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Reply to "New Coach Seeking Advice"

Wow OB1 , you got your hands full. As far as your questions : Building a Culture at a HS program takes a lot of time and work. My son played played HS in Southern California at a public school in Los Angeles. It was a legendary program built approx 25 years ago. This coach like you started with nothing . He has since produced a Dozen MLB players( including  a current  big Name MLB Free agent ) Dozens of NCAA players and most importantly , Good responsible young men. Coach stepped aside last year. He was a living legend .

What coach did was rooted in John Wooden's 'Pyramid of Success ' book.  I strongly suggest you buy it.

My son said Coach had 3 rules :

Be on time

Do the right thing

Do things the right way

Sounds simple. My son said it was extremely difficult. Those rules were mandatory . 5 min late to practice ? You run laps. 5 min late to a game ? You run laps and sit. Do the right thing? Walk by a bunch of trash in the dugout and not pick it up ? You got hollered at. Do things the right way? If your field maintenance was watering the field , and when you finished the hose wasn't rolled up nicely you heard about it.

All that transcribed to the field . Miss a sign while hitting . You heard about it. Do it again? You sit a game. Turn the double play from the wrong side of the bag?? Hollered at immediately .

It all starts with a philosophy . Building a new successful culture is about building discipline and enforcing a few simple rules. That eventually will translate into wins on the field but most importantly it teaches young men to be accountable for all their actions on and off the field.

As far as baseball goes, Practice etc. Coach had another philosophy : PLAYERS are responsible for Daily field maintenance . Every player has a specific Job. Also, EVERYBODY pitches and EVERYBODY learn how to lay down a bunt and EVERYBODY learns how to run the bases. Period.

Also, there are no 'Free Swingers ' There was a mandatory team '2 strike approach' rule. Hitter has to see 2 strikes before he loads up to hit.  This forces opposing pitchers to throw strikes ( Which most HS pitchers don't ) and also runs up the pitch count. It also gets your team a ton of walks. all AB's are controlled via Signs from 3B coach. Every pitch ........Same goes for pitching . Cather looks into the dugout for your sign for every pitch. No exceptions.

Practice is all Defense, pitching and base running. Everyday. Very little hitting . Players want to hit. At my sons school you hit on your own time. They did some hitting via scrimmages but not enough for guys to stay sharp. With where you're at with a start up program and probably a lack of talent you might tell guys that you'll stay after late and throw BP if they want to hit. But make no mistake, Pitching and defense wins at the HS level. Spend 80% of your time on that .

The HS team that makes the least amount of mistakes win games. It's all little ball. Draw a walk. Bunt runner to second. Passed ball runner advances to 3rd. Next player bunts w/ safety squeeze , perfect bunt. Over throw to first. Runner scores. 1 out 1 on and 1 in. That's how you win at the HS level.  FYI:Bunts cause chaos on a baseball field. Most teams are not efficient at fielding bunts. Lot's of overthrows and madness . You don't need hitters , you need quick smart players who are disciplined enough to follow your signs and hustle .

With infield drills , it wasn't about hitting balls around the infield with a fungo.....All infield gloves at their positions with a pitcher on the mound and a runner at 1st. Pitcher shadow pitches imaginary ball to home. Runner is supposed to watch his front foot . And go based on what instructions you gave him . You ( coach) then hit a ball to short or whatever and verbally coach the play in real time . Reinforcing or correcting the baserunner and critiquing the infielders . There is ALWAYS a baserunner. You are teaching both defense and baserunning simultaniously ......all the time.

Everyone throws a bullpen. Once you see EVERYONE throw a pen you don't take the best 3 and pitch them . You take those 3 and 4-5 more of the 'B' or 'C' guys and you teach them how to pitch . No breaking pitches. Just Fastballs right over the plate. Your goal is to get the 'B' guys to throw strikes. Period. Velocity ? No, you'll take 70 MPH straight over the plate. And no big full deliveries like they see MLB guys on TV do. Everyone pitches from the stretch. Everyone has a real short stride to the plate. Just a notch past how they look playing catch. That's it. HS ball is about throwing strikes . Teams lose games in HS not because they lack hitters . They lose games because they can't throw strikes.

Pitchers throws bullpens 2-3 times a week. Every week like clockwork.

As far as long term goals its all about fundraising . Sell banner advertisement to local business to hang on the fences , Do team Car Washes, Create Donor letters kids can send to relatives . Dinner nights at local pizza places willing to do a % fundraiser . All that .

You might also consider a ' Study hall' night . Where after practice they stay and do homework as a team for a few hours . It also allows you to have them in a classroom with a chalkboard so you can continue teaching the game .

Pound the fundamentals of defense : Pitch the ball, catch the ball and throw the ball to the right guy .

 

Good luck!

 

 

Last edited by StrainedOblique
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