Motivating Players

Hey Coach, welcome aboard. You will get a multitude of responses on this IMHO. Your squads will take on a part of your personality each year to begin with, so play to your strengths.

Personally I draw from the most influential coach that I ever had and it just happened to be my old JV coach. I learned more as a player and a person from him than I did any other coach from little league through college.

As a player I hated the man because his expectations of me were higher than I was initially willing to accept both on and off the field. This hatred grew to the utmost respect when I realized that I was not going to be ripped a new one if I practiced and played hard and learned from the mistakes and worked diligently not repeat it.

One of the best things that I learned and still use today is to make sure that when I am confronting a situation with a player is to make sure that I start the lesson with a positive, such as, good effort or you had the right idea in mind. Then I address the problem and discuss what could have been done to achieve the desired result and leave the discussion with a positive directed to the player.

Another thing that I learned from that old coach was to be aware of what a players mindset is that day. This has payed dividends for me in many ways. I work in a situation where the community is well below the Mendoza line in this case poverty. There is little money to spend on camps or new equipment and some of the kids have a tough time finding enough to eat. This leads me into a very active role in the their every day activities. I won't have many kids going to D-1 programs but a few do make it to the juco level. These are the ones that bring a great deal of self pride to me for learning the game. My greatest sense of pride comes from those that became motivated enough to want to improve themselves and their stake in this life by moving on to bigger and better things.

What motivates me is often used to motivate others.

Bob enjoy the ride and hope you have a highly successful career.

Wow...CoachO...very good advice.

Welcome new coach! After many years of coaching, I feel as though the best motivating technique is to set a great example for your players and parents. If they see you working hard for them, they will work hard for you. You are going to encounter bumps in the road a lot...the best advice I have is to not get frustrated. Some people just don't respond to outside stimulus. You can only hope they "get it" one day and the light turns on.

Be positive and direct, but don't role over for them. Being close to the players in age is good in one respect, but you have to be able to establish a solid coach/player relationship. They already have older brothers (atleast some of them do), they don't necessarily need another one. Nothing wrong with offering an ear from time to time, but be careful cause it could come back to bite you in the butt.

As someone close to their age, they will quickly see through any attempt you make to snow job them. Be honest and communicate. I went over the top when I was a 23 year old coaching 17 year old guys. I felt I needed to yell at them a lot to keep them in line...it ended up creating lots of problems. Boy I feel for those guys from 20 years ago. I wish I could go back and make a better experience for them.

Nice posts. Never ask any player to do anything your not already doing yourself. Set the example for your players. Let them see how hard you are working to help them be the best they can be. Let them see in you what you want for them. Demand that they invest every day to the level that you are investing in them.

A team , a program will take on the mentality of the coaching staff. You must have a coaching staff that is united and consistent in its approach and expectations of its players. And those expectations can never be higher than what your own expectations are for yourself.

Bring it everyday and demand that they do. They will follow your lead. Do not allow yourself to compromise on these principles because you will lose credibility with your players. You can not get others to strive for excellence if you are not doing the exact same thing. Good luck

Not sure if I can add anything these three great coaches have already posted. I do welcome you to a wonderful profession that will mean a whole lot later in life if you do it right.

I agree with everything these guys have said and it's very true. If you want people to follow you then you have to be ready to lead from the front and in the ditches with them.

About the only thing I can truly add for a new coach is understand you're going to make mistakes. I've been coaching high school baseball for 17 years and I still screw up. When that happens - admit that you messed up, apologize if need be and fix the problem. Don't make excuses or try to act like whatever happened didn't happen. Kids are just like adults and if they feel they were done wrong all they want is an apology and know that the person who made the mistake cares. When that happens the whole team is able to move on and get past mistakes instead of having this tension fill the air.

Never be afraid to rip a player in front of the team - especially the best players. I've found that it shows every player that you don't play favorites. If the best player can get ripped then the last player on the team knows he will get ripped. But the thing that it does is show ALL players that you have high expectations and you want ALL players to strive for it. But if you rip in public then you better be ready to praise in public and apologize in public if you mess up.

If you treat everyone fairly and consistently then everyone will know how you're going to react when something pops up.

Last piece of advice is select kids for the team who want to be there. Don't select the great athlete because he's a stud but he's a bum attitude. You will NEVER motivate these guys unless they are going to totally change their attitude. At some point the players HAVE to love / enjoy the game of baseball and motivation has to come from inside. If it's left up to you to provide the motivation to enjoy the game then you got problems. If you're taking over for a guy who wasn't very good then you are going to probably struggle in this area until you can filter your guys in from the freshman class. People can change and you should strive to create that change. You have to have kids who want to be out there.

Good luck and keep posting. You will be amazed how much you can learn on here. I was a coach for close to 13 years before I found this place and once I joined it seems like I've learned more in the past four years than I did the previous 13 or whatever it is.

Good posts guys... here are some ideas of mine.

Be yourself: if you are a holler guy then holler away. If you are a quiet, worker bee, then work away and get it done. Be true to yourself and then your kids will know where you are coming from - if you try to be someone else the real you will come back in from time and time and the kids will get mixed messages.

Coach the heck out of the best player! Coach the heck out of the least player!

Your enthusiasm, or lack of it, will work thru your team from the best player to the least of players... pay close attention to your attitude and your energy level.

An old football coach told me this in a coaching class a long time ago, "home grown drills are the best." You see your team, you know what they need, now craft the drills and practices to help them the most.

If you show the kids you really care about them, and how important your program is to you they will respond very well... but not all the time. They will make mistakes (and I'm not talking about dropping a pop up). Know this coming in, also decide now that if when kids mess up and ignore your advice; if that turns you to negative and sour against coaching just go work with 8 year olds and save you and your wife the hours of investment you will make.

just some ramblings... nothing you didn't all ready know; good luck and enjoy it, it can be a very enjoyable thing

Bob, another thing that I like to use as motivation is having a better player leading a particular drill.

I think that this helps the player to become much more self motivating because it holds him accountable for actions and gives him a sense of responsibility.

When I see a player begin to plateau I will often do this. They are often needing something else to stimulate them, and this frequently will begin to take some of them to next level.

This can also help enhance your team chemistry by establishing team leaders, trust among coach and team and especially between team mates, creating challenging situations, and provides you with the opportunity to work with a lesser player, at the time, that shows signs of promise.

Most of the guys here have either stated or implied that a positive environment is essential. As a coach you have to provide those initial pathways simply because many of the kids don't know how to at this point.

This is just a start and I hope it gets the ball rolling. I think that every one of us has allready found something useful and there is plenty more for all of us to learn.

Coach O; your point brought back a memory of mine.

One of my first practices in college the head coach was working with infielders and had one of the team leaders do a drill, he said, 'guys, watch how he does this and try to emulate his body control'

That one sentence put me into another gear where i wanted to prove to coach and everyone that I was worthy enough to one day be called on to lead a drill or technique. It may sound silly now, but it really motivated me....

Outstanding posts in this thread...

I especially like the one about being yourself. I give the same advice to my son all the time. Don't try and be Derick Jeter or Dustin Pedroia or whoever. Just be yourself.

Be consistent. You have a rule it is a rule for everybody. do not try to please everybody because you can not. with parents be polite but in what ever way they must know you are in charge.

Thanks guys! Great advice. I do a lot of the mentioned things like displaying my enthusiasm and work ethic. To me, that's the best way to motivate a group of players. I am very consistent with my rules and approach to each player. They are very aware that nobody is above anyone else on the team. I promote open competition at all times for all positions and players.

This is my 3rd year as head coach and I am starting to see an improvement. The biggest thing that I've noticed is that very few tactics will work without the right group of players. We are 3 weeks into our fall/winter conditioning and I have new prospective players coming to me after practice and thanking me for a hard workout. I can tell that I'm working with a group of guys that want to be part of something special and want to work hard when they appreciate what we are doing to prepare for the season. We haven't even touched a baseball yet and won't for a while but they are still excited to come work out. That, alone, increases my enthusiasm each night and it becomes contagious.

I have rebuilt one program and built another and the answers these good coaches have given you do work and to add some more into it.
One of the things that really works for me is I hold them not to a high school standard but I inform them what the average college player is doing and what their times and speeds are and the players see that as a motivational tool as most want to play college ball. I also give them lots of information on colleges and the average g.p.a and SAT and ACT scores. When you give them the college information it also shows them that you are going to take more of an interest in their lives. Also each year we do a thing like football where it is like a combine where I have a chart of standards the average college athlete can do and we test out after winter conditioning and it lets them know where they are at. I also really sell the fact to try to be better than not just their class mates but be better then their parents becuase then it is personal. Don't just be satisfied with being your parents be better than them. Even the ones that have good home lives still have bad times and when you say be better than what they have they see it and you can see a difference.

Sounds like you are headed in the right direction and in the rebuilding that I did at my first school it took 2 years to see the difference and 4 years before it really took off. Best wishes and it is good that you found the website as you will get all kind of good information.

Coach Robbins, welcome. Trying to motivate players is the same today as it was yesterday. We seem to always reflect back and think kids are different. They really aren't. Some tried and true factors in coaching remain the same as well. Lead by example. Be honest with your players. Have a plan every day to make them better. Have a goal every day to be better yourself. You are their coach and not their friend. Don't worry, you can still have a great relationship with them and after they are done playing, you will be friends. Coach Robbins, you have to create a program and not just coach a team. So much about motivating a players is centered in their commitment to the program.

Coach Robbins, there are some great people on this site and of whom you can use as a resource. Don't be afraid to ask. While I'm not very smart, I'll help in any way I can. Good luck. Coach, don't take what you get to do lightly. To some of those players, you are the key to their world. Also, don't take the fraternity of coaching lightly. Many of us have worked very hard trying to make a difference. However, a few "coaches" who do it to collect a paycheck ruin it for all of us. I wish for you the journey! Enjoy!!!

I wrote an article the other day pretty much on how NOT to motivate your players . When coaches yell at their players for physical mistakes and don't understand that is part of the game it can really turn a player off to you. I posted this article on another forum the other day and got a lot of good responses. A lot of the coaches talked about how they didnt yell at their players for negative things but yell and screamed in a positive way when they did good things. When you praise these types of behaviors it makes the players feel good. They like this kind of attention and will seek to receive it again by doing the right thing and working hard for you.

Great takes coaches!

I agree with being yourself out there, the kids can see right through you in a second.

Probably one of the best lessons I learned was my JUCO coach. It was simple, take care of the boys! The little things he did for us went a long way, we would do anything for him and still to this day.

I am a strong beliver that practice time is work time. Work on your game, this is not a social time. The kids appreciate a well ran workout. When it comes to game time, I let them know to just go out and play that you have put all your work in already! Stay relaxed, but agressive.

Lastly, regardless if it is a workout or game I expect great effort and nothing less. So that when they leave the field that day they can say they gave everything they had. Win or lose.

Lefty
Keep swinging it...