What advice are you giving your players during this pandemic?

• Building the next team

How have you been growing yourself during this time?

• On the phone so much that its hard not to

What are some of your best strategies for connecting people?

• Fighting for empathy with the other person - get on the other side of the conversation and see where they are coming from. Try to see it through their eyes

I hear you saying my name consistently, communicating effectively, How are you helping create better communicators?

• Traveled around with my dad who was a motivational speaker

You have interviewed and been around coaches of all levels from around the country, what are the top things that you took away from the thousands of hours of interviews/conversations you have done?

• There is a system, and figured out what works for them

How do you prioritize what are the most important things to implement into your program?

• Always listening and always intrigued and curious

What is your system?

• Still building ours

How are you developing the culture of trust and love at GCC?

• You can never land on being short sighted!

How are you developing your players both menally and physically at GCC?

• Meet in the classroom and teach

Do you believe that if you players are better people they will help you win at GCC?

• 100%

Do you look for specific traits in recruits? Turn ons and turn offs?

• Live in the transfer world

• Talking with prior coach

• Who is he? Baggage?

You have seen great players from all over the country at all levels. What do those great players have in common?

• Same as coaches, open minded and wanting more

You have also seen so many great coaches from all over the country. What do those great coaches have in common?

• Curious 

What is the best way to contact you?

• @coachsheets3

Notes:

• Come from a centered place! Can’t make a decision from the highs and lows, and always come back to center to make decisions

BIO

• Currently assistant coach/recruiting coordinator at University of Maryland (8th year overall)

• Zoom calls, facetime

What is something you have been learning during the quarantine?

• Professional development - over 80 hours with over 200 slides on hitting

What lessons do you think will come from this quarantine?

• Break it down just in the slides

You have been a part of Maryland getting better and better, what do you think has made you guys successful?

• My heart is in MD

Describe the kind of players who have helped you along the way.

• Competitor

Describe the kind of players who you have gotten in the way of your guys success.

• Bad senior/junior leadership

How are you developing competition?

• Brought in “The Program” & Brian Cain

How are you keeping the focus on the team while individualizing?

• Better talent, recruit better players

What has changed in the way you teach hitters since you started coaching? 

• Timing and balance - speeding up may not be best for the athletes movement pattern

What are you doing to promote good movement pattern?

• Philosophy is timing and balance in a good movement pattern

How do you program the decel, next move after contact?

• Frisbee

You have been a part of some great teams, and great players, what are the traits of the best players you have been around?

• Self motivation and an internal drive with a competitive edge

What do you look for in recruits?

• Look for the position and how they move and do they have a certain movement pattern

How much are you working on the mental game?

• Meditation at the start

Has there been some mental skills that have helped with the transition to college?

• We need failure

How do you hold that line and be an example for your players?

• Be authentic so players know what to expect

Best way to contact you

• “Maryland Made Hitting” on Twitter/Instagram

• We are playing offense, not hitting. We are playing offense to score runs

Joey Miller Notes

Bio

• Current trainer for Crucible performance in Frederick, MD

How are you encouraging your clients during the quarantine?

• Group Zoom meetings - up to 60 kids

What is your process when taking on new clients?

• 5 tools to develops 

What is your program all about?

• Don’t rush growth

How do you assess your hitters?

• Figure out the mindset I can help develop

What is something you used to do that you no longer find value in?

What is something you have done since your first lesson?

What mechanics of the swing you try to teach?

Do you teach your clients about approach?

• Know your job and be prepared to do your job

What is the mentality of a great hitter?

• Based on where they are developmentally and then grow that need

How do you challenge your clients?  

• Present challenges through the adjustments we are trying to make

How do you teach kids to play one pitch at a time?

What trait have you seen in the best players you have played with or clients you have helped?

• Perseverance - kids who have dealt with a challenge and be able to keep moving forward

What is the best way for people to contact you?

• Social Media - Facebook and Youtube - @CoachJoeyMiller

BONUS EPISODE!!

4 of my former players who are currently playing college baseball discuss their perspective on the quarantine, the difference between high school and college, recruiting, and so much more!!

Big Thanks to:

Joey Schwartz - Shepherd University 

Ryan Bywaters - Radford University

Noah Allen - Flagler College

Cameron Kutchey - Lock Haven University

Click here for the NOTES on the episode!

What is the best thing you do to create better men in your program?

• Combination of things

When do you start implementing your Success Leaves Clues program?

• Helps instill our core covenants

How do you teach the mental side of the game? 

• Introduce in the fall

How do you manage all your staff members?  

• Understand the standards and give them parameters and let them coach

What is the best thing you do for your staff?

• Get together as a family

What does your toughness coach do?

• Toughness program
  • Fire academy special forces branch

How have your practices changed over the years?

• Building failure into practice

What is something that you have never stopped doing to develop your players?

• Playing catch - throwing progressions and drill it

What would you consider your biggest strength as a coach?

• Putting it all together, attention to detail

How were you helping your players during this quarantine? 

• Still coming into small groups

How do you develop players while still keeping the focus on the team?

• Indy work before practice

Development plan? Phases?

• 10 Phases

What have you noticed between the great players and the average players during your time?

• Young guy has not developed the mental side (how to fail)

Other points

• Grade players every 11 games

• Email you at [email protected]

BIO

• Currently the Head Baseball Coach at Hartfield Academy in Flowood, Mississippi

• Email you at [email protected]

Another great interview PACKED with information.  Coach Tom Eller, hitting coach with the Baltimore Orioles, discusses how he has grown from a college coach to working with professional hitters in the Baltimore Oriole organization.

Coach Eller's main talking points:

• How he and the Orioles are getting better during the quarantine

How are you getting better during this quarantine?

• Weekly themed zoom meetings

How are you helping players during this quarantine?

• Hitters meeting

You were a great recruiter at Hartford, what were the things you looked for in your recruits?

• Single tool that stood out

What mental skills, qualities in a person, have you seen in the best professional players?

• Growth mindset - wants to learn

How much programming of individuals do you do on your team? 

• Swing decision 

How has your hitting system changed throughout the years?

• Clean up problems (not rotating)

What do you think kids should spend more/less time doing as hitters? 

More

Less

Write it down on what went well and what did not.

-what you hit well

-write down your results

-challenge yourself and making it more game like

-Swing less! 

-worrying about feeling good during BP!

What do you think coaches should spend more/less time doing with their hitters? 

More

Less

-failing more! Game like

Blocked versus random practice

-worrying about feeling good in BP

What people don’t know is how well you guys stole bases at Harford. How were you guys so successful on the bases?

• Hitting and running works together. When you worry about baserunning you force bad pitches, and when you hit really well you lose focus on the run game

What is the best way for people to contact you?

• Twitter - @CoachTomEller