Junior College Baseball. That's the theme of this week's episode. Our guest is Erik Shoenrock, head baseball coach at Southwest Tennessee Community College. Erik played collegiately at the University of Memphis and was drafted by the San Diego Padres. In this episode, we cover everything about junior college baseball. How the scholarship process work, roster sizes, tuition, recruiting, development, NCAA rules, and everything else you can think of.

Timestamps

[6:10] Recruitment after junior college level  

[12:22]From Junior College to the Pros

[13:20] Scholarships

[18:38] Recruiting Process 

[22:31] Recruiting Based on the Environment

[26:17] Going to the Next Level 

[28:29] Player Development StandPoint 

[32:12] Old-school Techniques 

[35:05] Fall Ball 

[38:26] The Transfer Portal

[39:37] Junior College 

Follow Erik Shoenrock

Twitter: @CoachEScho

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Tyler Zombro is a professional pitcher who spent several years in the Tampa Bay Rays organization. In 2019 he was named minor league reliever of the year. Even though he is a professional pitcher, Tyler is also a full-time employee of Tread Athletics. A company that trains pitchers remotely. In this episode, we talk about Tyler's personal development and what he's seen work in developing pitchers and what hasn't. If you love pitching, you will love this episode.

Timestamps for Tyler Zombro 

[7:15] The Difference Between the Best of the Best Pitchers

[8:44] Teaching Execution 

[9:43] Mindset during Pitching 

[12:44] Increasing Velocity

[13:44] Dealing with Injuries 

[21:24] The biggest transition from the college game to the pro game

[22:51] Advice to Hitters from a Pitcher 

[28:23 ] Tread Athletics 

[31:05] Focusing on what players are good at

[33:09] Things to Improve upon as a Coach

[34:21] The Plan

[41:25] Transparency and Accountability at Tread 

[43:31 Tread Vision 

[44:47] Hiring Process at Tread

Follow Tyler Zombro 

Twitter: @T_Zombro24

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In today's episode, we're talking about the 'thing' that has ended careers. The word that nobody wants to say out loud in a clubhouse. We're talking about beating the yips. Today's guest is Jason Kuhn, a former college pitcher whose career ended when he got the Yips. Devasted, he wanted to prove to himself that he was mentally tough. So he decided to become a Navy Seal. After he served, he came back to the United States and started working with pitchers who were dealing with the same issue that ended his career. He has had a ton of success and has been featured in Sports Illustrated for his work with Tyler Matzek.

Timestamps

[5:40] Transformative Power of Overcoming Challenges

[7:48] Advice to Younger Self

[12:34] Team First Mentality

[19:59] Cause and Effect

[20:34] The Danger Zone

[22:09] Root Cause of Yips

[29:26] The Lack of Arm Strength Development in Most Programs

[31:56] Coaching Players Who Struggle to the Yips

[48:59] The Comprehensive Solution to the Yips

[50:12] The Time Frame of Removing the Tension

[1:12:08 ] Rebuilding the Foundational Trust

[1:16:52] Advice to kids who are struggling

[1:18:25] Purpose

Follow Jason Kuhn

Twitter: @jasonkuhn255

Follow Jason Kuhn

Twitter: @jasonkuhn255

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Travel Softball can feel like a maze to families. Which tournaments should you attend? What team should you play on? When should you start playing travel softball? This week I sit down with Texas Glory assistant coach Mike Zimmer. Mike has coached travel softball for several years and has a daughter going through the recruiting process. Mike also runs the biggest softball Facebook page. If you are affiliated with travel softball, you will love this episode.

Timestamps for Mike Zimmer 

[3:35] Saving money during Travel SoftBall 

[6:38] Advice to Parents on Picking the Right Team or Coach 

[11:45] The Fear of Missing Out 

[13:51] Making Travel SoftBall More Affordable for kids 

[16:47] Taking Control of the Recruiting Process

[22:46] Avoiding Bias for Parents who Coach 

[29:29] The Lack of  Arm Strength Development in Most Programs 

[33:52] The Impact of Hitting 

[37:19] The Mental Side of The Game 

[39:49] Dealing with Failure 

[42:20] The Facebook Community Coaching Softball  

Follow Mike Zimmer 

Twitter: @Mike_P_Zimmer

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Patrick Jones @pjonesbaseball is joined by Tom House @tomhouse this week. Tom House doesn't need much of an introduction. He has been involved with baseball for over 40 years. After his MLB pitcher career ended, he decided to take up coaching and became an MLB pitching coach. He had such a big impact that Nolan Ryan mentioned him in his hall of fame speech as someone who made a massive impact on his career. After coaching at the MLB level, Tom decided he could impact more players working in the private sector. It wasn't just pitchers that sought to work with Tom. NFL quarterbacks also wanted to spend time with him; Tom Brady and Drew Brees are among the few quarterbacks who worked with Tom over the years. To help as many pitchers as possible, Tom recently built a pitching app called Mustard app. A pitcher can take a video of themselves throwing, and with artificial intelligence, they will immediately be sent back a report on what they need to work on and drills specific for them. If you love pitching, you will love listening to the legendary Tom House on this episode.

Timestamps for Tom House 

[4:34] Introduction to Motion Analysis 

[8:10] The Confirmation Bias

[11:01] Pitching Mindset 

[22:30] Towel Drill

[24:51 ] Working with Hall of Famers

[31:02] MLB 15-second rule

[34:25] Windows of Trainability 

[42:08] Process Over Outcome 

[47:44] The Development of Mustard App

Follow Tom House 

Twitter: @tomhouse

Mustard App

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Patrick Jones @pjonesbaseball is joined by Kurt Elbin @elbin_kurt this week. Kurt is the recruiting coordinator and associate head coach at Virginia Tech University. He has coached at division 3 and division 2 levels of college baseball. Prior to Virginia Tech, he was at Virginia Commonwealth University, coaching under Shawn Stiffler who was recently on the podcast. In this episode Kurt opens up about his philosophy on developing hitters in his program, how he's evolved over time, recruiting, and gives advice to coaches who one day want to coach at the Power 5 level.

Timestamps

[3:32] Unconventional Techniques

[4:30] Changing Up The Variables for Players

[11:22] The Team’s Game Plan

[15:14] Virginia Tech’s Reputation

[18:17]Helping Players with The Mental Side of the Game

[21:54] The Significance of the Recruitment Process

[29:58] Identifying Great Players

[33:07] Learning from Coaching Mistakes and Proud Moments

[36:57] The Pitch Clock

[40:32Typical Coaching Day

[46:19] Advice for Younger Coaches

Follow Kurt ElbinTwitter: @elbin_kurt

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Chad Miller is the Co-Founder of the Louisville Slugger Science Hitting Center. Chad works with players at every level of the game and is a consultant to several MLB organizations. He is on the cutting edge of technology in hitting, and In this episode, we talk about some of the things that Chad walks us through in his evaluation process. We get into bat fitting, force plates, technology, and his vision for the future of hitting development.

Timestamps

[2:37] Common Hitting Traits that Need Improvement

[11:00] The Importance of Balance in a Player’s Hitting process

[13:23] The Importance of Ground Work in a Player's Hitting Process

[17:17] The Value of Technology in Coaching

[25:49] Key Takeaways from Bat Fitting: Improving Player Performance Through Proper Equipment

[34:10] Chad Miller’s Long-Term Vision

[35:51] Common Mistakes of Baseball Coaches

[39:12] Handling a Player’s Training Feedback

[42:35] Choosing the Perfect Equipment for a Baseball Player

[45:28] Thoughts on Blast Motion

Follow Chad Miller's Twitter: @CMillerLSHSC

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This week we welcome the head baseball coach of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Shawn Stiffler. This season, 2023, is Shawn's first year as the head coach at Notre Dame. Previously he was the head coach at Virginia Commonwealth University. In this episode, we talk about all good head coaches' traits, how to run an organized practice, and how Shawn has changed over his coaching career. 

[2:28] The Most Important Quality of a Head Coach

[4:38] Communication Skills

[8:17] Structuring Baseball Practices

[9:28] Developing Hitters

[17:44] Advice for Young Coaches

[23:47] Staff Hiring

[26:29] Gut Feeling VS Analytics

[41:36] Adapting to the Transfer Portal

Follow Shawn Stiffler

Twitter: @ShawnStiffler29

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This week we welcome one of the best coaches I have heard speak on the mental side of the game, Andy Mckay. Andy is currently the Assistant GM for the Seattle Mariners. In this episode, we talk about goal setting, preparing for failure, and why as a coach, you should be coaching a player's response and not their result.

Time Stamps

[6:04] The Importance of Long-Term and Short-Term Goals for Players

[11:41] Key Focus Areas for Mental development

[19:04] Helping players Prepare for Failure

[26:07] Coaching the Response not the Result

[29:47] Changing the Pitching Approach

[37:24] Knowing a Player, Process Beyond the Data

[40:41] Strategies for Helping Players Overcome the Fear of Failure

[49:25] Realizations throughout Andy’s Coaching Career

[51:35] The Qualities and Practices that Make a Great Baseball Coach 

[54:04] Quantifying the Impact and Progress of Baseball Coaches

Follow Andy Mckay on Twitter: @AndyMcKayHG

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On this week's episode, we welcome Jason Mills. Jason is the head coach for DH Conley High School, pitching coach for the Canes 17u National, scout for the New York Mets, President of the North Carolina baseball coaches association, and a high school chemistry teacher. This episode discusses developing high school pitchers in a team setting. If you enjoy this episode, please share it with someone you think would like to listen.

Timestamps

[2:18] Weekly Activities to Reach Your Potential: A Guide for Maximum Growth and Success

[4:52] Role of a strength coach in high school baseball

[13:15] Pitch Counts

[20:25] Year-Round Throwing

[28:48] Scouting pitchers

[40:30] Framework for developing pitches

[44:33] The risks and benefits of throwing breaking balls

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Follow Jason Mills

Twitter: @dhcbaseball

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