Over the past few years I have coached various ages of players, from 8 to 18, in baseball. The young players are great, but being patient is key. The mid age (11-14) are fun, due to their love for the game and their energy. I have found the older ages, however, the most challenging.

The difficulty doesn't lie in needing patience or lack of energy, but rather the lack of understanding for the fine details of the game. I was surprised to find that high school aged players didn't understand that the on deck batter could help direct a runner into the plate, and that there is a difference between the baseline and an established base path. It was things like that, that really got me thinking and reminiscing.

When I was a kid I couldn't get enough baseball. The more I learned, the more I wanted to learn. I became a student of the game at a young age. I remember sitting on my parents' couch watching the Cubs in the summer; WGN always had the afternoon Cubs games on. I would call pitches and keep track of how many I would get right and what the outcome was for the pitch that was thrown. I know it sounds a little strange, but it made me better, and in hind sight, it helped make me the player that I was. I read books and I asked questions. I wanted to know everything about baseball!

As coaches he's we really need to inspire our players to take what they learn and expand on it. Help them to fall in love with the game at a young age, because after all, it is a game and should be fun. We also need to realize that young kids are smart enough to learn the finer points of the game, and are in some ways more receptive than the older players. Coaches just have to do a better job of teaching in a way that the young ones will learn it.

If we inspire our young players to be passionate about the game of baseball they will be fully invested in their quest to become great, but right now... something's missing.

​My son and I were talking the other day and the topic of Jr. High basketball tryouts came up.  He’s 13 and a pretty good ball player and he works hard, so he asked me to move my truck so he could shoot.  I sat on the front porch for a while and watched him while he went to work.  What I was most impressed with while watching him was the intent and purpose he put into what he was doing.  He wasn’t just shooting to shoot, and wasn’t just going through the motions.  In his mind he was in a game with an opponent in front of him; he was already on the team in his mind.  He took a break to get some water and we talked a little bit.  He told me that he wanted to make sure that he had his combinations down, so he could do really well at tryouts and make the team.    

As we sat there talking he couldn’t contain his anticipation for the upcoming season.  It wasn’t a conversation about raining three pointers, or breaking ankles, but went in an entirely different direction.  His focus was on being part of a team that represented his school.  He talked about the fact that the team got to take buses to games, and the camaraderie between teammates on the way to and from the games.  There were hints of game talk mixed in, but the bulk of the conversation focused on the team environment, and what being on that meant to him.

As a parent, I was proud of his work ethic and his drive to achieve his goals.  As a coach, I was in awe of his desire to be a part of something greater than himself.  His willingness to put his best efforts forward in order to represent his school the best way he could, and be a part of a team.  Too often there is more emphasis on the individual player, rather than all of parts that contribute to the whole.  Focusing on the team and what the team represents creates success in a program.  Pride in a program creates success in teams.  Player investment in team cultures creates success in individual players.
​
Program-Team-Individual