Again I did not make any posts during our 2015 season, but that doesn't mean it was a bad seat. A record was almost identical to 2014 but we are a much better team. We won some games via blowout, which had not been done and Hillsdale in a previous five years. We had come back victories which also has not been done the previous five years. We're lost be a blowout much less often than have been happening at Hillsdale previous. Our team batting average was up, RT me RA was down our walks or down on the mouth. Our team had much better unity, so we still weren't perfect. Our coaching staff was able to be a little more patient than the previous year because of two things, one of those things was the choice of being more patient, the other was it our players we're obviously starting to buy into playing harder, rowing the boat in the same direction, and having higher expectations of winning. This past fall we had 36 players, which is 8 more than we had the previous year. For the 2016 season our talent level is much deeper and much better than it had been. Our offense and defense will be significantly improved at least on paper and with that lettuce ISM, and our pitching staff should be improved though not as much so as the offense and defense. We also have better speed, and we should be better condition now though we have it Hillsdale for the first time a new full time strength and conditioning coach. That's not to say that we weren't working on our strength and conditioning previously, but now we have a pro handling it rather than Eric designing the program. Eric did a good job with it but now he can focus on coaching and coach Gifford can focus on the strength and conditioning. We have one more week before the guys get ready for final exams so we are
Wednesday, November 25, 2015
Sunday, February 22, 2015
New year, new me!!
Okay, this is a new year. I didn't write anything during or after the 2014 baseball season. Suffice it to say that I think I did a bad job of coaching. It wasn't so much the preparation, which was pretty good, or the pitch calling or even the decisions about personnel on the mound, etc. My poor coaching was the result of my impatience and the way I handled adversity.
As coaches, we often talk to players about handling negative situations and adversity on the field, and it is our job to be an example of doing that the right way. Last season, I was all over our guys for little things, for their negative thinking and bad body language, and for many other things. I therefore, was a bad example of handling adversity in the way we would like the players to handle it.
Did my attitude and impatience have an effect on our record and on-field performance? Sure it did.
Since last May, I have thought extensively about how I need to be a better coach and mentor for our players and for the rest of the coaching staff. That is ten months of self-evaluation and creating a new vision for myself. It would be impossible for me to expect our players to respond positively to me if my dugout demeanor isn't 100% better than it was in 2014.
Therefore, we open the 2015 season next Saturday, again in Louisville. My role during games remains as it was last year, but my vision of myself is a much calmer, gentler (but competitive), compassionate coach is a whole new thing. I guarantee it will make for a much more successful and enjoyable season for me, the players, and the other coaches!!
As coaches, we often talk to players about handling negative situations and adversity on the field, and it is our job to be an example of doing that the right way. Last season, I was all over our guys for little things, for their negative thinking and bad body language, and for many other things. I therefore, was a bad example of handling adversity in the way we would like the players to handle it.
Did my attitude and impatience have an effect on our record and on-field performance? Sure it did.
Since last May, I have thought extensively about how I need to be a better coach and mentor for our players and for the rest of the coaching staff. That is ten months of self-evaluation and creating a new vision for myself. It would be impossible for me to expect our players to respond positively to me if my dugout demeanor isn't 100% better than it was in 2014.
Therefore, we open the 2015 season next Saturday, again in Louisville. My role during games remains as it was last year, but my vision of myself is a much calmer, gentler (but competitive), compassionate coach is a whole new thing. I guarantee it will make for a much more successful and enjoyable season for me, the players, and the other coaches!!
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Baby Steps
On Sunday we returned from our Spring Break Southern
Baseball trip. For the most part, it was
a struggle trying to win games. Our
opponents were other northern DII teams who were doing the same thing we were
doing—beginning the season in warmer weather without having to miss any time in
the classroom.
We began the trip in Louisville for the second straight
weekend. Though we didn’t win any of our
four games there, on Sunday our starting pitchers, both in their first college
starts, did a great job of pitching late enough in the games and giving us a
chance to win the games. When we went
from Louisville to Clearwater, Florida, the struggles continued as our starting
pitchers kept us in the games roughly half of the time.
As the hitters were having their own issues trying to be
more consistent in reaching base, moving and driving home runners, and
extending rallies, our starting pitchers often set the tone early in each game,
good or bad. By the end of the trip, the
hitters started to find a groove, and scoring runs seemed to come a little
easier. Not only were we swinging the
bats better, but we had so many more good at bats later in the trip than we did
earlier in the week.
We ended up winning only the last game of the trip, just
prior to showering and boarding the bus for the 21 hour ride home. That last game victory, in combination with
scoring significantly more runs in the last few games than we had done in our
previous games, made the bus ride home a little more enjoyable. The twelve game trip also gave us
opportunities to see some guys get valuable experience, and provided on the job
learning for players and coaches alike.
I am in my 26th year as a college baseball
coach. I have experience early season
struggles several times in the past. One
of the many important aspects of trying to improve as a team is dealing with
the mental part of being competitive athletes and being great teammates while
dealing with disappointment. We have had
a series of what we call ‘chalk talks’, beginning in the first semester, to
discuss ideas and definitions of things like what a team is and what teammates
are, of expectations, confidence, belief, trust, communication, and team goals,
etc. Sometimes it is easy for athletes
to understand mental/emotional concepts and theories, but more difficult to put
them into practice when they get in competitive situations.
When athletes and teams are in the process of doing new
things, like we are doing, the learning curve can sometimes take backwards
steps before taking leaps forward.
Understanding that belief in one’s self is one thing, but putting that belief
into action and successfully executing in perceived pressure situations can be
a difficult challenge.
Our players are getting better, and thus the team is
improving. Our goals for the season, to
compete in the post-season for a championship, are still there for us to
achieve as we begin our GLIAC conference schedule this week. The ability of our guys to check their
thoughts, use Thought Replacement Therapy when necessary, visualize success,
and compete like dirtbags is getting better each day.
I’m looking forward to seeing where their efforts take us
in the next couple months!!
Thursday, March 6, 2014
Back to Louisville
We played our first two games last weekend in Louisville against Davis & Elkins College out of West Virginia. Our Sunday doubleheader against Alderson Broaddus University was canceled due to rain, sleet and snow. Though we hoped to play all four scheduled games, getting the two games in gave us a starting point and a good idea of some things to focus on during this week's practices.
We came out of the doubleheader with a split. We won game one 3-2 and lost the second game by a 6-1 score. From a pitching perspective, our starting pitchers did a good enough job to give us a chance to win in both games, and in that respect, they did what we always want starting pitchers to do.
In game one, Shane Armstrong did a very good job of damage control, considering that his first pitch strike percentage was well below our goal and his overall strike percentage hovered at 50%. Taking care of damage control is evidenced by the two double plays that we turned with him on the mound and allowing only three hits in 5 1/3 innings. The double plays, in combination with allowing only three hits, made the low strike percentage and a handful of freebies tolerable and allowed us to give up only two runs and win the game. The bullpen did a great job, as Colin Gerish induced another double play ball after he entered with one out in the sixth and Dan Pochmara struck out three batters in the seventh for the save.
In the second game, Matt Reck pitched very much like Shane had previously done. Matt did a better job at getting first pitch strikes (14 of 21), but like Shane, his overall strike percentage wasn't what it should be. Matt did give us a chance to win, as he did a good job with damage control by also allowing only three hits. He left the game as we trailed 2-1 in the sixth inning after allowing the first two runners to reach base, but when we went to the bullpen, we did not take care of damage control; thus D & E put a rally together in the bottom of the sixth.
We do have to tip our cap to the Davis & Elkins game two pitcher, as he did a nice job of pitching at the bottom of the strike zone, not letting our hitters string together many hits and push runners across the plate.
We were happy to give our head coach Eric Theisen his first college head coaching victory, but he knows as well as the rest of us do that we can play and execute much better than we did in earning the doubleheader split. We have plenty of chances to do that this weekend with four nine-inning games in Louisville and then eight more next week in Florida.
We've only just begun, and the attitudes of our players and their willingness to keep working hard will result in daily and weekly improvements. A week of baseball in the warm weather, with nothing else to think about.....beginning with tomorrow's bus ride.....well, it doesn't get much better than that!
We came out of the doubleheader with a split. We won game one 3-2 and lost the second game by a 6-1 score. From a pitching perspective, our starting pitchers did a good enough job to give us a chance to win in both games, and in that respect, they did what we always want starting pitchers to do.
In game one, Shane Armstrong did a very good job of damage control, considering that his first pitch strike percentage was well below our goal and his overall strike percentage hovered at 50%. Taking care of damage control is evidenced by the two double plays that we turned with him on the mound and allowing only three hits in 5 1/3 innings. The double plays, in combination with allowing only three hits, made the low strike percentage and a handful of freebies tolerable and allowed us to give up only two runs and win the game. The bullpen did a great job, as Colin Gerish induced another double play ball after he entered with one out in the sixth and Dan Pochmara struck out three batters in the seventh for the save.
In the second game, Matt Reck pitched very much like Shane had previously done. Matt did a better job at getting first pitch strikes (14 of 21), but like Shane, his overall strike percentage wasn't what it should be. Matt did give us a chance to win, as he did a good job with damage control by also allowing only three hits. He left the game as we trailed 2-1 in the sixth inning after allowing the first two runners to reach base, but when we went to the bullpen, we did not take care of damage control; thus D & E put a rally together in the bottom of the sixth.
We do have to tip our cap to the Davis & Elkins game two pitcher, as he did a nice job of pitching at the bottom of the strike zone, not letting our hitters string together many hits and push runners across the plate.
We were happy to give our head coach Eric Theisen his first college head coaching victory, but he knows as well as the rest of us do that we can play and execute much better than we did in earning the doubleheader split. We have plenty of chances to do that this weekend with four nine-inning games in Louisville and then eight more next week in Florida.
We've only just begun, and the attitudes of our players and their willingness to keep working hard will result in daily and weekly improvements. A week of baseball in the warm weather, with nothing else to think about.....beginning with tomorrow's bus ride.....well, it doesn't get much better than that!
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Opening Weekend is Upon Us! Charge On!!
A week from now, the Hillsdale College Baseball Team will be on a bus, riding back from a weekend of four games in Louisville, Kentucky in our season's opening weekend. We have had five good weeks of practice, with another five practices left, to prepare not just for next weekend, but for the entire season.
One of the major goals for next weekend is to return with four wins. Among some of the other goals, or sub-goals, will be to do what it takes to win those games. An easy explanation for stating the goals of the pitching staff is simply to execute pitches. We need to execute pitches during every at bat, in every inning, in each of the four games, in order to give the team a good chance to win games. Ultimately, each game's starting pitcher has the job of giving his teammates a chance to win each game.
How do we do that? Well, as with pretty much every pitching staff in the country, we will need to be able to throw quality fastballs inside.......and outside. We also need to throw quality fastballs at the bottom and top of the strike zone. The goal on each pitch is to get the hitter to swing and make an out. Though each pitcher is unique, in addition to throwing quality fastballs at many edges of the strike zone, each guy will need to be able to execute their off-speed pitches. Curve balls, sliders, cutters, changeups, and other varieties of off-speed pitches also need to be thrown for the purpose of getting hitters to swing and make outs.
When pitchers can get batters to swing, especially early in the count, it becomes a game of nine versus one, in the sense that the pitcher is letting the hitters get themselves out by hitting the baseball to the defensive players, who will execute the plays they have practiced and envisioned for weeks. It is a simple formula that is sometimes easier to complete than at other times, but a formula that requires confidence, intelligence, and emotional control as well as physical execution.
This will be my first season with all of these guys, but since September they have all made great efforts to be on the same page, to get stronger and more athletic, to buy in to what the coaching staff is trying to do, and to be the best teammates they can possibly be. They have built their pitch counts up to 80-100 pitches and have improved the overall health of their arms in the process.
On the pitching staff, we have one guy returning from injury and will throw his first inning off the mound this week, and we have another who had an unfortunate injury when he was kicked in the hand by a horse while volunteering to help a local elderly woman with some chores. He had surgery on a broken finger and will have pins removed from his hand after our spring break trip. The rest of the pitchers who had some arm tenderness in the fall or in January are now feeling great, so we are ready for next weekend's 28 innings and feel confident in the quality and depth of the staff.
As happens every year at this time, I can't wait to get on the field and watch these guys give 100%, 100% of the time. It will be a privilege for me to witness them compete and win games, and it's going to happen a lot!!
One of the major goals for next weekend is to return with four wins. Among some of the other goals, or sub-goals, will be to do what it takes to win those games. An easy explanation for stating the goals of the pitching staff is simply to execute pitches. We need to execute pitches during every at bat, in every inning, in each of the four games, in order to give the team a good chance to win games. Ultimately, each game's starting pitcher has the job of giving his teammates a chance to win each game.
How do we do that? Well, as with pretty much every pitching staff in the country, we will need to be able to throw quality fastballs inside.......and outside. We also need to throw quality fastballs at the bottom and top of the strike zone. The goal on each pitch is to get the hitter to swing and make an out. Though each pitcher is unique, in addition to throwing quality fastballs at many edges of the strike zone, each guy will need to be able to execute their off-speed pitches. Curve balls, sliders, cutters, changeups, and other varieties of off-speed pitches also need to be thrown for the purpose of getting hitters to swing and make outs.
When pitchers can get batters to swing, especially early in the count, it becomes a game of nine versus one, in the sense that the pitcher is letting the hitters get themselves out by hitting the baseball to the defensive players, who will execute the plays they have practiced and envisioned for weeks. It is a simple formula that is sometimes easier to complete than at other times, but a formula that requires confidence, intelligence, and emotional control as well as physical execution.
This will be my first season with all of these guys, but since September they have all made great efforts to be on the same page, to get stronger and more athletic, to buy in to what the coaching staff is trying to do, and to be the best teammates they can possibly be. They have built their pitch counts up to 80-100 pitches and have improved the overall health of their arms in the process.
On the pitching staff, we have one guy returning from injury and will throw his first inning off the mound this week, and we have another who had an unfortunate injury when he was kicked in the hand by a horse while volunteering to help a local elderly woman with some chores. He had surgery on a broken finger and will have pins removed from his hand after our spring break trip. The rest of the pitchers who had some arm tenderness in the fall or in January are now feeling great, so we are ready for next weekend's 28 innings and feel confident in the quality and depth of the staff.
As happens every year at this time, I can't wait to get on the field and watch these guys give 100%, 100% of the time. It will be a privilege for me to witness them compete and win games, and it's going to happen a lot!!
Sunday, January 26, 2014
The same, only different--2014
We have completed the first of our six weeks of indoor, pre-season practices. For those of you who have been reading my blog posts in previous seasons while I was Adrian College, now that I am at Hillsdale College, our pre-season practices are the same, only different! I didn't look back to see what I wrote the last couple of years in January, but I'm sure there are paragraphs I could copy and paste here in 2014.
So, I can at least write about what things are the same, and what things are different. Let's go with the differences, first.
During my nine seasons at Adrian College I was working part-time there, and my full-time job was in the local public schools. At Hillsdale now, I am on campus full-time, as I had previously been in my sixteen years at Siena Heights. There are several differences when we compare a full-time job to a part-time position, most notably the fact that being on campus all day, every day, allows me to be in contact more often with our players, my fellow coaches, and the rest of the college community.
Another difference is that I work with different coaches now, and though I enjoyed all of the coaches I have been privileged to work with before, I now get to work with my son Eric, who as the head coach is my boss. Eric and I share an office, and that means that now I am with him usually for eight hours or more every day, at least during the winter months. Unless you have had this sort of opportunity to work with your own son, you can only imagine how awesome every day is for me!
I also have the opportunity to work with our hitting coach Brad Kocher for the first time, and though we don't share the same office, he is right down the hall. Working with Brad has proven to be an easy and comfortable thing to do, both personally and professionally. We also have a new volunteer coach who is working with our catchers. Joe Dubina is a former Adrian College catcher with whom I was able to coach for four years. He is a public school teacher, and he brings a special kind of passion to coaching catchers. He is already helping our team get better every day.
There are several other differences as well, and perhaps we'll get into those in the future. Some things included in a list of differences include my additional roles as part of being full-time, the different indoor practice facilities, the number of players in the program, being in a different division of the NCAA and a different conference, and the beauty of my 35 mile drive to work on the country roads of southern Michigan.
What is the same? That's easy, and awesome. In January and February we continue a plan of action to prepare for the spring season. As pitching coach, I get to prepare the pitching staff in an aggressive yet patient manner to pitch against opponents by the first of March. We are following the same plan of preparation that I had been following during the pre-season in my previous seasons at Adrian.
Physically, the pitchers will gradually work their way up to throwing at least 80 pitches live before we play a game. Mentally, they are learning our philosophies of pitching by working toward achieving a set of goals that are designed to give the team the best possible chance to win games and championships. Everything we do at practice is determined by our team and pitching staff goals. Statistical goals, strategic goals, fitness goals, goals of attitude, emotional control, and the progression from pre-season to the regular season and into the post-season are part of the entire plan.
In practicing with repetition and progression, including the practice of visualization and self-talk, the understanding of sacrificing for teammates and for a common cause, our players (and thus the team) are improving every day, like many others across the country. Improvement doesn't just happen, it is done intentionally as individuals and as a team. That does not change.
And of course, our main objectives as a pitching staff are still the same......throw first pitch strikes, get leadoff batters out.
So, I can at least write about what things are the same, and what things are different. Let's go with the differences, first.
During my nine seasons at Adrian College I was working part-time there, and my full-time job was in the local public schools. At Hillsdale now, I am on campus full-time, as I had previously been in my sixteen years at Siena Heights. There are several differences when we compare a full-time job to a part-time position, most notably the fact that being on campus all day, every day, allows me to be in contact more often with our players, my fellow coaches, and the rest of the college community.
Another difference is that I work with different coaches now, and though I enjoyed all of the coaches I have been privileged to work with before, I now get to work with my son Eric, who as the head coach is my boss. Eric and I share an office, and that means that now I am with him usually for eight hours or more every day, at least during the winter months. Unless you have had this sort of opportunity to work with your own son, you can only imagine how awesome every day is for me!
I also have the opportunity to work with our hitting coach Brad Kocher for the first time, and though we don't share the same office, he is right down the hall. Working with Brad has proven to be an easy and comfortable thing to do, both personally and professionally. We also have a new volunteer coach who is working with our catchers. Joe Dubina is a former Adrian College catcher with whom I was able to coach for four years. He is a public school teacher, and he brings a special kind of passion to coaching catchers. He is already helping our team get better every day.
There are several other differences as well, and perhaps we'll get into those in the future. Some things included in a list of differences include my additional roles as part of being full-time, the different indoor practice facilities, the number of players in the program, being in a different division of the NCAA and a different conference, and the beauty of my 35 mile drive to work on the country roads of southern Michigan.
What is the same? That's easy, and awesome. In January and February we continue a plan of action to prepare for the spring season. As pitching coach, I get to prepare the pitching staff in an aggressive yet patient manner to pitch against opponents by the first of March. We are following the same plan of preparation that I had been following during the pre-season in my previous seasons at Adrian.
Physically, the pitchers will gradually work their way up to throwing at least 80 pitches live before we play a game. Mentally, they are learning our philosophies of pitching by working toward achieving a set of goals that are designed to give the team the best possible chance to win games and championships. Everything we do at practice is determined by our team and pitching staff goals. Statistical goals, strategic goals, fitness goals, goals of attitude, emotional control, and the progression from pre-season to the regular season and into the post-season are part of the entire plan.
In practicing with repetition and progression, including the practice of visualization and self-talk, the understanding of sacrificing for teammates and for a common cause, our players (and thus the team) are improving every day, like many others across the country. Improvement doesn't just happen, it is done intentionally as individuals and as a team. That does not change.
And of course, our main objectives as a pitching staff are still the same......throw first pitch strikes, get leadoff batters out.
Sunday, October 20, 2013
Improving performance with TRT
We finished our fall practice season last Wednesday with game three of the Black vs. Blue Fall Classic at Hillsdale College. The three game series was won by the Black team, which won two of the three games. All three games were decided by just a run.
After using our full allotment of 24 practices, we move into the next part of the college baseball cycle, which allows us eight hours per week to spend with the players, no more than two of those hours being devoted to baseball skill work and development. Fall practice has given us a pretty decent view of the talent we have on the field, along with an idea of our strengths and potential weaknesses. This allows us to plan the rest of this semester to prepare for Christmas Break and the start of pre-season practices in January.
For me, as the new member on the coaching staff, I was also able to get to know our players much better on a personal level and to gain some grasp of their work habits, their expectations, the way they think about themselves and the team, etc. This has also been a time for me to learn how to work with the rest of the coaching staff, both on the field and off the field. I can say with complete honesty that the coaches I'm privileged to work with are hard working, knowledgeable baseball guys with great expectations regarding the direction of the Hillsdale Charger baseball program.
There is no doubt that there is enough talent on this team to achieve some goals that have not been reached in recent seasons. Part of achieving goals is setting those goals and making plans on how to achieve them. There are many things necessary in achieving the goals of getting into the GLIAC Tournament, winning it, and advancing to the NCAA DII Regionals, and then some, in 2014. Some of the plans concerning 'how' to achieve those goals are obvious: get repetitions in the cages and defensively, increase arm strength and improve strike throwing, get everyone completely healthy and stay healthy, increase overall strength and conditioning. Those are things that our guys do a great job of working on.
Sometimes there are not so obvious things that need to change or be improved. For some of our guys and for so many college athletes around the world, the way they think, their self-talk, their expectations, their ability to control their emotions during practice and competition.......these are important pieces to the puzzle that influence on-field success just as much, and often more than their athletic abilities and skills do.
Through group dialogue with the pitchers, and group and individual interaction with all of the team members, the thought processes, self-talk, belief, and expectations are important things that we all need to work on and improve between now and the spring in order to give the team a better chance of achieving its goals. Each player needs to practice his mental skills and ability to control his thoughts in order to maintain the optimal emotional levels to compete at the highest levels possible.
Understanding that our thoughts have a huge influence on our emotions can provide motivation to improve our practice of controlling our thoughts. By recognizing any negative thoughts before they adversely effect our emotions and performance, we can eliminate some of the potential for hurting ourselves during a game. As for how to eliminate the negative thinking, we have come up with some terminology to achieve that objective. We need to replace any negative thought with positive ones. This is what we have now named 'Thought Replacement Therapy' (TRT), and it will hopefully be an efficient way for us to improve the way we think during practices and games.
This Thought Replacement Therapy is something that we can use when trying to sweat the small stuff as well as when looking at the big picture of moving the program in the positive direction of becoming a championship program. The guys we have will be able to look back and say that by changing their thoughts, they changed the program. They became champions in their minds, and thus executed on the field and became champions there, too!!
After using our full allotment of 24 practices, we move into the next part of the college baseball cycle, which allows us eight hours per week to spend with the players, no more than two of those hours being devoted to baseball skill work and development. Fall practice has given us a pretty decent view of the talent we have on the field, along with an idea of our strengths and potential weaknesses. This allows us to plan the rest of this semester to prepare for Christmas Break and the start of pre-season practices in January.
For me, as the new member on the coaching staff, I was also able to get to know our players much better on a personal level and to gain some grasp of their work habits, their expectations, the way they think about themselves and the team, etc. This has also been a time for me to learn how to work with the rest of the coaching staff, both on the field and off the field. I can say with complete honesty that the coaches I'm privileged to work with are hard working, knowledgeable baseball guys with great expectations regarding the direction of the Hillsdale Charger baseball program.
There is no doubt that there is enough talent on this team to achieve some goals that have not been reached in recent seasons. Part of achieving goals is setting those goals and making plans on how to achieve them. There are many things necessary in achieving the goals of getting into the GLIAC Tournament, winning it, and advancing to the NCAA DII Regionals, and then some, in 2014. Some of the plans concerning 'how' to achieve those goals are obvious: get repetitions in the cages and defensively, increase arm strength and improve strike throwing, get everyone completely healthy and stay healthy, increase overall strength and conditioning. Those are things that our guys do a great job of working on.
Sometimes there are not so obvious things that need to change or be improved. For some of our guys and for so many college athletes around the world, the way they think, their self-talk, their expectations, their ability to control their emotions during practice and competition.......these are important pieces to the puzzle that influence on-field success just as much, and often more than their athletic abilities and skills do.
Through group dialogue with the pitchers, and group and individual interaction with all of the team members, the thought processes, self-talk, belief, and expectations are important things that we all need to work on and improve between now and the spring in order to give the team a better chance of achieving its goals. Each player needs to practice his mental skills and ability to control his thoughts in order to maintain the optimal emotional levels to compete at the highest levels possible.
Understanding that our thoughts have a huge influence on our emotions can provide motivation to improve our practice of controlling our thoughts. By recognizing any negative thoughts before they adversely effect our emotions and performance, we can eliminate some of the potential for hurting ourselves during a game. As for how to eliminate the negative thinking, we have come up with some terminology to achieve that objective. We need to replace any negative thought with positive ones. This is what we have now named 'Thought Replacement Therapy' (TRT), and it will hopefully be an efficient way for us to improve the way we think during practices and games.
This Thought Replacement Therapy is something that we can use when trying to sweat the small stuff as well as when looking at the big picture of moving the program in the positive direction of becoming a championship program. The guys we have will be able to look back and say that by changing their thoughts, they changed the program. They became champions in their minds, and thus executed on the field and became champions there, too!!
Monday, September 9, 2013
The more things change, the more they remain the same
After spending the last few months in my new position at Hillsdale College, I'm long overdue in sharing some of this wonderful experience. I may repeat things I've written before, but most coaches (and parents and teachers) are good at repeating things, again and again.
I have to say that I absolutely love going to work every day. I have always tried to have that attitude and it has always been the truth, but with my own kid as my boss, working on a beautiful college campus with so many fantastic people, enjoying work is an easy thing to do. Every day truly is Saturday!
After I passed the NCAA Recruiting test in June, I began hitting the recruiting trail for the first time since the summer of 2003 at Siena Heights. While at Adrian College for the past nine years, I benefited from the recruiting of the full-time coaches and was blessed to work with the outstanding players who they brought to campus.
For the first 6-7 weeks of recruiting this summer, I have to admit that I often experienced information overload. There were so many tournaments, games and showcases to see. At each of those there were seemingly endless lists of players, along with their school info, academic achievements, positions, graduation years, and so much more data for me to try to consume. Other coaches, including my friends, Eric, guys I have coached with, and even people in the stands, knew so much more about all of these potential college athletes than I did. It seemed to take forever for me to get it all compartmentalized in my mind.
Some of that information started to sort itself out, and eventually I felt like I at least had a general grasp of the recruiting landscape. The recruiting process and the way it is done is much different than it was when I recruited in the 1980s, 90s, and early 2000s. What has not changed though, is that it takes legitimate effort to do a good job of recruiting, to seek out prospective student-athletes who may be a good fit for our program and our institution. Successful recruiting still requires leg work, so to speak, and travelling, some late nights and many weekends on the road. It is still necessary to actually see guys play the game on the field, to interact with teenagers and their families, to be genuine and honest.
Recruiting doesn't end when the fall semester begins, and we have had two successful recruiting events on our campus in the past few weeks. We couldn't have had those without the selflessness of our current players, though. These guys have been tremendous every single time I have interacted with them. We have now finished a week of practice and they seem excited to play and make sacrifices for their teammates and for the program.
The foundation for success had been built by our current players and the other two coaches before I arrived. I am happy to be a part of strengthening that foundation and for the opportunity to be included in the achievements of the current Chargers and future Hillsdale College baseball players who we have seen in our travels.
If you believe, you can achieve!
Monday, June 24, 2013
The Next Page
As my players and most of my friends and family already know, I recently accepted a position as assistant coach at Hillsdale College. For me, it is an opportunity to get back to full-time coaching, something that I have not done for the past ten years. Even better than that though, is the opportunity to coach with and work for my son, Eric.
I will fondly remember the nine wonderful years at Adrian College. I had the privilege of being able to be a part of a program that played in eight NCAA Regional Tournaments in nine seasons, has won five consecutive MIAA Conference Championships, and appeared in a DIII World Series (finishing 4th in 2008). More importantly, as any coach will tell you, I had the opportunity to develop and nurture relationships with so many fantastic young men who I can call my friends and who will be my friends for a lifetime.
One of the beauties of coaching is that we teach, we push, we nurture, we care, we compete for and with, and we love the student-athletes we get to be able to spend time with during their college years. We see them grow from kids into men, we see them work through their own personal struggles, we support them and they support us, we benefit because they allow us to share in their glories. And no matter how much we sometimes think we are doing to help them live their dreams on and off the field, they are doing so much to fill our lives with pride and joy. Our players ultimately give us so much more than we ever really give to them.
To my players at Adrian College.....the ones who have gone on and graduated and those of you who are still wearing your Bulldog uniforms in the next year or three, you have provided me with a lifetime of memories and a heart full of gratefulness. Your willingness to accept me as a part of your college years and your lives has been such a huge part of my daily life. You have helped me to remember that coaching isn't just something that I do, but it is what I am. You have given me an opportunity to improve myself as a coach and as a man. As much as any coach could ever be a part of a student-athlete becoming a man, you have all been the most important part in me evolving in the same ways.
I am also grateful for having the chance to work with my fellow coaching brothers Nate Sarkissian, Aaron Klotz, Luke Harrigan, Xander Younce, Phil Lawrence, Rob Heumann, Curtis Fischer, and of course Craig Rainey, the guy leading the ship to the promised land who first asked me on board nine years ago. In addition, I enjoyed working with and learning from each of the Athletic Trainers who helped keep our players healthy enough to compete at high levels.
For people who have not had the privilege of coaching hundreds of players, the relationships that can be developed can come close to parenting and being a part of a family. We aren't exactly fathers, and don't necessarily bounce the next generations of the guys' families on our knees during holiday gatherings, but nonetheless the ties that bind us together never really break.......they go on and on in various shapes and forms. Twenty-five years of coaching college baseball players (at both Adrian College and Siena Heights University) have given me enough fabulous experiences for a lifetime!
And now I get to coach with my own son, who is a new head coach and now my boss. I can't really adequately explain how amazing that is yet, and of course, how thankful I am to be able to do so. It isn't necessarily the beginning of a new story; just the next page!
I will fondly remember the nine wonderful years at Adrian College. I had the privilege of being able to be a part of a program that played in eight NCAA Regional Tournaments in nine seasons, has won five consecutive MIAA Conference Championships, and appeared in a DIII World Series (finishing 4th in 2008). More importantly, as any coach will tell you, I had the opportunity to develop and nurture relationships with so many fantastic young men who I can call my friends and who will be my friends for a lifetime.
One of the beauties of coaching is that we teach, we push, we nurture, we care, we compete for and with, and we love the student-athletes we get to be able to spend time with during their college years. We see them grow from kids into men, we see them work through their own personal struggles, we support them and they support us, we benefit because they allow us to share in their glories. And no matter how much we sometimes think we are doing to help them live their dreams on and off the field, they are doing so much to fill our lives with pride and joy. Our players ultimately give us so much more than we ever really give to them.
To my players at Adrian College.....the ones who have gone on and graduated and those of you who are still wearing your Bulldog uniforms in the next year or three, you have provided me with a lifetime of memories and a heart full of gratefulness. Your willingness to accept me as a part of your college years and your lives has been such a huge part of my daily life. You have helped me to remember that coaching isn't just something that I do, but it is what I am. You have given me an opportunity to improve myself as a coach and as a man. As much as any coach could ever be a part of a student-athlete becoming a man, you have all been the most important part in me evolving in the same ways.
I am also grateful for having the chance to work with my fellow coaching brothers Nate Sarkissian, Aaron Klotz, Luke Harrigan, Xander Younce, Phil Lawrence, Rob Heumann, Curtis Fischer, and of course Craig Rainey, the guy leading the ship to the promised land who first asked me on board nine years ago. In addition, I enjoyed working with and learning from each of the Athletic Trainers who helped keep our players healthy enough to compete at high levels.
For people who have not had the privilege of coaching hundreds of players, the relationships that can be developed can come close to parenting and being a part of a family. We aren't exactly fathers, and don't necessarily bounce the next generations of the guys' families on our knees during holiday gatherings, but nonetheless the ties that bind us together never really break.......they go on and on in various shapes and forms. Twenty-five years of coaching college baseball players (at both Adrian College and Siena Heights University) have given me enough fabulous experiences for a lifetime!
And now I get to coach with my own son, who is a new head coach and now my boss. I can't really adequately explain how amazing that is yet, and of course, how thankful I am to be able to do so. It isn't necessarily the beginning of a new story; just the next page!
Saturday, May 18, 2013
The Day After
A college baseball season, unless your team plays in the National Championship game, just ends. You don't expect it to end because you anticipate winning every time the team steps on the field. You expect to win and advance, but when that doesn't happen and you are a day away from a chance at advancing to the World Series, all of a sudden the season is over. You shower and get on the bus, and when you get home and wake up the next day, there is nothing you have planned, because the plan was to win and play again another day.
So the next day becomes a day to reflect on the season. What do I need to do better? How can I do that better? How can we do a better job at getting leadoff batters out? Can we get more double play balls early in the count? What do we do to attack the running game better? How do we avoid giving up 0-2 hits next season? What sort of drills or mental training can help us to take care of damage control more effectively? Can we do a better job of mentoring our upperclassmen so they can be better leaders for the young guys? Did we do enough over the years to help the graduating seniors be prepared for their next roles? Did we prepare the younger players to expect to play for a National Title next year?
How do I improve at communicating to all the players, not just the ones who give me genuine feedback, but also to the players who are more challenging to communicate with? How can I help them all to improve each day, and to be aware of their strengths and weaknesses? How can we get each guy to give 100%, 100% of the time? How can we do a better job of coaching in practice so that the guys are so prepared for and need very little guidance in pressure game situations?
We accomplished a lot again this year at Adrian College, and all of our players are to be congratulated! Our seniors won championships in each of their four years and the program has won five consecutive league championships, including the first two conference tournament championships in league history. The team has advanced to NCAA Regional competition in eight out of the last nine years, including one trip to the World Series.
When you experience success, you want more. It is important though, to appreciate and enjoy success, analyze what you are doing right, and improve some things that need to be improved. We all know that each player can improve himself through off season strength and conditioning, and they can make improvements in the mental and emotional aspects of being athletes on their own during the summer, on their own during the fall and winter, and with teammates throughout the year. Coaches are no different. We need to get better at many things as well. Learning the game, understanding the players, knowing the opponents, setting our egos aside, continually trying to become more selfless, etc.
When we all do what we can do to improve, the team and the entire program also gets better.
I want to congratulate the graduating seniors for their enormous successes, and thank them for their selflessness, and encourage the returning guys to check that mirror daily and take this another couple steps in 2014. I am forever grateful to be able to have so many outstanding young men who share their success and passion with me.
So the next day becomes a day to reflect on the season. What do I need to do better? How can I do that better? How can we do a better job at getting leadoff batters out? Can we get more double play balls early in the count? What do we do to attack the running game better? How do we avoid giving up 0-2 hits next season? What sort of drills or mental training can help us to take care of damage control more effectively? Can we do a better job of mentoring our upperclassmen so they can be better leaders for the young guys? Did we do enough over the years to help the graduating seniors be prepared for their next roles? Did we prepare the younger players to expect to play for a National Title next year?
How do I improve at communicating to all the players, not just the ones who give me genuine feedback, but also to the players who are more challenging to communicate with? How can I help them all to improve each day, and to be aware of their strengths and weaknesses? How can we get each guy to give 100%, 100% of the time? How can we do a better job of coaching in practice so that the guys are so prepared for and need very little guidance in pressure game situations?
We accomplished a lot again this year at Adrian College, and all of our players are to be congratulated! Our seniors won championships in each of their four years and the program has won five consecutive league championships, including the first two conference tournament championships in league history. The team has advanced to NCAA Regional competition in eight out of the last nine years, including one trip to the World Series.
When you experience success, you want more. It is important though, to appreciate and enjoy success, analyze what you are doing right, and improve some things that need to be improved. We all know that each player can improve himself through off season strength and conditioning, and they can make improvements in the mental and emotional aspects of being athletes on their own during the summer, on their own during the fall and winter, and with teammates throughout the year. Coaches are no different. We need to get better at many things as well. Learning the game, understanding the players, knowing the opponents, setting our egos aside, continually trying to become more selfless, etc.
When we all do what we can do to improve, the team and the entire program also gets better.
I want to congratulate the graduating seniors for their enormous successes, and thank them for their selflessness, and encourage the returning guys to check that mirror daily and take this another couple steps in 2014. I am forever grateful to be able to have so many outstanding young men who share their success and passion with me.
Monday, May 6, 2013
Peak in May
The post-season is here. This is what we have practiced for and visualized since we exited the Regional Tournament last year. During my years as a head coach, I had a sign in my office that said, "Peak in May," and that is an important thing to try to do when a team has the privilege of playing in the post-season.
During winter practices (and several times in the spring) I repeat to the pitchers each year that we have to go from point A to point B, and during the steady uphill climb to point B there will be some peaks and valleys. This is a year that as an entire team we have gradually improved from the first week of March until now. Our offense, defense, and pitching have all gotten better throughout the season, as has our awareness of game moments.
Our last couple of weeks were very good, and though we are the number two seed entering the MIAA Tournament, in tying with Hope College for the conference championship we have now won five consecutive MIAA regular season championships. That is an accomplishment that none of us take for granted. Now, it is a privilege to again compete for the MIAA Tournament Championship and the honor of advancing to another NCAA DIII Regional Tournament.
In order to achieve our next goal, we have to do several things. As a pitching staff, I'll repeat what our pitchers hear several times each week. We have to throw first pitch strikes, get leadoff batters out, close out innings, manage damage control effectively, attack the running game, and give our team a chance to win. There is no reason not to believe that one of our pitchers will be on the hill getting the last out of the tournament on Friday!! If we can imagine it, it can happen.
Of course, there is more to winning the next championship besides the goals of our pitching staff. We know that our hitters are going to get more at bats in these nine inning games against quality teams than they did in the seven inning games during our conference season. We also know that our hitters are going to enter each game with the confidence of champions, because that is what they are.
In winning any kind of championship in the post-season, the athletes must believe in themselves and believe in each other. In addition, it is important for each individual player to check his thoughts, to make sure that any thoughts this week about themselves on the field, their teammates on the field, and the performance of the team are positive thoughts. Practicing positive thinking and positive body language are crucial, especially when the potential for intense game situations in the post-season can possibly bring a little more stress to each pitch and each inning.
Ultimately, our players know that they have been there before, whether it was this season, in previous seasons, or in their visualization, and they have executed successfully and come out as champions when they have kept each other united.
I have already been picturing the field in Holland, Michigan, the green grass, and the confident demeanor of our players as they focus, execute, and compete for 250 or so pitches each game. When we visualize success in crucial situations, it is easy to execute it again on the field. I love seeing our guys walking like champions!
During winter practices (and several times in the spring) I repeat to the pitchers each year that we have to go from point A to point B, and during the steady uphill climb to point B there will be some peaks and valleys. This is a year that as an entire team we have gradually improved from the first week of March until now. Our offense, defense, and pitching have all gotten better throughout the season, as has our awareness of game moments.
Our last couple of weeks were very good, and though we are the number two seed entering the MIAA Tournament, in tying with Hope College for the conference championship we have now won five consecutive MIAA regular season championships. That is an accomplishment that none of us take for granted. Now, it is a privilege to again compete for the MIAA Tournament Championship and the honor of advancing to another NCAA DIII Regional Tournament.
In order to achieve our next goal, we have to do several things. As a pitching staff, I'll repeat what our pitchers hear several times each week. We have to throw first pitch strikes, get leadoff batters out, close out innings, manage damage control effectively, attack the running game, and give our team a chance to win. There is no reason not to believe that one of our pitchers will be on the hill getting the last out of the tournament on Friday!! If we can imagine it, it can happen.
Of course, there is more to winning the next championship besides the goals of our pitching staff. We know that our hitters are going to get more at bats in these nine inning games against quality teams than they did in the seven inning games during our conference season. We also know that our hitters are going to enter each game with the confidence of champions, because that is what they are.
In winning any kind of championship in the post-season, the athletes must believe in themselves and believe in each other. In addition, it is important for each individual player to check his thoughts, to make sure that any thoughts this week about themselves on the field, their teammates on the field, and the performance of the team are positive thoughts. Practicing positive thinking and positive body language are crucial, especially when the potential for intense game situations in the post-season can possibly bring a little more stress to each pitch and each inning.
Ultimately, our players know that they have been there before, whether it was this season, in previous seasons, or in their visualization, and they have executed successfully and come out as champions when they have kept each other united.
I have already been picturing the field in Holland, Michigan, the green grass, and the confident demeanor of our players as they focus, execute, and compete for 250 or so pitches each game. When we visualize success in crucial situations, it is easy to execute it again on the field. I love seeing our guys walking like champions!
Thursday, April 11, 2013
The right direction
I haven't been very dedicated to my blog posts this season, so hopefully I can at least paint a picture of how we're progressing at this point. With an overall record of 14-8 and a conference record of 14-4, one game behind first place Hope College, we are in a position that we haven't been in in quite some time. Last year we (Adrian College) only had four losses in our entire 28 game MIAA season, so our work is definitely cut out for us if we want to finish in first place again in order to earn the right to host the conference tournament.
Since coming back up north, we have made progress in all aspects of the game: hitting, defense, and pitching. From the pitching standpoint I think we are in a pretty good position. As we enter this weekend's series with Calvin College, who also sits at 8-4 in MIAA games, we are in a position of having five, and perhaps six, starting pitchers who have earned the right to be in the rotation this week. That is a good problem to have, since some teams are perhaps still searching for a fourth starter and perhaps even a third. We have also been pretty good at the back end of our bullpen, and have actually used those pitchers more than we have in recent years, which will help us considerably as we get later in the season.
One of the things I have wished the MIAA would do is incorporate a couple 9-inning games into each weekend series. I think that would help prepare each team better for the post-season, since all post-season games are nine inning games. From a more selfish standpoint, those extra four innings each weekend would give our pitching staff an opportunity to develop a few more guys and give some more pitchers a chance to pitch in and gain experience in critical situations.
Since we don't play any nine inning conference games, as the pitching coach I have to remember to control what I can control, which are things such as how I view the more limited opportunities and how I can try to prepare the entire pitching staff for the post-season. We do have a handful of single, non-conference 9-inning games that allow us to use many pitchers who don't get many innings in our weekend conference series. In addition, we have a pretty good amount of JV games. Unfortunately, we have had about ten JV games cancelled in the past couple of weeks due to the cold and rainy/snowy weather. There would be some valuable innings that many guys could use to improve and gain experience in competitive situations. Again, control what I can control.
We have been pretty good in some important pitching statistical categories, and we are improving as the season develops in almost all of the important categories. One of the things that we are making slower improvement on is forcing hitters to swing at pitches that they don't want to swing at when they are behind in the count. We have still given up a significant amount of hits when we have hitters down in the count at 0-2 and 1-2. We have also allowed more leadoff hitters on base than we want to do, which creates more stressful pitching situations, both mentally and physically, especially in close games.
As soon as we make gradual improvements in those two areas, we will give our team a chance to win more consistently than we already are. Last weekend we got a little better, giving up seven runs in the four game series against Albion in winning three of the four games.
We are heading in the right direction and are on course to play our best baseball in May!
Since coming back up north, we have made progress in all aspects of the game: hitting, defense, and pitching. From the pitching standpoint I think we are in a pretty good position. As we enter this weekend's series with Calvin College, who also sits at 8-4 in MIAA games, we are in a position of having five, and perhaps six, starting pitchers who have earned the right to be in the rotation this week. That is a good problem to have, since some teams are perhaps still searching for a fourth starter and perhaps even a third. We have also been pretty good at the back end of our bullpen, and have actually used those pitchers more than we have in recent years, which will help us considerably as we get later in the season.
One of the things I have wished the MIAA would do is incorporate a couple 9-inning games into each weekend series. I think that would help prepare each team better for the post-season, since all post-season games are nine inning games. From a more selfish standpoint, those extra four innings each weekend would give our pitching staff an opportunity to develop a few more guys and give some more pitchers a chance to pitch in and gain experience in critical situations.
Since we don't play any nine inning conference games, as the pitching coach I have to remember to control what I can control, which are things such as how I view the more limited opportunities and how I can try to prepare the entire pitching staff for the post-season. We do have a handful of single, non-conference 9-inning games that allow us to use many pitchers who don't get many innings in our weekend conference series. In addition, we have a pretty good amount of JV games. Unfortunately, we have had about ten JV games cancelled in the past couple of weeks due to the cold and rainy/snowy weather. There would be some valuable innings that many guys could use to improve and gain experience in competitive situations. Again, control what I can control.
We have been pretty good in some important pitching statistical categories, and we are improving as the season develops in almost all of the important categories. One of the things that we are making slower improvement on is forcing hitters to swing at pitches that they don't want to swing at when they are behind in the count. We have still given up a significant amount of hits when we have hitters down in the count at 0-2 and 1-2. We have also allowed more leadoff hitters on base than we want to do, which creates more stressful pitching situations, both mentally and physically, especially in close games.
As soon as we make gradual improvements in those two areas, we will give our team a chance to win more consistently than we already are. Last weekend we got a little better, giving up seven runs in the four game series against Albion in winning three of the four games.
We are heading in the right direction and are on course to play our best baseball in May!
Sunday, March 17, 2013
The 9th inning is ours
We have gone to Florida and Alabama and back, and played a
game in central Indiana. We haven’t won
as many games as we had hoped for (3 wins, 4 losses) at this point in the early
season, but we have done some things pretty well. A little adversity for a team early in the
season can be a blessing, allowing us to better understand our strengths and
weaknesses more clearly than if things had come a little easier.
As far as the pitching staff is concerned, we have had
quality innings from our starting pitchers in our last five games, after having
sub-par starts in games one and two in Florida.
In the last five games our starting pitchers have left each game with a
lead, though we have only won the last two of those games. The success of our relief appearances has
also improved. After surrendering leads
in games 3, 4, and 5, we have now closed out the last two games successfully in
the 9th inning. We need to do
a better job of proving that the 9th inning is ours!
I am always one to look at the silver lining, but I am also
well aware that if we don’t do some things better we will have more difficulty
winning close games. For example, though
we have made some progress in getting ahead of hitters by throwing more first
pitch strikes, we still need to get better at finishing hitters off when we get
ahead of them and closing out innings when we get two outs.
Closing innings out has everything to do with taking care of
damage control, one of the things we talk about regularly. Doing a great job with damage control is
important to our pitching staff and the entire team. We never want to follow a mistake (walks, hit
batters, errors) with another mistake (ie., missing over the middle of the
strike zone, especially when we are
ahead in the count). After a poorly
executed pitch sequence which gives our opponent baserunners, a double play
ball (or other ‘easy’ outs) early in the count can do a lot to get us out of
what could be a stressful inning.
One of the things we have to do to win games is to do what
we do well better than our opponents do what they do well. Recent history shows that what we have done
well is pitch and play defense. If we
can continue to get better at these things that we do well, and do them better
than whatever it is our opponents do well, then we are going to win a lot of
games, because when we do those things well it is a huge task to overcome for
anybody we play.
Thought the weather will be cold this week, we have games
and practices that will give us daily opportunities to continue improving the
things we do well so that we can open up the MIAA season successfully next
weekend!
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Here we go again!!
As we complete our last week of indoor practices before heading south to play baseball, I've got to admit the gratitude I have for being able to participate in this great sport daily with other baseball lovers. The bus leaves in two days, so there is excitement for the beginning of a brand new season, and this is something that I certainly hope never to take for granted.
I spent four years as a college student-athlete preparing for southern spring trips, and now two-and-a-half decades of doing so as a coach. I sometimes refer to our pitching practices as being something like the movie 'Ground Hog Day', but in reality they are anything but monotonous. Our pitchers are just trying to practice doing what they will do in games, and the more they can succeed in doing so at practice, the easier it will be to accomplish on the mound on game days. In saying that, yesterday's live pitching sessions with hitters in the cages was outstanding. The pitchers are throwing better than they did a few weeks ago, and that is one of the goals, of course.
Hopefully our pitching staff won't take anything for granted. I should probably remind them a little more often that it is a privilege to be able to play college baseball and to work toward team goals with each other. Heck, I still have to remind myself the same thing.
One thing I hope this year's pitchers don't forget is that they are charged with trying to continue to build the tradition of great pitching that has taken place at Adrian College for quite some time now. Before I arrived on the west side of town, there were outstanding pitchers named Keith Bozyk and Bobby Wrozek, among many others, whom I was privileged to see play from the other dugout. I was blessed to begin my time at Adrian with great competitors like Jeff Nokovich and Craig Reynolds, and to continue working with great pitchers like Bobby Rickstad, Alex Webster, Josh Lancaster, Nick Vandike, Ryan Domschot, Dave Partyka, and Jason Fryman, all of whom made their marks on Adrian College and MIAA baseball. There are many others who may not have been in the headlines as often as those mentioned, but who toiled just as diligently and got many huge outs with their teammates in hundreds of great baseball games.
This year's pitching staff has a chance to be as good as any of the ones we have had here at Adrian. In my opinion, we have more quality pitchers than we ever had, and part of my job is to try to get enough of them in competitive situations so that they are well prepared for the MIAA and Regional Tournaments in May. Some of that preparation includes having them understand what the guys before them have done and hoping that they have a sense of pride in the task of trying to continue building the great tradition.
The bigger picture, of course, has to do with competing for all of their teammates, not just their fellow pitchers. Each guy wearing the uniform should have pride in continuing the tradition that has grown in the last decade and led to lofty expectations for the entire program. Our pitchers have been fortunate to have several fantastic athletes playing defense behind them and putting runs on the scoreboard to make it easier to stand on that dirt hill in the middle of the infield, and this year is no exception.
As we begin, I am again reminded of how lucky I am to be able to share my passion for a kid's game with others who love getting dirty with grass stains and reddish colored dirt. I don't ever really have to grow up.
May God Bless not only our players, but all of my friends in the baseball coaching community and their families and athletes as well. Go Bulldogs! Go Saints! Go Chargers! Go Battlers!
I spent four years as a college student-athlete preparing for southern spring trips, and now two-and-a-half decades of doing so as a coach. I sometimes refer to our pitching practices as being something like the movie 'Ground Hog Day', but in reality they are anything but monotonous. Our pitchers are just trying to practice doing what they will do in games, and the more they can succeed in doing so at practice, the easier it will be to accomplish on the mound on game days. In saying that, yesterday's live pitching sessions with hitters in the cages was outstanding. The pitchers are throwing better than they did a few weeks ago, and that is one of the goals, of course.
Hopefully our pitching staff won't take anything for granted. I should probably remind them a little more often that it is a privilege to be able to play college baseball and to work toward team goals with each other. Heck, I still have to remind myself the same thing.
One thing I hope this year's pitchers don't forget is that they are charged with trying to continue to build the tradition of great pitching that has taken place at Adrian College for quite some time now. Before I arrived on the west side of town, there were outstanding pitchers named Keith Bozyk and Bobby Wrozek, among many others, whom I was privileged to see play from the other dugout. I was blessed to begin my time at Adrian with great competitors like Jeff Nokovich and Craig Reynolds, and to continue working with great pitchers like Bobby Rickstad, Alex Webster, Josh Lancaster, Nick Vandike, Ryan Domschot, Dave Partyka, and Jason Fryman, all of whom made their marks on Adrian College and MIAA baseball. There are many others who may not have been in the headlines as often as those mentioned, but who toiled just as diligently and got many huge outs with their teammates in hundreds of great baseball games.
This year's pitching staff has a chance to be as good as any of the ones we have had here at Adrian. In my opinion, we have more quality pitchers than we ever had, and part of my job is to try to get enough of them in competitive situations so that they are well prepared for the MIAA and Regional Tournaments in May. Some of that preparation includes having them understand what the guys before them have done and hoping that they have a sense of pride in the task of trying to continue building the great tradition.
The bigger picture, of course, has to do with competing for all of their teammates, not just their fellow pitchers. Each guy wearing the uniform should have pride in continuing the tradition that has grown in the last decade and led to lofty expectations for the entire program. Our pitchers have been fortunate to have several fantastic athletes playing defense behind them and putting runs on the scoreboard to make it easier to stand on that dirt hill in the middle of the infield, and this year is no exception.
As we begin, I am again reminded of how lucky I am to be able to share my passion for a kid's game with others who love getting dirty with grass stains and reddish colored dirt. I don't ever really have to grow up.
May God Bless not only our players, but all of my friends in the baseball coaching community and their families and athletes as well. Go Bulldogs! Go Saints! Go Chargers! Go Battlers!
Monday, February 11, 2013
Give everything, expect nothing
This time of the season (pre-season) is always filled with positive anticipation for opening day and beyond. We are now in our third week of our pre-season practices, and many teams have started playing games already. Though our opener is in Florida in three weeks and our physical preparation is in full swing, it is important not to neglect the important role that the mental game plays in college baseball, as well as in all sports for all ages of athletes. A positive mental game not only enhances a player's ability to execute and perform, it also provides a team with a culture that makes success something to share and take pride in.
Though college baseball teams vary in the number of players they roster, the number of players who are privileged enough to travel south and participate in early season games, and in the number of games they play during early season trips, players need to be aware of their value as a team member and their roles as teammates.
Every team has a set of goals that members of the team work toward during every practice, conditioning session, meeting, and even during the time spent outside of team related functions. In addition, each athlete has his own goals that he tries to accomplish from the beginning to the end of the season. A player having individual goals that are challenging and optimistic is something to be admired, and at the same time a coaching staff hopes that each player wants his accomplishments to contribute to the achievement of the team's goals.
There does not need to be conflict between individual goals and team goals. As a matter of fact, the more success a team achieves on the field normally leads to the success of the each player on the team. For this reason, it is always important that team members and the team as a whole have a purpose for everything that they do in preparation for a season. It is also important for players to understand the philosophy that putting teammates ahead of themselves when it comes to attitude and effort will ultimately help them to achieve their own objectives.
When all team members can give everything they have and expect nothing in return, the players will not be disappointed in the results and the entire team will benefit. When the team benefits, everybody wins. When nobody is interested in receiving credit for the team's success, the rewards can be shared among the team's members. Team success is always sweeter than keeping it to one's self.
Though college baseball teams vary in the number of players they roster, the number of players who are privileged enough to travel south and participate in early season games, and in the number of games they play during early season trips, players need to be aware of their value as a team member and their roles as teammates.
Every team has a set of goals that members of the team work toward during every practice, conditioning session, meeting, and even during the time spent outside of team related functions. In addition, each athlete has his own goals that he tries to accomplish from the beginning to the end of the season. A player having individual goals that are challenging and optimistic is something to be admired, and at the same time a coaching staff hopes that each player wants his accomplishments to contribute to the achievement of the team's goals.
There does not need to be conflict between individual goals and team goals. As a matter of fact, the more success a team achieves on the field normally leads to the success of the each player on the team. For this reason, it is always important that team members and the team as a whole have a purpose for everything that they do in preparation for a season. It is also important for players to understand the philosophy that putting teammates ahead of themselves when it comes to attitude and effort will ultimately help them to achieve their own objectives.
When all team members can give everything they have and expect nothing in return, the players will not be disappointed in the results and the entire team will benefit. When the team benefits, everybody wins. When nobody is interested in receiving credit for the team's success, the rewards can be shared among the team's members. Team success is always sweeter than keeping it to one's self.
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
GT Athletic Consulting and Baseball Instruction
GT Athletic Consulting and Baseball
Instruction
Adrian, Michigan
Gordie
Theisen
Current Pitching
Coach at Adrian College (since 2005)
Previously Head
Baseball Coach at Siena Heights University (1988-2003)
gtathletic@hotmail.com
517-605-1263
Instruction in
hitting and pitching
50 minutes = $35
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
End of fall ball, beginning of 8 more months
A week and a half ago we finished our fall baseball season. We spent four weeks trying to evaluate, teach, and improve so that the Adrian College Bulldogs can get started on a quest to win a fifth straight MIAA Championship. No championship is a given; none come easy. A championship has never been won on paper or based on rosters. Championships are not given to the most talented teams, the strongest teams, the biggest teams, or the fastest teams.
Championships are earned through a combination of ingredients. Some of those ingredients have to do with physical preparation, others have to do with the development of championship attitudes, and some are related to the ability of the athletes to make sacrifices for their teammates. The ability to learn, develop consistency in execution and effort, overcome adversity, and improve at selflessness will go a long way in helping a team become champions.
For our team, the last four championships are in the past. The 2013 college baseball season is the one that our players have been preparing for, and last year's great season can help give us the confidence that we can do it again, but it gives us no guarantees. Other teams in our conference also have their sights winning the MIAA Championship, and teams throughout the Great Lakes Region hope to advance to the Regional Tournament and win that to advance to the DIII World Series.
Every team in the country is working hard to achieve team goals and win championships. Many teams have enough talent to win championships. Hundreds of teams believe they work harder than every other team out there. Lots of teams will have players with tremendously unselfish attitudes. There will be plenty of teams whose players remain disciplined for the next several months. Dedicating each day to improvement is a challenge for all college student-athletes, and it takes the consistent motivation of teammates to help each individual to become the best teammate he can be.
Our team can be the team that represents the conference in the post-season, but it has to be earned for 168 hours of every week from now until Memorial Day. Players should be able to see the big picture, and at the same time have the self-discipline to sweat the small stuff, every day, and never ever let their teammates down.
Championships are earned through a combination of ingredients. Some of those ingredients have to do with physical preparation, others have to do with the development of championship attitudes, and some are related to the ability of the athletes to make sacrifices for their teammates. The ability to learn, develop consistency in execution and effort, overcome adversity, and improve at selflessness will go a long way in helping a team become champions.
For our team, the last four championships are in the past. The 2013 college baseball season is the one that our players have been preparing for, and last year's great season can help give us the confidence that we can do it again, but it gives us no guarantees. Other teams in our conference also have their sights winning the MIAA Championship, and teams throughout the Great Lakes Region hope to advance to the Regional Tournament and win that to advance to the DIII World Series.
Every team in the country is working hard to achieve team goals and win championships. Many teams have enough talent to win championships. Hundreds of teams believe they work harder than every other team out there. Lots of teams will have players with tremendously unselfish attitudes. There will be plenty of teams whose players remain disciplined for the next several months. Dedicating each day to improvement is a challenge for all college student-athletes, and it takes the consistent motivation of teammates to help each individual to become the best teammate he can be.
Our team can be the team that represents the conference in the post-season, but it has to be earned for 168 hours of every week from now until Memorial Day. Players should be able to see the big picture, and at the same time have the self-discipline to sweat the small stuff, every day, and never ever let their teammates down.
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Summer Forever at the Little League World Series
This past week I spent two fantastic days in Williamsport, Pennsylvania watching the Little League World Series and experiencing all of its surroundings. Earlier in the summer, Eric and I had talked about the possibility of going there, and when we each had a couple of rare free days, we hopped in the car and took off. We also took Devon Roberts with us. Devon is the ten year old son of some friends, and he seems to love baseball as much as Eric and I do.
We left early Tuesday morning and arrived at the LL complex in the 4th inning of an historic game, even though it was a consolation game. The team from Uganda won the game 3-2 over Gresham, Oregon as we watched from the famous hill on the other side of the right-center field fence. It was the first victory ever for a team from the Middle East-Africa (MEA) in the LLWS. We worked our way into some sixth row seats for the next game, which was a 6-2 Mexico victory over Curacao, then got even closer, just behind the parents of the Petaluma, California team for their 5-0 elimination game win over Fairfield, Connecticut.
On Wednesday we visited the LLWS Museum for a while, bought some t-shirts to bring home, and then got into the stadium early enough to sit one row behind the parents of the Panama team as their boys played in the winner's bracket game against Japan.
I can't say enough how this experience was more fun than I imagined it to be and even better than what it appears to be on television. The enthusiasm that can be felt throughout the stadium and around the entire LLWS complex is electric and as genuine as I have ever experienced. I am now wondering why it took me 54 years to get there. I know that Eric and Devon enjoyed it as much as I did. Next time we'll have to take Tess with us!!!!
Watching the teams do their pre-game warmups and taking infield-outfield was great, even though those are things that Eric and I see almost daily in our lives. One of the most impressive things was the way the Japanese kids took their pre-game infield and the way they ran off the field into the dugout after the third out was made each inning, making sure the game ball was properly placed on top of the pitcher's mound for their opponents.
It is hard not to cheer for all of the kids, but to be sitting in the midst of their parents and family members was awesome! As I write this here in my living room, I am watching the International Championship game between the two teams we saw on Wednesday, Japan and Panama! Seeing the close-up shots of the Panamanian parents brings me right back to the stadium!!!
"Panchalo! Panchalo!"
We left early Tuesday morning and arrived at the LL complex in the 4th inning of an historic game, even though it was a consolation game. The team from Uganda won the game 3-2 over Gresham, Oregon as we watched from the famous hill on the other side of the right-center field fence. It was the first victory ever for a team from the Middle East-Africa (MEA) in the LLWS. We worked our way into some sixth row seats for the next game, which was a 6-2 Mexico victory over Curacao, then got even closer, just behind the parents of the Petaluma, California team for their 5-0 elimination game win over Fairfield, Connecticut.
On Wednesday we visited the LLWS Museum for a while, bought some t-shirts to bring home, and then got into the stadium early enough to sit one row behind the parents of the Panama team as their boys played in the winner's bracket game against Japan.
I can't say enough how this experience was more fun than I imagined it to be and even better than what it appears to be on television. The enthusiasm that can be felt throughout the stadium and around the entire LLWS complex is electric and as genuine as I have ever experienced. I am now wondering why it took me 54 years to get there. I know that Eric and Devon enjoyed it as much as I did. Next time we'll have to take Tess with us!!!!
Watching the teams do their pre-game warmups and taking infield-outfield was great, even though those are things that Eric and I see almost daily in our lives. One of the most impressive things was the way the Japanese kids took their pre-game infield and the way they ran off the field into the dugout after the third out was made each inning, making sure the game ball was properly placed on top of the pitcher's mound for their opponents.
It is hard not to cheer for all of the kids, but to be sitting in the midst of their parents and family members was awesome! As I write this here in my living room, I am watching the International Championship game between the two teams we saw on Wednesday, Japan and Panama! Seeing the close-up shots of the Panamanian parents brings me right back to the stadium!!!
"Panchalo! Panchalo!"
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
The end is only a new beginning
The more years I spend coaching, the more often I am able to remind myself of the many reasons I love coaching. Way back in the spring of 1979 there was one moment that led me to decide that I wanted to spend my adult life in coaching, but little did I know back then that there were more benefits to coaching than just enjoying the moments on the field or court.
This summer and my experience with the Adrian Post 275 American Legion team provided me more than just fun on the field. There was more to it than watching these 16-19 year old athletes compete in games for a couple months. There was more to it than winning games and championships. There was certainly more to it than telling players to go out there and give a complete effort. And there was more to it than just being a part of a successful team.
It was a privilege for me to be involved with these young athletes who were eager to improve, who were eager to learn more, and were excited about the achievements of their teammates. When the season ended on Monday, just a day before the potential flight to North Carolina for the American Legion World Series, there was nobody in that dugout who was ready for the season to end......just as it should be.
These players made gradual improvements all throughout the season. They understood that they should improve every day, and they did so, not only in their individual baseball skills, but also in their understanding of game situations and in their abilities to play their roles for the benefit of their teammates.
Each guy understood that he was not as big as the team, and that each of his teammates also had the same understanding. Each guy put the team in front of himself, and thus made the team much better as each week and each tournament passed.
I saw them improve, I saw their passion for playing a boy's game, I saw their love for their teammates, and I felt the joy of victory and the heartbreak of a season's end. I felt all the things that make coaching such a fabulous way to spend my entire adult life.
Congratulations to the players of Adrian Post 275 American Legion. Thanks to their parents, to Dave Stanifer and Don Cappelletty for allowing me to be a part of it. I have gotten back more than I have given.....trust me on that!!
This summer and my experience with the Adrian Post 275 American Legion team provided me more than just fun on the field. There was more to it than watching these 16-19 year old athletes compete in games for a couple months. There was more to it than winning games and championships. There was certainly more to it than telling players to go out there and give a complete effort. And there was more to it than just being a part of a successful team.
It was a privilege for me to be involved with these young athletes who were eager to improve, who were eager to learn more, and were excited about the achievements of their teammates. When the season ended on Monday, just a day before the potential flight to North Carolina for the American Legion World Series, there was nobody in that dugout who was ready for the season to end......just as it should be.
These players made gradual improvements all throughout the season. They understood that they should improve every day, and they did so, not only in their individual baseball skills, but also in their understanding of game situations and in their abilities to play their roles for the benefit of their teammates.
Each guy understood that he was not as big as the team, and that each of his teammates also had the same understanding. Each guy put the team in front of himself, and thus made the team much better as each week and each tournament passed.
I saw them improve, I saw their passion for playing a boy's game, I saw their love for their teammates, and I felt the joy of victory and the heartbreak of a season's end. I felt all the things that make coaching such a fabulous way to spend my entire adult life.
Congratulations to the players of Adrian Post 275 American Legion. Thanks to their parents, to Dave Stanifer and Don Cappelletty for allowing me to be a part of it. I have gotten back more than I have given.....trust me on that!!
Friday, August 10, 2012
Legion National Regional Tournament
Today I'm sitting in a hotel room in Midland, Michigan, waiting out the rain during the American Legion National Regional Tournament. Day 1 was yesterday, and we defeated the Moline (IL) Legion team by a score of 4-1 with Andrew Wood on the mound to put us in the winner's bracket and assure that we play at least two more games.
Our M.O. yesterday was similar to what got us through the State Tournament last weekend undefeated. Offensively, we again got key hits with runners on base. As a matter of fact, after the Moline left handed pitcher threw a perfect first four innings, we erupted with all four of our runs and all six of our hits in the bottom of the fifth. I don't know the specific statistics from our last couple of weeks, but it seems like most of our runs have been scored by getting hits with two outs and runners on base. Credit goes to our hitters, who have obviously been thriving in those situations.
On the mound, Wood did what most of our pitchers have been doing lately. He gave up only four hits, one of which was a home run. Due to rainy weather, the tournament committee made adjustments yesterday and decided to use two fields and play 7-inning games rather than 9-inning games. We ended up playing at Bullock Creek High School, where only the short porch in left field prevented our left fielder Marcell Grayer from having room to catch it. As was the case last week, again our defense was great!
Andrew threw 84 pitches, which meant he averaged 12 pitches per inning, the exact average he had in game one of the State Tournament last week. He threw his fastball and changeup for strikes, and only needed about a half dozen breaking balls to basically own the State Champions from Illinois, who came into the game with a 43-6 record.
As for today, I've got no problem with waiting out the weather. I'm pretty certain that the weather is out of our control, so when the time comes, we can head out to the field and try to win our next game to advance further in the winner's bracket. The Olympics are on television and I have my Kindle, Galaxy II cell phone, and laptop to chill with.
In the meantime, hopefully the players are relaxing and continuing to visualize being successful on the field. They have played their best at the most important time of the season. I can't ask for anything more from them!!!
Our M.O. yesterday was similar to what got us through the State Tournament last weekend undefeated. Offensively, we again got key hits with runners on base. As a matter of fact, after the Moline left handed pitcher threw a perfect first four innings, we erupted with all four of our runs and all six of our hits in the bottom of the fifth. I don't know the specific statistics from our last couple of weeks, but it seems like most of our runs have been scored by getting hits with two outs and runners on base. Credit goes to our hitters, who have obviously been thriving in those situations.
On the mound, Wood did what most of our pitchers have been doing lately. He gave up only four hits, one of which was a home run. Due to rainy weather, the tournament committee made adjustments yesterday and decided to use two fields and play 7-inning games rather than 9-inning games. We ended up playing at Bullock Creek High School, where only the short porch in left field prevented our left fielder Marcell Grayer from having room to catch it. As was the case last week, again our defense was great!
Andrew threw 84 pitches, which meant he averaged 12 pitches per inning, the exact average he had in game one of the State Tournament last week. He threw his fastball and changeup for strikes, and only needed about a half dozen breaking balls to basically own the State Champions from Illinois, who came into the game with a 43-6 record.
As for today, I've got no problem with waiting out the weather. I'm pretty certain that the weather is out of our control, so when the time comes, we can head out to the field and try to win our next game to advance further in the winner's bracket. The Olympics are on television and I have my Kindle, Galaxy II cell phone, and laptop to chill with.
In the meantime, hopefully the players are relaxing and continuing to visualize being successful on the field. They have played their best at the most important time of the season. I can't ask for anything more from them!!!
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