If you’ve been following my stuff online for any length of time you know full well that I am am not, never have been, and never will be a Yankee fan.

But…

I have to pay my respects to the “Voice of God”, Bob Sheppard who passed away on Sunday at his home in NY.

(Updated July 13th) – I ws just informed of the passing of “The Boss” this morning.  Another man that deserves the respect of the baseball world.  Love him or hate him, he accomplished amazing things and reviving a franchise that was in desperate need.  He butted heads with some of the biggest & best in the game but he was a man that stood up for his convictions when it came to owning the most widely respected franchise in all of sports.

Like any true baseball fan you’ve got to respect the guys (even on your rival teams) who leave a legacy on the game that will last forever.

Ruth and his record breaking HR’s.

Ryan and his overpowering fastball and pitch counts (or last thereof) into the 150+ range.

Roberto Clemente and his selfless charitable work… oh yeah, he was a pretty good ballplayer too

Cal Ripken, Jr. and his pursuit of Lou Gherig – both Iron Men with a passion for the game.

Yogi and a personality that was and still is larger than life!

You and your…

What?

What legacy are you building for future generations to remember you for?

Think back to your younger days as a ballplayer…

Who is the first person to come to mind?

Now think about all of the ballplayers that you come in contact with throughout the course of a season.

Whether you are a coach or a parent you are influencing these young ballplayers… for better or worse.

If you are reading this far I’m going to go out on a limb and thank you for the work that you do with your guys. If you were a dirt bag baseball coach (yeah, you know they are out there) you would have stopped reading a long time ago.

So, how do you want your ballplayers to remember you 15 or 50 years from now?

Do you want to be the coach that taught them how to throw a nasty change up?

Or do you want to be the coach that was the role model for their future?

The change up will last their career, your influence as a role model will last their entire lives.

It’s time for us as coaches to Man Up and watch how we act around our ballplayers.

Win Well & Loose Better

Sure, we want to win. Winning is an absolute blast and loosing… well, loosing sucks!

But, let’s demonstrate for our kids how to win graciously and lose with dignity.

After a ‘W’ celebrate but don’t rub it in. After an ‘L’ learn from it and hold your head high as you walk off the field.

Argue but don’t fight.

Sure, the guys in blue rule the diamond, but they are human and will make mistakes. If it’s a game changer get out there and speak your mind. As for help on the call. But don’t get nasty & personal – it’s just a game!

Don’t Curse In Front Of The Team!

There is no room for argument here. If you can’t control your language in front of your young ballplayers you have no right to be their coach. Period. End of story!

Set A Schedule & Stick To It.

If you have a practice scheduled for 7pm on Tuesday be there at 6:45pm and expect the same from your ballplayers. Don’t call them that morning or the night before to change plans. And definitely don’t be a ‘no-show’.

You wouldn’t accept that behavior from your players therefore it is unacceptable from you!

See The Big Picture

Yes, winning baseball games is a blast and winning championships is even better, but how many of your kids will make it at the next level? And how many will make it at the highest level?

So concentrate on the big picture with your ballplayers and realize that they have a life outside of baseball and a future after baseball.

Do you know what they want to study in college? Do you know what they like to do on weekends? Do you know anything about them other than what position they play and where you want them in the line up?

Treat Your Boys Like Men

Sure, we’re working with kids. Even at the college level they are kids who don’t really know what the real world is like. But treating them like kids will only enable them to act like kids.

Give your ballplayers responsibility and hold them accountable for the things that you expect of them.

Pitchers are responsible for care & maintenance of the mound and bull pens. If there is garbage in the pen they are responsible to clean it up every day!

Infielders are responsible for their spot on the field. Teach them how to keep a clean edge on the grass and pull weeds that might be popping up.

Outfielders clean the dugouts (both of them). Swept clean after each practice & game. I love sunflower seeds as much as the next guy, but when I arrive at the field I hate to see the ground covered with them.

Teach your ballplayers a healthy respect for the game & the field that they play on and you’ll see them quickly become more dedicated to the team.

Oh yeah, the clean dugout rule applies doubly on away games. Leave the dugout cleaner then you found it and I guarantee you’ll get a thank you call from the opposing coach – unless he’s one of those “dirt bag coaches” mentioned earlier

Give 100% & Get 110%

Each & every time you come in contact with a baseball player wether they are on your team or not, wether they are paying you or not, give them 100% of your ability, attention, energy, & knowledge. If you are giving them everything you’ve got they will give it all back with interest. When you give your team 100% that energy will multiply with each player there and you’ll be amazed at how your team bonds and performs together simply because you put it all out there for them!

Don’t believe me? Try it… Next practice, training session, whatever, give them 100% for the first 15 minutes and then try to take it back down to 75%. You won’t be able to!

The following practice, start out at 75% and then after 15 minutes try to take it up to 100%. Again, you won’t be able to!

I don’t know, maybe these rules seem pretty basic to you, and I hope that they do! But I can tell you from my experience that following these 7 rules will ensure that you are a well respected coach by both your ballplayers and their parents. This respect will have your ballplayers returning years later to shake your hand and thank you… and there’s no better feeling in the world than being remembers years later for something that you completely forgot you ever did.

So let’s Man Up and start leaving your legacy on your ballplayers today!

I’d love to hear you’re “Rules For Coaching” in the comments section down below…

This is a guest post by Jedd Johnson, from UltimateForearmTraining.com.  When his baseball career was cut short by injury, he searched for another means to satiate his competitive hunger, and he found Grip Competition.  Now, he has competed in more grip strength contests than anyone in the US, and produced multiple resources on building world class hand strength.  Soon, he will release the new secret weapon that will change the game of baseball as much as steroids did – only this time, it’s legal!

Everyone knows how important Core Strength is in Baseball.  The core fires anytime another part of the body fires, so the sore is highly involved in creating a powerful swing, bracing the torso throughout the swing, and stabilizing the body after contact.

Leg strength is also something that we are fully aware of for taking the ball deep into the outfield stands.  That power is generated from the ground up.  It’s no wonder some of the best homerun hitters have had thick quads, solid hammies, and a big powerful ass.

But one thing that people forget about when they think about developing the strength for homerun power is Grip Strength.

Grip involves everything from the elbow joint down to the finger tips.  Many of the muscles that cross and influence the elbow travel all the way down into the hands and fingers.  These muscles are the ones that put the finishing touch on all the power that comes from the legs and core when we attack that hanging curveball at the plate.

Neglecting grip training is an error we can not afford to make if we seek to set ourselves apart from other prospects in the sea of Major League hopefuls.  Following are some simple exercises you can do before, during, or after practice, as well as in your garage or dorm room that will pack muscle onto the lower arms and help you put the finishing touches on your power stores that you can use the next time you stand in the batter’s box.

Sledge Hammers are great for building grip strength as well as full body strength and conditioning.  You can get these essential strength tools at most hardware stores and even Walmart and Kmart carry them for around $20 to $30.

This workout should take no longer than 20 to 30 minutes.

Warm-up:  Sledge Hammer Curls

This exercise involves gripping the sledge near the middle of the handle and performing curls.  The objective here is to resist forearm rotation during the course of the movement.  Do this for two sets of 10 to 15 reps with each hand to get the entire lower arm and bicep warmed up for other more violent work coming your way.

Primary 1:  Sledge Taps

Hold the sledge near the center of the handle and violently and rapidly tap it on a tire, tree stump, rock, or other solid object.  The objective of this movement is to generate fast, powerful bursts of energy when hitting the tire, while also controlling the eccentric portion of the movement when the hammer recoils upward after striking the object.  Do this for two or three sets of 20 strikes with each hand.

Primary 2:  Rubber Band Extension Swings

It is just as important to work the Extensor muscles as it is to work the flexors, rotators and deviators of the wrist, so that is what we are doing to finish up this quick workout.  Get your hands on some decent sized rubber bands.  Not those things that chicks put in their hair – go and steal some off of some heads of broccoli in the produce section at the market or go buy some from an office supply store.

Wrap a rubber band around your fingers and perform a rubber band extension.  Now, move your hands and body through the swinging motion.  This movement should be done in super slow motion, exaggerating each point of the swing.  This will burn in the extensor muscles all the way up through your forearm where the muscles originate.

I want you to visualize Josh Beckett’s weak ass throwing you his fastball.  Go through your entire swinging motion in Slow Motion, imagining the contact with barrel of the bat as you take that lame duck deep.  Exaggerate each step of the swing as you watch Tim Wakefield’s tired knuckleball fluttering helplessly to the plate and then like a laser over the Green Monster.  Does Boston even have a team anymore?

Do this exercise 6 times and make sure you go slow.  By the end of the third one, if your extensors aren’t burning through your skin then you aren’t working hard enough or slow enough.

In closing, baseball is a very grip dependent sport.  The hands are involved in everything.  I am going to show the world the best way to train the lower arms for high performance on the field very soon.  Keep your eyes peeled for more announcements from Coach Dan and me..

The days of squeezing Tennis Balls to build grip and wrist strength are over.  It’s time to come to the Big Leagues and unleashing the power of the hands and forearms.

All the best in your training,

-Jedd-

P.S.  For a free video with more information on this new SECRET WEAPON, check this out right now = = >  www.UltimateForearmTraining.com

Hey Guys,

Check out this quick interval workout that you can do with your baseball players just about anytime and just about anywhere using only a few jump stretch bands!  This high intensity workout for baseball players will increase your ballplayers speed, help them cover more ground on the field, get better jumps on stolen bases, and accomplish all of it in less than 5 minutes per workout… How Awesome Is That?!

Check out the video and be sure to leave your comments, questions, & snide remarks down below.  And if you’ve got a baseball workout that you’d like me to post on the blog, send me the link and I’ll check it out!

Yours in Baseball,
Coach Dan

A week or so ago I sent out the Power Pitching Preparation video & PDF file and you guys absolutely loved it.

Yesterday I mentioned a great new resource and the response was… I believe the term I used was “underwhelming”.

So, let me hear it.

What can I do for you right now to help you develop your ballplayers?

Let me know in the comments section down below.

Yours in Baseball,
Dan

Hey Guys,

Honestly, I don’t think I could have fit more P’s in the post title, huh?

Anyway, here’s the downloadable PDF that I told you about:
Power Pitching Preparation

Believe it or not, I had a few guys complain about the video that I sent out the other day… I guess there’s just no pleasing some people.  If you find this stuff helpful, I’d love to hear from you in the comments section down below.

Let me know what you think about the video & PDF and also, let me know what else I can put together to help you guys make better baseball players… after all, isn’t that what it’s all about?

Rock On!

Dan