WYC 091 – Youth Baseball – Paul Niggebrugge talks Empowering Kids and Be Your Best Academy

Paul Niggebrugge was born in Sao Paolo, Brazil and moved to the United States when he was about 6 years old, not knowing a bit of English. He fell in love with the game of baseball, and went on to coach Caravel Academy Baseball Team for 30 years, won 4 State Championships and Qualified for the State Tournament 27 out of 30 years. He is 4th all-time in Delaware with 400 wins and in 2016 was inducted into the Delaware Baseball Hall of Fame.  He is currently a Nationally recognized trusted authority in Batting, Pitching and the Mental Game Coaching – Clinician, Evaluator, Educator and Coach providing instruction or information in over 30 states and 2 countries. And maybe the most impressive stat: Paul has been Married for 36 years and raised 6 happy & healthy children!

Website: www.BeyourBestAcademy.com

Facebook: /Be-Your-Best-Academy

Twitter: @BBABaseballDE

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Quote

'Yell and tell is out. Empowering questions are in.'

Coaching your own kids

If you are aware of the pitfalls, it can be a great experience

Paul once had a coach who overreacted about issues with his own kid, and he decided it was best to not to continue to have him coach

My Cringe Moments

'I thought I knew it all' and that my way was the only

Teaching Skills

'You can be critical without being negative.' Whatever you feed grows.

Less 'yell and tell' and more empowering questions and sharing

There is not a right and wrong with their mechanics, it's just where are you right now in the progression

3 key elements every person is looking for:

1 - Adventure - great experiences

2 - Grow - mentally, physically, socially

3 - Contribute and share what they've learned

Fun games:

1 kid is at home base, 1 at 2nd  - and they race

Throwing/catching games - They start up close with a partner, then keep taking 3 giant steps back, once they drop a ball they're out - but even after they're out they can keep throwing (so they're not standing around)

Mental Toughness/Achieving Peak Performance

It's all about empowerment: Focus, Feel, and Feedback (Funergy - Fun positive energy)

Kids love the classroom - Get away from the ballfields and ask open ended empowering question: why did we lose, what did you feel, how did you handle pressure

PEACE: Performance and Execution After a Critical Error

'You can't teach a drowning man to swim while he's drowning' -

Before every practice and game - they spend 5 to 15 minutes connecting their mind and body - Coach Paul has created some sound waves they listen to with positive affirmations - Link to article about Neuro-training tool

Culture – Discipline/Rewards/Teambuilding

No one is above the game.

We will not tolerate: SPEND: Sloppiness, Pouting, Excusitis, Non-verbals, or the Disease of Me

After our games you should not be able to tell whether we won or lost

3 phrases they use: Game Hugs; Gamechanger; VIP passes(which can get them out of doing something they don't want to)

Connecting with and Impacting Kids

Paul had two different players who you never would have thought would have been able to be good baseball players, but they stuck with it and both ended up having great seasons

The One that got away

Paul makes it a practice to immediately evaluate losses, then

Best borrowed/stolen idea