by Bruce Reed

Everyone seems to agree that youth sports should be fun, social, safe, and instructional.  Even while competition increases as kids mature, no one wants to see the core objectives of youth sports diminished.  Most youth leagues do a good job of providing a fun, social, and safe experience for their participants.  And there are many knowledgeable volunteer coaches who offer top notch instruction to their individual players, however, most leagues could provide even more educational value by choosing to make teaching their sport the top systemic priority.

Change rarely comes easy in any organization.  Even small leadership mindset shifts, however, can make a profound impact.  While it’s more realistic to start with small ideas, a healthy thought exercise is to brainstorm bold ideas.  To start that process, here are my bold ideas to improve youth sports:

1. Share. Youth coaches should share their best ideas.  Create a Document Library on your league’s website where coaches can upload their best coaching ideas, success stories, drills, and practice plans so newer volunteer coaches have resources to help them succeed.
2. Collaborate. Youth coaches should help everyone in the league improve, not just the players on their team.  Create a tutoring program in your league so a coach can help an individual player on an opposing team, 1-on-1, each season in fundamentals.  The coaches who have the most to offer should seek opportunities to coach the players in the league who can benefit most from them.  Youth coaches in a given league should see themselves as a selfless collective unit — similar to a staff of counselors at a sports camp — not competitive adversaries.
3. Report. Instead of participation certificates, I give each of my players personalized “scouting reports” at season’s end.  They include confidence-building highlights from the season and constructive suggestions on areas to improve.  Create a communication system for your league that allows all coaches to provide helpful feedback to developing athletes.  These players’ future coaches could also benefit from the collection of these insights from previous seasons.
4. Survey.  At the start of the season, ask parents and players to indicate what they hope to get, educationally, out of their participation.  At the end of the season, solicit specific feedback and share it with coaches.  Did the coach help the player reach his or her educational and developmental objectives?  Players and parents could also be offered a chance to self-evaluate their own contributions to the team and their individual development at season’s end.
5. Mentor. Create a mentor program to form bonds between older and younger players and teams.  Assign older teams to younger teams and encourage them to attend each other’s games for support.  Older players could attend an occasional practice of a younger team and assist with drills.
6. Teach Back. Create a set of player-led skills clinics, pre-season, for younger players.  Give your veteran players an opportunity to teach back what they’ve learned through their participation in your developmental league.  Every age level in your league could teach back one level down the chain.
7. Standardize. Develop a set of best practices that are taught all the way up.  Introduce players to proper technique and vernacular, taught in a consistent manner, to build educational continuity from year to year.  Tap into the most experienced coaches in your area to help establish these best practices.
8. Shuffle. Mix kids up year-to-year.  While many young players find comfort in knowing a friend or two on the team, youth sports should be an avenue toward new friendships.  Kids should learn from youth sports how to navigate a range of teammate personalities to form a cohesive, productive unit.  Phase out the practice of handpicking entire rosters based on existing cliques and social circles.  And if a team wins a championship one year, its coach should have the chance to lead the last place team the next.
9. Go Blind.  If your league has a draft, encourage a blind draft where every coach works together to form balanced rosters, and then draw teams out of a hat after rosters are set.  The current system probably won’t change, but suggest it anyway just to see who reacts, and how.  Adults should realize, in most youth league drafts, highly-rated players are over-rated and lower-rated players are under-rated.  Youth coaches should worry less about getting the best players at the outset and worry more about developing the best players over the course of a long season.

10.  Brainstorm.  I’ve saved the last bold idea for you!  I encourage you to brainstorm ideas that would improve youth sports and then share them with the Team Snap community. And if you have a different take on any of my ideas, I’d love to hear your perspective.

Leave your comments below or post on the TeamSnap Facebook wall with your bold idea for the chance to win a $50 gift certificate to Dick’s Sporting Goods!  So go on, have at it and hit us with your best idea for improving youth sports.  Don’t forget… be bold!

A year ago tonight I helped my dad lay down on the couch at my house. He had just been released from the hospital the day before after being diagnosed and treated for disease that was supposed to be very manageable. Less than thirty minutes after helping him down to sleep, I went back across the room to find that he wasn’t breathing.

After panic, CPR and calling 911, dad was rushed back to the hospital. Unfortunately, it was only to discover that he had gone without oxygen for too long suffering irreparable brain damage. There was no coming back. Twelve days later we took dad to his home where his life support was removed. He passed away a little over an hour later with my mom, sister and I by his side.

It’s times like these where you have to reset your compass and make sure you’re contributing your life to things that matter. Things that add value to the people you love the most.

My family stood for twelve hours greeting friends at dad’s casket. The devotion to his faith, church, friends and family were obvious. The stories of his generosity, sacrifice and integrity made it clear he passionately devoted his life to helping other people; often in quiet; always personal.  His funeral was simulcast from the church to another building, so to accommodate the overflow of friends who came to say goodbye.

In the context of life and death, it may seem that baseball is just a game. It’s not.

Baseball is a game of both the old AND young. Baseball is one of the common languages that allow fathers to connect with sons, and sons to connect with fathers. As for me; baseball motivated me to study and stay out of trouble. Baseball was the way I paid for college. Baseball allowed me to play and see Alaska and Europe. Baseball allowed my dad and I to spend time together, often going to get something to drink and talking about whatever after. Baseball defined where I went to college and perhaps who I married. Baseball is my passion and vocation. It helped build the relationship with my dad so much so that when I got married, I asked him to be my best man. He was my best friend.  Baseball created events that gave us some tears but lots and lots of laughs. Through baseball, I learned to what extent a parent will go to help their child. In later years, for my dad, it opened the relationship with his grandson. He could give good advice. The insights were timeless and stretched across generations. I don’t, however, want to give the impression that baseball WAS LIFE. It was not. I was in band, choir, a class officer, student council, a football player, President of FCA and active in my church. Baseball wasn’t my life; but it was more than a game. It is for you too.

It’s our choices that define us. The activities we choose, whether it is baseball or choir, will impact our lives in different way. It is our hope as parents, that we select sports, organizations and people that will shape them in a positive way. That even through struggles and difficult moments, we hope that the opportunities to develop life skills won’t be lost. While baseball offers a tremendous platform to grow, develop and succeed as a player, the greater hope is that the experience makes our son stronger and better prepared for the next challenge life will bring.

We all want our boys to be able to play baseball around people who care about them. Since success is at least partially about getting better on the field, we want a coach, team and organization that gives his skills a chance to improve to their highest potential. I have not met a parent who’s goal was to make their kid professional baseball player. Although we all approach the game with different personalities and passions, I truly believe we just want them to have the chance to be as good as they can and continue to play for as long as they can. Then …. at the end of the day, where ever things fall is ok. Even the greatest of athletes will one day lay down their bat. But when that time has come, what will you have wanted your son to take away from his experience in the game? Hopefully it’s a life long father/son love and appreciation of the game. It’s memories of time together in the cage and one the field. It’s the family memories of the travel and friendships. It’s the life skill of learning to work hard and sacrifice for things you want and believe in. The discipline of showing up and following the rules as well as the unfortunate, although invaluable, skill of learning to handle failure and disappointment.

USAthletic is just one relationship of many you will have in your baseball career. Schools, private coaches, and different teams will help you down this important journey in your son’s life. There are lots of options and different types of approaches you will encounter. Our purpose is intentional and different. Our mission has two parts: First is to give your son and family the very best information, coaching and resources so that he can develop to his full potential as a baseball player. The second, and more important, is to provide that information, coaching and resources in a context mindful of the larger responsibility of developing the essential life skills that will help him succeed in whatever direction he chooses in life. Although it begins with learning to say please and thank you, we hope to become more and more intentional and systematic. The bit of irony is that we’ve had great baseball success over the years without making winning at all cost. Our success will come through the collective development of our players. We succeed when former players like Matt Kline graduate from law school this week. When Chris Sweeney graduates from Yale. When TC Knipp finishes his career with the IU baseball team and graduates. We succeed when our players, your son, makes good choices about who he is and what he wants to become in light of your values and mindful of the opportunities ahead.

In the next email you will find information about our 2011 fund raising initiative. As the leader of USAthletic, I also expect us, the program, to be the best we can be. I also understand that our collective choices will define the opportunities we are able to provide your son. While fund raising is often one of the greatest challenges an organization faces, it is an essential component. That’s one of the reasons we put it in the player agreement we have everyone sign prior to committing to the program. That agreement says who we are and what we need and can expect from each other. I certainly appreciate your full support including helping us meet our fund raising goals in a way that is simple, yet consistent with our values. The program will consist of five tools which give you different options to raise money for the program. In addition, we will offer incentives to individuals and teams that exceed their goals. It is important to me that in a tough economy we offer you personally, a tool to raise money for whatever you need to operate this summer: money to pay for gas, a hotel room, food, shoes, or equipment.

In closing, the disease that contributed to taking my father’s life is called Myasthenia Gravis. It is in the same family of neuromuscular diseases and ALS, that took the life of Lou Gehrig.

Lou Gehrig was the player my dad held in the highest esteem. He felt that Gehrig embodied the work-ethic, persevering spirit and integrity that is the game of baseball. So in October 2009, my sister and I took my mom, nephew, son and dad to next to last game at Yankee Stadium. Although dad grew up a Brooklyn Dodger fan, he was a lover of baseball history. That night we sat in the epicenter. About half way through the game, I gave dad an ear bud from my iPod and asked him to close his eyes. I played Gehrig’s short farewell speech from seventy years earlier.

It was only one great moment in a great night. It was only one great night in a great trip.

One only one great trip in a great life.

Enjoy the journey.

Rob

By Jake Chapman, Showcase U Co-founder

Very Important People are watching you every game you play, whether you realize it or not.  If you want to be taken seriously as collegiate prospect, you need to be aware that your performance, behavior, body language, effort and sportsmanship are always under review.  Letting your guard down and having a “moment” may cause an observer to form an opinion of you that doesn’t necessary reflect who you are as a person or athlete.

We are all human.   We make mistakes, have bad games and get frustrated in the heat of competition, but the best athletes have a SHORT TERM memory and are able to shake off a bad play and respond with greatness.  I’ve talked with several scouts and college coaches who have told me that their first impressions carry a lot of weight when recruiting.  If they are there to watch you play, THEY ALREADY KNOW YOU ARE A GOOD PLAYER.  They want to see what separates you from the rest of their prospects.  Make sure your “separators” are positive attributes…and remember, they show up on game film and video too.

So, besides colleges coaches, who are the other VIPs that have their eyes on you?  Let’s discuss:

Your Family

Parents and siblings are your biggest fans and at times, your biggest critics.  You are a reflection of your parents and there is no better way to make them glow with pride than to hustle, play fair and positively encourage your teammates.   Stay focused, disciplined and resilient in the heat of the battle and steer clear of behavior that could bring shame and embarrassment to you and your loved ones.

Your Coaches

In the world of college recruiting, your most important advocates are your high school coaches.  They play a crucial role in your success and can positively and/or negatively impact your chances to play athletically at the college level.  During your career, they spend as much time with you as your family and friends.  They see you how you handle adversity and can vouch for your character.  Make it easy for them to confidently look a college coach in the eye and give an enthusiastic testimonial on your behalf.

Your Teammates

If you haven’t heard it before, one of the most fulfilling things to have in competition is the respect of your peers.  Being a good teammate is displaying character when you are having a great game or the worst game of your life.  Again, no one is perfect.  True competitors SHOULD be upset with poor performance.  If you are reading this blog, there is a good chance you are one of the better players on your team.  Set a good example example for the players that look up to you.  Show the rookies that you respect the game, always play hard and instill a positive and encouraging behavior that defines your program and leaves a lasting impact.

Your Fans

As a father of 2 young future stars, I’ve noticed that my sons watch a high school “ball game” much differently than I.  They lock in on their favorite player, which probably includes you, and they watch your every move.  They watch you before the game.  They watch you in huddles, on benches and in dugouts.  They observe your body language, copy your mannerisms, style and attire….and yes…they can even read your lips.  You are a role model and your actions and behaviors influence the youth in your community. It is an HONOR to represent your school in competition and if you are lucky enough to participate in front of supportive fans, please do so with class.

If you want to succeed, double your failure rate.  - Thomas J Watson

We’re all about success and winning. It feels good. We feel smart and the rewards are plenty.

But how you get there is much less appealing. It requires a lot of failure and loss along the way.

So how we respond to failure might just be something we want to learn; the skill of managing our losses or

Failure Management.

The ability to manage undesirable results by maintaining the necessary discipline so that the breakdowns are contained, correctly interpreted and even accepted with a peace of mind knowing that a larger plan is in motion.

It is an understanding that failure does not define or destroy the future. We make those choices.

Failure management rips the powerful core from failure and therefore circumventing its destructive force.

It takes that potentially negative energy and uses it as a refining power like no other.

Those who don’t regularly take risks challenging their aptitude can reduce the painful experience of loss. And even though it may be reduced, it can’t be avoided,

In the end however, they will never experience the euphoric power of true victory or cultivate the powerful instincts required to overcome devastation and loss.

Those skills only come from personal experience.

Corey Stenstrup – IMG Performance Institute

Many baseball players have on field routines and will workout to try and stay in shape but an often-overlooked performance element is the warm-up and warm down. They add tremendous value both in season as well as during offseason training. Overuse injuries and reduced capacity performance are very common if not the norm in baseball due to a demanding schedule. In my opinion a strategic warm-up and warm down can help buffer the negative aspects of a heavy playing or training schedule while also helping the athlete feel and perform better day in and day out. By helping your athletes structure a warm-up and warm down your giving them the tools they need in their routine to help maximize their performance. The following are some ideas I would recommend considering when structuring the routines.

The AD (athletic-dynamic) warm up they complete will be reflective of what activity they are going to do; pregame vs. pre-training are different, pitchers vs. position players are going to be different, and so on. The idea is to match the warm up to the requirements of the activity. This would include blending and sequencing open/closed chain mobility, active flexibility, dynamic transit series, and postural cuing/low level strength exercises. The net goal of warm up is to prime the body for all facets of activity…more specifically neuromuscular sharpness and tissue readiness.

Just as the warm-up is a multitier process so is the warm down and recovery strategies. Giving the body a jump-start on recovery and ensuring that the intended signal lingers in the body when exiting activity. To accomplish this I recommend a period of aerobic activity followed by some of the same things the athletes did before the workout just applied a little differently including; open/closed chain mobility, active flexibility, low-grade muscle action exercises and vibration plate use. Following this some aqua therapy including movement and/or cold bathes can be done. Compression is another means of helping to stimulate recovery; Under Armour has a line called “Recharge” which is designed to be worn following activity to provide compression to major muscle groups. Finally, later in the evening some light (mild) static stretching can be done.

You can see the difference between the tradition static stretch before and/or after you play and all the other techniques available to athletes today. Good habits are critical, the earlier you can teach athletes the right way to do things the more they will gravitate to it because they will associate value with it. There is not a one size fits all solution but by combining sound science with some deductive thinking you can create a pre-activity and post activity routine that will help the athletes in both the short and long term.

Take a look at some of the MLB athletes that train with me at IMG Academies in their off-season going through several elements of their warm-up: