coachesnew

So much of baseball instruction focuses on the improvement of players, not enough instruction is given to the coaches to help improve their team. Game strategy differs some from coach to coach, but some basic concepts of game situation and team improvement need to be covered. The coaches and managers are the leaders of the team, they not only need to know their players strength and weaknesses, they need to know how to get their team to the next level of competion. The Coaches Corner is a section devoted to player development, team understanding, and coaching strategies.

Topic:
Offseason

        Off Season is here, that means NOW is the time for major improvements. Improvements can be made not just in your mechanics, but your work ethic, your preparation, teaching skills, and knowledge of the game.
        With many of us we are taking our first break from playing and getting healthy from a long season. Our hitting mechanics, pitching motion, or other mechanical skills were grooved over these past few months but it's time to alter them for the upcoming spring season. With about 5 months left before the next season starts it's important to use those months to slightly alter your mechanics so you are stronger, more balanced, and more consistent next season. You need to create a new muscle memory for proper mechanics, and breaking muscle memory is one of the most difficult things in any physical sport. To break it you need time and repetition, the next five months should be your time to make that happen.
        Don't forget to introduce yourself to better preparation and work ethics. Use this offseason to focus your drills, reschedule your time to get the most out of your workouts. Write down what you want to accomplish, set a schedule, and be determined to reach your goals. An offseason focused on a set of goals will carry into the spring and make the beginning of your season clear and successful.
        If you are a coach you should be creating a notebook of lessons learned and instructional drills. What went right? What went wrong? What can you do to gain an edge for next year to help your players gain and advantage? Many times at the end of a season coaches look back and see areas they wish they had improved upon during the season. But what seems so clear after the season is not awlays easy to recognize midseason. This is why you need to take notes and review your areas of concern in the preseason.
        Finally it's time to learn more. Read books, watch videos or games on TV to understand the game more. To this day I'm surprises how much I learn from others. Even when I'm listening to a subject I feel there is very little to learn, I find more. Many times it's the same thing, but said differently that help gain a new perspective.
        Good luck this offseason, it's time to make improvements for next year, so get busy.