Issue #6 The Cost to Play Ball (and succeed): Parents of young players often ask me,”What bat do you recommend?””What is the best glove?”Often times, I see parents spend a lot of money with the hopes the new gear will help “Johnny” or “Susie play better.My response to these questions are: ✋💸Don’t spend a bunch of money on baseball and softball equipment! Expensive equipment won’t boost a young player performance. Besides the cost, it takes time to learn what you like. So let’s take a look at...
over 3 years ago • 4 min read
Issue #5 Learn to CRUSH the Ball: I came up with the CRUSH method of hitting a few years ago while speaking with national champion wrestler, martial arts champion, fitness specialist, and zen master, Matt Furey. We were discussing ways to help players mentally prepare for hitting in bp, and more specifically, the game. After numerous brainstorming sessions over a few months time we came up with the acronym CRUSH. There are so many things going on when you get to the plate that it’s almost...
over 3 years ago • 6 min read
Issue #4 Are you tryout ready? Many of you play multiple sports throughout the year. But now it’s time to switch gears and get ready for baseball and softball tryouts. What’s your plan to make the team? Wouldn’t it be nice to have the inside secrets to help you score a position on the team? Secret #1 Let me start by lending my experience as a coach to tell you about what the coach is looking for. As a coach, we need a rating system to separate players. So almost all coaches will have some...
over 3 years ago • 4 min read
Issue #3 Playing Baseball in Cold Weather: Did You Think Ahead? The cooler weather is upon us and the inevitable happens. That first cold front rolls in the night before the tournament starts and you’re not prepared for the weather. You’re used to the warmer weather where it is much easier to get loose and stay warmed up. It’s game time. You’ve been putting in the work over the past weeks and months. You’re physically ready; you’re mentally ready. And you think you would have looked at the...
almost 4 years ago • 3 min read
Issue #2 Speed Never Goes Out of Style Training to be good at baseball takes work. But are you working on the right things? What do you think makes a great baseball player? What do you think scouts are looking for? A 95 m.p.h. fastball? Tree top power? Top notch glove work defensively? Yes, of all these are tools that will get you noticed. But there is one tool that impacts both offense and defense that is certain to increase your chances… 🏃♂️Speed!💨 If you can get to a ball, you can make a...
almost 4 years ago • 4 min read
As you may or may not know Phoenix Sanders was just called up to the Tampa Bay Rays MLB team this past week. He may have been an unlikely candidate at one time. Not a large framed guy, didn’t throw super fast, but loved to play baseball and worked really hard to advance thru his career. How did he do it? Well basically a combination of a lot of hard work, confidence, mental toughness, and a never quit attitude. In high school at Buchholz, his focus was just to make the varsity team as a RHP,...
over 4 years ago • 2 min read