The Power of Praise

The Power of Praise

Readers of this blog (thanks!) know that I’m not one of those feel-good coaches who constantly says happy things to players even when they do not perform.   I tell them the truth, they like it, they work hard, they trust me, and in general they learn and the whole...
Verbal Instructions vs Learning by Doing

Verbal Instructions vs Learning by Doing

And so it came to pass that before our first game, I realized I hadn’t covered warmups between innings. For pre-game warmup, we had rehearsed in practice as I wanted it to look like we had a clue. But the pre-inning warmup is a thing I usually forget about and just...
Does Coaching Matter?

Does Coaching Matter?

I always feel like it’s an existential question this time of year as I get ready for a new season. I am so excited. I’ve coached youth baseball since 1998 and I was so happy cleaning out all my baseball stuff last week — sorting all the balls — organizing...
The Magic Pre-Game Warmup

The Magic Pre-Game Warmup

Maybe you are searching for ideas for a pre-game warmup for 7-8-9 year olds.  I got an email from a coach who had just beat my team, and he said, “It was a great game (we only lost 4-2) and you absolutely set the gold standard for best pre-game warmup” So what do I...
Rapport

Rapport

And so as the season is coming to an end my fall team is 6-1 — we’ll see how we do in the playoffs, but it’s been much fun. Best story of this week was when a player came over at the start of practice and said “COACH! COACH!” and I said “Yes” and he said “Coach,...
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