Cornerstone Coaching Academy Podcast

In this episode of the CCA Podcast, you will learn:

Are you really in a team-wide slump?

Why team wide slumps happen (sometimes)

The WORST thing you can do

Identifying the real problem

Ideas for breaking them out

What you can do in practice to help get your team out

Identifying your normal

They're all trying to win

 

Resources of the show

Chaos hitting drills - Simulate the game the best way we can in practice with these drills.

In season conditioning program - Why lose all of your off season #GAINZ by not lifting during the season.  Your main goals should be to stay healthy and maintain your player's strength.

Pre-game routine for starting pitchers - Give this to your pitchers as a template for their pre-game routine.

5 hitting drills that translate practice skill to game performance

 

In this episode of the CCA Podcast, you will learn: Are you really in a team-wide slump? Why team wide slumps happen (sometimes) The WORST thing you can do Identifying the real problem Ideas for breaking them out What you can do in practice to help get your team out Identifying your normal They're all […]

In this episode of the CCA Podcast, you will learn how my philosophy has changed on:

Where players should try to hit the ball

The things I get bad/upset about

The pitch we focus on

My take on using conditioning as punishment

How I teach skills and tactics

The length of my practice segments

How much we challenge players in batting practice

The role of bunting in the game

How I teach infield play

 

Resources of the show

Small ball for big innings online course - This course shows you how I have gone about changing my philosophy on bunting from making an out to using small ball to score 3 or more runs.

Elite tee work video - This video, available to Elite members shows how I use tee work to reinforce our hitting philosophy and swing patterns

5 hitting drills that promote decision making and a competitive game ready swing.

If you're not quite ready to take the leap into Cornerstone Elite, check out a small sample of what's available there with our completely FREE Bronze Membership.  Get practice plans, all of our content updates and much more!

In this episode of the CCA Podcast, you will learn how my philosophy has changed on: Where players should try to hit the ball The things I get bad/upset about The pitch we focus on My take on using conditioning as punishment How I teach skills and tactics The length of my practice segments […]

Quick quiz…

 

a.) Who went 0-20 in 1960?

b.) Who went 0-24 in 1965?

c.) Who began the 1955 season 0-24?

d.) Who went 1-23 in 1978?

e.) Who went 0-32 in 2004?

f.) Who went 5-25 in the 1945 World Series?

g.) What do they all have in common?

 

 

Answers…

 

a.) Mickey Mantle

b.) Willie Mays

c.) Roy Campanella

d.) Mike Schmidt

e.) Derek Jeter

f.) Ted Williams

g.) They either are, or will be Hall of Famers.

 

How did some of the greatest players to ever set foot on the planet end up in such incredible funks?  The real answer is probably not mechanical (although that is the first place most of us look).  The real answer probably has two components 1.) small sample size and 2.) mental.

Small Sample Size

Batting Average is an antiquated statistic and doesn’t tell the whole story, but I will use it here because of its simplicity.

 

After roughly 20 plate appearances in 2016 here are the current MLB leaders in batting average:

 

Dexter Fowler, CHC

.526

DJ LeMahieu, COL

.526

Yasiel Puig, LAD

.455

Matt Kemp, SD

.429

Jean Segura, ARI

.423

 

Nobody in their right minds believes that any of these players will maintain this level of success throughout the year. Not a single one of those players has a career average within .250 points of their current average, and not a single one of them will maintain their average for more than a few more games.  At the end of the season, the familiar names will replace many these players at the top of the list.  But when a player is struggling through an 0-20, people question their ability and assume they must not be a very good hitter.

 

Why?  Because almost anything can happen in small sample sizes.  To hit .600 over a few games, you need good breaks.  Every ground ball you hit must have eyes, every bloop you hit has to fall, and every ball you hit hard has to find an opening.

 

Likewise, over a small sample, to go 0-20, every ground ball has to be gobbled up, every bloop gets caught, and every ball you hit hard goes right to someone.

 

Many players do not understand the concept of small sample sizes, and it causes them to press and become frustrated when an 0-10 pops up during their season.  In reality, it’s probably just a random series of events that they will overcome as they get more at bats.

 

5 Hitting Drills

 

 

Coaches can contribute to this problem greatly, by having knee jerk reactions to this player who goes 0-10.  Dropping them in the line-up, or pulling them all together when your eyes tell you they are clearly better than the current results they are having, will compound this problem.

 

Trust what you see, not always what the numbers tell you over a small sample (especially batting average!), and give players a chance to get more at bats before making decisions based on randomness.

 

 

5 Hitting Drills

 

How coaches and players can attack slumps through the mental game

 

1.) Acknowledge the slump, but don’t be consumed by it:

When a player is 0-15, it is the 2000 pound elephant in the room.  Everyone knows they aren’t getting results, and they should acknowledge they are going through a rough patch.

Quick quiz…   a.) Who went 0-20 in 1960? b.) Who went 0-24 in 1965? c.) Who began the 1955 season 0-24? d.) Who went 1-23 in 1978? e.) Who went 0-32 in 2004? f.) Who went 5-25 in the 1945 World Series? g.) What do they all have in common?     Answers…   […]

In this episode of the CCA Podcast, you will learn

How to have a purpose with every swing

How we throw bullpens in a more game-like setting

How adding base runners to your team defense can improve your team in every aspect

Why my baserunning practices sucked

What we renamed on field batting practice to re-focus it

 

 

Resources of the show

10 (actually 17) practice plan series - This practice plan series is available to Elite Members and rotates through all skills and tactics so you never miss another topic and never have to plan a practice again.

ACE Infield Course - This course, available to Elite Members, shows you how I scrapped my old philosophy and started creating Athletic, Consistent, and Extraordinary infielders.

Making your bullpens more game like podcast 

If you're not quite ready to take the leap into Cornerstone Elite, check out a small sample of what's available there with our completely FREE Bronze Membership.  Get practice plans, all of our content updates and much more!

In this episode of the CCA Podcast, you will learn How to have a purpose with every swing How we throw bullpens in a more game-like setting How adding base runners to your team defense can improve your team in every aspect Why my baserunning practices sucked What we renamed on field batting practice […]

In this episode of the CCA Podcast, you will learn:

The purpose and goal of our in season hitting program

How you can get your hands on our week long BP plan for decision making

The quantity of swings we take each week, and why it may not matter.

How we use tee work to develop our hitting philosophy

Who should get to see live pitches in practice during the season.

How to separate the process from the results

 

 

Resources of the show

Week long batting practice plan - This plan is available to Elite Members and includes weekly hitting rotations for tee work, cage work, and bunting work that promotes competition and decision making.

Weighted Quality at Bat Spreadsheet - This spreadsheet and chart are available to Elite Members and are the best way to measure offensive output for amateur baseball players.

5 hitting drills that promote decision making and translate practice performance to game performance.

If you're not quite ready to take the leap into Cornerstone Elite, check out a small sample of what's available there with our completely FREE Bronze Membership.  Get practice plans, all of our content updates and much more!

In this episode of the CCA Podcast, you will learn: The purpose and goal of our in season hitting program How you can get your hands on our week long BP plan for decision making The quantity of swings we take each week, and why it may not matter. How we use tee work […]