I have been fortunate to have been employed in baseball for the last 29 years. I was a college coach for seven years and the rest of my career has been spent as a professional baseball scout coupled with a little time in player development. Before that quarter of a century plus, I worked as a high school coach and prior to that as a little league coach and an elementary school teacher.
During many of my "off seasons," I've spent time as an indoor instructor, working with kids from 8 to 21 on baseball fundamentals of hitting, pitching, fielding, etc.
It has been through these indoor sessions and interactions with the players and their parents that I have seen and heard this generation's ideas and goals on how to improve their skills and fulfill their aspirations on becoming a collegiate or professional player.
These conversations and experiences have led me to formulate methods of instruction that I feel are beneficial to both the student and their parents. The strength of these methods is not based very much on my time in professional baseball. It has been developed using ALL my years in baseball and my seven years as a classroom teacher.
I've tried to follow many of the same techniques in teaching young baseball players as I used in the classroom many years ago. Like a daily lesson in school, the material presented to twenty students is not going to be received the same way by the entire class. As a teacher, you have to recognize that fact. A format of lecture, demonstration, drills and practical application is not going to be successful with every student. You have to be CREATIVE.
"Much advanced teaching today takes the form of a brief lecture, followed by a period of discussion during which the audience identifies itself with the information, voices its criticisms and discovers the knowledge for itself." (J.A.C. Brown)
Attempting to be creative and open-minded has led me to several beliefs and concepts I feel are integral to teaching and working with young athletes who are trying to develop particular baseball skills. I trust these techniques and strategies could be used in any athletic instruction or even many non-athletic based teachings.
Listed below are my precepts for parents, coaches and other adults who are interested in providing instruction for prospective young athletes:
1. Baseball, at any level, but especially in youth leagues can be a very boring activity, especially when the pitcher has difficulty throwing strikes or hitters can't make contact. I sincerely believe we lose a lots of kids who drop our sport because they got only one at bat or played just one inning in the outfield and got tired of the tedium. When a young person gets listless or bored, generally he will just quit and look for something else to do. This is the time to be creative and find ways to make it interesting. Make the rules of the game flexible to provide positive experiences for the young player.
2. Every level of baseball with the exception of Major League baseball should be about development. The main goal for each player should be competitiveness at his current level and also to get an indication what to expect at the next rung of the ladder. Let's be honest- a lot of early success or disappointment in sports is directly related to genetics and maturity levels at a specific time of life.
Parents-do not expect unreasonable achievements. If a father was a third string high school outfielder, the chances of his son being an All-State pitcher are not that great. On the other hand, the early maturing, large 12 year old has a fair possibility of hitting rockets, throwing laser beams and dominating the competition in that age grouping. It doesn't necessarily mean that will continue through his teenage years.
3. Have players play different positions. An eight year old is not a shortstop. He's eight years old and should play all the positions on the field with the possible exception of catcher. A youngster has to want to get behind the plate and should not be forced to if he's concerned about an injury.
4. A young athlete should participate in as many different sports as he or she enjoys. They should not have to choose only one sport at an early age. The time will eventually come when that decision will be made. The player may eventually be clearly better at one sport than another, time commitments come in to play, one sport may offer more opportunities. And there will be times when the decision is made for the player-he can be cut or get little opportunities at one sport while starring at another. There are always examples of some two sport athletes in college and even a few in the pros, but they are the exception.
5. Parents and coaches should emphasize college baseball over professional baseball in most instances. College baseball can be a wonderful experience; the competition, the travel, contacts that are made-they are all beneficial to the athlete. During the college selection process, if everything else is equal-finances, social atmosphere and academics, a player should choose a school where he or she will play. That's what will be remembered in future memories of their college athletic career, not where they stopped to eat or the hotels they stayed, but playing.
6. A young player should play more "unorganized games" than competition where he has to wear a uniform. Playing at times without the supervision of adults can lead to freedom of movements and a trend toward using your imagination-a welcome relief from a constantly structured atmosphere.
7. Travel teams have become very popular in the 21st century. It used to be a player played little league then went to a Babe Ruth or Sandy Koufax league and when he was 16 began playing American Legion baseball and/or high school baseball depending upon schedules. All of these team experiences might have offered 15-25 games a summer. Now we have travel teams playing 60-80 games a year, which obviously gives a player many more games, but there are some potential negatives that come with it.
A young person's entire summer can be spent traveling and playing baseball. I often ask kids how many times they went swimming at the community pool or saw a movie at the local theater. Many times the answer is zero. I'm sure there are kids that love playing ball all summer, but 80 organized games are too many. The expenses for the parents can become astronomical because of travel and lodging requirements as they transport their child around the country. When are practices held? When do you correct the mistakes that were made on the field in the previous game? It's like taking a test every day and never getting a chance to study or review your notes.
8. There also appears to be a heavy emphasis on winning which directs us back to #2. Development should be the emphasis. Yes, winning can be a part of development, but not at the expense of some kids not playing or another youngster throwing a ton of innings over a short amount of time.
9. Make sure that parents of high school age kids understand what it takes to play professional baseball and the odds are NOT in their favor. Fewer than 15 % of all players drafted and signed to a professional contract ever get a chance to play in the big leagues.
10. Showcases and tryout camps have also become ultra-popular. Some of them will charge a huge fee on the promise that a player will be seen by countless colleges and professional scouts. Some are very legitimate enterprises, but a parent needs to weigh the potential benefit of attending one or more of these "exposure" camps versus total finances involved. A parent should realize that in most instances if your son or daughter is a legitimately good player, the word will spread, especially these day with all the avenues of communication, and the athlete will be seen by recruiters, scouts, etc.
It is not mandatory to pay huge sums to attend a showcase event. The days of a "sleeper" (a player who slips under the radar and is a complete surprise) are practically over.
For parents: find a coach or instructor who teaches. "A teacher effects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops." (Henry Adams)
Jim Pransky
