseball and as a coach? How did Kyle start his own performance facility? What does he wish he had known last year that he knows now? What were his main goals for the off-season? What are some things they do for teenaged players? What are some ways they train for adjustability in the swing? How can we train better for decision-making? Are there any competitions that he likes to use with players? What are things that he is looking for when watching video? How does he help players whom English isn’t their first language? How does he go about individualizing training in the team setting? What is something that Kyle Wilson is excited about learning and applying? What are things his players get excited about doing during practice? Is there anything that he believes that other coaches might disagree with? What is something we would notice at one of Kyle Wilson’s practices? Are there any resources that Kyle Wilson would recommend? 3 Key Points: If you are not balanced through your move it becomes hard to control and adjust when you are swinging. Facilitate environments that are more game-like for players. The average attention span of people is 8 seconds. The attention span of a goldfish is 9 seconds. Tweetable Quotes: “The game of baseball has taught me so much about life and how to overcome adversity and just the team camaraderie and the friends. I wanted to get into coaching to mentor kids through the game, which has taught me so much.” – Kyle Wilson (02:15) “I think why I truly enjoy coaching is just purely being able to impact and see the development of kids turn into young men and learn things through this beautiful game.” – Kyle Wilson (05:05) “Guys that are in professional baseball or have an opportunity to have a little bit of a break, I highly encourage to try and to get set up with some type of facility to give back to the youth, for one. For two, to maintain your craft .” – Kyle Wilson (08:51) “I set up evaluations. They come in and it’s an hour evaluation. We are sitting down, first and foremost, and I'm asking them a bunch of questions about what that player’s goals are.” – Kyle Wilson (13:05) “It should be a goal of every hitter in my opinion...become more adjustable, to have and create movements that allow you to sit on a fastball and adjust to an off-speed and still be able to do damage with that.” – Kyle Wilson (16:32) “I think we can learn to reward guys for taking good pitches.” – Kyle Wilson (21:55) “At the end of the day, if you aren’t competing and having fun, then it is going to be a long, long season.” – Kyle Wilson (25:29) “I personally believe there’s a lot of really, really good things from, call-it ‘old-school baseball.’” – Kyle Wilson (45:03) Resources Mentioned: Ahead of the Curve Podcast Twitter: @AOTC_podcast Kyle Wilson: Twitter The Performance Academy: tpanc.com Kyle Wilson’s Email: [email protected] Book: Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise by Anders Ericsson

During this episode of Ahead of the Curve, I interviewed Michael Deegan, Head Baseball Coach at Denison University in Granville, Ohio. Michael Deegan talks about writing his book Let It Rip: Life Lessons Learned Through Sports, being elite as a coaching staff before being elite as a program, competitive scrimmages, meeting with players individually, and facing the struggle of wanting to make everyone happy while knowing this is virtually impossible. Episode Highlights: How did Michael Deegan get involved in baseball and as a coach? What made Michael decide to write a book? How can you go about forming a strong team? Michael talks about 2013 and taking the job at Denison? What did this past fall look like in their baseball program? What are some of the details of building up his team culture? What are some of their favorite practice competitions? One-on-one meetings are crucial with players. How do they create a ‘culture of coaching?’” How does he prepare assistant coaches to be ready to be head coaches one day? What are some standards they have and how do they hold each other accountable for them? What does a typical day look like in the spring? How does their BP setup work? How does Michael handle the struggle of wanting everybody to be happy? What is something that Michael Deegan is excited about learning and applying? What are things his players get excited about doing during practice? Is there anything that he believes that other coaches might disagree with? What is something we would notice at one of Michael Deegan’s practices? Are there any resources that Michael Deegan would recommend? 3 Key Points: Michael Deegan has been able to learn from fantastic people by sharing his own thoughts through his writing. Identify where you are has a coaching staff or as a baseball program, get your ego out of it, set goals, and take action. They do six individual meetings with the players to ask questions and listen to what motivates them. Tweetable Quotes: “What I’ve learned is that by having the courage to put something out there, then you learn a lot in return and so I did that through the newsletter and I’m just excited to see where the book takes it.” – Michael Deegan (03:41) “One of the things I have been able to do over my life is surround myself with really good people and put myself in environments that allow you to thrive and are curious and allow you to learn and grow, and to me, that is what team formation is.” – Michael Deegan (05:26) “If I were taking over a program right now I would say what you have to do is strip away everything. Take the emotion out of it and decide, where do you sit right now?” – Michael Deegan (08:31) “I think you really have to identify where you want to go. It’s creating clarity. We use a phrase that ‘clarity is king.’” – Michael Deegan (09:07) “We want to be elite as a coaching staff before we are elite as a program.” – Michael Deegan (09:44) “We want to play baseball a lot. I think there is sometimes a push for ways to manipulate our game. Our game is also beautiful in itself. So just a straight-up scrimmage is an opportunity to compete.” – Michael Deegan (18:21) “The biggest competition that we try to focus on is ‘me versus me.’” – Michael Deegan (19:29) “That inherent wrestling match between wanting everybody to be happy and also knowing that’s never happen, right? That’s just not going to happen. So for me, I always call on the shared vision of the program.” – Michael Deegan (39:34) Resources Mentioned: Ahead of the Curve Podcast Twitter: @AOTC_podcast Michael Deegan: Linkedin Twitter Book: Let It Rip: Life Lessons Learned Through Sports by Michael Deegan

During this episode of Ahead of the Curve, I interviewed Michael Schlact, MiLB Pitching Coach for the Milwaukee Brewers. Michael Schlact talks about ways to properly communicate with players on your team, the importance of learning how to lose, how he approaches data, and why pitchers needing to learn how their fastball works. Episode Highlights: How did Michael Schlact get involved in baseball and as a coach? What are some different changes he is making from last year? What has been Michael’s process to become better at incorporating data? How does Michael Schlact communicate with a large range of diverse players? What should a pitcher’s off-season look like? What are we missing at the amateur that at the major league level they need to know? What does Michael look for when viewing a player video? How does workload management factor into working with players? What are some different ways to address player development from a pitching standpoint? How do you address a player who needs to be convinced to use a better pitch? What is something that Michael is excited about learning and applying? What are things his players get excited about doing during practice? Is there anything that Michael Schlact believes that other coaches might disagree with? Strive to make your players better people. 3 Key Points: Learn who your players are first, and then help them second. Be vulnerable enough to prove to your players that you are there for them when they are playing well and when they are making mistakes as well. Pitchers need to understand how their fastball works, what does it do, and how they can play it into your benefit. Tweetable Quotes: “I want to continue to learn what makes a player better, and specifically for me being a pitching coach, what is it that I can use that allows the pitchers to get better.” – Michael Schlact (05:22) “For me, it is what is most important and how can I communicate that to a player without overwhelming him?” – Michael Schlact (06:04) “Understand the player’s background that you are coaching. You have to know them as people. You have to know where they came from. You have to know what their learning styles are. There are so many different learning styles.” – Michael Schlact (07:56) “There is something really rich about a player asking you a question and you saying, ‘You know what, I don’t know. But let me find that out for you.’” – Michael Schlact (12:54) “If you don’t understand your fastball and the profile that it has, you’ll never truly understand the best pitches for you to work off of that.” – Michael Schlact (17:44) “If you don’t learn how to lose, you will never really win.” – Michael Schlact (19:08) “Pick out something each time. Don’t feel like you have to just watch that video, that one setting for 10 minutes, and never go back to it.” – Michael Schlact (22:27) “Everyone wants to be told the truth. People don’t like to hear the truth all the time. But everyone wants it.” – Michael Schlact (37:52) Resources Mentioned: Ahead of the Curve Podcast Twitter: @AOTC_podcast Michael Schlact: Twitter

Suggested Title: Developing Players Individually Inside the Team Structure with Casey Dunn During this episode of Ahead of the Curve, I interviewed Casey Dunn, Head Baseball Coach at Samford University. Casey Dunn pulls from his extensive experience to talk about helping his players develop their own development plan, the importance of concentrating on advantages instead of what you are lacking in your situation, building a strong connection with players, and being aware of their needs. Episode Highlights: How did Casey Dunn get involved in baseball and as a coach? Baseball was very much a part of Casey’s upbringing. What are some of the first steps that Casey took as a coach? Don’t get caught up in what you don’t have. What did the fall look like for his team? How did he transition into his team and develop the baseball culture there? What are some ways that he connects with his players individually? How does he help develop his assistant coaches into potential head coaches? What are some rules and standards he has for his team? What does a typical spring practice plan look like? What does their BP setup look like? What is something that Casey is excited about learning and applying? What are things his players get excited about doing during practice? Is there anything that he believes that other coaches might disagree with? What is something we would notice at one of Casey Dunn’s practices? Are there any resources that Casey would recommend? 3 Key Points: Casey Dunn started at Samford University in 2004 and he has been there for 15 seasons. Focus on the advantages of where you are at. Know where your team members want to go in order to provide them valuable opportunities and prepare them. Tweetable Quotes: “As a coach, it is tough to have a lot of family time with what we do and growing up and having a close relationship with my dad, going to the field, going to practice, going to the cage, that was the way for me to spend time with my dad.” – Casey Dunn (02:30) “It is so easy to get trapped in what you don’t have or get trapped in what other people have that you don’t.” – Casey Dunn (05:15) “There are positives to every situation.” – Casey Dunn (05:25) “The fall is a developmental time. The fall is not a period of time where you are trying to win games.” – Casey Dunn (06:54) “The thing I tell our guys all the time, in the game of baseball, I think more than any other sport, you have to take personal ownership in you. You have to invest in yourself.” – Casey Dunn (10:06) “The thing I like best that I get the greatest value out of at this time in my life is watching guys do it at an elite level.” – Casey Dunn (12:52) “One thing I tell our guys is you have to represent our program as you would your family, as you would yourself, your mom and dad, your last name.” – Casey Dunn (25:52) “A lot of this quote, ‘new stuff’ that is out there with the enhanced video and all the technology and all the metrics we’re getting on players, I don’t think it is that new.” – Casey Dunn (37:01) Resources Mentioned: Ahead of the Curve Podcast Twitter: @AOTC_podcast Casey Dunn: Twitter

During this episode of Ahead of the Curve, I interviewed Demetre Kokoris, Pitching Coach for the Vancouver Canadians, an affiliate team of the Toronto Blue Jays. Demetre Kokoris expresses his dedication to the game of baseball, the ways he solves problems with pitching development, strategies to enhance skill acquisition, communicating with players, and prioritizing individual player development within the team structure. Episode Highlights: How did Demetre Kokoris get involved in baseball and as a coach? What should off-season pitching development look like? Are there any common problems that he sees with development? How does Demetre use video in training? What is an area of skill acquisition that Demetre has gotten better at? What is Demetre Kokoris’ advice regarding prioritizing individual development within the team setting with a small budget or a small staff? How does he communicate particular needs with players? In what ways does he assist players whom English isn’t their first language? How does he tackle workload management? What are some of Demetre Kokoris’ favorite data to track? What is something that Demetre is excited about learning and applying? What are things his players get excited about doing during practice? Which three pitching tools would Demetre Kokoris focus on if he could only have three? Is there anything that Demetre Kokoris believes that other coaches might disagree with? Which resources does Demetre recommend? The more information you put out the more information that comes back to you. Be sure to learn everyday. 3 Key Points: The more athletic and fluid players can be, and the better they understand the game, the better off they can be on the backend. Is a particular weakness a detriment to the club or to the individual? Or is it just something that would just be nice to have corrected? You’ve got to listen to your player and find out what that player thinks is going on and his impression of his skillset. Tweetable Quotes: “What I learned at the collegiate level that I saw guys be very successful with was, your off-season is your best opportunity to change your body.” – Demetre Kokoris (03:13) “With the off-season there is no competitive environment. So, it’s your chance to really slow things down from a movement standpoint on your throwing. So, I think that is your best opportunity if you want to make a mechanical adjustment.” – Demetre Kokoris (03:50) “At the age of 24, I took my first yoga class and I felt like I really felt my body and was able to begin to get a lot more coordinated.” – Demetre Kokoris (04:15) “When kids play the game of baseball and they start competing and they start learning the little nuances and the tactics of the game, that’s when they start doing things instinctually.” – Demetre Kokoris (06:46) “As far as skill acquisition is concerned, I think the things that I always go back to are, start with the anatomy, is making sure the guy is physically capable of performing the thing that you need.” – Demetre Kokoris (12:14) “I think first and foremost, you’ve got to understand your team and what you need each person to do. What role do they play?” – Demetre Kokoris (15:35) “If you do want to make changes, is having objective data. Showing him. Showing him with the numbers. ‘Hey man, I know you think your knuckleball is a good pitch. But you throw this at a 20% strike clip in such-in-such situations.” – Demetre Kokoris (19:07) “I think you have to take it back to the three things that you want to do with a pitch. Do you want it for called strike? Do you want it for a swing and miss? Or do you want it for weak contact?” – Demetre Kokoris (19:50) Resources Mentioned: Ahead of the Curve Podcast Twitter: @AOTC_podcast Demetre Kokoris: Linkedin Twitter Instagram Demetre Kokoris’s Email:

During this episode of Ahead of the Curve, I interviewed Reggie Christiansen, Head Coach of the Sacramento State Hornets college baseball team. Reggie Christiansen talks about the important balance between developing players individually and as a collective team, how a typical week of training unfolds, how he goes about getting to know his players better, and recommendations for building a productive team culture. Episode Highlights: How did Reggie Christiansen get involved in baseball and as a coach? What were the first steps Reggie took as a head coach? What did his team do last fall when his players started to report? What are they doing on a daily basis to build the team culture? How does he get players to buy into the individual player concept and the collective team concept? What ways does Reggie Christiansen get to know his players better? Does he have a process to help his assistant coaches to grow? What are some different competitions that he loves to use with his players? What are some important rules and standards that his team organization has? Reggie Christiansen talks about what they are doing this spring and making practices more efficient. What advice does he have for guys getting into their first year of head coaching? What are things his players get excited about doing during practice? What is something done during practice that his players really love? Is there anything that Reggie Christiansen believes that other coaches might disagree with? Which things that typically happen during practice would we notice? Are there any resources that Reggie Christiansen would recommend? Remember why we all got into baseball to begin with. 3 Key Points: Put players in training situations where they have to overcome fears and to evolve as a team. Take ownership of your performance and be honest about your mistakes. Balance routine training elements with switching things up. Tweetable Quotes: “When I was in high school I coached middle school basketball and I actually coached little league baseball when I was in high school my senior year. I just fell in love with the organization of putting practices together.” – Reggie Christiansen (00:40) “I think you are probably short-changing your players if you are trying to do everything.” – Reggie Christiansen (06:09) “I think that my job as a head coach is to really allow these guys to chase their dreams individually, and obviously we have team goals as well. So there is a balance.” – Reggie Christiansen (10:00) “Mondays and Wednesdays are very individual skill-based. The focus is on the player...We built Tuesday and Thursday night practices where the focus would be on the team...Friday would be a very short practice.” – Reggie Christiansen (10:50) “I think our players understand that I do care about them individually. But, we also need to make sure that the team component is at the forefront.” – Reggie Christiansen (11:27) “We do some other things that I would call, ‘shared diversity.’ Some might call it ‘shared suffering.’ We try to have as much competition or put them in some experiences that allow them to grow together.” – Reggie Christiansen (11:37) “Give the new guys more of an opportunity to talk a little bit more, to ask questions, to open a little bit, because I think those guys are somewhat pleasers, right? They want to say and do what they think we want.” – Reggie Christiansen (16:04) “I want their best effort all the time. I think that it is simple as that. There is nothing that frustrates you more than seeing a guy not run hard. Just do what you are supposed to do.” – Reggie Christiansen (23:27) Resources Mentioned: Ahead of the Curve Podcast Twitter: @AOTC_podcast Reggie Christiansen: Twitter Reggie Christiansen’s Email: [email protected]

During this episode of Ahead of the Curve, I interviewed Lorenzo Garmendia, Founder of Gradum Baseball. Lorenzo shares information about his experiences training players from the major league all the way down to children. Lorenzo Garmendia also talks about exit velocity, launch angles, swinging flaws, and how hockey is a great way to train for baseball. Episode Highlights: How did Lorenzo Garmendia get involved in baseball and as a coach? What is Lorenzo doing with players for training? What are the first things Lorenzo Garmendia does with players? Lorenzo talks about the Tuesday Teaching videos. How does Lorenzo go about analyzing a player’s videos? What are some things that players are doing the same? What are some practical ways that Lorenzo helps players train their swing in practice? Is he training swings with slider pitches in practice? What spin rate does he want players to be able to be within? How does Lorenzo train players for decision-making? What is the best way to train hitters individually? How do you balance between staying directionally center to swinging pull side? What types of tools are Lorenzo using? Lorenzo shares his theories on exit velocity and launch angles. What are things his players get excited about doing? Is there anything that Lorenzo Garmendia believes that other coaches might disagree with? Which things that happen during practice typically that we would notice? What are some learning things that Lorenzo Garmendia is excited about? 3 Key Points: There are typically fives hitting flaws that you can train players on after accessing each player’s swing individually? Hitting is a physics equation. It is force equals mass times acceleration. It is the force you impart into the ball for exit velocity. The best launch angle you want as a hitter is 25 degrees. If you hit a ball at 25 degrees at a 100 miles-per-hour exit velocity, you are hitting a home run to dead center in any stadium in the United States. Tweetable Quotes: “I have a mathematical background and I was looking at it like, God, what they (coaches) are teaching them (players) really doesn’t make sense from a hitting perspective and from a pitching velocity perspective.” – Lorenzo Garmendia (01:10) “The first thing I look at is lower half. So, one of the main things is if you aren’t using your legs in the swing you’re not going to be very successful.” – Lorenzo Garmendia (05:50) “The biggest thing we see is what we call, ‘Whether you’re a pusher or do you swing the bat?’ Do you push your hands and your hands swing the bat? Or are you letting your body sequence correctly and the body swinging the bat?” – Lorenzo Garmendia (06:01) “Watch a hockey game and if let’s say the goalie is in front of you, you’ll never see a hockey player come around a puck. They are always to and through it. So, when you look at direction, that is huge in regards to baseball.” – Lorenzo Garmendia (06:16) “Every player was taught east to west. When in reality the object of the game is to hit the ball forward. So if you want to hit the ball forward, technically you want to be working from back to front south to north.” – Lorenzo Garmendia (06:35) “Even at the highest levels, guys don’t know what they’re doing. And what I mean by they don’t know what they’re doing, they don’t know what they’re swing is supposed to be doing or how they can repeat it.” – Lorenzo Garmendia (09:22) “Let’s train the swing to be able to hit every pitcher’s pitch and then let’s go to work.” – Lorenzo Garmendia (13:39) “Contact point is huge. But contact point is determined by the pitcher and where you make contact.” – Lorenzo Garmendia (25:08) Resources Mentioned: Ahead of the Curve Podcast Twitter: @AOTC_podcast Lorenzo Garmendia: Linkedin Gradum Baseball Website: gradumbaseball.com Gradum Baseball: Instagram

To wrap up a great year, we're featuring the top 10 most downloaded shows of the past year and combined them into one show. Here are the direct links to each episode. Dr. Greg Rose- Co-Founder of Titleist Performance Institute (TPI) and OnBaseU Steve Johnson- Founder/CEO of LegKickNation Tanner Swanson- MLB Catching Coach, New York Yankees Cage Work with Doug Latta and Craig Hyatt Ep. 1 Max Weiner- MiLB Pitching Coordinator, Seattle Mariners Robert Woodard- Head Coach, University of Charlotte (NC) Rob Benjamin- MiLB Hitting Coach, Seattle Mariners Chan Brown- Head Baseball Coach, Parkview HS (GA) Andrew Wright- Head Baseball Coach, University of Charleston (WV) Chase Lambin- MiLB Hitting Coach, Texas Rangers

During this episode of Ahead of the Curve, I interviewed Tyger Pederson, Hitting Coach at St. Louis Cardinals. Tyger discusses working with amateur players as well as more experienced players, communicating with players with whom English isn’t their first language, helping hitter improve their adjustability, and the importance of players getting into a good hitting position. Episode Highlights: How did Tyger Pederson get involved in baseball and as a coach? What are some of his main goals for the off-season? What are some resources that Tyger is making use of? What is Tyger’s process for working with amateur players? How does he approach more experienced players? What are some different ways that Tyger trains for adjustability? How does Tyger help out with decision-making? Is there anything that Tyger Pederson is very intentional with players? Does he ask more questions than give answers? How does Tyger work with players when English isn’t their first language? What do conversations look like when communicating from the top down? How does he communicate with players when emotions can run high? What does his pre-game time look like? How does he balance individual training for each player? What are some training things that Tyger is excited about? Are there training activities that his players love to do? What are the three things we would notice if we watched Tyger Pederson’s practice? What are some of Tyger Pederson’s favorite books and resources? 3 Key Points: Never stop learning. Get to know your players, what they need, what works best for them, and what their goals are. Hitting adjustability is key. Pitchers are getting better and better. Hitters need to make better decisions when they decide to swing. Tweetable Quotes: “I grew up in a baseball family in Palo Alto, California. My dad played 13 years professionally and definitely raised me and all my siblings up in a sport athletic environment.” – Tyger Pederson (00:26) “There comes that time in everybody’s career where you kind of decide what’s going to be the best move for you after your baseball playing career and I always knew that I wanted to be a coach.” – Tyger Pederson (01:14) “I would say one of my main goals as a coach is to definitely to continue learning. Continue to develop as a coach.” – Tyger Pederson (03:14) “When I get an amateur player who wants to work with me I usually start trying to get to know them as well as I can. Ask them about where they have been and their experiences and are they working on anything.” – Tyger Pederson (07:05) “A lot of amateur players have different goals and a lot of people aspire to play at the higher level. Maybe it’s college, maybe it’s pro. Some amateur players just want to have fun and enjoy their time.” – Tyger Pederson (07:52) “Being able to move efficiently and get yourself into a good hitting position is the number one most important thing. Once you can get into a good position and move efficiently it definitely promotes adjustability.” – Tyger Pederson (11:32) “Being able to challenge yourself in an environment where you can feel your misses is really important. The importance of feeling your misses is now you see where your swing is breaking down.” – Tyger Pederson (11:53) “I think it is really important to create a setting where you are challenging hitters to make game-like decisions.” – Tyger Pederson (13:36) Resources Mentioned: Ahead of the Curve Podcast Twitter: @AOTC_podcast Tyger Pederson: Linkedin Twitter Instagram

During this episode of Ahead of the Curve, I interviewed Jon Shehan, Head Baseball Coach at Millersville Univ. NCAA D2. Jon discusses the importance of coaches being humble and admitting that they don’t know everything, creating an enjoyable environment to make players love coming to baseball practice, and ways to adapt practice time to player’s needs. Episode Highlights: How did Jon Shehan get involved in baseball and as a coach? What were some of Jon’s first steps when he became a head coach? What is he doing with the time and staff he has? Are there things that have worked for team culture building? How can you go about relationships with players individually? What is he doing to make the lives of his assistant coaches easier? What are some other rules and standards he has in his baseball program? What are some different practice plan tips Jon Shehan recommends? If Jon Shehan could go back to being a first-year head coach, what advice would he have for himself? What are some training things that Jon is excited about? Are there training activities that his players love to do? What are the three things we would notice if we watched Jon Shehan’s practice? What are some of Jon Shehan’s favorite books and resources? 3 Key Points: Jon Shehan’s players track their nutrition using apps every single day and turn their numbers in on Friday mornings. Jon Shehan has read and recommends the book “Old School vs. New School” by Eugene Bleeker. Jon has read it twice now. Try changing practice activities every 5-10 minutes. Tweetable Quotes: “For the young coaches out there, man, just don’t be afraid to dream.” – Jon Shehan (05:08) “The guys that work for nothing are probably your most valuable resource and you have to find ways to thank them, and keep them involved, and keep challenging them as well. Not overwork them, but challenge them.” – Jon Shehan (07:21) “Being able to take that data, then show it to the players has been crucial for us. Because so many of these guys feel like things are going the right way. But I think what we have done is speed up the development process.” – Jon Shehan (09:47) “At the end of the day, our values aren’t going to change. That is what you are signing up for. Because we may find something better next week that we are going to adapt and put into our program..” – Jon Shehan (16:10) “Making it intentional that we are building relationships with each and every individual on the team, even though it is a competitive environment. And maybe one of the toughest things we have to do.” – Jon Shehan (17:36) “One of the interesting things we do as a team the first week of class every year is going over those core covenants, and first ask, ‘Are there any other values that we need to add?’” – Jon Shehan (26:00) “One of the biggest values, sometimes, it’s a blessing and a course, is...make it better. It’s just simple, make it better.” – Jon Shehan (42:33) “One of my biggest theories is making practice fun. I want our guys to show up and enjoy practice and have it be one of the best parts of their day.” – Jon Shehan (46:07) Resources Mentioned: Ahead of the Curve Podcast Twitter: @AOTC_podcast Jon Shehan: Twitter Book: “Old School vs. New School” by Eugene Bleeker

During this episode of Ahead of the Curve, I interview Jason Bell, MiLB Field Coordinator for the Houston Astros. Jason Bell talks about the art of cultivating team culture, methods to adapting your coaching style to your various players, and his process of adjusting to a diverse group of players. Episode Highlights: How did Jason Bell get involved in baseball and as a coach? How does Jason Bell go about designing practices? Jason Bell talks about: how to get on each player’s individual level? What is Jason;s take on positive and negative affirmations? What are the things Jason does to adapt his baseball style? What does Jason Bell believe team culture is? What if your players don’t seem to be adjusting to training? What is his process after the practice of self-reflection? What advice does Jason Bell give to be useful to a diverse group of players? What are some learning things that Jason is excited about? What are things his players get excited about doing? Is there anything that Jason Bell believes that other coaches might disagree with? Which things that happen during practice typically that we would notice? What are some of Jason Bell’s favorite books and resources? 3 Key Points: Get on each player’s level. Research says that it should be 3-1 positive to negative affirmations. Pay attention and listen to your players. Tweetable Quotes: “Teaching life through a game. I know what the game has done for me and how much better of a person I’ve become through the game of baseball.” – Jason Bell (00:37) “We just believe that the body will self-organize itself, and you know, maybe sometimes it does. But maybe it doesn’t do it in the most powerful way.” – Jason Bell (08:10) “I think the art of coaching and why we are most important is that it is our job to relate to each and every player that we have.” – Jason Bell (16:13) “If there are 25 players on a team, it is more important for us to be 25 different types of people rather than 25 different people changed to our system as a coach.” – Jason Bell (16:22) “You need to use feedback on the player’s body language. How he is taking the coaching that you’re giving him and kind of wonder like, ‘Man, it doesn’t look like he has bought in. Maybe he doesn’t feel comfortable disagreeing.” – Jason Bell (27:06) “If this player feels like he needs more work in this area and we aren’t getting it to him, I’m so glad that he feels comfortable in saying that.” – Jason Bell (35:49) “Showing where you can add value and creativity is great. But, use the creativity to like actually develop somebody’s skills and not being creative for the sake of being creative.” – Jason Bell (38:23) “Communication is key. And being able to communicate with players of all sorts of backgrounds.” – Jason Bell (38:41) Resources Mentioned: Ahead of the Curve Podcast Twitter: @AOTC_podcast Jason Bell: Linkedin Twitter

iTunes Stitcher Google Spotify During this episode of Ahead of the Curve, I interviewed Peter Caliendo, Host Of Baseball Outside The Box which is an educational podcast, Former Coach for the 1999 Intercontinental Cup for USA Baseball, President of Caliendo Sports International, Vice President/Board Member of International Sports Group, Member Baseball Tournament Committee for WBSC World Baseball Softball Confederation, and Technical Committee for Confederation of Pan American Baseball. Peter Caliendo pulls from his 37 years of baseball experience, providing tips, advice, and training styles that he has learned from many other countries and cultures, such as Cuba, Japan, and the Dutch. Episode Highlights: How did Peter Caliendo start his podcast Baseball Outside The Box? How did Peter get involved in baseball and as a coach? What are different countries doing in baseball training? What are some great baseball strategies in Japan? What are Peter’s thoughts on Dutch training? How are other countries coaching coaches? What makes Cuba different for baseball? What are some training things that Peter is excited about? What are some things Peter may believe about baseball that other coaches may disagree with? Peter is big in having parents involved in baseball training. What are the things we would notice if we watched Peter Caliendo’s practices? What are some of Peter Caliendo’s favorite books and resources? 3 Key Points: Peter worked with Baseball Schools USA, setting up over 60 schools in the Chicago area. Attention to detail is key in baseball training. Peter Caliendo was the only US coach ever to be giving courses in Cuba prior to the revolution and after. Tweetable Quotes: “Why are we teaching things that we have been teaching in the past? It could be ok but there’s maybe better things out there.” – Peter Caliendo (00:50) “As coaches, we need to have an open mind. We need to be open about what we are teaching. We need to always question what we are teaching, and always ask ‘why’?.” – Peter Caliendo (01:10) “Volunteers are great people. If we didn’t have volunteers, we wouldn’t have the sport.” – Peter Caliendo (19:53) “Baseball can be boring. And I have been in it for 37 years. And especially for kids because if things aren’t moving fast and things are getting better...they are going to find something else to do.” – Peter Caliendo (20:11) “I would say a good 80% of coaches around the world are volunteers. There are not many getting paid and if they are, they aren’t getting paid very much. They are doing it because they love it.” – Peter Caliendo (21:03) “We need to get back to free play and we need to incorporate it within our practices.” – Peter Caliendo (28:20) “I’m excited about trying to keep up with the technology aspect because I really believe that what we are doing is we are utilizing the technology to tell us our we doing it correctly.” – Peter Caliendo (30:42) “Don’t always do what other coaches taught you, even 10 minutes ago. If there is something you came up with, be creative yourself.” – Peter Caliendo (34:02) Resources Mentioned: Ahead of the Curve Podcast Twitter: @AOTC_podcast Peter Caliendo: Linkedin Baseball Outside of the Box podcast: baseballoutsidethebox.com/category/podcast

iTunes Stitcher Google Spotify During this episode of Ahead of the Curve, I interviewed Monte Lee, Head Coach of Baseball at Clemson University in Clemson, South Carolina. Coach Lee shares his passion for wanting to become a coach from a young age, the methods he uses to communicate with his team players and staff, how he goes about designing practices, and the importance of players being intentional with their pitching and hitting. Episode Highlights: What are the main reasons that Monte Lee became a baseball coach? What does Monte do to instill his teach culture? What does his fall training session look like? How does his mind work with practice design? Does he use technology with his practices? How does he intentionally develop his staff? What are some of the rules that Monte Lee has? What does a typical practice plan look like? What are they doing in the batting cages? Does Monte Lee have a system for communicating within the team setting with players that don’t play regularly? What advice would he give to first-year coaches? What is something that he digs into that works for learning and improving? What is something that his players love to do in practice? What is something he may do that other coaches may not do? Which resources have been helpful to Monte? 3 Key Points: He tries to eliminate the fear of failure. It is more about the process, not the result. You can learn so much from just sitting back and listening. When you do say something to a player, make sure that it matters. Tweetable Quotes: “Got into coaching, really to be honest with you, I never thought about doing anything else. I just knew from a very young age.” – Monte Lee (00:47) “I can remember being 15-years-old and my high school baseball coach asking me what I wanted to do when I grew up, and I told him I want to come back and be the head baseball coach.” – Monte Lee (00:54) “The first thing I tried to instill in our guys is that everything that we do on a baseball field...we are on offense.” – Monte Lee (03:28) “We want our pitchers to throw every pitch with conviction and intent. We want our infielders when they are throwing the ball across the field to throw the ball with intent. We swing the bat with the intent to do damage.” – Monte Lee (04:23) “I would hope that if you were to ask anybody who ever worked for me, I always wanted to make sure that everybody on my staff feels appreciated and that their voice is heard. We have staff meetings at least once a week.” – Monte Lee (21:22) “We go over our team rules and our expectations and I have them sign it. It is pretty detailed. But it is pretty simple too. In a nutshell, it is just, be a good citizen.” – Monte Lee (25:29) “We have two square cages and two long cages at Clemson and we have one cage that we kind of call our data cage.” – Monte Lee (037:16) “You care about them and sometimes you probably don’t communicate with them as much as you would like to just because you feel bad for them. You feel bad that they are not getting the opportunity.” – Monte Lee (43:05) Resources Mentioned: Ahead of the Curve Podcast Twitter: @AOTC_podcast Monte Lee: Twitter Email for Monte Lee: [email protected]

During this episode of Ahead of the Curve, I interviewed Chase Lambin, Hitting Coach in the Texas Rangers organization. Coach Lambin shares information about hitting, pushing players to be their own coaches, learning from everybody, creating a proper teaching environment, and how to deliver data to players without overwhelming them. Episode Highlights: How did Chase Lambin get involved in baseball and as a coach? What are some learned lessons Chase has acquired? What does the off-season look like for Chase Lambin Where does he start in the process of coaching? How does Chase relate to and get to know his players better? What does Chase Lambin say to players to access their confidence? How does he help players make better decisions? What are some different competitions that he uses with players? How does he balance individual training needs within the team setting while trying to win games? How can we filter data to players to be the most beneficial to them? Is there anything that Chase Lambin believes that other coaches might disagree with? What are some things that he works on with players on a regular basis? What are some of his favorite books and resources? Play baseball with joy. It is what we do, not who we are. 3 Key Points: As a coach, be a “mentern” - a combination of a mentor and an intern. Every swing is like a snowflake. Each one is different for the situation and the moment. Chase Lambin wants his players to be their own best coaches. Tweetable Quotes: “I have a list of goals for the off-season, and all of it involves learning and growing. First off, I have to make up for lost time with my wife and kids because I think pro ball can be a bit of a grind and it puts a strain on a family.” – Chase Lambin (03:57) “Everybody has something to offer. Whether it be a first-year pro player, a college kid, a 10-year big league veteran, or a coach that has coached for 40 years.” – Chase Lambin (04:47) “There is no right and wrong. There is what does and does not work. I really don’t subscribe to absolutes.” – Chase Lambin (07:55) “We are more psychologists than we are mechanic. I usually start with a lot of questions that have nothing to do with baseball. I try to ask about their siblings, their parents, or do they have a girlfriend.” – Chase Lambin (11:28) “I think sometimes all a hitter needs to hear sometimes is that they are not alone.” – Chase Lambin (22:10) “You’ve got to create the environment to teach. You’ve got to train it.” – Chase Lambin (26:14) “When you make the preparation and the training as competitive as the game. It’s like getting a running start into the actual competition.” – Chase Lambin (33:10) “The last thing I want to do is muddy the waters. My main job is to distill information and give it to them in digestible chunks.” – Chase Lambin (41:45) Resources Mentioned: Ahead of the Curve Podcast Twitter: @AOTC_podcast Chase Lambin: Linkedin Facebook

iTunes Stitcher Google Spotify During this episode of Ahead of the Curve, I interviewed Darren Fenster, Minor League Outfield and Baserunning Coordinator for the Boston Red Sox. Darren discusses how his coach at Rutgers University got him interested in being a baseball coach. He also shares the elements that make base-running and being an outfielder very important, and what it takes to get better as a baseball player and a coach. Episode Highlights: Darren Fenster introduces his background, including never envisioning himself as being a coach. Darren Fenster went to the minor leagues for the Kansas City Royals. How did he go from being a stellar infielder to the outfield coordinator? What are some different things that can make base-running better. Which drill help players do better with base-running? How does he structure his time to handle base-running with so many players? Darren talks about his journey of learning out the outfield. Coaches haven’t taught until their players learn. You can get better by watching baseball. How does he go about communication with players from different locations and languages? What is something that Darren has been working on and looking to get better at? What is something that his players love to do in practice? What is something that Darren Fenster believes that other coaches may disagree on? What would we notice during Darren’s practices that he typically does? E 3 Key Points: Darren Fenster played baseball in New Jersey at Rutgers University, met Coach Fred Hill who got him into coaching, and left Rutgers as the all-time career hits leader. Assume that your players know nothing and everything will surprise you. Darren breaks down the game of baseball into singular steps to isolate movements and playing moments for his players to rehearse and practice repeatedly to develop skills. Tweetable Quotes: “Right now, I am the outfield and baserunning coordinator for the Red Sox on the minor league level.” – Darren Fenster (00:42) “I’m responsible for what we are doing with regards to developing our outfielders and what we are going to do in our approach to base-running. This my 8th year with the Red Sox.” – Darren Fenster (00:51) “For them to see my potential in a role that I really was not an expert in by any means. For them to say, ‘I think you can become one,’ that is as big of a value in leadership as anything else.” – Darren Fenster (12:27) “Base-running, I think, people just look at in the general term of running harder around the bases, and it is so much more than that. The entire skill begins with effort.” – Darren Fenster (13:40) “If we can start every day of spring training with a 10-15-minute block, where the entire camp is doing base-running...a player’s attention span is always going to be at their height at the beginning of your day.” – Darren Fenster (23:43) “I am a huge believer in having groups small enough where guys can get as many reps as they possibly can within the time period that they can.” – Darren Fenster (34:17) “You are actually going to field far more balls on the ground than you ever will on the air because just about every single base hit turns into a ground ball for an outfielder.” – Darren Fenster (29:59) “A lot of people are putting the game in a vacuum, and they are making the ‘always’ and ‘nevers’ to the game. For me, you have to take bits and pieces of everything.” – Darren Fenster (35:24) Resources Mentioned: Ahead of the Curve Podcast Twitter: @AOTC_podcast Darren Fenster: Linkedin Twitter Coaching Your Kids: coachingyourkidsblog.wordpress.com Coaching Your Kids Email: [email protected]

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iTunes Stitcher Google Spotify During this episode of Ahead of the Curve, I interviewed Doug Wren, Head Baseball Coach at Tyler Junior College in Tyler, Texas. Coach Wren talks about what it was like as a young 25-year old coach, how he prepares his assistant coaches to give their best and learn enough to be head coaches one day, and how he works with players who might be struggling. Learn from this coach who has had multiple All-American players under his coaching tutelage over the years. Episode Highlights: How did Doug Wren get involved in baseball? What was Doug’s vision when he started as a coach? What does Doug Wren’s fall training season look like? What is he charting for offensively? What type of environment does Coach Wren set up to integrate new players into the team culture? Are there any specific things that Doug Wren requires his players to do? How does he develop his assistant coaches? What does a typical spring training plan look like? How does he go about communicating to players about what they need to work on? What advice does Doug have for first-year head coaches? What is the latest thing that he has learned that he is excited about? What is something that he does in practice that his players love? 3 Key Points: Learn from the coaches that you serve under and write those ideas down. Give your players 100% of yourself as a coach and expect the same from them. You are not doing your job if you aren’t teaching your assistants to one day take your job. Tweetable Quotes: “I got a light verse that I coach by and its First Corinthians 11-1 and it’s, ‘Follow me as I follow the example of Christ.’ So for me, that has kind of really pointed me in the direction that I wanted to take my coaching career in.” – Doug Wren (03:00) “I restructured practice a little bit to kind of suit what I was trying to do from an offensive and defensive perspective. From the gear that we wore, kind of putting our spin on that.” – Doug Wren (05:30) “We try to play our outside opponents on accommodation on Wednesdays and Fridays, and so Monday becomes a teaching day. So show up Monday morning. Hopefully, the guys are excited.” – Doug Wren (10:29) “Our guys never miss class for baseball. They are never chasing down professors. They are not behind in their work. They are always in class, and if they miss, it is most likely on them.” – Doug Wren (11:44) “There is nothing worse than having an exit meeting at the end of the fall and you felt like this kid could have done a little bit better and maybe he fell behind. But in his mind, he only remembers the good things.” – Doug Wren (13:30) “Excellence in small things is excellence in all things. How you do anything is how you do everything.” – Doug Wren (18:50) “I‘ve had multiple All-Americans that didn’t start the year out as starters.” – Doug Wren (39:31) “Be where your feet are. Be the best assistant you can be where you are at. Be a sponge. Take notes.” – Doug Wren (42:46) Resources Mentioned: Ahead of the Curve Podcast Twitter: @AOTC_podcast Doug Wren: Linkedin Twitter Doug Wren’s Email: [email protected]

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iTunes Stitcher Google Spotify During this episode of Ahead of the Curve, I interviewed Joe DeMarco, President and Chief Operations Officer at ELITE Baseball, who oversees all the Elite Baseball teams and private instruction. Joe DeMarco’s extensive experience includes: coaching baseball at the University of Kansas and spending two seasons in the San Diego Padres organization as a member of the Peoria Padres and the Idaho Falls Braves. Joe DeMarco discusses how he trains batters for timing, focusing on finding the ‘when,’ and good sequencing and how do you measure it. Episode Highlights: How did Joe DeMarco get involved in baseball? What does Day 1 look like? What is Joe doing to train for timing. What did his process look like when he began his position? What is the definition of good sequencing and how do you measure it? What does Joe mean by ‘focusing on finding the ‘when’? From a timing aspect, what advice does Joe DeMarco have? What drills did Joe DeMarco share with Rick Eckstein? What do they assign for their hitter’s homework. What are you doing in the dark when no one is watching? 3 Key Points: Joe trains for timing in areas that include the ball flight timing at the point of contact and working on the player’s sequential timing. Praise the right process even if the result is not what the player wanted. Joe DeMarco encourages players to keep a journal of the drills and hitting areas that they work on. Tweetable Quotes: “Day 1, for me you know, I like to develop a relationship and connect with the player. Any time a new player comes in for an assessment, I try to make sure I’m there.” – Joe DeMarco (05:27) “A lot of the stuff with sequencing and just ball flight, we kind of get them to understand, at least our focus is, how their body is operating, and each guy’s rhythm and pace.” – Joe DeMarco (11:17) “Ultimately, I believe the only decision you make is to stop your swing.” – Joe DeMarco (11:50) “If I was going to break down into kind of body part sequencing, when that lead foot hits, then that heel plant. Then there is stabilization of the head, which I think is really important.” – Joe DeMarco (18:35) “The plan has to match the decision.” – Joe DeMarco (49:40) “Trying to train things with rhythm and timing, adding decision in there through your control drills with any kind of toss or seated overhand I think you’re onto something. You have given them a really good chance.” – Joe DeMarco (50:09) “We have the striped balls too. We do a lot of fast ball change out of the hand.” – Joe DeMarco (53:09) “You always want to maintain a good posture with your head and your chest, and really on your backside. You are never going to shift past your backside.” – Joe DeMarco (1:06:16) Resources Mentioned: Ahead of the Curve Podcast Twitter: @AOTC_podcast Joe DeMarco: Linkedin Twitter Joe DeMarco’s Email: [email protected] ELITE Baseball: elitebaseball.net

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iTunes Stitcher Google Spotify During this episode of Ahead of the Curve, I interviewed Matt Midkiff, Head Baseball Coach at Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Coach Midkiff, shares how he entered into his head coaching with a list of the things that he would accomplish in the first 100 days, how he juggles drills with the 16 falls days he has with players, the rules and standards that his team has to live up to, and how he goes about building strong bonds with his players. Episode Highlights: Matt Midkiff shares his baseball background and how he got involved in coaching. What did the vision look like when he got started coaching at Swarthmore? What were some of the things that were on his ‘First 100 Day List?’ How does he find players that meet high academic standards? What does the fall training look like and what time restraints does he have? Which things do they cram into their fall practices? When do they take their 16 days? Coach Midkiff describes the high-level of work ethic his players have. How does he establish the team culture? Is there anything that he specifically does to make sure that he builds an individual connection with each player? What are some different competitions that they do? What are some of the different rules and standards that are in place for his team? How is he helping his assistant coaches grow? What are some things that they do offensively during training? Coach Midkiff discusses spring training drill sets that they do that may be different? What advice does Matt have for first-year head coaches? What is the latest thing that Coach Midkiff has learned that he is excited about? What is something that Matt does in practice that his players love? What is something that he believes that other coaches may disagree with? What are three things that would stand out during Coach Midkiff’s baseball practices? Does Matt feel that his players feed off of his energy? What are some of Matt’s favorite books and resources that he has learned the most from? What is the last piece of advice that Matt Midkiff does have to offer? 3 Key Points: In the fall, they split their days into teaching, practice, a competitive game piece, and a strength and conditioning component. Coach Midkiff is cultivating his players to be responsible on and off the field. You are going to fail. But it is the only failure if you fail to learn from it. Tweetable Quotes: “In Division 3 we have 16 days of practice that we can have in the fall.” – Matt Midkiff (08:02) “The more we can just play baseball, the more we can just have live pieces in our practice and read balls off the bat and see live pitching and things of that nature, the better we are going to be.” – Matt Midkiff (11:20) “You are talking about high-achieving students that are oftentimes in the top 10%, 5%, 1%. We’ve got a valedictorian on our team. We’ve got some perfect AST, SAT scores on our team.” – Matt Midkiff (14:37) “Myself and our assistant coaches, we really develop a strong bond with our players and their families too.” – Matt Midkiff (17:06) “I try to be as real as I can. If I make a mistake I own it. The guys will make fun of me and we’ll joke back and forth and we just have that relationship where, I take my job seriously, but I don’t take myself seriously.” – Matt Midkiff (18:28) “We like to have a live segment in every practice that we do.” – Matt Midkiff (23:58) “Don’t get your self-worth from your team’s performance.” – Matt Midkiff (42:02) “Take a skill that is a little bit above the level of the player and make them attempt it until they get it.” – Matt Midkiff (45:10) Resources Mentioned: Ahead of the Curve Podcast Twitter: @AOTC_podcast Matt Midkiff: Twitter

iTunes Stitcher Google Spotify Twitter @tjeskelaa @slugfest2019 Slugfest.com Today, we’re joined by Tyler Jeske. Minor League Hitting coach for the Los Angeles Angels. Tyler has had an array of background experiences in the game including coaching in the DR, being a video coordinator in the SEC and at Missouri State. On the show, we talk about his background which includes several applicable ideas on how he got into professional baseball. We talk about the things he has learned in the past year and why systems and reflections are so vital in coach. Tyler also has an amazing event coming up for any hitting coaches listening. Slugfest will be start on November 22 and run through the 24th.

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iTunes Stitcher Google Spotify During this episode of Ahead of the Curve, I interviewed Larry Day, Manager of the Arizona League Indians Red for the Cleveland Indians. Larry shares a wealth of information regarding how he goes about balancing the development of players with winning, how he establishes the team culture with players that are from all over and may not speak English as their first language. Larry Day also provides advice from mentors like Coach Tim Corbin from Vanderbilt University that has been very beneficial to him. Episode Highlights: How did Larry Day get involved in baseball and as a coach? What set’s Coach Tim Corbin apart as a coach? What is the reason for the fist bump touches among the players? What did his process look like when he began his position? Larry discusses the importance of communication. What does the process look like for balancing the development of players with winning? What does a typical day of training look like? How do they go about culture-building and transitioning players from all over to be ready to be a professional baseball player? What are some different things that Larry helps grow the coaches he is around every day? What are some things Larry does to build relationships with his players from different backgrounds? What are some of the latest things that Larry has learned that he is excited about? How do we relay complicated details with data for players that don’t naturally speak English? What is something that he does in practice that his players love? Is there anything that Larry Day believes that other coaches might disagree with? What are some of his favorite books and resources? 3 Key Points: Embracing the diversity of different races, cultures, and ages of players helps to establish culture-building. Dan Coyle, the author of the book “The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups” works with Larry Day’s players. Players don’t care what you know until they know that you care. Tweetable Quotes: (Coach Tim Corbin) “He certainly is elite as it comes to coaching and teaching and that is what he truly is. He is a teacher.” – Larry Day (03:45) “Everything that is executed within that program (Vanderbilt) is 100% intentional. Planned, thought out. prepared.” – Larry Day (06:51) “It comes down to having the ability to pre-plan and pre-communicate.” – Larry Day (10:04) “You have anywhere between 4 to 6 fields with games on potentially 4 to 6 fields. You have morning workouts, and you know how baseball workouts go.There is the defense component, there is the throwing component.” – Larry Day (11:12) “You put that time in 8 days out of a 7-day week to be able to run a clean, productive workout.” – Larry Day (20:29) “The last thing that we want our players to do is be confused, or our coaches to be confused on what the objective is, what we are trying to accomplish, what the objective is for the day or the drill.” – Larry Day (20:42) “We have a learning and development component of our organization that solely targets the continued development of staff.” – Larry Day (25:39) “The smile is international. The ability to non-verbally connect and to have a sense of where your players are at from an emotional, mental, standpoint. You can see the physical.” – Larry Day (30:04) Resources Mentioned: Ahead of the Curve Podcast Twitter: @AOTC_podcast Larry Day’s Email: [email protected] Book: “The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups” by Daniel Coyle Book: “Legacy” by James Kerr

iTunes Stitcher Google Spotify Ari Ronick Minor League Pitching Coach for the Seattle Mariners. Ari has a doctor of physical therapy and a masters of business administration from the University of Montana. On the show Ari discusses how to tackle mobility challenges, addressing player movement, resources that can help with the movement screening process, and ways to shape progress in pitching development. Episode Highlights: What are the key reasons that Ari Ronick became a baseball coach? What does his pitching development look like? How does Ari address mobility challenges? What are common problems that Ari sees, and how can we fix them? What are things that pop out to Ari Ronick when he looks at a video? Does he start with lower body when addressing player movement? How does Ari handle customizing individual player development in a team setting? What are great ways to go about teaching players new pitches? What is his postseason routine like? How do you prepare players in between starts? What things has he recently learned? How often does his pitchers know what their strengths are? What is something that his players love to do in practice? What are his thoughts on the long toss and weighted balls? What would we notice during Ari’s practices that he typically does? Which resources have been helpful to Ari? 3 Key Points: Find some objectives that you can improve in that can be tracked. FMS (Functional Movement Screen) and OnBaseU can help with the movement screening process. Physical stress theory means that demands that are put on the body lead to adaptations. Tweetable Quotes: “I grew up in a family where I was the youngest of three boys. It was a baseball household. We were playing all the time as a kid. I played through highschool, through college and as long as I could professionally.” – Ari Ronick (00:28) “Coaching, it allows me to use two skillsets, to see pitching through the lens of a player, someone who pitched, and as a physical therapist.” – Ari Ronick (01:23) “Everyday I get to breakdown human movement. I get to watch how people throw. In physical therapy, our mission is to optimize movement to improve the human experience.” – Ari Ronick (01:35) “I’m going to start by looking at a range of motion. I’m going to look at strength. I’m going to look at a quick movement screen.” – Ari Ronick (04:24) “What we are ultimately looking for here is, are they able to throw in a way that leads to a favorable pitch? Whether that be velocity movement, command, whatever it happens to be. Do these translate to a change on the baseball field?” – Ari Ronick (07:19) “A good place to start is always with using strengthening, either or gain length, or to add the muscle that you might need to even get to that position as a player.” – Ari Ronick (09:35) “What I find with pitching videos is we just want to make everything so perfect that we lose track that the body is pretty complicated. It’s a complex movement and players are going to move in the way that they most efficiently can often times.” – Ari Ronick (11:31) “This past season I’ve spent a lot of time learning about pitch characteristics and how that can relate to in-game strategy.” – Ari Ronick (27:05) Resources Mentioned: Ahead of the Curve Podcast Twitter: @AOTC_podcast Ari Ronick: Linkedin Ronick Baseball Academy: ronickbaseballacademy.com

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iTunes Stitcher Google Spotify During this episode of Ahead of the Curve, I interviewed Adam Moseley, Head Baseball Coach at Hoover High School in Hoover, Alabama. Coach Moseley, who was awarded as the World Champion 2018 USA Baseball 15u Pitching Coach, offers an informative discussion about what it takes for him to develop fantastic pitchers, establishing the team culture for new players, getting to know his players better, Episode Highlights: How did Adam Moseley get involved in baseball? What does Adam’s fall training season look like? What has Adam Moseley done to be able to develop great pitchers? What type of environment does Adam set up to integrate new players into the team culture? Are there any specific things that Coach Moseley requires his players to do? What are some different strategies for getting to know each player better? How does he develop his assistant coaches? What are some different things that Adam does during interviews of potential hires? What different rules and standards does he have in his program? What does a typical spring training plan look like? How does Coach Moseley deal with parents or players complaining about playing time? What advice does Adam have for first-year head coaches? What is the latest thing that he has learned that he is excited about? What is something that he does in practice that his players love? What is something that he believes that other coaches may disagree with? What are three things that would stand out during Coach Moseley’s baseball practices? What are some of Adam’s favorite books and resources that he has learned the most from? 3 Key Points: Coaches have to be able to trust their kids. Coach Moseley talks to each player every two weeks and keeps an updated chart of all of his players where he adds the date and discussions he has had with them. If winning isn’t fun, then why are you doing it? Tweetable Quotes: “I’ve been at Hoover (High School) for five years. This will be my 6th year, and we’ve had a pretty fun run here. We’ve had a lot of college players and a lot of great young men that we’ve been able to coach.” – Adam Moseley “In Alabama, we have some different rules, I know every state does. Essentially, we can spend as much time as we want in strength training and conditioning with our kids. There really isn’t a limit on that.” – Adam Moseley “We hire out a company called Godspeed. The guy’s name is Lance Rhodes and he started this business years ago. He is a Hoover graduate. Almost every NFL guy that lives in Birmingham, it seems like, trains with him.” – Adam Moseley “The best athlete on the mound means that in the 7th inning of the biggest game of the year he’s able to make the adjustment that he has to make to get the guy out, whether it is all working for him, or it is not.” – Adam Moseley “If you are doing the same drills for everybody, 25% of them are getting better, 25% of them are not getting any better, 25% are getting worse, and 25% are hurt.” – Adam Moseley “Any time you start sharing sweat, and you are all sweating together, I think the culture builds right away.” – Adam Moseley “First and foremost, I think it goes into who you are hiring. You need to hire guys that fit the development profile that you are looking for. I want to hire a guy that wants to be a life-long learner.” – Adam Moseley “I’m not a big, giant ‘rule sheet’ guy. Our program is not full of tons of rules. To me, the more rules you put out there, the more that they start looking for ways they can get around them.” – Adam Moseley Resources Mentioned: Ahead of the Curve Podcast Twitter: @AOTC_podcast Adam Moseley: Linkedin Twitter Facebook Instagram Adam Moseley’s Email: [email protected]

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iTunes Stitcher Google Spotify During this episode of Ahead of the Curve, I interviewed Randy Sullivan, Owner and CEO of Sullivan Rehab Services, The ARMory Power Pitching Academy, and The Florida Baseball Ranch, Baseball Player Development Specialist, and Physical Therapist. Randy discusses his concept of linking hardware to software, constraint-based training, and the differences between the old school versus the new school. Episode Highlights: Randy Sullivan talks about the Skill Acquisition Conference. What are some things that he took and utilized from last years’ Skill Acquisition Conference? What are the difference between coaching hitters and coaching pitchers? What does Randy mean by ‘linking hardware to software?” Does Randy see the Bernstein Principle getting used out of context? What was Randy Sullivan’s blog post addressing the old school versus the new school about? Coaches need to help players sift through the data that matters and doesn’t matter. What is involved in Randy’s constraint-based training? How is Randy Sullivan teaching and training for timing? What are ways to be able to take action and perception and match them together? In any given hitting session, Randy wants 15% of his player’s swings to be against the fastest pitches, 15% against the slowest pitches, 15% against their 2-strike approach. The rest will be variable. What is the latest thing Randy has learned that he is excited about? What is something that his players do in training that they love? We need to stop labeling kids as having mental disorders. Every player has potential. 3 Key Points: Randy Sullivan’s concept of linking hardware to software is to understand a player’s particular body abilities to apply the right customized techniques to make them a better player. The way to change movement is through manipulating sensory information. Data is just telling you how you are doing. Intent alone without any guidance isn’t going to solve problems. Tweetable Quotes: “When there is time pressure, you kind of have to revert to our more primitive sensory stream which is, you’ve got to move. You know? Like when you touch a slug with a stick, he moves.” – Randy Sullivan (08:45) “One thing we all have to remember is that, coaches have been teaching human movement since the game began. Since anything began. And so, all we are doing is kind of refining the things that we are already doing.” – Randy Sullivan (09:49) “Hitting is probably more complex because you have to respond to sensory information and it is a little more complex than teaching pitching.” – Randy Sullivan (11:31) “In nature, we want to accomplish important goals and we want to do it. Complex organisms are inherently lazy. They have to be. They have to conserve energy.” – Randy Sullivan (13:33) “This generation of player is not afraid of hard work. This generation of player is afraid of things that may make them think they are stupid. They’ve got more information than they have ever had before.” – Randy Sullivan (20:35) “It’s not that we are teaching you a new way to throw or hit. What we are teaching is a new way to view throwing and hitting, which leads to a new way to teach throwing and hitting.” – Randy Sullivan (29:33) “You can never repeat a movement, that ever single throw and every single swing is going to be different.” – Randy Sullivan (31:34) “There is no good drill for everything.” – Randy Sullivan (34:55) Resources Mentioned: Ahead of the Curve Podcast Twitter: @AOTC_podcast Randy Sullivan: Linkedin Florida Baseball Ranch: floridabaseballranch.com Phone Number for Florida Baseball Ranch: 866-STRIKE-3 (866) 787-4533

iTunes Stitcher Google Spotify Article https://medium.com/@jgelnar7/becoming-a-data-driven-program-part-3-onbaseu-movement-screen-3dc9a57c1afc

iTunes Stitcher Google Spotify During this episode of Ahead of the Curve, I interviewed Cliff Godwin, Head Baseball Coach East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. Coach Godwin’s coaching experience spans across many collegiate programs in the assistant coach capacity including University of Notre Dame, Louisiana State University, University of Central Florida, and Ole Miss. Learn about practice design, hitting routines, advice for assistant coaches, and how he molds a positive, family-orientated team culture. Episode Highlights: How did Cliff Godwin get involved in baseball? How much have mentors benefited Cliff Godwin? What were some of Cliff’s first steps as a coach? What does Cliff Godwin’s fall training season look like? How did he execute his vision? What do the conversations about striving for excellence about look like? What are his players doing for competition? What advice does Cliff Godwin have assistant coaches? How does Coach Godwin implement efficiency and practice design for spring training? What does his BP drills look like? What does his interview process look like? What is the latest thing that he has learned that he is excited about? What is something that he does in practice that his players love? What is something that Cliff Godwin believes that other coaches may disagree with? What are three things that would stand out during Cliff Godwin’s baseball practices? What are some of Cliff’s favorite books and resources that he has learned the most from? 3 Key Points: Always give your best because someone who can help you later could be watching you. If you aren’t falling short of your goals than you aren’t setting your goals high enough. The P.I.R.A.T.E.S acronym is: Purpose, Integrity, Responsible, Attitude, Toughness, Excellence, Self-less. Tweetable Quotes: “You never know who is watching. We all as coaches tell our players that.” – Cliff Godwin (06:38) “My vision was very ambitious. I don’t think that you can set goals too high.” – Cliff Godwin (08:43) “We have not had below a 3.4 team GPA in the past two years. How about that?” – Cliff Godwin (11:11) “You can get your players to do anything, you just can’t get them to do everything.” – Cliff Godwin (11:23) “First of all, in the fall, we compete at something every day, whether it be in the weight room or skill instruction.” – Cliff Godwin (26:41) “Accept all the players. Tell them that they are your players, and go with it.” – Cliff Godwin (29:46) “I think that it is important just to have your assistants feel like this is a family atmosphere.” – Cliff Godwin (34:24) “I am very lucky now that in this stage in my career that there are a bunch of guys in the profession that I really trust.” – Cliff Godwin (44:56) Resources Mentioned: Ahead of the Curve Podcast Twitter: @AOTC_podcast Cliff Godwin: Linkedin Instagram Twitter

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iTunes Stitcher Google Spotify During this episode of Ahead of the Curve, I interviewed Mike Glavine, Head Baseball Coach at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts. Mike shares advice on how he transitioned into his head coach position at Northeastern University, the power that can be found with indoor practices, typical practice plans, and his players getting to play the Boston Red Sox. Episode Highlights: How did Mike Glavine get involved in baseball? Does he teach his brother’s change-up? How does it feel to coach at North Eastern as an alumni? What were some of the first things that Mike did as a coach? What does Mike’s fall training season look like? What are some things that Coach Glavine does to establish the culture of the team? How does he get to know his players better? How does he keep competition strong on the team? In what ways does Mike handle the weather changes? Are they leveraging technology during indoor practices? How is he preparing his team to play the Red Sox? What does a typical practice plan look like? What do post-season player meetings look like? What are some different things that Mike Glavine does during interviews of potential hires? What would Mike do differently as a head coach? What is the latest thing that Mike Glavine has learned that he is excited about? What is something that Mike does in practice that his players love? How does he develop his assistant coaches? What is something that Mike believes that other coaches may disagree with? What are some of Mike’s favorite books and resources that he has learned the most from? What are three things that would stand out during Mike Glavine’s baseball practices? 3 Key Points: Mike Glavine’s two key components for coaching are preparing the team and developing the team. Mike’s typical practices run around 2 and a half hours and finish with a competition where something is at stake for the losing side. Give your players goals and honest feedback on what they can work on. Tweetable Quotes: “I think really what I want to do is build on what Coach McPhee has established during his 29-year career here at Northeastern. But then give it a fresh look, a reboot, a restart, reengage with everybody.” – Mike Glavine (09:38) “We’ll start fall baseball, and with that, it’s aggressive like most programs. We’ll go six days a week. We’ll have our day off. We’ll hit the 20 hours during the week. We’ll spend time in the weight room.” – Mike Glavine (13:49) “Competition right? It's such a key word, and a great word in sports. It’s something that we focus on all the time.” – Mike Glavine (28:21) “I have learned to love the indoor practices. Because it forces you as coaching staff to get more creative and maybe work on things more on the inside part of your season that you would never work on as much.” – Mike Glavine (33:16) “To me, this game, so much of it is about feel and instincts and what might feel right to Player X might not feel right to Player Y.” – Mike Glavine (39:59) “The guys really appreciate honesty. They want to know where they stand.” – Mike Glavine (52:40) “The summer allows them (players) a fresh start, a re-group. So that when they come into the fall, you know, they are ready to go.” – Mike Glavine (52:51) “How is this coach going to be with me as the head coach? Is he going to be able to handle me? Is he someone that will talk baseball with me all the time? I love to talk baseball?” – Mike Glavine (59:59) Resources Mentioned: Ahead of the Curve Podcast Twitter: @AOTC_podcast Mike Glavine: Linkedin Twitter Mike Glavine’s Email: @[email protected]

iTunes Stitcher Google Spotify Medium Article Link https://medium.com/@jgelnar7/becoming-a-data-driven-program-part-1-b3ab3c11775d

iTunes Stitcher Google Spotify Medium Article Link https://medium.com/@jgelnar7/outline-of-the-offseason-block-1-8614a3ecc8b9

iTunes Stitcher Google Spotify During this episode of Ahead of the Curve, I interviewed David Webb, Head Baseball Coach at Corona del Sol High School in Tempe, Arizona. David shares his vast knowledge of focusing on the mental game of baseball, building up players to get in touch with who they are, building a team culture of having a strong character, and why he doesn’t talk to parents about playing time. Episode Highlights: How did David Webb get involved in baseball coaching? What are David’s time restrictions and how does he work within them in fall training? What are some different things that his team does for culture building? What does David Webb talk to the parents of his players about? How does he personally get to know his players? How does he prepare assistant coaches to develop their skill-sets further to be head coaches one day? What are some interview questions he asks during his hiring process? What things are expected of players? How does spring training typically unfold for Coach Webb? When does David Webb get his bullpens in? How does he handle a parent’s complaint about their kid’s lack of playing time? Is there something that David Webb has learned lately that has him really excited? What is something that David’s players do in training that they love? What is something that David Webb believes that other coaches may disagree with? What are things done during David’s training that would stand out to people? What are some of David Webb’s favorite books and resources that have benefited his coaching? 3 Key Points: In late summer and early fall, David focuses on getting his players strong. The “rebel” these days is the one choosing not to lower their standards and aims to have a true character by action, not just by their words. Show assistant coaches that you value their time, and give them room to invest their time by letting them do their job. Tweetable Quotes: “More is not necessarily better, especially when it comes to the mental side of things.” – David Webb (08:48) “I am all about building character and having a standards-driven program and building young men. The wins will come.” – David Webb (09:43) “One of the greatest things you can do for them (players) that gets them to realize there is some investment is, you get them to know who they really are.” – David Webb (19:35) “I am a huge watcher of players and mannerisms. Have they changed their mentality from day-to-day? And if I see anything, I will pull them aside and I will have conversations.” – David Webb (22:11) (On coaches) “Whether they are young or they are coming in and they are saying, ‘I’ve been a head coach and I just want to be an assistant now, I’m tired of the parent dynamic,’ or whatever, you got to let them coach..” – David Webb (28:36) “The beginning of the year, the practice looks like a lot of situation play, a lot of fundamental individual work.” – David Webb (46:32) “My policy is, which is stated to parents in our Aztec Baseball 101 meeting, I don’t talk playing time with parents.” – David Webb (55:16) “Using Twitter a lot and kind of getting on the same page with other coaches and see what they are doing on the mental side of the game. I’m really focused about that. So, anything mental is really very important to me.” – David Webb (59:33) Resources Mentioned: Ahead of the Curve Podcast Twitter: @AOTC_podcast David Webb: Twitter

iTunes Stitcher Google Spotify Training the motor- a template for bat speed development and proprioception. https://medium.com/@jgelnar7/training-the-motor-a-template-for-bat-speed-development-and-proprioception-a64de513ca53

iTunes Stitcher Google Spotify Adjustments we are making from the past season. https://medium.com/@jgelnar7/adjustments-we-are-making-from-the-past-season-eb9c635fc9

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iTunes Stitcher Google Spotify Suggested Title: Developing Players and Coaches with Ryan Phillips During this episode of Ahead of the Curve, I interviewed Ryan Phillips, Head Coach for baseball at Sante Fe High School in Edmond, Oklahoma, who became the 2019 Oklahoma State Champs. Ryan shares how he helps develop team culture, improve the confidence of players, his passion for developing coaches, and how he adapts and makes the most of the one-hour practice limitations. Episode Highlights: How did Ryan Phillips get involved in baseball coaching? What does an average week of training look like? What are some of their training methods and drills for stealing bases? Which types of fundamental training do they offer for all of their players? How does Ryan handle developing their team culture? Ryan Phillips takes us through his process of coaching coaches. What are some different things they do to train for a competitive game situation? How does Ryan adapt to one-hour practice training restrictions? Are there any questions while interviewing staff that he asks to figure out who the person is? What are the rules and standards that they have for their program? What does training look like in the spring? How do they go about handling their bullpens? Ryan Phillips talks about batting practice and lifting. What do post-season meetings look like? What advice does he have for first-year head coaches or assistant coaches that want to be head coaches? How does Ryan Phillips respond to parents asking questions about their kid? What is something that his players do in training that they love? Is there anything about Ryan’s training that would stand out to people? Is there something that Ryan Phillips has learned lately that has him really excited? What is something that Ryan Phillips believes that other coaches may disagree with? What are some of Ryan Phillips’s favorite books and resources that have benefited his coaching? 3 Key Points: Learn how to adjust as the season progresses. Mental stability, mental toughness, and not pressuring kids about their mistakes is important to build confidence. Communication is key between coaches and players. Tweetable Quotes: “As a high school coach, once your season is over, seniors are gone, and then you start evaluating your next year’s class or next year’s team.” – Ryan Phillips (04:08) “We base our fall off of our next year’s team. It’s not the same every year.” – Ryan Phillips (04:27) “When the players see that we love each other and that even though sometimes we disagree we can get on the same page, I think that is the backbone of the culture.” – Ryan Phillips (14:26) “When I’m trying to help a coach, I try to give him more responsibility. When it comes to responsibility, a lot of the times they surprise me and they do a really good job.” – Ryan Phillips (18:30) “Everything we do you have a winner and a loser. So, it starts with the catch.” – Ryan Phillips (20:24) “The hour-long practice, a lot of people don’t like it, and of course you would like to have a little bit longer. But, it’s made us more creative and more efficient.” – Ryan Phillips (24:22) “Our first standard is you’ve got to do what’s right. That’s for your family, at school, that’s in baseball.” – Ryan Phillips (28:51) “We learn from failure.” – Ryan Phillips (29:13) Resources Mentioned: Ahead of the Curve Podcast Twitter: @AOTC_podcast Ryan Phillip’s Email: [email protected]

iTunes Stitcher Google Spotify Full Episode Here http://www.aotcpodcast.com/e/34-shaun-larkin-coordinator-of-skill-development-for-the-los-angeles-dodgers/

This episode is brought to you by baseballcloud. iTunes Stitcher Google Spotify During this episode of Ahead of the Curve, I interviewed Michael Earley, Assistant Coach and Hitting Coach for the Arizona State University. Coach Earley shares his typical training drills, how he approaches batting practices, how he handles players of various skill levels and, the types of tech that he finds useful. Michael Earley also discusses decision training as well as self-scouting. Episode Highlights: How did Michael Earley get involved in baseball coaching? What does a typical week of training look like? What do you decide to work on during training with the smaller groups of players? Coach Earley provides a review of working with first-year players and laying down the groundwork for them. Are their training drills that all players can do every day? What types of angle tosses do they do? What kind of culture does Coach Earley work to build and how do they do it? What is Michael looking for when they start training in the fall? How does he work with players to prepare them for harder game situations without overwhelming them? How does he go about ‘decision training’ for his players to make better swinging choices at the moment? What are qualities that he sees in elite players that he tries to recreate in his team? What types of tech is beneficial to players? How does Coach Earley approach self-scouting? How does he set up batting practice for his players? Is there something that Michael has learned lately that has him really excited? What is something that his players do in training that they love? What is something that Coach Earley believes that other coaches may disagree with? Is there anything about Michael’s training that would stand out to people? What are some of Michael Earley’s favorite books and resources that have benefited his coaching? 3 Key Points: Coaches need to know when to listen to players, when to dictate instructions to them, and when to hold them accountable. Build a baseball team’s culture starts with recruiting. Have a plan before you step into the game instead of relying on other people’s reports. Tweetable Quotes: “We do it a little different I think, just because we have the weather and we have two fields. So, we are always able to hit on the field. We hit outside every day. We start in the cage, but we are always outside hitting.” – Michael Earley (02:40) “I can’t coach 15 guys at once. So, when I can get them down to groups of 3 or 4, it makes it more personal, you learn the guys more.” – Michael Earley (03:22) “You lay down the foundation of the daily stuff, and you’ve got to be willing to make adjustments. You’ve got to be willing to listen to them and you‘ve got to be willing to tell them to be quiet, this is the way it’s going to be.” – Michael Earley (06:58) “We bring in guys that live and die baseball. If you come to Arizona State you are going to get a great education. But if you come here, you love to play baseball.” – Michael Earley (15:48) “I think that the best way to train is to train as close to game-like as possible. I think there is room for the easy stuff because that stuff makes you feel good, and confidence in hitting is everything.” – Michael Earley (20:24) “I think as a coach, you have to be willing to sacrifice some of your life and your time just to make them better.” – Michael Earley (21:45) “My biggest thing that I look for in every guy is how their back leg works.” – Michael Earley (33:39) “I want to say quote-unquote we are data-driven, it’s more of like data-supported.” – Michael Earley (39:00) Resources Mentioned: Ahead of the Curve Podcast Twitter: @AOTC_podcast Michael Earley: Twitter Arizona State University Michael Earley’s Email: [email protected]

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iTunes Stitcher Google Spotify During this episode of Ahead of the Curve, I interviewed Dave Turgeon, Coordinator of Instruction for the Pittsburgh Pirates. This thorough and expansive discussion covered training and transfer, techniques Dave learned while playing in different countries, his “Training the 15 Seconds” concept, how to hit the breaking ball, and the debate between block training and random training. Dave Turgeon also talks about the importance of training players to be adaptable and competitive. Episode Highlights: How did Dave Turgeon get involved in baseball? Are there any things that come to mind from the different countries he played in? What does Dave mean by training and transfer? What are the things that Dave Turgeon has changed to improve baseball drills? What is ‘Training the 15 Seconds? How does Dave Turgeon train for fundamental play? Dave explains to deliberate practice and what he means by ‘Respect the Rep?’ Is block practice relevant? How can players hit the breaking ball better? Which ways does Dave Turgeon integrate competition into practice? Baseball players have to be competitive and adaptable problem solvers. What is something creative that Dave Turgeon has tried lately with his players? Keep searching for the truth. Is there something that Dave has learned lately that has him really excited? What is something that Dave believes that other coaches may disagree with? Is there anything about his training that would stand out to people? What are some of Dave Turgeon’s favorite books and resources that have benefited his coaching? 3 Key Points: Body control directly correlates to ball control in the zone. The difference between block training and random training is practicing movements versus practicing how to think and move at the same time. Learning and skill acquisition need to be put at a premium and made part of competition during practice. Tweetable Quotes: “Through the art of show, a little bit of tell and mostly do, it’s an amazing equation for acquiring skill to help you perform better.” – Dave Turgeon (10:54) “Your best pitches thrown with conviction have a really good chance of having success.” – Dave Turgeon (11:52) “Wherever you are playing, you have to learn to assimilate into that culture to win at that game, not at the one that you play. You have to figure, ‘How are they trying to beat me.” – Dave Turgeon (12:38) “The player resides in the man.” – Dave Turgeon (17:32) “It is not about feeling good as it is about performing because acquiring skills is not a feel-good exercise. It is hard, it is slow, messy, and it takes a while.” – Dave Turgeon (18:11) “You’ve got 12-15 seconds between pitches. The average major league game is about 2 hours and 55 minutes. There are about 75 minutes off in between pitch time. There are about 13-15 minutes of total action.” – Dave Turgeon (30:22) “There is some value to a block blend. But for me, the higher you go, the lower the blend of block and the more there is to the challenge variability and randomness.” – Dave Turgeon (52:46) “Number one, we’ve got to hit off the fastball to be able to adjust to hit the hanger. That’s the game. That’s the game from where you are at to the big leagues.” – Dave Turgeon (59:44) Resources Mentioned: Ahead of the Curve Podcast Twitter: @AOTC_podcast Dave Turgeon: Twitter Linkedin