Top 20 DPB Thoughts of the Day

As emphasized in a previous blog, TEAM TALK: Phase 1 of DPB Practice System, it is in the best interest of coaches to set the tone at the very beginning of each practice with a “Thought of the Day” that players are responsible to know. These thoughts can be famous quotes, familiar rhymes, or verses that are short in length and easy to remember. The main objective in using such statements is not only to create focus on the part of ballplayers, but also to make opportunities to teach life lessons that go beyond the field.



The following are Diamond Prep Baseball’s Top 20 Thoughts of the Day:

1. “Attitude and effort separate winners from losers.”  – Unknown

2. “Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.”  – Tim Notke

3. “The will to succeed is important, but what’s more important is the will to prepare.”  – Bobby Knight

4. “There’s only one way to succeed in anything, and that is to give it everything.”  – Vince Lombardi

5. “It takes courage not only to make decisions, but to live with those decisions.”  – Mike Krzyzewski

6. “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might.”  Ecclesiastes 9:10

7. “Winning is not everything, but the effort to win is.”  – Vince Lombardi

8. “It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.”  – Harry Truman

9. “Blessed are those that can give without remembering and receive without forgetting.”  – Unknown

10. “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.”  – Mark Twain

11. “There is no substitute for hard work.”  – Thomas Edison

12. “First we make our habits, then our habits make us.”  – Dennis Waitley

13. “Great works are performed not by strength but by perseverance.”  – Samuel Johnson

14. “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”  – Winston Churchill

15. “Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.”  – John Wooden

16. “A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.”  – Jackie Robinson

17. “No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care.”  – Theodore Roosevelt

18. “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”   – Abraham Lincoln

19. “Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.”   – Henry Ford

20. “All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.”  – Walt Disney

Do you have any quotes or sayings that have made an impact on your life? Feel free to share!

CONDITIONING & CLOSING TEAM TALK: Phase 8 of the DPB Practice System

CONDITIONING & CLOSING TEAM TALK

5 Minutes

Now it’s time to finish out the day.  Up until this moment a lot has been expected of players with a fair amount of game-like seriousness.  So at this point, you want to close out with an upbeat, fun conditioning activity which will raise the heart rate and give players the chance to “cut loose” a little.  This does not need to be monotonous running of the outfield or mindless sprinting around the bases.  Make it something in which players can engage and pull for one another.

Here’s a unique conditioning drill that will wear players out, and they will hardly realize it:

1.  Pair up players and give each set of partners a baseball.

2.  Each set of partners will stand side by side forming a line in the right field area of the outfield, and a coach will stand in center field.

3.  Upon a signal, the first pair will run side by side from the right field area toward the coach in center field.

4.  When partners are close enough, the player with the baseball will underhand toss the ball to the coach, and both partners will continue running to left field area.

5.  When the coach catches the underhanded toss, the next pair in line in right field will start running toward center field.

6.  When the coach receives the baseball from the second set of partners, he will then throw a long and high flyball to the first set of partners who are now in left field.  Whoever underhand tossed the ball to the coach in center field will be the receiver in the left field, and he will attempt to catch the ball on the run and over their shoulder.

7.  After the coach makes the long throw to left field, he will then have to turn around because the next pair will soon be passing by him in center to underhand toss him their baseball.

8.  Pair by pair, all players will move from right field to left field.  Once everyone has transitioned to left field, they will turn around and start the drill in the other direction back toward right field.

9.  Partners will switch off receiving flyballs over their shoulders.  Again, this drill is designed to be fun and one in which players look forward to challenging themselves to make great catches!

After about three minutes of any conditioning activity, assemble players together for a closing Team Talk (at home plate, pitcher’s mound, right field, etc.).  At this time review the Thought of the Day, Offensive Focus, and Defensive Focus from the opening Team Talk.  There is no need to call on players to recite the statements and issue consequences – just simply remind players of what was covered that day.  This is also a good time to inform players of any pressing team concerns or upcoming events.  Once everything is covered, clean up the equipment and call it a day!

It should be your hope that each player walks away from practice with the sense that he is a better baseball player for being at practice on that particular day.  Make for certain that every practice organized includes teaching, drilling, and game simulation which allows the team the opportunity to transform themselves into champions!!

This concludes the Diamond Prep Baseball Practice System…if you have any comments, questions, or suggestions, feel free to share.  Always looking for new ways to help coaches and players prepare to compete on the diamond!

INTER-SQUAD SCRIMMAGE: Phase 7 of the DPB Practice System (Option #2)

INTER-SQUAD SCRIMMAGE

40-50 Minutes

There is nothing better to prepare players for competition than placing them “in the coliseum” and creating game-like settings for them in practice.  The best way to create this as a coach is to organize inter-squad scrimmages where players are challenged in game-like situations that regular batting practice just cannot provide.  Especially during the pre-season, a scrimmage is a great means to allow hitters to hit from the batter’s box and pitchers to pitch off the mound so that they can battle against each other as they will when actual games begin.  The following are guidelines to structure the most productive inter-squad scrimmages that will give players a competitive edge:

1.  Divide team into 4 groups:  Group A,  Group B,  Group C,  and  Group D

2.  Each hitting group will hit for 10-15 minutes and take as many turns at the plate as possible during that time slot.

3.  Pitchers and catchers are selected from the other three groups who are not hitting at that moment.   The selected pitcher will pitch for the allotted time rotation unless he exceeds a pitch count (if a pitch count is necessary for a particular pitcher).

4.  On the hitting group chart, have pitchers and catchers labeled so that they are aware that they will be pitching or catching at some point during the scrimmage.

5.  All other players who are not hitting, pitching, or catching will be placed in their primary or secondary defensive positions during the rotations.  A player could end up playing three different positions during the scrimmage.

6.  All hitters will start each at-bat with a 2-1 count.  If there is a strike out, the next batter is up. However if there is a walk or hit by pitch, the batter will stay in the box to hit.

7.  Any ball that is hit is played live.  If a batter gets a base hit, he will stay on the base reached and react to the ball off of the bat from the next hitter.

8.  If a player is on base when it is his turn to hit, he simply will leave the base he is on and go hit.  It is optional to create a “ghost runner” in this scenario to set up a situation for the defense to react to.  Just be sure to make the lead baserunner a “live runner.”

9.  To keep it more motivating for player, clear bases after every third out and keep track of how many runs are scored in each round.  Be sure to have a stopwatch and keep up with the time limit for each round so that they are the same.

10.  Do not tell players how much time is left in a round; just say, “Times up”,  when the round is over.  This will prevent the pitcher from “stalling” to prevent more runs from being scored against him.

11.  If a pitcher reaches a pitch count and needs to switch out with another player, stop the clock on that round and allow the new pitcher to get warmed up and then restart the stopwatch  until the time on that rotation runs out.  In this situation, be sure to have someone closely counting pitches if a certain pitch count is in effect.

12.  The round that scores the most runs will be rewarded with less conditioning in the next phase of practice.  If it is desired to reward them in some other creative way, go for it . . . have fun with it!!

Additional Thoughts:

–  Understand that scrimmages are great for the preseason in order to get pitchers on the mound and hitters in the batter’s box; but once the regular season is on its way, the On-Field Batting Practice format maybe the better option.  This will keep pitchers arms fresh for actual games.

–  Another option is to keep this same format and use a pitching machine instead of a live pitcher.  This may make for uneven groups in a round, but with a machine they should still get plenty of at-bats and pitchers will not get worn out.

Next blog:  CONDITIONING & CLOSING TEAM TALK: Phase 8 of the DPB Practice System

ON-FIELD BATTING PRACTICE: Phase 7 of the DPB Practice System (Option #1)

ON-FIELD BATTING PRACTICE

40-50 minutes

Now for what the players have been looking forward to the entire practice…HITTING ON THE FIELD!!  At this point in the DPB Practice System, there is an option between an on-field batting practice or an inter-squad scrimmage.  A good assessment of the team needs to be made to determine what they need to work on to prepare offensively for competition.  If it is early in the season before the schedule cranks up, scrimmages are a great option…they allow hitters to hit and pitchers to pitch to get more comfortable in game-like situations.  However once scheduled games begin, it is best to run on-field batting practices so that hitters can keep their timing and pitchers can save their arms for actual games.  If an on-field batting practice is the best option for a particular day, the following guidelines will give some insight on how to maximize time:

ON-FIELD BATTING PRACTICE

1.  Divided team into 3 groups:  Group A, Group B, and Group C.

2.  Group A hits and runs bases, Group B works in the infield, and Group C shags balls in the outfield.

3.  Each rotation will last 12-15 minutes.  After the first rotation, hitters go to the outfield; infielders go in to hit; and outfielders move into the infield.  This is then repeated for the last rotation. 

4.  Coaches will pitch from a shortened distance (about 40-45 ft.) behind an L-screen or use a pitching machine (also behind an L-screen).

5.  Hitters will get at least two rounds of hitting.  Here’s a sample:

– 1st round:  Two bunts, Ten swings with contact

– 2nd round:  Two bunts, Two hit and run swings, and Eight swings with contact

* If time remains in the rotation, each hitter will get another chance to hit (even if it is only one swing each).

6.  The on-deck hitter will take cuts off of a tee into a screen until his turn to hit.  The remaining hitters in the group go to a pre-determined base and take turns reading the ball off the bat from their secondary leads.  Runners will not advance all the way to the next base…just three or four strides, then return to the same base.

7.  If using a portable backstop for home plate area, coaches can hit fungo to infielders from either side of the cage.  First base side will hit to 2B and 3B, and third base side will hit to SS and 1B.  If no protective screening is available, infielders can field baseballs that come for the hitter at home plate.

–  Fungo hitters need to wait until the ball is hit by batter at the plate and then hit to their    designated  infielders.

–  Fungo hitters also need to be aware of baserunners running between bases.

8.  Outfielders need to take a particular field (right, center, or left) and shag anything that comes to the outfield.  One of the players in the rotation needs to serve as the “bucket man”.  The bucket man stands in the grass just behind second base with a bucket (preferably behind a screen) and receives baseballs from the outfielders.  He then places the balls in the bucket so that when the BP pitcher runs out, they can swap out buckets.

Additional Thoughts:

–  Make sure that defensive players in the infield and outfield are making plays when the ball is hit to them from the hitter in the batter’s box.  This can be great chance to time prep steps and read live balls off the bat.  No errors!!

–  Use a catcher behind the plate during BP.  This can be a good opportunity to get extra work on framing / blocking.  It also gives the BP pitcher a target to throw to.

 

Next blog:  INTER-SQUAD SCRIMMAGE: Phase 7 of the DPB Practice System (Option #2)

TEAM TALK: Phase 1 of the DPB Practice System

TEAM TALK

5 Minutes

The best way to set the right tone for a productive baseball practice is by taking the first few minutes to get players mentally “locked in”.  Young athletes often have a lot going on in their heads before they arrive at practice.  So, it is very important to clear their minds of everything else so that they can focus on the task at hand for the next couple of hours and get the most out of it.  This will ultimately allow them to play at a high level in games.  The old saying goes, “You play how you practice!”  To do this, find a specific location on the field that you will meet at to start every practice (home plate area, mound, foul pole, etc.).  Have a place where players know to go to when it’s “go-time”.

Once players are in a spot, go over your daily objectives, make any announcements, or handle any other important team issues.  To ensure that players’ minds are in it, give three statements that will help the team focus on different areas of the game for that particular day.  They are as follows:

1.  Thought of the Day

2.  Offensive Focus

3.  Defensive Focus

These statements are not intended to be long in length, but include a short motivational phrase and coaching cues that should be easy to remember and that come from the team’s philosophy.  Keep in mind that the “Thought of the Day” does not have to be about baseball at all; it can be a famous quote, verse, rhyme, etc.  This can be a great opportunity to incorporate values that are desired to see in players and that go beyond the game.  An example of each is as follows:

Thought of the Day:

“Attitude and effort separate winners from losers!”

Offensive Focus:

“Get a good pitch to hit.”

Defensive Focus:

“Hit teammate in the chest with all throws.”

Once these phrases have been addressed, it is each player’s responsibility to remember them at any time during practice.  As soon as this team assembly has ended, go immediately into a warm-up session which lasts approximately 8 minutes.  Right after the warm-up, meet one more time as a team before breaking up into baserunning groups.  At this meeting, call on an individual to recite a specified statement.  If he cannot give the phrase from memory, then the entire team will have a short, quick consequence (1 sprints, 5 push-ups, 5 sit-ups, etc.).  Players should be encouraged to quiz each other during the warm-up to make sure everyone knows the phrases.  By knowing the statements when called on, the players will indicate they are mentally “checked-in” to practice.

Next blog:  FUNCTIONAL WARM-UP:  Phase 2 of the DPB Practice System