Dealing with adversity during the game

Talk to him between innings---if you have team leaders have them talk to him also--- every player has a bad say even the gold glove fielders

I have a drill I have them do at the beginning of the year. They try to field a grounder and on purpose miss it . Then I tell them if they do not let go of that, on the next groundball it is like they are trying to field two balls(the one they missed first which they are trying to make up for so it's still in their head, and the new grounder) So I roll them two balls at once. Then we do the same with three balls coming at them and they get the idea. The same can be done for throws (Have them throw 2 then all 3 at the same time with accuracy!(pretty funny ). And you can do it with hitting where a kid swings an extra bat for each miss.

I started doing this because it seemed like talking to them was not getting it across. There are always a few that don't get it still, but this has reached more.

First, the practice should be full of adversity. We attempt to put so much game like pressure on them that the games themselves are easy. For example, we do a "multiple infield" drill where there are 3 balls being fielded at once and they all have to listen and respond on what the calls are for them for their particular situation. Everyone is running around and they all feel the pressure because one bad play ruins all of the other residual plays. During a game, it is a different story. You have to know the kid. One thing I like to do is ask for Johnny to come to my office. (Usually somewhere where no one can see us.) As I've posted a million times, I start these conversations off with, "Well, what do you think?" You'd be amazed at what they will say. Respond from there. Pat em on the back, kick em in the butt. Then pat them on the back again. Think back to when you played. Sometimes that one thing that "Coach" said to you just made you have to play better. The trick is to be the coach that can do this. JMHO!