Bio
Spencer Allen is the 26th head baseball coach of the Northwestern program and was named to the position on June 14, 2015. 
 
Allen came to Northwestern after serving as an assistant coach at Illinois in 2015. He helped the Fighting Illini set the school record with 50 wins and win the first NCAA Regional in program history. the Illini ranked near the top of the Big Ten in numerous offensive categories, leading the league in hits, runs, RBIs, total bases, home runs and slugging percentage.

Prior to his stint with Illinois, Allen served a two-year stretch as the associate head coach and recruiting coordinator at Creighton. Reaching the college world series. From 2010-12, Allen worked as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Washington State University. Allen was the recruiting coordinator for the Boilermakers during the 2008-09 seasons. He also worked as a scout in the Detroit Tigers organization, and as a volunteer coach at Iowa (2004). Allen's coaching career began at Edmonds Community College in 2002, where he was an assistant coach.
 
He played three seasons at Iowa State from 1999-2001. He was a team captain during his final season and a 2001 All-Big XII Academic selection.
 
On the show, we discuss the pillars that Northwestern is built upon which includes a high challenge, high support environment and Deliberate practices
 
This episode is so good with Spencer Allen!
 
Time Stamps
1:20- Vision of the program
5:00- The Underdog Story
8:00- Compared to what?
13:00- High Challenge, High Support
16:45- Consistent Habits and Routines
20:45- "Everything that happens to you is your fault"
30:00- Deliberate Practice 
40:00- Drills for developing infielders
47:00- Last Things
 
Resources

Eat smarter- Shawn Stevenson

Golfs Sacred Journey- David Cook

The Gift of Failure- Jessica Lahey

Contact
https://twitter.com/CoachAllen_37
spencer.allen@northwestern.edu

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Bio
Freddy Hilliard is in his 11th season as Head Baseball Coach at Malvern Preparatory School in Malvern, Pennsylvania.  
In his time at Malvern Prep, he has amassed a school record for wins with a 282-71 record and has led the Friars to 7 league championships and 6 State titles including the previous 3 in a row to go along with 8 straight seasons of making the state final. Coach Hilliard has been named Coach of the Year 3 separate times during his tenure, and his teams have been nationally recognized both with preseason and postseason national rankings in several publications 7 times.  
Coach Hilliard has helped mentor over 65 players onto the collegiate baseball ranks including 40 that have gone on to play at the division one level. He has also had a player of his selected by MLB in 3 of the previous 4 drafts. 
On the show we discuss the meaning behind Malvern having "no rules", defining and teaching core values, and practice organization.
Time Stamps
1:00- Vision of the program
7:00- Making the switch from assistant to head coach
10:20- "Our rule is we have no rules"
13:50- Core Values
20:00- Offseason Calendar
30:00- Practice Design
50:00- Lightning Section
 
Contact
@coachhilliard16
fhilliard@malvernprep.org
 

Bio:

Todd Fitz-Gerald is the head baseball coach at Stoneman Douglas High School, where he has led the Eagles to multiple Florida state championships, including titles in 2016, 2021, and 2022. Under his leadership, the program has become a national powerhouse, known for producing top-tier talent, with several players advancing to college baseball and the MLB draft. Fitz-Gerald has over 20 years of coaching experience, previously guiding American Heritage to a state title before joining Stoneman Douglas. His coaching philosophy centers on discipline, teamwork, and developing players both on and off the field. In addition to his on-field success, Fitz-Gerald’s resilience and leadership were critical in guiding the team through the aftermath of the tragic events of 2018, uniting the community through the sport of baseball.

Contact:

Email: Todd.fitzgerald@browardschools.com

Website: www.stonemandouglasbaseball.com

• 01:00 Pre Season structure
• 05:00- Player meetings
• 08:00- how to efficiently conduct practice in season
  • Daily routines for practice
  • Pre game Routines
• 17:00- Pregame routines and Drill sets
• 24:00 Quick Hitters

Bio
In the fall of 2021 Dr. Bryan Moses will enter his sixth season as the McPherson head baseball coach and ninth overall as a collegiate head coach. His school record entering the season is 144-92, while his career record is 226-148.  Moses also serves as the Assistant Athletic Director for Internal Operations and is the lead play-by-play broadcaster for football and basketball.

In 2021 the Bulldogs accomplished their highest winning percentage in Bulldog baseball history, compiling a record of 38 – 15 (.717).  38 wins was also a Bulldog record.  During the campaign, the Bulldogs landed on the national stage after being ranked #17 in the country.  In the conference tournament, the Bulldogs knocked off the number 1 seed in route to advancing to the championship game.  After the conclusion of the conference tournament, the team was award a regional berth in O’Fallon, Missouri as a number 4 seed.  The Bulldogs won two games in O’Fallon and were one game away from the championship round.  The Bulldogs fell just short of reaching the NAIA World Series in Lewiston, Idaho.  During the season, the Bulldogs shattered the following team records: Single Season Wins, Team Winning Percentage, Seven All-KCAC Award Winners, Batting Average, RBI per game, Slugging, Runs scored per game, Hits per game, Doubles per game , Home Runs per game, Opponents’ Batting Average, Strike Outs per game, Shut Outs, and Team Fielding Percentage. 

Time Stamps
01:00- Vision of the program
07:00- "what do we have to do to win, here."
12:00- All About Culture
20:00- Team Building
30:00- Fall Program
40:00- Pre season to In Season
53:00- Last Things
Resources
Geno Speech- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3_wgb3OREQ
The Score Takes Are of Itself- Bill Walsh

Jake McKinley, who spent four seasons (2018-22) with the Milwaukee Brewers and has more than a decade of collegiate coaching experience, begins his second season at the Nevada helm in 2024.

He was the Brewers’ Vice President of Player Development since 2021, having previously served as the organization’s Director of Player Development Initiatives (2019-21) and minor league pitching coordinator (2018-19). He oversaw player development strategies throughout the entire organization, as well as oversight of all minor-league coordinators. The Brewers made the playoffs in each of McKinley’s seasons with the club, capturing the National League Central Division pennant in 2018 and 2021, and earning wild card berths from 2019-20.

Prior to joining the Brewers’ organization, McKinley spent 13 years in the collegiate ranks, including five seasons as a head coach (2014-17 at Menlo College; 2018 at William Jessup). At Menlo College, McKinley won 131 games over his four seasons at the helm, becoming the program’s all-time winningest head coach. The following season, he inherited a William Jessup team that had won just 10 games the previous year, and guided it to a 41-17 campaign, marking, at the time, the largest single-season turnaround in college baseball history.

Time stamps part 2

04:00- “more with less”

08:00- Fall Development

19:00- Competitions

31:00- culture and standards

38:00- throwing programs

Time stamps part 2

02:00- January throwing program

05:30- Attacking weaknesses

12:30- Pre season Team Development

17:30- developing role players and hard conversations

27:00- quick hitters

Contact

EMAIL baseball@unr.edu

Bio
Travis is the  Director of Player Development for Elite Baseball Training in Chicago, Ill. A little background on him, he played at Madison Area Technical College, his team was ranked #1 in the country throughout the entire 1998 season. During the 2000 season he was named a Pre-Season All- American. He continued catching until his senior year in college, when he converted to pitching.
Travis played 6 years of professional baseball and then worked for 10 years with the Chicago White Sox Academy, with 5 years being spent as Academy Director. 

Travis is one of the most sought after instructors in the Midwest for his ability to teach several facets of baseball at a high level. So on the show we dive deep into movement prep and assessments. We also spend some time at the end of the show discussing decision training and some of Travis's favorite drills.
Theres a ton to unpack this episode and it will take more than 1 listen to get it all. Here is Travis Kerber!

Time Stamps
1:00- Assessment process 
25:00- How to bucket players in the team setting. 
40:00- How to help players move better
58:00- Decel 
1:18:00- Drills

Contact
- Tkerber@elitebaseballtraining.com
- https://twitter.com/TravisKerber

Bio
Kevin Kimball enters his 11th year at the helm of the Bears Baseball program. In July of 2010 Kimball was hired after two years as an assistant at Gateway Community College. At the time, the Phoenix College baseball program had only one winning season since 1993. Since Kimball took the reins his teams have produced 3 of the top 5 win totals in school history.  Kimball’s 2015 Bears squad was a few outs away from a World Series birth after eliminating the defending national champions in the Region I semifinals. In 2017 Kimball finally did break through and won a region championship. That 2017 team also broke the school record for wins in a season and was ranked in the top 20 for 9 consecutive weeks – which was another first for the program

Time Stamps
01:00- Flipping the script from Offseason
07:00- Gameplanning and scouting
14:00- Focus discussion
16:00- Neutral Mindsets
26:00- Oppo Taco Tuesdays
30:00- Legacy Question

Contact
Phone: 602.285.7293
Email: kevin.kimball@phoenixcollege.edu
https://twitter.com/kimballk11

Bio
Nate Thompson, Hitting coach and recruiting coordinator for Arkansas
Following the completion of his own collegiate playing career at Dallas Baptist in 2006, Thompson aided a Dallas Baptist coaching staff working with the DBU outfielders while assisting with hitting instruction and the implementation of the club’s strength and conditioning program.
Nate then spent three seasons at Nebraska as the Cornhuskers’ volunteer assistant, then served as Hutchinson CC’s primary hitting coach from 2011- 2014 season. Nate next took a job as the hitting coach at Missouri State and they went on to hit .270 or better in each of his three seasons and averaged just under seven runs per game.
And since 2017 Nate has been in his current role as the hitting coach and recruiting coordinator for the Arkansas Razorbacks
From 2018-20, Arkansas leads the conference in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, weighted on-base average, OPS, runs, homeruns, extra-base hits, runs batted in, total bases and sacrifice flies.
 
So on the show we talk…..
 
Time Stamps

3:00- Recruit Evaluation

9:00- Player Evaluation

19:00- Using upperclassmen as leaders.

20:20- Training adjustability

29:30- Balancing tech with player development

35:30- Training Competitiveness

48:00- In Dugout talks

50:00- Last things

Resources

Bible

7 habits of highly successful people

Andy Andrews (author)

Contact

https://twitter.com/CoachT_RZRBacks

natethompson@uark.edu

Bio
The 2021 season was the 3rd as head coach at Olentangy Orange for Tom Marker. During his tenure Marker has turned the Pioneers into a state and district power, leading Orange to a number one State Ranking and top 50 National Ranking last season.  Marker’s record of 48-11 (.814) is first all-time in winning percentage at Orange. In his career as a head coach Marker is 247-143 (.633). Marker’s efforts have paid off in the win column and across the board as Prep Baseball Report has tabbed Orange as the top program in the state in the final State Poll Rankings. Over the last seven seasons, Marker has led his teams to five district final appearances, winning the district in 2021. Marker was named Ohio State Baseball Coach of the Year, Central District Baseball Coach of the Year, and Ohio Capital Conference Coach of the Year in 2021. Along with that, he was named Central District Baseball Coach of the Year in 2013. He also served as President of the Central District Coaches Association and is currently a member of the National High School Baseball Coaches Association staff. Several players from Orange have gone on to play at the next level, including a 2021 roster with commitments to Vanderbilt, Wright State, Toledo (3), King University, West Liberty University and Ohio Northern University. Marker teaches sixth grade math at Olentangy Orange Middle School and lives in Lewis Center with his wife (Amie) and three children (McKenzie 9, Jackson 4, and Lainey 1). He has been on numerous podcasts including most recently being asked to be on the “Making Math Moments” podcast.
Time stamps
01:00- First 100 days
09:00- Offseason Outline
15:00- Videoing Practice 
18:22- Rules and Standards
21:30- Parent Communication
31:00- Very intentional with time
Resources
Greg Canvel Podcast

Contact
https://twitter.com/coachmarker
thomas_marker@olsd.us

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Bio
Matt Parker started in 2018 as head coach of Eastern baseball. Year one they were 25-23, last years COVID year was 19-4, nationally ranked and leading league when shutdown and this year they are 26-3, nationally ranked, and were leading the league at the time.
Before Eastern, Matt over and took the Oklahoma Wesleyan baseball program to new heights, breaking program records and turned the Eagles into an NAIA regional power and national contender. They won four conference championships and two NAIA World Series appearances. He was a three-time conference Coach of the Year and two-time ABCA Region Coach of the Year.
Prior to Oklahoma Wesleyan, Parker spent three seasons as an assistant at California Baptist University, two seasons as an assistant coach at Garden City (Kan.) Community College, and he also spent the 2005-06 season as an assistant coach at Henderson State University.
On the show we talk about how he implemented a championship vision to 2 programs on 2 different levels which includes standards on and off the field, consistent self reflection, and building players not only on the field, but off the field and in the classroom.

Time stamps
1:30- Vision when you started (at both OKWU and Eastern)
10:20- Developing Arms
25:00- Standards 
30:00- Offseason Calendar 
53:00- In season Changes
102:00- Last things
 
Resources
Rapsodo
Synergy 
Core Velo Belts
Driveline/J-Bands
Clean Fuego Balls
Mind Gym- Gary Mack
 
Contact
https://twitter.com/MattParker37
mparker@eosc.edu

Bio
https://vcuathletics.com/sports/baseball/roster/coaches/shawn-stiffler/551
Head Coach Shawn Stiffler enters his 10th season at the helm of VCU baseball for the 2021-2022 season. Over his tenure, the Rams have climbed back into national prominence. VCU stands as one of just eight programs in the country with 34-plus wins over the last seven full seasons.  Stiffler was named the the sixth head coach of the VCU Baseball program in December 2012 following the passing of his mentor Paul Keyes. Stiffler was promoted after serving as the associate head coach for the first half of the 2012 campaign and serving as the interim head coach for the remainder of that season. Prior to being named head coach, he spent five seasons on Keyes' staff as the Rams' pitching coach and recruiting coordinator.

Time Stamps (part 1)
01:00- First 100 days
09:00- Standards/Core Values
23:00- Offseason Calendar 
33:00- What does success look like at VCU? (what style of players)

Contact
https://twitter.com/ShawnStiffler29
smstiffler@vcu.edu

This episode is brought to you by Motor Preference Experts

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Bio

Hired by Lackawanna College in June of 2018, Mike McCarry is in his sixth season as the head coach for the Falcons in 2024.

In his tenure, McCarry has guided the Falcons to three NJCAA Division II World Series appearances. The Falcons have captured three Region championships, as well as three District titles, under the tutelage of coach McCarry. He has coached a Region Pitcher of the Year, two Region Offensive Players of the Year, three NJCAA All-Americans

On Part 1 we go over changes from last year to this year, culture building and how they structure the fall. Here is Michael McCarry!

Time Stamps

02:30- “the Information Gathering Stage”

11:00- Individual Tracking within the team setting

15:30- Balancing live vs reps

19:00- Culture Development

29:00- Favorite Offseason Activities

Email mccarrym@lackawanna.edu

Brian Kitamura has led the Whitman College Baseball program through one of its most successful eras in school history. Entering his 10th season as head coach and 15th year with the program, he has turned Whitman into a perennial contender. In 2024, Kitamura guided Whitman to its first Northwest Conference regular-season title since 1952, earning a 26-17 overall record and 16-8 in conference play. His leadership was recognized with the 2024 Northwest Conference Coach of the Year award.

Since taking over, Kitamura has led Whitman to the Northwest Conference Tournament four times in five seasons i n 2019, the team won its first-ever NWC Tournament and earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament, facing top-ranked Chapman University in a thrilling series.

Under his leadership, the program has also made strides off the field. Kitamura helped secure major upgrades to Borleske Stadium, including a new clubhouse and indoor training facility. His commitment to player development has seen many athletes continue their careers at the NCAA Division I level while excelling academically, with Whitman teams consistently maintaining a GPA above 3.0.

Part 1 Intro:

"On this episode, we sit down with Brian Kitamura, head coach of Whitman College baseball, as he shares insights from his journey leading the program through a historic era of success. We’ll dive into his experiences starting his 10th season as head coach, his thoughts on building strong teams through offseason player development, and the invaluable lessons he’s learned during challenging leadership moments."

Part 1: Time Stamps

• Discussion on the importance of the offseason for player development and team strategy.

• Explanation of drill sets designed to keep players engaged and improve skill acquisition.

• Step-by-step guidance on teaching bunting techniques effectively.

• Emphasizing the role of players in their own development and the impact of self-directed learning.

• Insights on how player feedback contributes to coaching strategies and overall team success.

• Reflections on difficult moments in leadership and lessons learned.

• Email: kitamubt@whitman.edu
• Phone: (509) 522-4438

This episode is brought to you by Motor Preference Experts

"Ready to elevate your performance? Meet Motor Preference Experts, the premier authority on natural motor preferences in North America. Discover how understanding your innate balance and coordination can optimize your performance and minimize injury risks. Whether you're passionate about playing, coaching or strength and conditioning, dedicated experts will guide you to respect and enhance your body's natural motricity. Join us today. Explore more at motorpreferenceexperts.com. Motor Preference Experts: Helping you become the best version of yourself. "

Bio

Head Coach Boston College High Eagles for the past 3 seasons. in those years, he has been the Massachusetts Division 1 State Champs in 2024 Division 1 Massachusetts Coach of the Year in 2024 2018 ABCA Assistant Coach of the Year Presently serving as President of the Massachusetts Baseball Coaches Association

On the show we talk about his state champion group last year, his preparation for taking on the head coaching opportunity, and what they do for culture development in the fall. Here is part 1 with Steven Healy!

Time stamps part 1

02:00- 2024 state champs

09:00- preparing for his head coaching opportunity

14:00- fall development

21:00- culture development

26:30- being a great assistant coach

Contact

healy@bchigh.edu

This episode is brought to you by Motor Preference Experts
"Ready to elevate your performance? Meet Motor Preference Experts, the premier authority on natural motor preferences in North America. Discover how understanding your innate balance and coordination can optimize your performance and minimize injury risks. Whether you're passionate about playing, coaching or strength and conditioning, dedicated experts will guide you to respect and enhance your body's natural motricity. Join us today. Explore more at motorpreferenceexperts.com. Motor Preference Experts: Helping you become the best version of yourself. "

Bio
In his six years as PLNU Baseball Head Coach, Justin James has led the program to new heights. He holds a 185-89-1 overall record (.675), 2 NCAA West Region championships (2022, 2024) 2 NCAA Division II World Series appearances (2022, 2024) and they were the NCAA National Runner-Up in 2022. He has also been named the 2x ABCA West Regional Coach of the Year (2022, 2024). On the show we go over their fall throwing outline, feedback loops, and how to win the mental game. This episode is so good with Justin James!

Time Stamps

• 02:00- 2024 Season Wrap Up
• 12:00- 2024 Fall Outline
• 21:00- Mental Game
• 32:00- Standards and accountability
• 40:00- Practices / In Season
• 1:00:00- Quick Hitters

Bio
21 years in professional baseball:
7 years - professional baseball player in the SF Giants organization
5 years - coaching in the SF Giants organization (3 years hitting/infield coach in Short-Season A, 1 year hitting/infield coach in Rookie-league, 1 year managing in Rookie-league)
9 years - mental skills coach (5 years with Giants, 2 years with Mariners, 2 years (currently) with Diamondbacks in mental performance consultant role)
Spent one year as the Director of Mental Conditioning at the University of Notre Dame

Show Notes
05:00- Intro
10:00- Trevor Moawads impact
14:00- How would you have coached yourself as a player?
17:00- Mental skills: The ability to focus on the right thing at the right time.
27:00- What you measure you can manage
31:00- Setting process goals
35:00- Pillars of peak performance 
42:00- Consistency of presence 
50:00- The importance of good body language (as coaches)
55:00- Resources 

Resources
Derin's Podcast
The Obstacle is the Way- Ryan Holiday

Contact
https://twitter.com/McMainsDmac

Bio

Career record of 927-549-6 over 29 seasons Four FCSAA state championships (1997, 1998, 2022, 2023) One NJCAA National Championship - 2023 Four-time FCSAA Coach of the Year Eight-time Mid-Florida Conference Coach of the Year

Head coach Marty Smith enters his 30th year for the Patriots and second year as the Manager of Athletics for the College of Central Florida. In 2023 Smith became one of only two active coaches in the state to reach 900 wins in the FCSAA.

Smith led the Patriots to the 2023 NJCAA Division 1 National Championship with a school record 56-7 mark in 2023, with the Pats shattering many records including wins and home runs in a season (119). Smith led the program to its second consecutive Mid-Florida Conference Championship and second consecutive FCSAA State and South-Atlantic District Championship.

Smith's 2023 squad garnered four 1st Team All-State selections and Two 2nd Team All-State selections. The 2023 Patriot team produced One 1st Team All-American (John Marant), One 2nd Team All-American selection (Edwin Toribio) and one Honorable Mention All-American (Cam Schuelke). The 2023 Patriot National Championship Team saw all 10 graduating Patriots move on to NCAA Division 1 In 2017, Smith had the highest draft pick come out of his program to-date in RHP Nate Pearson, who was selected 28th overall (Rd. 1) by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2017 MLB Draft. Pearson, Rawlings JUCO National Pitcher of the Year, and a Golden Spikes Award finalist, was the second highest JUCO player drafted in 2017.

Email: smithm@cf.edu

Time Stamps Part 2

02:00- Pre Season and Ramping Up

07:00- Balancing Development and Winning

13:00- Player Meetings

18:00- Game planning and Pregame Routines

27:00- quick hitters

Bio
Michael Earley is in his first season as the hitting coach at A&M and arrives in the Brazos Valley after five seasons at Arizona State.

Earley has built a reputation for developing hitters with his most notable work being the rise of Spencer Torkelson to the No. 1 overall draft pick in the 2020 MLB Draft. who went Undrafted out of high school. In the 2020 MLB Draft, four of Earley’s hitters were selected as Arizona State was the only school in the country to boast five players chosen in the shortened, five-round draft. 
 
On part 1 of the show we discuss his transition to College Station, their player evaluation process for this fall and he shared with us some video of their Fall Training Sessions

Time Stamps
01:00- Transitioning to College Station
05:00- Nolan Arenado Discussion
12:30- Player Evaluation Process for this fall
18:00- Fall Training Sessions and Video

Contact
https://twitter.com/earleybaseball

Bio
2021 national champion JT Gasso has spent the past 6 seasons as Oklahoma's assistant coach. His primary responsibilities are focused on working with OU's outfielders and the Sooner offense.
During Gasso's tenure, the Sooners have had one of most potent offenses in the country, and in 2021 broke almost every offensive category you can think of

The Sooners broke the NCAA single season home run record, the single season runs record. and OU also broke the record for runs and home runs at the Women’s College World Series. 
So on the show, we go over how they developed into national champions and the offensive juggernaut they were in 2021  Here is JT Gasso!

Time Stamps
01:00- Intro
03:00- Closet Talks/Meetings during games
14:00- Elimination Games and the thought process.
21:00- Setting up the fall
42:00- mental/Tactical side
50:00- Training Adjustability
1:05:00- Last Things

Resources
https://hubermanlab.com/
http://www.onbaseu.com/
Gamechanger- Fergus Connolly 

Contact
https://twitter.com/jtgasso

Bio

Brian Kitamura has led the Whitman College Baseball program through one of its most successful eras in school history. Entering his 10th season as head coach and 15th year with the program, he has turned Whitman into a perennial contender. In 2024, Kitamura guided Whitman to its first Northwest Conference regular-season title since 1952, earning a 26-17 overall record and 16-8 in conference play. His leadership was recognized with the 2024 Northwest Conference Coach of the Year award.

Since taking over, Kitamura has led Whitman to the Northwest Conference Tournament four times in five seasons in 2019, the team won its first-ever NWC Tournament and earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament, facing top-ranked Chapman University in a thrilling series.

Under his leadership, the program has also made strides off the field. Kitamura helped secure major upgrades to Borleske Stadium, including a new clubhouse and indoor training facility. His commitment to player development has seen many athletes continue their careers at the NCAA Division I level while excelling academically, with Whitman teams consistently maintaining a GPA above 3.0.

Part 2 Intro:

"In Part 2, Brian Kitamura takes us deeper into the day-to-day strategies behind Whitman’s success. He walks us through preseason preparation, the in-season drills that help his players stay sharp, and the importance of holding player meetings to foster both individual and team growth. Get an inside look at how Kitamura keeps his team performing at the highest level year-round."

Contact Information:

• Email: kitamubt@whitman.edu
• Phone: (509) 522-4438

Part 2: Time Stamps

• Discussion on the importance of regular meetings with players for communication and development.

• Overview of strategies and goals for the upcoming month and how they align with the season's objectives.

• Tips and best practices for managing practices during the season to maximize player performance and team cohesion.

Bio

Heath Autrey is the head baseball coach at Corsicana High School in Texas, where his leadership has propelled the Tigers to consistent success. With over 400 career victories, Coach Autrey emphasizes building "overachievers," instilling discipline, and fostering a winning mentality both on and off the field. Known for his strategic approach and player development skills, he has become a respected figure in Texas high school baseball.

In addition to his on-field success, Coach Autrey actively engages with the baseball community through clinics and podcasts, sharing his insights on the game and coaching philosophies.

Part 2

• 02:00 - Pre Season Focus:
• 10:00 - Offensive Mindset
• 15:00 - Scrimmages / Tournament Season
• 25:00 - Quick Hitters

Go to WhatAboutBaseball.com/curve to get your special offer. Thats 20% off AND free shipping. 
 
Bio
Wes Carroll heads into his 14th season as head baseball coach at the University of Evansville as the Aces usher in a new era of Evansville Baseball and has taken the program to new heights. Carroll learned the “the Purple Aces’ way” growing up just a few minutes from campus in nearby Newburgh, Indiana. He watched his older brother and former Major League infielder, Jamey Carroll, excel at shortstop, and later got to experience the success the program is capable of first-hand as a four-year starter for the Purple Aces and a member of UE’s 2000 NCAA Tournament team.  
Following his college career at Evansville, Carroll was drafted in the 37th round of the Major League Baseball first-year player draft by the Philadelphia Phillies. Carroll spent the next five years playing Minor League Baseball for the Phillies, and later, for the Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals organization. As a part of the now-Nationals organization, Carroll played parts of two seasons at the AAA level. He retired from the professional ranks in the spring of 2006, but not before he was able to play alongside his older brother, Jamey, in two spring training games for the Washington Nationals.
Carroll then returned to his alma mater in the summer of 2006 as an assistant coach with the Purple Aces’ program and was named the 12th head coach in UE baseball history on July 2, 2008. 
On the show we discuss how to create a family culture, a year of player development, and change he made from when he started as a 28 year old head coach.
Time stamps

1:00- Sports Family/Growing up and coming back to Evansville

9:00- Changes he has made in his career

22:00- Our culture is family

28:30- Fall Development

37:00- Pre Season

51:00- In Season 

1:00:00- Resources

Resources

Mental Game of Baseball- HA Dorfmann

Anything Jon Gordon

Contact

wc2@evansville.edu

Twitter

Bio
Today we have on hitting coach, Micah Franklin. Micah has spent a total of 28 years in professional baseball, 15 years as a player. In 1997 he made his MLB debut with with the St Louis Cardinals. He then spent 2 seasons in Japan with the Nippon Ham Fighters and Hanshin Tigers and 2 seasons in Korea with the Hyundai Unicorns
He actually started his career as a scout for 8 years, 5 years  for the Diamondbacks and then 3 years MLB pro scout Seattle. then has spent the last 5 years MILB Hitting Coach with the Diamondbacks

On the show we talk player evaluation, what hes doing with players this fall for training, and how we need to approach swing problems using the what, why, and how method. You're gonna love this episode with Micah Franklin!

Time Stamps
01:00- Player Evaluation
07:15- Developing trust with players
13:40- Fall Development

Contact
https://twitter.com/micahf56


Bio
Bobby's pro career began when the Seattle Mariners selected him in the 50th round of the 1989 MLB draft. He played in professional baseball for 12 years, with six of them in the Mexican League.
Bobby's coaching career started in the Los Angeles Angels' organization in 2002. And since, he been a manager or hitting coach in the MiLB until he was brought up to the major leagues with the Atlanta Braves. In 2020, the Braves promoted him to the major league coaching staff as assistant hitting coach. and most recently he was a member of the 2021 World Series champions.
On the show we discuss what separated this Braves club and we take a deep dive into what makes a great hitter and a great hitting coach.

Time Stamps
01:00- What makes a world series champion
05:43- Relationships are huge
10:00- Peak Performers and how they separate themselves 
12:00- Blocked and Random Practice
20:00- On Field BP and Routines
26:00- Pressure filled moments in the World Series
34:30- 2K Approach
41:00- Team Chemistry and Makeup
45:16- Quick Hitters

Resources
Mindset- Carol Dweck
Motor learning and performance- Schmidt and Lee
https://thelearnerlab.com/train-ugly/
The Bible

Contact (Instagram)
@magallanesbobby
@SwingUgly

Go to WhatAboutBaseball.com/curve to get your special offer. Thats 20% off AND free shipping. 
 
Bio
Among the most highly respected coaches and recruiters in college baseball, Mitch Thompson is beginning his 8th year as head coach at McLennan Community College.
Thompson was named McLennan head coach before the 2014 season and immediately began rebuilding the program to prominence, National Runner Up in 2015. 5th place in 2017.
Had the top JUCOMLB Draft pick in two of the last three years. They are also one of only 7 Division 1 JC’s to have 40 or more wins in each of the last 5 years.
 
Before being named McLennan head coach, Thompson spent one season as the South Texas area scouting supervisor for the Kansas City Royals organization after spending nearly two decades on staff at Baylor University (1995-2012) where he was the Bears’ hitting instructor and primary recruiter. 
Mitch also began his coaching career as a graduate assistant for legendary coach Ron Polk at Mississippi State.
on the show we discuss building the culture at a JUCO, we talk practice development/design, and how to make the big time where you are.
 
Time stamps
3:00- Vision of the program
5:00- Big time is where you are
10- Rules and s
13:30- Building the culture at McLennan
23:37- Offseason Calendar
30:00- Developing a team offense.
34:05- Pre Season- In season Practices
46:00- Last Things
 
Resources
Ron Polks Baseball Handbook
ABCA Conventions
The Travelers Gift- Andy Andrews
 
Contact
254-299-8148
mthompson@mclennan.edu

Go to WhatAboutBaseball.com/curve to get your special offer. Thats 20% off AND free shipping. 
 
Bio
Larry Vucan- Head Baseball Coach, Southlake Carroll (TX)
Larry took over in 2017 as the head coach at Carroll since he took over, they reached the final four 3 times in his first 4 years and won back to back Texas High School 6A State Baseball Championships in 2018 and 2019 He was Named Dallas/Ft. Worth High School Coach of the Year 2017 and 2019
A little background on Larry 
He is a native of El Paso. Played Collegiately at New Mexico Highlands University. and Played professionally in the Italian Baseball League in Trieste, Italy and then Coached and Managed there.
On the show we discuss how to communicate throughout a large program (they have 5 total HS teams) Larry goes in depth over his player evaluation system and we discuss how to get teams ready for post season play
Here is Larry Vucan
 
Timestamps
0:30- Playing in Italy
2:30- Vision of the program
26:35- Developing a player evaluation system
37:34- Pre-Season
42:03- In-Season Advice
55:00- Last Things
 
Resources
Lincoln on Leadership
BF Skinner- Operant Conditioning
John Wooden
Augie Garrido
 
Contact
Twitter
 

Bio
Rachel Folden is a minor league Hitting Coach in professional baseball, the first female to hold such a position in her organization. Folden also recently launched EliteFastpitch.tv, the most comprehensive hitting drill library available for softball players. Now players from around the world can train with Rachel and her team.
Rachel is a former professional softball player in National Pro Fast-pitch. She was drafted out of Marshall University after being a 4-time NFCA Division I All-American. Folden currently holds Marshall career records in batting average, hits, home runs, RBI, total bases, and walks.
On the show we discuss what the transition into professional baseball was like, we discuss coaching male athletes and female athletes, and we take an in depth dive into training timing and adjustability. You're gonna love this episode with Rachel Folden!

Show Notes
01:00- Being one of the first women in professional baseball
06:00- Trying to solve the "rise ball" problem
11:00- Coaching Male athletes vs coaching female athletes
14:00- Pre season, getting ready for the season
26:00- Tech Discussion
31:00-"it all starts with relationships"
37:00- Timing Discussion
45:00- Gameplanning and Approach
50:00- Lightning Section

Resources
Elitefastpitch.tv
https://www.elitebaseball.tv/liveclasses/elitebaseball-tv-elite-baseball-talk-podcast-episode-4-sit-down-with-rachel-folden/

Contact
https://www.foldenfastpitch.com/
https://twitter.com/foldenfastpitch

Bio

Head Coach Boston College High Eagles for the past 3 seasons. in those years, he has been the Massachusetts Division 1 State Champs in 2024 Division 1 Massachusetts Coach of the Year in 2024 2018 ABCA Assistant Coach of the Year Presently serving as President of the Massachusetts Baseball Coaches Association

On the show we talk about his state champion group last year, his preparation for taking on the head coaching opportunity, and what they do for culture development in the fall. Here is part 1 with Steven Healy!

Time stamps part 2

02:00- preseason

13:00- organization of teams and tryouts

26:00 quick hitters

Contact

healy@bchigh.edu

Bio
Kevin Kimball enters his 11th year at the helm of the Bears Baseball program. In July of 2010 Kimball was hired after two years as an assistant at Gateway Community College. At the time, the Phoenix College baseball program had only one winning season since 1993. Since Kimball took the reins his teams have produced 3 of the top 5 win totals in school history. Kimball’s 2015 Bears squad was a few outs away from a World Series birth after eliminating the defending national champions in the Region I semifinals. In 2017 Kimball finally did break through and won a region championship. That 2017 team also broke the school record for wins in a season and was ranked in the top 20 for 9 consecutive weeks – which was another first for the program

Time Stamps
01:00- Intro
03:00- Changing the culture
06:00- BP Rounds
24:00- Mentality / Mental Game
34:00- There are always exceptions to the rule
38:00- Swing Decisions and Timing

Contact
Phone: 602.285.7293
Email: kevin.kimball@phoenixcollege.edu
https://twitter.com/kimballk11

Podcast Intro: Today, we’re joined by Michael Barta, the head baseball coach at Johnston High School in Iowa. Michael Barta is the head baseball coach at Johnston High School in Iowa, where he has built one of the premier baseball programs in the state. Known for his commitment to developing not only skilled athletes but also well-rounded individuals, Coach Barta's leadership has helped guide countless players to success both on the field and in their futures. With a focus on discipline, teamwork, and a passion for the game, he continues to shape the next generation of baseball talent With a proven track record of building winning teams and mentoring young athletes,

Part 2

• Pre-Season Preparation (01:00): Coach Barta explains the significance of the pre-season in getting his team ready both mentally and physically for the challenges ahead.
• Technology & Team Management (08:00): He delves into how technology and a strong managerial team help streamline operations, from tracking player performance to organizing game-day logistics.
• Alignment Between Teams & Scouting (18:00): Barta highlights how aligning his various teams fosters better communication, collaboration, and effective scouting strategies that keep them competitive.
• In-Season Practices & Pre-Game Routine (23:00): He shares his approach to maintaining sharpness during the season, detailing how practices and pre-game routines ensure the team stays focused and prepared.
• Quick Hitters (34:00): In the final segment, Barta gives rapid-fire insights into key topics, offering practical tips and takeaways for listeners.

• Email: mbarta@johnston.k12.ia.us
• School Website: Johnston High School Athletics

Go to WhatAboutBaseball.com/curve to get your special offer. Thats 20% off AND free shipping. 
 
Bio
Matt Hobbs is in his third season as the Arkansas pitching coach in 2020, joining the Razorbacks in November 2018.
Matt helped craft the Razorback pitching staff into one of the top groups in the country in his first year on the Hill in 2019. and In a shortened season, the Hogs put together a 3.68 ERA and an 11-5 record with three saves and one shutout. Arkansas racked up 143 strikeouts in 142.0 innings
Hobbs has coached eight players that have been drafted in the top-10 rounds, including 2018 first-round pick Griffin Roberts, and has helped develop a total of seven big leaguers.
Before Arkansas, Hobbs was the Pitching coach at Wake Forest and in each of his first three years in Winston-Salem, the Demon Deacons improved in ERA, strikeouts , walks per nine and opponent batting average 
Hobbs pitched at Missouri from 1999-2002, where he won 13 games and struck out 125 batters. Hobbs was drafted twice, first by the San Diego Padres in 2001 and then by the Kansas City Royals in 2002.
On the show we talk all things pitching development, including who they like to recruit, what pitching assessments they use, and how they use tech for offseason development and measuring in season progress.
Time Stamps
5:00- Things he has changed from 2020
14:00- How has player development changed?
21:30- Recruiting talk
27- Assessments 
30:30- Readiness Scores
36:00- Recovery 
42:00- In season development
58:00- Using tech for development
1:07:00- Last Things
 
Contact
Twitter
mh099@uark.edu 

Time Stamps
01:00- Highlights from the fall
05:00- Player Evaluation
10:00- Pre Season Focus
19:00- Vision in hitting
23:30- Teaching an approach
30:00- In Season Routines / Psychology
45:00- In Dugout Conversations
50:00- Gameplanning
57:00- Last Things

Bio
https://tulanegreenwave.com/sports/baseball/roster/coaches/jay-uhlman/3440
A veteran with over 25 years of experience as both an assistant and head coach, Jay begins his third season on Travis Jewett’s staff this spring. 
Uhlman arrived at Tulane after he spent the previous eight seasons as a member of the University of Oregon staff where he was the associate head coach for the last three seasons. 
On the show we go over some of their highlights from this fall, what they're doing to prepare the team for the season, and how we can develop in season. Here is Jay Uhlman!

Contact
juhlman@tulane.edu
https://twitter.com/jezk1010

Bio
Justin Haire is in his sixth season as head coach of the Campbell University Fighting Camels and his 13th as a member of the Campbell baseball coaching staff. After spending seven seasons as recruiting coordinator, assistant coach, and eventually associate head coach under former skipper Greg Goff, Haire was named the 10th head coach of Campbell baseball (senior college era) on June 6, 2014. Haire has coached dozens of all-conference players, over 20 all-region players, seven conference players of the year, two region players of the year, and 15 All-Americans. Haire has recruited or coached every baseball All-American in Campbell history. and He is one of four head coaches in program history to reach triple-digit wins.
On the show we discuss program building, competitive practices, and player led standards.
And with that heres Justin Haire!

Time Stamps
01:00- Transitioning from the assistant to head coach
13:00- "what did you start, stop, and continue doing when you transitioned?"
19:00- Standards within the program (player led)
30:00- Victory in the margins 
43:00- Fall Outline
54:00- Pre Practice Meetings
1:01:00- Chaos BP
1:24:00- Quick Hitters

Resources
Barnstormers Video
www.Stealbases.com
Matt Riser ABCA Talk
Daily Stoic- Ryan Holiday
Contact
Website/Email
https://twitter.com/jhaire03

Bio
The 2022 season will be Tim Held’s 15th as the Varsity Head Baseball Coach and his 26th year at Moeller. In Coach Held’s first fourteen seasons, the Crusaders made seven trips to the state final four including the 2009, 2012, 2013 and 2015 State Championships.Coach Held is an eight-time GCL Coach of the Year; three time City Coach of the Year, the 2009 Bob Sumerel Greater Cincinnati Coach of the Year, the 2010 State Coach of the Year, 5 time Defiance College Alumni Coach of the Year, the 2013 Cincinnati Reds/MSA Sport Coach of the Year, and the 2015 NFHS Coach of the Year for the state of Ohio. Coach Held was also selected as the Head Coach for the East team in the 2015 Perfect Game All-American game and an assistant coach for the East team in the 2017 game in San Diego, CA. Prior to being the head coach, Tim spent six seasons as an assistant with the varsity baseball team under Mike Cameron. He was part of three GCL championships, five sectional championships, four district championships, one regional championship, two city poll championships, one state poll championship, and the 2004 state championship. In addition, three of these teams ended the season nationally ranked. 
On the show we discuss the tradition and culture at Moeller which includes Hall of Famers Barry Larkin and Ken Griffey Jr. and we take a ton of time on how to conduct in season, basically everything which includes video, in dugout conversations, practices and much more. Here is Tim Held!

Time Stamps
01:00- Moeller Tradition
02:00- Transitioning from assistant to head coach
06:00- First 100 days on the job
08:30- Fall Program
12:00- Pre-Season
15:00- In season practices
20:00- in Game Video
25:00- In game coaching
29:00- Baserunning
33:00- Preparing for a post season run
38:00- Developing coaches
40:00- What is a Moeller baseball player?
44:00- Behavior change
50:00- Quick Hitters

Resources
ABCA
Ohio State Baseball Clinics
108 Performance 

Contact
theld@moeller.org
https://twitter.com/timheld

Bios
Jason is a globally recognized Performance Coach, who emphasizes the mental aspects of optimal performance in high pressure environments. In addition to golf, where he has coached 6 Major champions, multiple top 10 players, and taken two golfers to World #1, Jason has worked in many major sports including MLB, NFL, NBA, USTA, NCAA (DI/DII), and with athletes and coaches from the U.S. and Great Britain Olympic teams, including the 2016 Olympic Gold Medalist in Golf and 2018 FedEx Cup Champion, Justin Rose.
 
Tom has been called the "father of modern pitching mechanics," and a "professor of throwing." and has live his best life, as the kids say these days. some highlight
he caught Hank Aaron’s 715th. Maybe most famous for working with Nolan Ryan, was portrayed in the million dollar arm, then decided to jump into football to work with 2 guys you've probably never heard of in Tom Brady and Drew Brees, among others.
 
On the show we discuss how the mustard app will change the landscape of coaching baseball pitchers, we talk about internal drives and motivations, and we get into some stories about some of the aforementioned athletes.
 
Website
https://teammstrd.com/

Marty Smith, Head Baseball Coach, College of Central Florida

"Ready to elevate your performance? Meet Motor Preference Experts, the premier authority on natural motor preferences in North America. Discover how understanding your innate balance and coordination can optimize your performance and minimize injury risks. Whether you're passionate about playing, coaching or strength and conditioning, dedicated experts will guide you to respect and enhance your body's natural motricity. Join us today. Explore more at motorpreferenceexperts.com. Motor Preference Experts: Helping you become the best version of yourself.”

Bio

Career record of 927-549-6 over 29 seasons Four FCSAA state championships (1997, 1998, 2022, 2023) One NJCAA National Championship - 2023 Four-time FCSAA Coach of the Year Eight-time Mid-Florida Conference Coach of the Year

Head coach Marty Smith enters his 30th year for the Patriots and second year as the Manager of Athletics for the College of Central Florida. In 2023 Smith became one of only two active coaches in the state to reach 900 wins in the FCSAA.

Smith led the Patriots to the 2023 NJCAA Division 1 National Championship with a school record 56-7 mark in 2023, with the Pats shattering many records including wins and home runs in a season (119). Smith led the program to its second consecutive Mid-Florida Conference Championship and second consecutive FCSAA State and South-Atlantic District Championship.

Smith's 2023 squad garnered four 1st Team All-State selections and Two 2nd Team All-State selections. The 2023 Patriot team produced One 1st Team All-American (John Marant), One 2nd Team All-American selection (Edwin Toribio) and one Honorable Mention All-American (Cam Schuelke). The 2023 Patriot National Championship Team saw all 10 graduating Patriots move on to NCAA Division 1 In 2017, Smith had the highest draft pick come out of his program to-date in RHP Nate Pearson, who was selected 28th overall (Rd. 1) by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2017 MLB Draft. Pearson, Rawlings JUCO National Pitcher of the Year, and a Golden Spikes Award finalist, was the second highest JUCO player drafted in 2017.

On part 1 we go over their plan for individual player development, which is a staple in their program. We talk through coaching development which has led to 7 assistants get jobs in professional baseball and he talks through some challenges with this past season after winning a national title in 2023. Marty is one of the best, so you’re gonna love this episode with Coach Marty Smith!

Time Stamps

02:30- Fall development

10:00- coaching development

17:00- changes from this past year

20:00- Standards

29:00- leadership challenges

Email: smithm@cf.edu

This Episode is brought to you by www.seventy8sports.com

Bio
Two-time Northeast Region Coach of Year and two-time finalist for National Coach of the Year Kevin Graber has led Phillips Academy Andover to 12 consecutive Central New England Prep Final Four appearances, winning back-to-back titles in 2012 and 2013, the school’s 10th Central New England Prep Championship in 2016, and another -- the program's 11th -- in 2018. And just this week they dogpiled again to finish first in 2022!
In 2021 and 2018, Graber was named Northeast Region Coach of the Year by the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA), New England Coach of the Year by the National High School Baseball Coaches Association, and finalist for National Coach of the Year by both organizations. He’s also a featured presenter each year at the World Baseball Coaches Convention at Mohegan Sun, and he’s also presented at last year’s ABCA National Convention in Chicago.
On the show we discuss

Time Stamps
01:00- First 100 days on the job
05:00- Dogpile stories
13:00- The art of communication
21:00- Standards/Core Values
25:00- Promotion of the program
38:00- Offseason Program
45:00- In Season Practices 
50:00- Post Season
Contact
https://twitter.com/real_PAbaseball
https://www.instagram.com/bigbluebaseball/
kgraber@andover.edu

Bio
https://plnusealions.com/sports/baseball/roster/coaches/justin-james/1020
Justin James is in his third season as the head coach of the Point Loma baseball team in 2021. James returned to his alma mater to take over as the head coach of the Sea Lions in the summer of 2018. He has over 13 years of collegiate coaching experience, including two as the pitching coaching at UC San Diego, where he helped lead the Tritons to back-to-back NCAA West Regional Championships.
 
In his first season as the leader of the program, James guided PLNU to a 32-21 record, a pair of postseason victories and into the final game of the NCAA West Regional #2. The Sea Lions ranked as high as No. 2 in the West Region poll, and reached No. 14 in the national rankings.
   
James' second season was cut short due to the COVID pandemic. At the time, the Sea Lions were playing their best baseball. PLNU finished conference play 3-1 (9-8 overall) and in second place in the PacWest standings.
 
On the show we discuss how to get arms ready for the season, how they develop in season and how to prepare teams for post season run. Here’s Justin James!
 
Time Stamps
01:00- Pre Season
06:00- How to get arms ready for the season
11:00- In Season Development
20:00- Post season and beyond.

Contact
justinjames@pointloma.edu
https://twitter.com/CoachJames_3

Podcast Intro: Today, we’re joined by Michael Barta, the head baseball coach at Johnston High School in Iowa. Michael Barta is the head baseball coach at Johnston High School in Iowa, where he has built one of the premier baseball programs in the state. Known for his commitment to developing not only skilled athletes but also well-rounded individuals, Coach Barta's leadership has helped guide countless players to success both on the field and in their futures. With a focus on discipline, teamwork, and a passion for the game, he continues to shape the next generation of baseball talent With a proven track record of building winning teams and mentoring young athletes Coach Barta is a true leader on and off the field.

Part 1 Key Discussion Points:

• Head Coaching Insights (01:00): Michael shares valuable advice from his first year as head coach in 2012, focusing on leadership and building a solid foundation for long-term success.
• Fundraising & Relationships (09:00): He dives into the importance of fundraising efforts and building relationships with the community, which have been crucial for the program’s growth.
• Team Building, and feeder programs  (23:00): Coach Barta discusses the role of technology in modern baseball, team alignment, and how scouting is seamlessly integrated into pre-game practices.

• Email: mbarta@johnston.k12.ia.us

• School Website: Johnston High School Athletics

Bio: Mark "Pudge" Gjormand has been the head coach of the James Madison High School baseball team since 1995, he is starting his his 30th season in 2024 and marking his 38th year in high school coaching. Under his leadership, the Warhawks have become a dominant force, winning 14 Liberty Conference titles, 2 Concorde Conference titles, 4 regional championships, and 3 Virginia state titles. His success and dedication to the game earned him a spot in the BCA Hall of Fame in 2021, the first Virginia high school coach to receive this honor.

Gjormand has also served on the executive committee of the BCA, becoming president in 2010-2011. He continues to be an influential figure in high school baseball, contributing to the national rankings committee and will be speaking at the ABCA in January.

"In Part 2 We discuss how he prepares his team during the preseason, his approach to in-season drills and development, and the role of player meetings in building strong team dynamics and individual growth. Gjormand shares his strategies for keeping players sharp throughout the season and the importance of open communication with his athletes."

Time Stamps – Part 2:

• 1:00 – Preseason Preparation
  • How Gjormand prepares his team before the season starts, focusing on conditioning, strategy, and mental readiness.
• 11:00 – In-Season Drills/Development
  • An exploration of in-season drills that keep players sharp and game-ready, ensuring they continue to develop throughout the year.
• 30:00 – Player Meetings and Conversations
  • Gjormand discusses the importance of player meetings, covering the approach he takes to communicate effectively with athletes, address concerns, and foster team cohesion.
• 45:00 – Quick Hitters

Bio

Heath Autrey is the head baseball coach at Corsicana High School in Texas, where his leadership has propelled the Tigers to consistent success. With over 400 career victories, Coach Autrey emphasizes building "overachievers," instilling discipline, and fostering a winning mentality both on and off the field. Known for his strategic approach and player development skills, he has become a respected figure in Texas high school baseball.

In addition to his on-field success, Coach Autrey actively engages with the baseball community through clinics and podcasts, sharing his insights on the game and coaching philosophies.

In this episode, Coach Autrey dives deep into the structure of the offseason. Phase 1, focusing on foundational work. shares his insights on how Phases 2 and 3 evolve to build readiness. The episode concludes with a meaningful discussion at the 25-minute mark about his philosophy of “building overachievers” and the importance of valuing Standards > Feelings.

Part 1

• 02:00- Phases in the in the offseason
• 08:00- Phase 1
• 17:00- Phase 2 and 3
• 25:00- building "overachievers” and Standards > Feelings

Bio
Perry Husband is a pioneer in the world of Baseball Science. He introduced many modern hitting metrics to baseball, including Exit Velocity and Launch Angle.  Through the groundbreaking discovery of Effective Velocity, there were countless pitching breakthroughs, including Ev Pitch Tunnels, Location Adjusted Speed (True Reactionary Speed) and many, many other Deception Metrics.
Perry Husband is also the Author of the Downright Filthy Pitching Series, including 4 books. The Foreword is by Dr. Tom House, who helped bring the science to light introducing Ev to both Japan and Korea. Ev has also been adopted by hundreds of university coaches/players in both softball and baseball, including many NCAA champions These same advanced mindsets helped the Back to Back National Champions in softball, University of Oklahoma and UCLA softball programs to become two of the most potent offenses in the game this past season.
So on the show, Perry presents an introduction to what effective velocity is, how we can train it, and how to combat it as a hitter.
Let me introduce Perry Husband!

Resources/Contact
https://hittingisaguess.com/
https://twitter.com/evperryhusband

Bio

Brian Brewer

Now in his 21st season at Marietta and 25th season overall, has established himself as one of the finest head coaches in college baseball. Brewer recorded his 600th career victory in the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season.

With three national titles, Brewer has secured his place in Marietta baseball history. With Brewer at the helm, the Etta Express won the 2006 national championship and became the first school since Rowan University in 1978-79 to win back-to-back Division III crowns with the 2011 and 2012 championships.

The success has earned Brewer an array of honors, including three ABCA/Diamond NCAA Division III National Coach of the Year awards, NCAA Mideast Region Coach of the Year and the Don Schaly OAC Coach of the Year.

Brewer, a 1993 graduate of Marietta, had been the assistant coach at his alma mater since 2000. The Pioneers went 163-38 in his four seasons as the assistant. He helped guide the Etta Express to three OAC Championships, two NCAA Mideast Regional Championships and two NCAA National Runner-up finishes.

Brewer spent four seasons as the head coach of John Carroll University’s baseball program before returning to Marietta College. While at John Carroll, Brewer earned his master’s degree in 1995.

On part one we hit on fall development, high standards, how to be a baseball teacher and his mosrt challenging leadership moments. This episode is so good with Brian Brewer!

Time stamps part 2

02:00 pre season meetings

12:00 January practices

15:00- balancing development and rest

26:00- quick hitters

Contact

brewerb@marietta.edu

Time Stamps
1:00- Schedule/Time/Goals
10:00- Fall Practice 
15:00- Spring Practice Schedule
25:00- Training using game-like environments

Resources
https://marvtraining.com/

Contact
coachlongley@gmail.com
https://twitter.com/CalebLongley

Bio: Robbie Britt- Head Baseball Coach, Eastern Michigan

Robbie joined Eastern Michigan University as head baseball coach in 2023, bringing a legacy of success from his tenure at the University of Charleston. With a career winning percentage of .722, Britt is known for transforming teams into competitive powerhouses, both athletically and academically. At Charleston, his teams clinched multiple conference championships, three NCAA appearances, and a historic 43-12 record in 2023. His commitment to excellence extends off the field; under Britt's leadership, his players achieved eight consecutive semesters with a GPA above 3.0 and dedicated over 4,000 hours to community service.

Now at EMU, We talk through how Robbie continues to foster a competitive and supportive culture while preparing his players for success both on and off the field. Here is Robbie Britt!

For further information about Coach Britt's career and his accomplishments, visit EMU Athletic

Time Stamps

03:00- Wide view of year 1 and changes from year 2

11:00- Constants and changes from Charleston to EMU.

21:00- “Championship Behaviors” and challenging players to uphold high standards

36:00- Challenging Leadership Moments

Contact Information:

• rbritt@emich.edu

Bio: Joe Sato - Head Coach, Bingham High School (UT)

Joe Sato is the head coach of the Bingham High School baseball team, where he has been instrumental in developing a winning culture for over several decades. He is not only an alum of Bingham but has been coaching there since 1975. Under his leadership, the team has secured three state championships and consistently ranked among the top teams in the state.

Known for his innovative coaching techniques, Joe emphasizes skill development, teamwork, and sportsmanship, creating an environment where student-athletes can thrive both on and off the field. His dedication to the sport has earned him several accolades, including multiple "Coach of the Year" awards in Utah. He has has been inducted into the National High School Baseball Coaches Association's Hall of Fame.

In addition to his coaching responsibilities, Joe actively engages in community service initiatives, promoting the importance of giving back and supporting local youth programs. His dedication to the sport and his players makes him a respected leader in the local sports community.

Contact Information:

• binghamathletics.com

• 02:00- Pre Season Focus
• 16:00- Efficient In Season Practices and favorite drills
• 30:00- Quick Hitters

Bio
Today we have on John Carter, Head Baseball coach at Round Rock High School. John is a graduate of Round Rock High School and attended Round Rock schools growing up. Upon graduation from high school, Coach Carter attended Texas Tech, where he played both football and baseball. After his playing days ended, he remained at Tech as a graduate assistant from 1992 – 1994. He returned to Round Rock in 1995, coaching multiple sports including softball, soccer, football, and baseball. John became the head coach in (when). John also was the Texas HS baseball coach of the year in 2017 a year after graduating 7 D1 players. 
 
On the show we talk culture, competition and core values so much more! Here is John Carter!
 
Time Stamps

3:00- Vision of the program when he started

6:20 - Core Values

16:00 - Culture building

21:20 - Competitions

227:00 - Parent Involvement

31:30 - Transition periods from offseason to in season

36:13- Baserunning

38:00- Quick Hitters

Resource

Culture Code- Daniel Coyle

Lead for Gods Sake- Todd G. Gongwer

Contact

Twitter- https://twitter.com/Rockhardball

Email- john_carter@roundrockisd.org

Bio
https://charlotte49ers.com/sports/baseball/roster/coaches/robert-woodard/846
On July 1, 2019, Robert Woodard returned home to the Queen City as the fifth Head Coach of the Charlotte 49ers Baseball program. He does so coming off of being an assistant coach at his alma mater, North Carolina, for three seasons. Woodard, a Charlotte native, has also served as pitching coach at UNCW and Virginia Tech.
In his first full season of 2021, Woodard guided the 49ers to a 40-win season, Conference USA Regular Season Championship and berth back into NCAA Postseason play for the first time since the 2011 season.
Woodard, also took home C-USA's Keith LeClair Coach of the Year honors
So on the show we discuss his first steps in year one, we talk building the foundation and we go over what theyre doing this fall! You're gonna love this episode with Robert Woodard!

Time Stamps
01:00- Intro
05:00- Building the foundation
12:30- Recruiting
17:10- Offseason Schedule
26:50- Building the culture on a daily basis

Contact
Email- charlottebaseball@uncc.edu
Twitter- @rwoodardCLT

Contact Todd:

• Email: Todd.fitzgerald@browardschools.com
• Website: www.stonemandouglasbaseball.com

Todd Fitz-Gerald is the head baseball coach at Stoneman Douglas High School, where he has led the Eagles to multiple Florida state championships, including titles in 2016, 2021, and 2022. Under his leadership, the program has become a national powerhouse, known for producing top-tier talent, with several players advancing to college baseball and the MLB draft. Fitz-Gerald has over 20 years of coaching experience, previously guiding American Heritage to a state title before joining Stoneman Douglas. His coaching philosophy centers on discipline, teamwork, and developing players both on and off the field. In addition to his on-field success, Fitz-Gerald’s resilience and leadership were critical in guiding the team through the aftermath of the tragic events of 2018, uniting the community through the sport of baseball.

• 03:00 - Offseason Focuses: Insights into how the team prepares during the offseason.
• 09:00 - Competitions: Discussing the competitive landscape and how the team stands out.
• 12:00 - Championship Standards: The expectations and standards that drive success.
• 22:00 - “I’m Only as Good as My Coaching Staff”: The importance of teamwork among coaches.
• 27:00 - Most Challenging Leadership Moment: Reflecting on the tragic events of 2018 and how it shaped the team's unity and resilience.

Bio
Eric Horner is in his first season as head coach of the Johnson County Community College baseball team, and his 18th with the program. He is just the fourth head coach in the 47-year history of the program. He replaced NJCAA and ABCA Hall of Fame coach Kent Shelley who retired at the end of the 2020 season. Horner served 17 seasons as an assistant coach with the Cavaliers, 13 as the top assistant to coach Shelley, and was instrumental in the success of the program that racked up incredible numbers. In 17 years, Horner helped guide Johnson County to five 30-win seasons, eight 40-win seasons and one 50-win campaign. In 2020 the Cavaliers were on pace to add to that list before the COVID-19 pandemic cut the season short with a 20-3 mark. In his 17 years as a recruiting coordinator, Horner recruited and coached 123 all-conference selections, including a record 14 in 2017, 27 All-Region VI selections, 10 NJCAA All-Americans, one Region VI Player of the Year, three conference Players of the Year, one conference Pitcher of the Year, two JUCO All-Stars, two Rawlings Big Stick Award winners, two Rawlings Gold Glove winners and 2020 three Baseball Blog All-Americans, including the National Player of the Year. Additionally, seventy-six players went on to the NCAA Division I level, 87 to the NCAA Division II level, 20 have gone to NAIA programs, and another 20 have gone on to professional baseball. 
So on the show we go over his transition from being an assistant at Johnson to being the head coach, we tallk the JUCO grind and how that develops baseball players, and then we dive deep into developing the person, the player, and the student. 

Time Stamps
1:00- Transitioning from Assistant to Head Coach
3:00- Preparing for a playoff run
4:50- Preparing for the fall
11:00- What the fall looks like at JCC
14:30- Whats a Cavalier look like?
19:00- Pitching Development in the Fall
23:00- Team Development 
32:00- Pre season/In season and Practice Plans
44:00- After Season Wrap-ups
47:00- Quick Hitters

Resources
www.ABCA.org

Contact
https://twitter.com/jcccathletics/
ehorner1@jccc.edu

Rich Benjamin begins his 6th year at the helm of the Indiana Wesleyan University
 
In Benjamin's first year at Indiana Wesleyan the Wildcats had one of the most successful seasons in program history as they advanced to the NAIA National Championship Opening Round for the first time.The Wildcats topped their 2016 success two years later going 37-20 in the 2018 season, winning the Crossroads League and reaching the NAIA Opening Round for the second time in program history. Coach Benjamin was named the Crossroads League Coach of the Year for his leadership during the 2018 season.
Prior to Indiana Wesleyan, Benjamin was the head baseball coach at Judson (Ill.) for eight seasons where he accumulated the most wins in program history with 304. 
On the show we go over how being a pitching coach early on helped him to develop a well rounded approach as a hitting coach and now head coach, we discuss why we need to simplify things in a world of constant noise, and we dive deep into what Rich calls “training zone focus vs performance zone focus”
 
Resources
Romans- The Bible
 
Contact
rich.benjamin@indwes.edu
 

Today we’re joined by Darin Everson. Hitting coordinator for the Colorado rockies. On the show, we talk about all things hitting. Including swing prep, game planning, communication and so much more Twitter @eversonbaseball Show notes courtesy of Zach Casto.

Tracy Smith, the 2013 National Coach of the Year, was hired as the fifth head baseball coach in program history on June 24, 2014, and enters his sixth season at the helm of the Sun Devil baseball program. Smith has established a reputation of evaluating and developing talent as more than 75 student-athletes since 2000 improved their stock in the Major League Baseball Draft under Smith’s tutelage, including four who became first-round draft picks after going undrafted out of high school. In 23 total years as a head coach, Smith has seen 85 of his players selected in the MLB Draft, including 78 draftees since 2000 and 35 in the first 10 rounds. He has mentored 53 Major League Baseball draft picks over the past eight seasons. On the show, we talk about his ecosystem of winning and the Arizona State culture. We go over how to establish clear expectations and communication with players and staff and we talk about what the look for in recruits and how that sets the tone for culture on a daily basis. Here is Tracy Smith!  Show notes courtesy of Zach Casto.

Subscribe on iTunes 
 
Subscribe on Stitcher
 
Subscribe on Google Play

 
Quotes
We drive competition in practice by letting them play a different sport., then we really get to see who wants to compete
I'm a big proponent of multi sports athletes. Other sports create toughness, athletic ability and a sense of team.
We let the players run a couple practices a year. It really shows you who listens to who and who takes charge.
Day 1, all we do is practice communication. We go through every play that could be communicated in a game.
People say kids today aren't as hard nosed as they used to be and are soft. I go completely against that. If you push your guys, treat them with respect and treat them like a young man, they'll work as hard as you want them to
Kids aren't soft. We let them be soft as coaches sometimes. Have them set goals and mentally challenge them.
Resources
 
Steve Springer
 
The catching guy
 
Contact
 
@drap11
 
@thehallbaseball
 

Website and Social Media sites for the show
www.aotcpodcast.com
Twitter
@aotc_podcast
Facebook
facebook.com/aotcpodcast
Instagram
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Contact Info for Jonathan
Twitter
@j_gelnar7
Email
jgelnar7@gmail.com

Bio
Phil Cebuhar - Assistant Coach / Hitting Coach at Charlotte.  Going on his third season at Charlotte where he has helped develop and assisted Charlotte's vision in being a college program centered around Player Development and building teams that compete in June.  Coming off Charlotte's Conference USA Championship and their 2nd NCAA Tournament appearance in the last three years, Cebuhar and company at Charlotte look to continue to build that vision.

Cebuhar has had previous stops at the University of Arkansas as a Graduate Assistant and time in professional baseball with the Cleveland Guardians.

Time Stamps
02:00- Offensive Culture this past season
08:00- Fall Pillars of Development
10:00-  Styles of Batting Practice
12:00- Prep Work
20:00- Getting into the pre season
25:00- Discussion on timing
33:00- Training Tools
41:00- Training in small spaces
48:00- Simplifying Information
53:00- Quick Hitters
56:00- Contact Info

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Summary:
In this episode of Ahead of the Curve, I engage in a discussion with Andrew Wright, the Head Baseball Coach and Assistant Athletic Director for Recruitment and Retention at the University of Charleston in West Virginia. Coach Wright generously shares his wisdom regarding how to not only evaluate players, but also ways to empower the coaching staff as well. Find out what Andrew Wright’s training methods typically consist of what valuable advice he has benefited from along the way.
Show Notes:

Andrew Wright introduces himself and shares his background

How does player development and evaluation work in his program

Which types of information do they measure and evaluate

What are his players competing against and which skill metrics are involved

It is one thing to identify problems, it is another to offer assistance to fix them

What daily routines and drills do they do to establish a productive team culture

A lack of education, empowerment, or accountability lead to the process breaking down

How can you convey problems to players without shattering their confidence

Don’t let players feel let down, put down, or shut down

How do you get all of your coaches on the same page

What does your coach development process look like

What are some great interview questions for recruitment

Being a super stubborn coach is a disservice to your team

When you think kindly of someone, where is that coming from

What are some unique things that Andrew’s organization is doing that others aren’t

How is this spring’s practice plan shaping up

What does Andrew suggest to head coaches or assistants that want to be head coaches

It is important to respect how your ideas get results

When pitchers get behind, it is typically because of their fast ball

What is something that Andrew Wright has learned lately that he is excited about

Which resources are useful that have come up in staff meetings
3 Key Points:

 Don’t just bog the players down with the details. Show them how to apply them.

 Team culture is a product of your belief, behavior, and experience.

 Learn how to listen and how to manage your reaction when addressing issues.

Tweetable Quotes:

“In a given year we have anywhere from 47 to 55 players for whom we are responsible. So, we have to get very creative.” – Andrew Wright (2:49)

“At the Division 2 level, you can’t just recruit your wins, you have to recruit and develop them.” – Andrew Wright (4:24)

“Unless we are willing to share the information, and be very transparent about what we are doing, we can’t really prove our worth. It’s just an opinion at that point.” – Andrew Wright (5:54)

“We probably gather more information than we can actually process at this point. But the beauty is in the application.” – Andrew Wright (9:54)

“We want to be candid with each other, and we want to be vulnerable, and we really want to be real with each other.” – Andrew Wright (13:53)

“If we don’t have daily conversations about what it is supposed to look like, and hold each other accountable, then it is not going to work. You are doing it for show.” – Andrew Wright (31:32)

“I want people who are willing to hold their own opinions as accountable as they hold someone else’s.” – Andrew Wright (37:01)

“Be authentic. People see right through you when you are not.” – Andrew Wright (52:07)

Resources Mentioned:
Ahead of the Curve Podcast
@AOTC_podcast
Andrew Wright Twitter: @UCWV_awright
ICGoldenEagles.com
Website and Social Media sites for the show 

www.aotcpodcast.com
Twitter
@aotc_podcast
Facebook
Ahead of the Curve Coaches Facebook group
Instagram
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This episode is brought to you by baseballcloud and OnBaseU.

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Summary:

In this episode of Ahead of the Curve, I interview Matt Denny, the Head Baseball Coach for Mountain Pointe High School in Phoenix, Arizona. Matt walks us through what his typical training sessions look like, how and why he developed a ‘hard-nosed’ culture in his baseball program to integrate consistency into his team, and methods for coaches to get players to overcome their fears and mistakes.

 
Show Notes:

Matt Denny introduces himself and shares his background

What does a typical week during fall training look like

How do they go about grouping players for training needs

How many coaches does Matt have in the fall

Which internal competitions does Matt integrate into training

How is Matt developing a hard-nosed culture for his team

What does Matt look for in his players on a regular basis

How does he bring his players closer together as a team

Matt walks through their weekly training plan during the season

How do their BP sessions work in practice

What data does Matt track besides BP and defense

How does he get his team ready to play in the post-season

What is meant by the belief that ‘fear is a liar’

How does the summer program operate

What advice does Matt Denny offer to first-time coaches

Be fair and be consistent

What gets Matt excited the most lately

Which training drills get the most enthusiastic reaction from Matt Denny’s players

Matt Denny shares his biggest baseball resources

Be a part of coaching associations

3 Key Points:

Coach your players to be leaders so the program can lead itself.

Players are more likely to listen to you when you develop trust and open communication.

Talk to your team about other programs that are worthy of being state champions.

Tweetable Quotes:

“You can’t move on to anything else that we’re doing until you can do things exactly how we want them to be done.” – Matt Denny (5:05)

“To have a culture like that (hard-nosed) it’s not just something you can talk about and it happens, it is something that has to happen over time.” – Matt Denny (17:20)

“Every single mistake that they make, my coaches and my assistants are instructed to talk about every single mistake.” – Matt Denny (18:24)

“’We have a sign that just says, ‘Do Things Right,’ and it’s kind of has been our mantra this year, D.T.R...” – Matt Denny (21:00)

“As hard as we are on them, it is because we love them and there are times when things aren’t going our way and we are all in it together.” – Matt Denny (23:16)

“Preparing for the post-season, in my opinion, starts the day you lose your last game the last year.” – Matt Denny (34:36)

“To beat the best you have to be ready to play the best.” – Matt Denny (36:24)

“Fear is not an actual thing. It is something you choose to do. You’re choosing to be nervous. You’re choosing to be scared.” – Matt Denny (36:42:)

 
Resources Mentioned:

Ahead of the Curve Podcast

@AOTC_podcast

Matt Denny’s Email: mdenny@tempeunion.org

Website and Social Media sites for the show 

www.aotcpodcast.com
Twitter
@aotc_podcast
Facebook
Ahead of the Curve Coaches Facebook group
Instagram
aotc_podcast

This episode is brought to you by baseballcloud and OnBaseU.

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During this episode of Ahead of the Curve, I interview Dave Therneau, Pitching Coach at Stetson University in DeLand, Florida. Coach Therneau has been named Collegiate Baseball’s Pitching Coach of the Year in 2018, and shares the advice that he has found beneficial in recruiting great pitchers, training players to be their best, and enhancing his hard-working team culture through internal motivation.
 
Episode Highlights:
 

Why did Dave Therneau decide to get into coaching?

What does day one look like during Dave Therneau’s program?

How does a typical week come across in Dave’s pitching system?

What are the most common problems that Coach Therneau notices?

Which player elements stand out positively to Dave Therneau during recruitment?

What exactly is the “hatter?”

How does Coach Therneau go about developing the culture of the team?

How does Dave motivate and keep his players competitive during training?

How does Dave Therneau prioritize individual development in a team setting?

What makes a good bullpen setting?

How does he develop command of the pitch?

What does a typical week look like during the season for a starting player?

What is the latest thing that Coach Therneau is excited about using?

Does he have fun traditions that his players enjoy engaging in?

Which resources does Dave Therneau find the most useful?

3 Key Points:

Video of Coach Therneau’s pitchers helps to improve their delivery.

Pitchers are only as good as their strike zone.

Self-motivation can be accomplished by getting players to compete against themselves.

Tweetable Quotes:

“I always talk to them about conditioning the arm. They don’t play catch. I don’t believe in that…I don’t like using that term hear.” – Dave Therneau (10:04:)

“If you are trying to go ‘full go,’ whether it be on the mound, roaming short stop or center field…and you do that for a few games, and then you are not training in between, I think it puts kids at risk.” – Dave Therneau (13:38:)

“If you want to be a hard-working, tough group, which is what we are trying to build here, we’ve had that, you have to bring those types of kids in.” – Dave Therneau (20:18:)

“I try to get these guys to compete individually against themselves.” – Dave Therneau (23:02:)

“You are pretty much using 25-27 guys, If you think about a major league roster, I think it’s around that, 25-27. All of those guys are contributors and important pieces to the team.” – Dave Therneau (27:06:)

“Every pitch has a purpose.” – Dave Therneau (34:02:)

“If something works for a guy, I like to study why.” – Dave Therneau (45:34:)

“Teach the game and teaching routines, and I just hope that that is a focus, from all of us responsible for that in baseball, because as a college coach, sometimes we get kids that are unprepared.” – Dave Therneau (52:33:)

 
Resources Mentioned:

Ahead of the Curve Podcast

Twitter: @AOTC_podcast

Dave Therneau’s Contact: gohatters.com/staff.aspx?staff=140

Website and Social Media sites for the show 

www.aotcpodcast.com
Twitter
@aotc_podcast
Facebook
Ahead of the Curve Coaches Facebook group
Instagram
aotc_podcast

This episode is brought to you by baseballcloud and OnBaseU.

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Summary:

In this episode of Ahead of the Curve, I have a really useful discussion with Lance Spigner, the Baseball Coach at Horatio High School in Horatio, Arkansas. Coach Spigner walks us through his 28 years of coaching experience, shares how he goes about training his players for success, and what types of competitive efforts and events keep his players embracing a winning attitude and having fun on the field.

Show Notes:

Lance Spigner introduces himself and shares his background

What new challenge is Lance going to take on in his retirement

What does Coach Spigner’s fall training program look like

What is involved in the competition that Lance calls the “Dirt Bag Olympics’

How does their bat speed training methods work

What are some different competitions that Lance’s players engage in

How does the strategy of stickers for hit by pitches work

What are some different fundraising efforts that Lance’s team has used

What are rules and standards that Lance’s team implements for players

How many players are in Lance’s program

What does his BP set-up look like and how are they are grouped together

How does he get his team ready to peak at the right time

What advice would Coach Spigner give his younger self

What has Lance learned lately that has gotten him excited

Which resources have been beneficial to Coach Spigner

What training efforts are kids enthusiastic about

Set up your training program systematically and measure the results

3 Key Points:

Coach Spigner’s team is known for winning with underdogs, player development, and trying to get the most out of everybody.

Coach Spigner’s team embraced the identity of ‘dirt bags’ to help their country and rural area kids utilize a tough mindset.

Enjoy the journey because suddenly you will blink, and it will be time to retire.

Tweetable Quotes:

“Everything we do, if we can, we turn into some kind of competition, because competition is fun, and that’s what you want out of your players.” – Lance Spigner (8:20)

“We’re going to be ‘dirt bags.’ And one of the things that is involved with that for us is we try to think that we’re tougher than you are.” – Lance Spigner (15:00)

“Our community has been spectacular and our administration too as far as supporting our program.” – Lance Spigner (16:59)

“We’ve found the easiest thing to do a lot of times with our fundraising is to go with some of the online fundraisers.” – Lance Spigner (19:06)

“The more written rules you have, the more rope sometimes you leave people to hang yourself.” – Lance Spigner (21:54)

“We throw all of our bullpens at the start of practice. We’ve done that now for I guess three or four years, and it has worked out really well for us.” – Lance Spigner (26:26)

“Make the ‘big time’ where you are.” – Lance Spigner (39:42)

“We love base running. The StealBases.com website and information that they have put out is tremendous.” – Lance Spigner (43:48)

Resources Mentioned:

Ahead of the Curve Podcast

@AOTC_podcast

Twitter for Lance Spigner: @Spigner23

Facebook for Lance Spigner

Lance Spigner’s Email: LanceSpigner@gmail.com

StealBases.com

ABCA.org

Website and Social Media sites for the show 

www.aotcpodcast.com
Twitter
@aotc_podcast
Facebook
Ahead of the Curve Coaches Facebook group
Instagram
aotc_podcast

This episode is brought to you by baseballcloud and OnBaseU.

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During this episode of Ahead of the Curve, I interview Adrian Dinkel, Head Coach at Southeastern University in Lakeland, Florida. Coach Dinkel shares his wealth of experience in developing his team culture of accountability and not being afraid of opening up to players and setting firm expectations. Adrian also explains how he keeps his modes of baseball training competitive, builds up his player’s levels of responsibility, and establishes a respect for hard work.
Episode Highlights:

Why did Adrian Dinkel decide to get into coaching?

How does a typical week come across in Adrian’s system?

What are some ways that Adrian Dinkel gets training elements done faster?

Does Coach Dinkel rely on older guys helping the younger guys?

What are some things that players are doing when everyone is present in training?

How do they keep training competitive?

What are the different standards Coach Dinkel implements for the team culture?

How is Coach Dinkel developing his players and his assistant coaches?

What is Adrian looking for in staff during the interview process?

What are the rules that people need to do to be successful on the team?

How does Coach Dinkel prioritize individual development within players?

Are there ways to get the players to regulate themselves?

What does a typical week look like during the season for a starting player?

How does batting practice operate?

What are the routines for the weight room?

What does a post-season meeting look like with a player that is returning?

How can you communicate difficult feedback?

What advice does Coach Dinkel have for first-year head coaches?

What is the latest thing that Coach Dinkel is excited about using?  

How has Adrian gotten creative with his resources?

Which resources does Adrian Dinkel find the most useful?

3 Key Points:

Coach Dinkel gives players more live randomized training instead of block training with instructions yelled out.  

Coach Dinkel gets to know his players personally by sharing his personal life and having an open-door policy with them.

There has to be an expectation to be great every day.

Tweetable Quotes:

“We assume that everybody knows nothing every single day. And so, we are constantly on them and sooner or later it becomes a routine and they start to hold each other accountable for it and they turn it into a game.” – Adrian Dinkel (05:07)

“We are trying to just teach them to be competitive and to support one another through selfless acts, whether it is picking trash or whatever we do.” – Adrian Dinkel (10:30)

“Your culture is set by your coaching staff and your players that are returning from the year before, sure. But it’s going to change with the 20 new transfers you have in the door.” – Adrian Dinkel (11:31)

“Number 1 is I want people that want to work, that aren’t afraid of work. I don’t want a guy that wants to be in the office at 9 and be out by 5.” – Adrian Dinkel (15:13)

“When you get into college baseball there are three things. You got your social, you got your academics, and you got you athletics. One of those has to disappear. Which one you think it’s going to be?” – Adrian Dinkel (20:47)

“We also make sure that we are communicating with them daily on, how do you feel? How does the body feel? How much work can we get in?” – Adrian Dinkel (29:36)

“Don’t be afraid of discipline. Don’t be afraid to hurt someone’s feelings.” – Adrian Dinkel (34:47)

“I think the number resource still to this day is pick up the phone and call other coaches.” – Adrian Dinkel (40:04)

Resources Mentioned:

Ahead of the Curve Podcast

Twitter: @AOTC_podcast

Twitter: @AdrianDinkel

Email: ADinkel@SEU.edu

Website and Social Media sites for the show 

www.aotcpodcast.com
Twitter
@aotc_podcast
Facebook
Ahead of the Curve Coaches Facebook group
Instagram
aotc_podcast

Video link
This episode is brought to you by baseballcloud and OnBaseU.
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During this episode of Ahead of the Curve, I interview Donegal Fergus, Associate Head Coach at University of California at Santa Barbara. Coach Fergus describes his deep and eventful journey toward getting into baseball coaching. Learn from Donegal Fergus’ experience with gaining trust in his team players, training them to think on their feet for themselves, and how to train properly for having great timing as a hitter.  
Episode Highlights:

Why did Donegal Fergus decide to get into baseball coaching?

What are the typical fall training routines for Coach Fergus’ team?

What is the process of getting to work with training after establishing trust with the team?

What were the main goals for Coach Fergus to make his team successful?

What are habits that good players do on a typical basis?

How does Donegal Fergus go about training for timing?

What does the phrase ‘bat or barrel’ mean to Coach Fergus?

How does Coach Fergus handle batting practice?  

What is the latest think Donegal Fergus has learned that has gotten him excited?

Are there things during practice that his players can’t get enough of?

What are some of his favorite resources?

 
3 Key Points:

Kids have a strong sense when adults aren’t authentic and are pretending to be something they aren’t.  

Hitters should learn how to ‘dance with the pitcher’,’ meaning sync up and feel the rhythm of the pitcher’s throws and movements.

A hitting exercise of having players miss a hit on purpose is a way to train their bat path and timing.

Tweetable Quotes:

“I tell our guys almost every day, ‘Hitting is really hard.” We are going to have days, no matter how good you are, that you aren’t very good.” – Donegal Fergus (07:55)

“One of the biggest things with building relationships is that it has to start from a baseline of safely, with a safe environment, where you aren’t afraid to share, and you aren’t afraid to collaborate.” – Jonathan Gelnar (10:30)

“I don’t want to get boxed into what my guys need.” – Donegal Fergus (19:33)

“We went into it with sort of the blank slate of getting with our guys and letting them lead us where we need to go.” – Donegal Fergus (22:59)

“The less that I have to be involved from a hand-holding standpoint the better. The more I can take myself out of the equation the better, creating curious learners that ask questions, versus asking for the answers.”– Donegal Fergus (23:30)

“We need to figure out what we’re seeing and what our body does in reaction to that, and rewire it sometimes.“ – Donegal Fergus (28:26)

“Don’t swing at his pitch, swing at your pitch…if it’s not your pitch then it is a ball in our mind.” – Donegal Fergus (39:52)

“Why certain CEOs or politicians are so successful is because they stopped worrying about external expectations or external social ques. It doesn’t affect them.” – Donegal Fergus (51:04)

Resources Mentioned:

Ahead of the Curve Podcast

Twitter: @AOTC_podcast

Linkedin: Donegal Fergus

Instagram: @donegalfergus

Twitter: @coachferg

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Episode Highlights:

Why did Justin Willard get involved in baseball coaching?

In what ways have the Minnesota Twins changed in recent years?

How can you maximize individuals in a team setting?

How does Justin Willard access his players?

In what ways can a player’s skill faults be fixed?  

As far as proprioception, does it have to be sport specific?  

What is Justin looking for in a pitcher?

What does communication look like with his players?

Are their common problems that Justin sees?

How can coaches get players to implement individual corrections?  

How is the communication system within coaches established?

How do we develop command to help pitchers compete in the strike zone?

What is Justin’s advice to teach a lefty pick move?

What would a week look like for training a pitcher?

How can you prepare the pitcher’s body to throw?

How does rest and recovery work after a pitcher has been throwing?

How can you simplify data to make it accessible to players?

The ultimate goal is hit and miss.

What is the fine line between having too many pitches and focusing on go-to pitches?

What resources have Justin really excited right now?

What training routines keep Justin’s players motivated?  

Are there any books that Justin loves?

Baseball is an organism with many moving parts.

 
3 Key Points:

Justin Willard accesses players by rating their proprioception, mobility, stability, and mental capabilities.

70% of our brain is optical power.

The training goal is to ‘feed the flaw,’ which is to help players feel what their flaw is and overcorrect it.  

Tweetable Quotes:

“The people aspect is something that we as coaches often overlook. Helping people grow is a huge, huge aspect of coaching.” – Justin Willard (01:38)

“I’m going to put you in the best position to see the ball. That’s what we as humans do. We want to see.” – Justin Willard (09:07)

“If you can’t throw a change-up, it’s probably because you can’t get a proper extension of your arm. So, let’s work on the things that will help you get there.” – Justin Willard (20:55)

“You need to have all your information and your ability to communicate in one kind of central location.” – Justin Willard (22:09)

“I’m very big on restraint-based training, understanding and manipulating the organism, the task, and the environment.“ – Justin Willard (25:59)

“Throwing should be the easy part. Getting our body warm and ready and sweating, that happens before throwing.” – Justin Willard (36:41)

“I would rather have a guy with an 80-grade pitch and no command than a guy with a 40-50 grade pitch with phenomenal command.” – Justin Willard (40:07)

“If you boil down this whole player development process, you can’t just look at one sphere.”– Justin Willard (51:1)

Resources Mentioned:

Ahead of the Curve Podcast

Twitter: @AOTC_podcast

Linkedin: Justin Willard

Twitter: @JustWillard2

This episode is brought to you by baseballcloud and Axebats.
Go to axebat.com and use our code AOTC at checkout to save 10% on your purchase of Axe Bat training products including all of the Axe Bat Speed Trainers and wood bats! 
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During this episode of Ahead of the Curve, I interview Drew Saylor, Player Development and Assistant Hitting Coordinator with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Drew provides listeners with an inside look into recruiting and communication strategies, how he is able to maneuver between both of his job roles, how to train players to get their mind and body in sync to respond in game situations, and what it takes to improve timing and rhythm as a hitter.
 
Episode Highlights:

How did Drew Saylor get involved in baseball and coaching?

Drew Saylor discusses his dynamic relationship with his wife.

What were some of the first things he did when he got hired?

How are some of the recruiting conversations like when you are a new hire?

What are the unique tasks of having two different roles within the Pittsburgh Pirates organization?

How can you maximize communication for development from a macro and micro level?

What are ways Drew addresses hitting issues?

How is the communication successfully executed with players?

How can players be trained to develop timing and rhythm?

What are ways to help players learn to adjust to various situations in the moment?

What are ways to get players excited about training and implementing competition into their training?

Which books have had a strong impact on Drew Saylor?

What are things that are done in training that his players love?

Which additional resources have benefitted Drew Saylor?

3 Key Points:

Being transparent and vulnerable add to being a trusted leader.

Coordinators aren’t just problem fixers. They are also a higher-level form of overall support and feedback.  

It’s not about trying to speed up your swing. It’s about trying to give yourself more time for your A-swing to get the contact.

Tweetable Quotes:

“A lot of what we’ve done is create the culture, create the relationships, and then now we are trying to build out how we view and how we evaluate our people.” – Drew Saylor (10:00)

“A lot of what I’ve done as a leader is be able to go, ‘Hey I’ve failed this way. I have messed up this way. I have fallen short of the mark this way,’ and have those transparent moments.” – Drew Saylor (12:15)

“For me, what I’ve tried to accomplish as a coordinator is to not lose that feel of that day-to-day.” – Drew Saylor (14:08)

“One of my big goals is spending time with the hitting coaches and with the managers, and say, ‘Hey, how is the chemistry of the club? What are some of the hot spots? How can I support you?’” – Drew Saylor (17:19)

“I like to think about failure as moving forward.” – Drew Saylor (19:42)

“It really starts with their ability to, swing at something they can hit hard.” – Drew Saylor (22:14)

(Timing) “I think that when players are not necessarily on time, or they don’t have the ability to get on time, one of the first questions that we try to ask them is, ‘When are you starting?” – Drew Saylor (33:13)

“When the idea comes from within, there is more investment. But you’re also helping the player indirectly think through a batting process of their swing.”– Drew Saylor (36:25)

Resources Mentioned:

Ahead of the Curve Podcast

Twitter: @AOTC_podcast

Linkedin: Drew Saylor

Twitter: @DrewSaylor19

Books: “Thinking Fast and Slow” by Daniel Kahneman  “The Traveler’s Gift” by Andy Andrews

Ahead of the Curve Coaches facebook group
 

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Quotes
We talk about the 4 in the 40 a lot. What are our guys going to do on their 4 years on campus that allows them to be great in the next 40
 
We combine being a good person, being a good student, and being excellent on the field in your role and that's what a drury panther is
 
We develop our guys as individuals. We figure out what tools and strengths our guys have and try and have success with that. That's the foundation of player development 
 
I used to do the 7 week plan where everything was regimented but it didn't suit everybody. It was a one size fits all and it wasn't efficient for development. We needed to do something they could take ownership of and take responsibility for.
 
We have battalion leaders, we don't announce captains. They have to submit an application and interview, then draft teams, and they take care of small issues and problems and come up with a solutions. It's provided an avenue to build leaders in our program 
 
We have an open dialogue between the players. They'll tell you what needs to be changed and what doesn't work
 
Resources
Austin Wasserman
Rob Friedman 
Driveline
ABCA 
Jeremy Sheetinger
@Pitching101
 
Contact
@ericpeterson713
Epeterson004@drury.edu
417-873-7847
 

Website and Social Media sites for the show
www.aotcpodcast.com
Twitter
@aotc_podcast
Facebook
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aotc_podcast
Contact Info for Jonathan
Twitter
@j_gelnar7
Email
jgelnar7@gmail.com

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This episode is brought to you by baseballcloud and Axebats.
Go to axebat.com and use our code AOTC at checkout to save 10% on your purchase of Axe Bat training products including all of the Axe Bat Speed Trainers and wood bats! 
During this episode of Ahead of the Curve, I interview Jeff Carlson, Ex-Head Baseball Coach at Elk Grove Baseball in Elk Grove, California. Jeff Carlson shares his wealth of knowledge for father’s that are coaches and have kids playing baseball. Jeff also offers valuable tips on how to communicate openly and accurately with players and coaches, how to handle parents that are concerned about their kid’s playing time, and what have been beneficial strategies for fundraisers.
Episode Highlights:
         How did Jeff Carlson get involved in baseball coaching?
         What advice does Jeff Carlson give to those transitioning from coaching to focusing on family?
         What has been Jeff’s experience with his two sons playing baseball?
         What did the conversations look like with Jeff’s sons when he had to critique their playing?
         Was there ever a time with his sons playing baseball where he had to push them to practice more?
         What was Jeff Carlson’s experience like at Elk Grove when he first started?
         What are some different practical ways that Jeff was able to get players prepared to succeed?
         How did Jeff turn his coaching approach into a system that he could apply?
         What are Jeff Carlson’s thoughts on the power of communication?
         What is the fine line between effective communication and something they may not need to worry about?
         How did Jeff Carlson deal with parents feedback about their kids not playing in games?
         What hard rules did Jeff Carlson set out each year?  
         What were his teams’ best fundraisers?
         Did his staff interview with him or through the school’s athletic director?
 What is something they did in practice that his players loved?
         What books and resources that have benefited Jeff Carlson?
3 Key Points:
    Find ways to get your team to spend time together before and after practice, such as having a clubhouse.
    You can’t coach and communicate the same way with each player. It has to be tailored to their individual personalities.
    Informal conversations with coaching candidates have been Jeff’s interviewing process.
Tweetable Quotes:
     “For your kids, always try to challenge them. Don’t be afraid that they might fail. When they learn failure at an early age, it’s just going to make them stronger and a better person and player down the road.” – Jeff Carlson (04:15)
     “As far as building culture, building communication as a head coach, I think that it is important that when a kid makes a mistake, that maybe you put your  arm around him and tell him.” – Jeff Carlson (09:22)
     “My main goal was about developing players, so that they could play at the next level.” – Jeff Carlson (16:21)
     “My philosophy was, ‘If you’re not hitting, you aren’t going to be able to play at the next level.’” – Jeff Carlson (26:03)
     “We always brought the kids in and we would talk to them where they are at and tell them their roles. And we tell the kids, ‘We are going to be honest. You may not like what you hear. But, we are going to be honest to you.’” – Jeff Carlson (33:33)
     “My rule was always, the player can always come to me at the appropriate time and discuss playing time. I was not going to discuss it with the parents, ever.” – Jeff Carlson (40:01)
     “I think our budget when I finished was about $100,000 to run our program, which is a lot.”– Jeff Carlson (46:00)
     “Try to surround yourself with the best possible coaches you can find.”– Jeff Carlson (47:30)
Resources Mentioned:
Ahead of the Curve Podcast
Twitter: @AOTC_podcast
Jeff Carlson: Twitter
Jeff Carlson Email: JEGCarls@EGUSD.net

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This episode is brought to you by baseballcloud and Axebats.
Go to axebat.com and use our code AOTC at checkout to save 10% on your purchase of Axe Bat training products including all of the Axe Bat Speed Trainers and wood bats! 
 
During this episode of Ahead of the Curve, I interviewed Jeff Leach, Manager of Hitting at Axe Bat. Jeff Leach shares his wealth of experience as a swinging coach for players as young as 8-years old all the way up to the professional level. Jeff offers tips on various methods of training swing timing, when players should shut down on a swing, and how to find solutions for issues that players may have with their swing. 
 
Episode Highlights: 
How did Jeff Leach get involved in baseball coaching?   
What does Jeff do for Axe Bat? 
What is Jeff Leach’s system for developing players when he starts with them?  
How does he balance his training for players of very different skill levels? 
What are Jeff’s main goals for the off-season? 
What tools does Jeff Leach use to evaluate player’s abilities? 
Where does he start looking first to identify solutions for the problems of players? 
Are there different ways that Jeff uses to train swing timing? 
How does Jeff help players to decide when to shut down on a swing? 
What is Jeff’s advice to players about what to swing at? 
Is there something that Jeff has learned lately that has him really excited?  
What is something that his players do in training that they love? 
What is something that Jeff believes that other coaches may disagree with?
Is there anything about his training that would stand out to people?  
What are some of Jeff Leach’s favorite books and resources that have benefited his coaching? 
3 Key Points:
Baseball skill tools include arm strength, hitting, hitting for power, speed, and fielding. 
Jeff’s swinging advice is to look for speed or look for a location. 
Finding a feel you trust in a competition is probably more important than rehearsing a perfect swing movement. 
Tweetable Quotes:
“I’m the manager hitting for Axe Bat. My role is to engage the baseball and softball community and help players really discover the Axe handle and the benefits.” – Jeff Leach (02:08)
“I migrated from an individual to a group training environment. I could train more players more often with more tools.” – Jeff Leach (04:02)
“If you are looking at an 8-year-old kid, he doesn’t have a lot of experience in the game. He may not be motivated at a high level to really train and practice at his craft without being pushed.” – Jeff Leach (04:39)
“My philosophy basically is that, hitting is an infinite moving problem and I need to give them as many solutions to that problem as possible.” – Jeff Leach (07:35)
“I think that every off-season for a player should be, first and foremost, about improving the player’s tools.” – Jeff Leach (10:22)
“As far as drills, I really like to work with drills that require the least amount of verbal reinforcement.” – Jeff Leach (11:00)
“Adjustability is really what we are talking about when talk about timing. Are you on time? Can you adjust your timing to barrel a baseball when your body is off?” – Jeff Leach (20:00)
“I love to throw wiffle balls and have wiffle ball games with guys. I think that's one of the most exciting things that a player can do. The competition level increases when they start competing against teammates.” – Jeff Leach (32:50) 
Resources Mentioned: 
Ahead of the Curve Podcast
Twitter: @AOTC_podcast
Jeff Leach: Linkedin  Twitter
Jeff Leach’s Email: Jeff@axebat.com

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This episode is brought to you by baseballcloud and Axebats.
Go to axebat.com and use our code AOTC at checkout to save 10% on your purchase of Axe Bat training products including all of the Axe Bat Speed Trainers and wood bats! 
During this episode of Ahead of the Curve, I interviewed Steve Dintaman, Head Baseball Coach at Sinclair Community College and an Associate Scout for the Texas Rangers. Steve Dintaman shares what he has learned as a head coach at Sinclair for 12 years, what it takes to maintain the team culture with young players constantly coming and going, and what he looks for in players and coaches. 
 
Episode Highlights: 
What is a Tartan?  
Why did Steve Dintaman get involved in baseball coaching? 
What is the fall training program over at Sinclair Community College like? 
How do they indoctrinate new players into their program? 
What are some things that Coach Dintaman does to build the team culture? 
How do you balance team chemistry with players coming and going? 
What does the team do to instill a sense of competition?  
How is he getting to know his players? 
How does Coach Dintaman develop coaches? 
Does Coach Dintaman hire his own coaches? 
What would make ideal hires for the Sinclair Tartans? 
How does the typical spring practice plan look like at Sinclair? 
What does his batting practice setup look like?  
What are the after-season meetings look like when talking to players? 
What advice does Steve have for someone who wants to be a head coach one day? 
Are there things that they do in practice that the players get excited about? 
What is something that you believe that other coaches might disagree on? 
Which books or resources does Coach Steve Dintaman recommend? 
 
3 Key Points:
Don’t go into a team bragging about how good you are. Let your play do the talking. 
The core values of the Sinclair Tartans are: sacrifice, confidence, character and brotherhood. 
Join the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) if you want to become a coach.
 
Tweetable Quotes:
“Just lifting during the season, there are still some guys in high school that haven’t done that before. So we are lifting two or three times a week” – Steve Dintaman (09:68)
“We are probably practicing anywhere from five to six times a week with an off day built in.” – Steve Dintaman (10:03)
“I think my advice for any student athlete going in the fall is: be ready to go and keep your mouth shut and go to work.” – Steve Dintaman (11:43)
“The number one emphasis for our program is always going to be player development and the guys understand that our goal is their goal. We want them to reach the highest level they can play.” – Steve Dintaman (22:44)
“We are all part-time coaches too. No coach here is a full-time coach.” – Steve Dintaman (33:43)
“I think the first thing I would do is if I bring someone in obviously they have had some success and they have some nice pedigree with some references, but that we have the same philosophies.” – Steve Dintaman (37:15)
“There is nothing worse than a center fielder trying to track a ball and he’s going near the wall, about to make a catch, and all of a sudden his pitcher just catches it, and your like, “Come on Bro, get out the way.’” – Steve Dintaman (43:44)
“The thing I have always told people is, ‘surround yourself with good people and good things will happen.’” – Steve Dintaman (50:20)
 Resources Mentioned: 
Ahead of the Curve Podcast
Twitter: @AOTC_podcast
Steve Dintaman: Linkedin  Twitter
sinclairathletics.com/sports/bsb/index

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During this episode of Ahead of the Curve, I interviewed Dave Turgeon, Coordinator of Instruction for the Pittsburgh Pirates. This thorough and expansive discussion covered training and transfer, techniques Dave learned while playing in different countries, his “Training the 15 Seconds” concept, how to hit the breaking ball, and the debate between block training and random training. Dave Turgeon also talks about the importance of training players to be adaptable and competitive. 
Episode Highlights: 
How did Dave Turgeon get involved in baseball?   
Are there any things that come to mind from the different countries he played in? 
What does Dave mean by training and transfer? 
What are the things that Dave Turgeon has changed to improve baseball drills? 
What is ‘Training the 15 Seconds?
How does Dave Turgeon train for fundamental play? 
Dave explains to deliberate practice and what he means by ‘Respect the Rep?’
Is block practice relevant? 
How can players hit the breaking ball better? 
Which ways does Dave Turgeon integrate competition into practice? 
Baseball players have to be competitive and adaptable problem solvers. 
What is something creative that Dave Turgeon has tried lately with his players?  
Keep searching for the truth. 
Is there something that Dave has learned lately that has him really excited?  
What is something that Dave believes that other coaches may disagree with?  
Is there anything about his training that would stand out to people? 
What are some of Dave Turgeon’s favorite books and resources that have benefited his coaching? 
 
3 Key Points:
Body control directly correlates to ball control in the zone. 
The difference between block training and random training is practicing movements versus practicing how to think and move at the same time. 
Learning and skill acquisition need to be put at a premium and made part of competition during practice. 
 
Tweetable Quotes:
“Through the art of show, a little bit of tell and mostly do, it’s an amazing equation for acquiring skill to help you perform better.” – Dave Turgeon (10:54)
“Your best pitches thrown with conviction have a really good chance of having success.” – Dave Turgeon (11:52)
“Wherever you are playing, you have to learn to assimilate into that culture to win at that game, not at the one that you play. You have to figure, ‘How are they trying to beat me.” – Dave Turgeon (12:38)
“The player resides in the man.” – Dave Turgeon (17:32)
“It is not about feeling good as it is about performing because acquiring skills is not a feel-good exercise. It is hard, it is slow, messy, and it takes a while.” – Dave Turgeon (18:11)
“You’ve got 12-15 seconds between pitches. The average major league game is about 2 hours and 55 minutes. There are about 75 minutes off in between pitch time. There are about 13-15 minutes of total action.” – Dave Turgeon (30:22)
“There is some value to a block blend. But for me, the higher you go, the lower the blend of block and the more there is to the challenge variability and randomness.” – Dave Turgeon (52:46)
“Number one, we’ve got to hit off the fastball to be able to adjust to hit the hanger. That’s the game. That’s the game from where you are at to the big leagues.” – Dave Turgeon (59:44)

Resources Mentioned: 
Ahead of the Curve Podcast
Twitter: @AOTC_podcast
Dave Turgeon: Twitter  Linkedin
 

This episode is brought to you by baseballcloud.
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During this episode of Ahead of the Curve, I interviewed Michael Earley, Assistant Coach and Hitting Coach for the Arizona State University. Coach Earley shares his typical training drills, how he approaches batting practices, how he handles players of various skill levels and, the types of tech that he finds useful. Michael Earley also discusses decision training as well as self-scouting. 
 
Episode Highlights: 

How did Michael Earley get involved in baseball coaching?   
What does a typical week of training look like? 
What do you decide to work on during training with the smaller groups of players?  
Coach Earley provides a review of working with first-year players and laying down the groundwork for them.  
Are their training drills that all players can do every day?
What types of angle tosses do they do? 
What kind of culture does Coach Earley work to build and how do they do it? 
What is Michael looking for when they start training in the fall? 
How does he work with players to prepare them for harder game situations without overwhelming them? 
How does he go about ‘decision training’ for his players to make better swinging choices at the moment? 
What are qualities that he sees in elite players that he tries to recreate in his team? 
What types of tech is beneficial to players? 
How does Coach Earley approach self-scouting? 
How does he set up batting practice for his players? 
Is there something that Michael has learned lately that has him really excited?  
What is something that his players do in training that they love? 
What is something that Coach Earley believes that other coaches may disagree with?
Is there anything about Michael’s training that would stand out to people?  
What are some of Michael Earley’s favorite books and resources that have benefited his coaching? 

3 Key Points:

Coaches need to know when to listen to players, when to dictate instructions to them, and when to hold them accountable.  
Build a baseball team’s culture starts with recruiting. 
Have a plan before you step into the game instead of relying on other people’s reports. 

Tweetable Quotes:

“We do it a little different I think, just because we have the weather and we have two fields. So, we are always able to hit on the field. We hit outside every day. We start in the cage, but we are always outside hitting.” – Michael Earley (02:40)
“I can’t coach 15 guys at once. So, when I can get them down to groups of 3 or 4, it makes it more personal, you learn the guys more.” – Michael Earley (03:22)
“You lay down the foundation of the daily stuff, and you’ve got to be willing to make adjustments. You’ve got to be willing to listen to them and you‘ve got to be willing to tell them to be quiet, this is the way it’s going to be.” – Michael Earley (06:58)
“We bring in guys that live and die baseball. If you come to Arizona State you are going to get a great education. But if you come here, you love to play baseball.” – Michael Earley (15:48)
“I think that the best way to train is to train as close to game-like as possible. I think there is room for the easy stuff because that stuff makes you feel good, and confidence in hitting is everything.” – Michael Earley (20:24)
“I think as a coach, you have to be willing to sacrifice some of your life and your time just to make them better.” – Michael Earley (21:45)
“My biggest thing that I look for in every guy is how their back leg works.” – Michael Earley (33:39)
“I want to say quote-unquote we are data-driven, it’s more of like data-supported.” – Michael Earley (39:00)

Resources Mentioned: 

Ahead of the Curve Podcast
Twitter: @AOTC_podcast
Michael Earley: Twitter Arizona State University    
Michael Earley’s Email: mearley1@asu.edu

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Suggested Title: Developing Players and Coaches with Ryan Phillips 
During this episode of Ahead of the Curve, I interviewed Ryan Phillips, Head Coach for baseball at Sante Fe High School in Edmond, Oklahoma, who became the 2019 Oklahoma State Champs. Ryan shares how he helps develop team culture, improve the confidence of players, his passion for developing coaches, and how he adapts and makes the most of the one-hour practice limitations. 
Episode Highlights: 
How did Ryan Phillips get involved in baseball coaching?   
What does an average week of training look like? 
What are some of their training methods and drills for stealing bases?  
Which types of fundamental training do they offer for all of their players? 
How does Ryan handle developing their team culture? 
Ryan Phillips takes us through his process of coaching coaches. 
What are some different things they do to train for a competitive game situation?
How does Ryan adapt to one-hour practice training restrictions? 
Are there any questions while interviewing staff that he asks to figure out who the person is?  
What are the rules and standards that they have for their program? 
What does training look like in the spring?  
How do they go about handling their bullpens? 
Ryan Phillips talks about batting practice and lifting. 
What do post-season meetings look like? 
What advice does he have for first-year head coaches or assistant coaches that want to be head coaches? 
How does Ryan Phillips respond to parents asking questions about their kid? 
What is something that his players do in training that they love? 
Is there anything about Ryan’s training that would stand out to people?  
Is there something that Ryan Phillips has learned lately that has him really excited?  
What is something that Ryan Phillips believes that other coaches may disagree with?
What are some of Ryan Phillips’s favorite books and resources that have benefited his coaching? 
 
3 Key Points:
Learn how to adjust as the season progresses. 
Mental stability, mental toughness, and not pressuring kids about their mistakes is important to build confidence. 
Communication is key between coaches and players. 
 
Tweetable Quotes:
“As a high school coach, once your season is over, seniors are gone, and then you start evaluating your next year’s class or next year’s team.” – Ryan Phillips (04:08)
“We base our fall off of our next year’s team. It’s not the same every year.” – Ryan Phillips (04:27)
“When the players see that we love each other and that even though sometimes we disagree we can get on the same page, I think that is the backbone of the culture.” – Ryan Phillips (14:26)
“When I’m trying to help a coach, I try to give him more responsibility. When it comes to responsibility, a lot of the times they surprise me and they do a really good job.” – Ryan Phillips (18:30)
“Everything we do you have a winner and a loser. So, it starts with the catch.” – Ryan Phillips (20:24)
“The hour-long practice, a lot of people don’t like it, and of course you would like to have a little bit longer. But, it’s made us more creative and more efficient.” – Ryan Phillips (24:22)
“Our first standard is you’ve got to do what’s right. That’s for your family, at school, that’s in baseball.” – Ryan Phillips (28:51)
“We learn from failure.” – Ryan Phillips (29:13)
 
Resources Mentioned: 
Ahead of the Curve Podcast
Twitter: @AOTC_podcast
Ryan Phillip’s Email: Ryan.Phillips@EdmondSchools.net

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Quotes
(on absolutes) To be fixated on one swing and not knowing the context of that swing is dangerous
I think elite hitters hit, and there's a variety of reasons why. sleep. diet. swing. mentality. That all adds up to make a great hitter. There are concepts that they have that arent many absolutes.
(on practice) I reverse my coaching. Instead of barking out cues, i let them work on their own with the plan that we put together and then take a player or 2 at a time individually. 
What i've noticed is kids get a little embarrassed when getting coached around kids, if we can keep it personal with them and build a plan that we can experiment and fail, they'll build some confidence.
We stop when they do something good and i ask "why was that good?" and that's how they start to learn
We create pressure and competition all the time, If things start getting bored of mindless, we drop what were doing and compete. We need to create situations in batting practice that we're going to see in a game.
We "hit" in games. Its not just a swing, we have to learn and trainer hitters too.
 
Resources
Bobby Tewksbary
 
Jerry Brewer
 
MLB.tv
 
Contact Info
@hyattcraig
 

Website and Social Media sites for the show 
www.aotcpodcast.com
Twitter
@aotc_podcast
Facebook
Ahead of the Curve Coaches Facebook group
Instagram
aotc_podcast
Contact Info for Jonathan
Twitter
@j_gelnar7
Email
jgelnar7@gmail.com

Today we have on Chuck Box, Head Baseball Coach and assistant athletic director at Hartfield Academy. We flipped the script a little today, and so Chuck takes us through an entire year of what they do at Hartfield. We go over individual player development plans, schedules, culture building and so much more. If you want a practical episode, this one is for you. Here is Chuck Box! Show notes courtesy of Zach Casto.

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During this episode of Ahead of the Curve, I interviewed Peter Fatse, MiLB Hitting Coordinator for the Minnesota Twins. Peter shares a wealth of information about how to execute decision training, ways to remain competitive during training, the importance of building an adjustable swing, and techniques to implement individualized training for players. 
 
Episode Highlights: 
How did Peter Fatse get involved in baseball coaching?  
What should we focus on in the off-season? 
What questions does he ask players to address deeper learning? 
What does an average week of training look like? 
How do we train an adjustable swing? 
What are some ways that he trains for decision training? 
How do they like to compete during training? 
What are the things that Peter looks for that he thinks that really good players do?
How does Peter issue a plan that maximizes individual development in a team environment? 
Is there something that Peter Fatse has learned lately that has him really excited? 
What is something that his players do in training that they love? 
What is something that Peter believes that other coaches may disagree with? 
What are things done during Peter’s training that would stand out to people?  
What are some of Peter Fatse’s favorite books and resources that have benefited his coaching? 
3 Key Points:
Be honest about your weaknesses, strengths, and areas of development. 
Adjustability swings are a trait of elite hitters. 
Stay open-minded to learn from various other people. 
Tweetable Quotes:
“We have a lot of information. But you have to be hungry to apply it and you have to be hungry to learn and dig in for yourself, because, ultimately, it is your career.” – Peter Fatse (02:49)
“Make a realistic evaluation of your previous year and really take the time to look and say, ‘what are the attributes that I possess that right now are strengths for me?’” – Peter Fatse (04:06)
“When I think about competitive design, there are two ways that we as hitters compete, the internal and the external.” – Peter Fatse (21:48)
“When I have guys in the training center, one of the first questions I will ask is, ‘are you right-handed or left-handed?’” – Peter Fatse (30:05)
“A lot of the times, the drill passages, from a bat path perspective would change depending upon their dominant hand and then ultimately, how the barrel created early excerration.” – Peter Fatse (30:10)
“Be able to utilize bat and ball information to create a plan, because the ball, ultimately, is going to give us the best depiction of what is happening.” – Peter Fatse (32:57)
“Every player’s career is extremely important, especially to myself and the rest of the staff.” – Peter Fatse (34:26)
“I think you want to kind of look to layer on stress so that when a guy gets to the game, the idea is more about execution and they are not worried about being prepared anymore.” – Peter Fatse (40:45)
Resources Mentioned: 
Ahead of the Curve Podcast
Twitter: @AOTC_podcast
Peter Fatse: Twitter  Instagram

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Quotes
There's a lot of pressure at Flower Mound high school. But it's pressure to not just do well, it's pressure to win, it's pressure to go deep in the playoffs and to get a division 1 scholarship.
We take 30 minutes a day in the fall to install the mental game, and it's crucial for us
If you make it fun the kids are going to have fun if you think it's boring the kids are obviously going to think it's boring.
We put a lot of pressure on our kids in practice which is more gamelike. We want them to be used to that pressure 
I am a big field guy, so if your offer still want you to get out the 300 get after it man. If you want to do that for days in a row, go. If you aren't feels good, feed it.
When it's game day, all I want you to do is compete. I don't wanna talk mechanics. Just go compete
Make the best job the one that you're at. You get to play baseball everyday. You get to hit fungo everyday. My son is a bat boy and they pay me to do it. I've got the best job in the world 
Resources
Brian cain 
Lantz wheeler
Hacking the kinetic chain- Kyle Boddy
Jaeger sports bands
Steve springer

Charlie Brenneman (The Spaniard 101 Podcast)

Ken Ravizza

Tom Hanson

Baseball Drive Podcast

A Legends Life Podcast

Jerry Weinstein

Xan Barksdale

Paul Reddick

Baseball Dad’s podcast

Contact
Bensartor@yahoo.com
Sartorb@lisd.net
@coachbennyb
214-600-3903
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Twitter
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Quotes
Our culture playbook is resilience, communication, focus and joy.
One of the things we say about communication, is we have difficult conversations in person, not text. That doesnt fly in our program
Communication is not so that you can be understood, but so that you cannot be misunderstood.
If we're not going to be world class on the field right now, then we need to be world class in everything else.
If you want a head coaching job, you need to double down on relationship building. Kids want someone who can give them a clear vision, but they wont care unless they trust you.
When you are trying to change the culture we want them quantum leaps. Slow down. Progress and speed have nothing to do with one another.
Resources
 
Resilience by Eric Greitens
 
Believe in Brynn
 
Brian Kight
 
Contact Info
 @FerraroOnAir
 
FerraroOnAir@gmail.com
 
@bxvillebaseball
 

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Contact Info for Jonathan
Twitter
@j_gelnar7
Email
jgelnar7@gmail.com

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Adjustments we are making from the past season.
https://medium.com/@jgelnar7/adjustments-we-are-making-from-the-past-season-eb9c635fc9

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During this episode of Ahead of the Curve, I interviewed David Webb, Head Baseball Coach at Corona del Sol High School in Tempe, Arizona. David shares his vast knowledge of focusing on the mental game of baseball, building up players to get in touch with who they are, building a team culture of having a strong character, and why he doesn’t talk to parents about playing time. 
 
Episode Highlights: 
How did David Webb get involved in baseball coaching?  
What are David’s time restrictions and how does he work within them in fall training?  
What are some different things that his team does for culture building?  
What does David Webb talk to the parents of his players about? 
How does he personally get to know his players?  
How does he prepare assistant coaches to develop their skill-sets further to be head coaches one day? 
What are some interview questions he asks during his hiring process? 
What things are expected of players? 
How does spring training typically unfold for Coach Webb? 
When does David Webb get his bullpens in? 
How does he handle a parent’s complaint about their kid’s lack of playing time? 
Is there something that David Webb has learned lately that has him really excited? 
What is something that David’s players do in training that they love? 
What is something that David Webb believes that other coaches may disagree with? 
What are things done during David’s training that would stand out to people?  
What are some of David Webb’s favorite books and resources that have benefited his coaching? 
 
3 Key Points:
In late summer and early fall, David focuses on getting his players strong.  
The “rebel” these days is the one choosing not to lower their standards and aims to have a true character by action, not just by their words. 
Show assistant coaches that you value their time, and give them room to invest their time by letting them do their job. 
Tweetable Quotes:
“More is not necessarily better, especially when it comes to the mental side of things.” – David Webb (08:48)
“I am all about building character and having a standards-driven program and building young men. The wins will come.” – David Webb (09:43)
“One of the greatest things you can do for them (players) that gets them to realize there is some investment is, you get them to know who they really are.” – David Webb (19:35)
“I am a huge watcher of players and mannerisms. Have they changed their mentality from day-to-day? And if I see anything, I will pull them aside and I will have conversations.” – David Webb (22:11)
(On coaches) “Whether they are young or they are coming in and they are saying, ‘I’ve been a head coach and I just want to be an assistant now, I’m tired of the parent dynamic,’ or whatever, you got to let them coach..” – David Webb (28:36)
“The beginning of the year, the practice looks like a lot of situation play, a lot of fundamental individual work.” – David Webb (46:32)
“My policy is, which is stated to parents in our Aztec Baseball 101 meeting, I don’t talk playing time with parents.” – David Webb (55:16)
“Using Twitter a lot and kind of getting on the same page with other coaches and see what they are doing on the mental side of the game. I’m really focused about that. So, anything mental is really very important to me.” – David Webb (59:33)
Resources Mentioned: 
Ahead of the Curve Podcast
Twitter: @AOTC_podcast
David Webb: Twitter

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Training the motor- a template for bat speed development and proprioception.
https://medium.com/@jgelnar7/training-the-motor-a-template-for-bat-speed-development-and-proprioception-a64de513ca53
 

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During this episode of Ahead of the Curve, I interviewed Mike Glavine, Head Baseball Coach at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts. Mike shares advice on how he transitioned into his head coach position at Northeastern University, the power that can be found with indoor practices, typical practice plans, and his players getting to play the Boston Red Sox. 
Episode Highlights: 
How did Mike Glavine get involved in baseball?  
Does he teach his brother’s change-up? 
How does it feel to coach at North Eastern as an alumni?
What were some of the first things that Mike did as a coach?
What does Mike’s fall training season look like?  
What are some things that Coach Glavine does to establish the culture of the team?
How does he get to know his players better? 
How does he keep competition strong on the team? 
In what ways does Mike handle the weather changes?  
Are they leveraging technology during indoor practices? 
How is he preparing his team to play the Red Sox? 
What does a typical practice plan look like? 
What do post-season player meetings look like? 
What are some different things that Mike Glavine does during interviews of potential hires?  
What would Mike do differently as a head coach? 
What is the latest thing that Mike Glavine has learned that he is excited about?  
What is something that Mike does in practice that his players love? 
How does he develop his assistant coaches? 
What is something that Mike believes that other coaches may disagree with?
What are some of Mike’s favorite books and resources that he has learned the most from? 
What are three things that would stand out during Mike Glavine’s baseball practices?  
3 Key Points:
Mike Glavine’s two key components for coaching are preparing the team and developing the team. 
Mike’s typical practices run around 2 and a half hours and finish with a competition where something is at stake for the losing side. 
Give your players goals and honest feedback on what they can work on. 
Tweetable Quotes:
“I think really what I want to do is build on what Coach McPhee has established during his 29-year career here at Northeastern. But then give it a fresh look, a reboot, a restart, reengage with everybody.” – Mike Glavine (09:38)
“We’ll start fall baseball, and with that, it’s aggressive like most programs. We’ll go six days a week. We’ll have our day off. We’ll hit the 20 hours during the week. We’ll spend time in the weight room.” – Mike Glavine (13:49)
“Competition right? It's such a key word, and a great word in sports. It’s something that we focus on all the time.” – Mike Glavine (28:21)
“I have learned to love the indoor practices. Because it forces you as coaching staff to get more creative and maybe work on things more on the inside part of your season that you would never work on as much.” – Mike Glavine (33:16)
“To me, this game, so much of it is about feel and instincts and what might feel right to Player X might not feel right to Player Y.” – Mike Glavine (39:59)
“The guys really appreciate honesty. They want to know where they stand.” – Mike Glavine (52:40)
“The summer allows them (players) a fresh start, a re-group. So that when they come into the fall, you know, they are ready to go.” – Mike Glavine (52:51)
“How is this coach going to be with me as the head coach? Is he going to be able to handle me? Is he someone that will talk baseball with me all the time? I love to talk baseball?” – Mike Glavine (59:59)
Resources Mentioned: 
Ahead of the Curve Podcast
Twitter: @AOTC_podcast
Mike Glavine: Linkedin  Twitter
Mike Glavine’s Email: @m.glavine@northeastern.edu

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Medium Article Link

https://medium.com/@jgelnar7/outline-of-the-offseason-block-1-8614a3ecc8b9

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During this episode of Ahead of the Curve, I interviewed Cliff Godwin, Head Baseball Coach East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. Coach Godwin’s coaching experience spans across many collegiate programs in the assistant coach capacity including University of Notre Dame, Louisiana State University, University of Central Florida, and Ole Miss. Learn about practice design, hitting routines, advice for assistant coaches, and how he molds a positive, family-orientated team culture. 
Episode Highlights: 
How did Cliff Godwin get involved in baseball?   
How much have mentors benefited Cliff Godwin?
What were some of Cliff’s first steps as a coach? 
What does Cliff Godwin’s fall training season look like?  
How did he execute his vision?
What do the conversations about striving for excellence about look like? 
What are his players doing for competition? 
What advice does Cliff Godwin have assistant coaches?  
How does Coach Godwin implement efficiency and practice design for spring training?
What does his BP drills look like? 
What does his interview process look like?  
What is the latest thing that he has learned that he is excited about? 
What is something that he does in practice that his players love? 
What is something that Cliff Godwin believes that other coaches may disagree with? 
What are three things that would stand out during Cliff Godwin’s baseball practices?  
What are some of Cliff’s favorite books and resources that he has learned the most from? 
3 Key Points:
Always give your best because someone who can help you later could be watching you. 
If you aren’t falling short of your goals than you aren’t setting your goals high enough. 
The P.I.R.A.T.E.S acronym is: Purpose, Integrity, Responsible, Attitude, Toughness, Excellence, Self-less.
Tweetable Quotes:
“You never know who is watching. We all as coaches tell our players that.” – Cliff Godwin (06:38)
“My vision was very ambitious. I don’t think that you can set goals too high.” – Cliff Godwin (08:43)
“We have not had below a 3.4 team GPA in the past two years. How about that?” – Cliff Godwin (11:11)
“You can get your players to do anything, you just can’t get them to do everything.” – Cliff Godwin (11:23)
“First of all, in the fall, we compete at something every day, whether it be in the weight room or skill instruction.” – Cliff Godwin (26:41)
“Accept all the players. Tell them that they are your players, and go with it.” – Cliff Godwin (29:46)
“I think that it is important just to have your assistants feel like this is a family atmosphere.” – Cliff Godwin (34:24)
“I am very lucky now that in this stage in my career that there are a bunch of guys in the profession that I really trust.” – Cliff Godwin (44:56)
Resources Mentioned: 
Ahead of the Curve Podcast
Twitter: @AOTC_podcast
Cliff Godwin: Linkedin  Instagram  Twitter

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Medium Article Link

https://medium.com/@jgelnar7/becoming-a-data-driven-program-part-1-b3ab3c11775d

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Quotes
Our kids are at their strongest in season Were not training to be good in the offseason, were training to be at our best in season. So it drives me crazy when you see kids not lifting in season, it makes no sense.

All of our incoming freshman are in a developmental group that focuses on 5 major movements

1. Squat patterning (front squat) 2. Hip Hinge 3. Pushup 4. Horizontal Pull 5. Iso Core Series

We do alot of speed work, and to be fast you have to train fast.
 

We train on gameday. And i see no reason that HS kids cant either. HS kids arent developed enough to get fatigued if they are working out in the morning and getting 10-12 hours of recovery time. You'll find the more consistent your workouts are. the less theyll get sore. You can develop so much in your in season period

Everybody wants to train the pretty muscles, the mirror muscles, chest, abs. Performance happens on the backside. You want to keep kids strong and healthy? It all happens on the backside. Scaps glutes and hamstrings are the powerhouse of athletic performance 

There is not a lot of agility that goes on in baseball, its mostly reacting to a stimulus (the baseball) Everything is a straight line. There no cone drills, latter drills in baseball. Its all a straight line to a point, so that what we incorporate into our speed development program.
Resources
Coach's Strength Training Playbook- Joe Kenn
Ultimate Back Fitness and Performance- Stuart McGill
Becoming a Supple Leopard 2nd Edition: The Ultimate Guide to Resolving Pain, Preventing Injury, and Optimizing
Performance- Kelly Starrett
Contact
Website
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IG
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Website and Social Media sites for the show 
www.aotcpodcast.com
Twitter
@aotc_podcast
Facebook
Ahead of the Curve Coaches Facebook group
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aotc_podcast

This episode is brought to you by Marvbands. Use code AOTC for 10% off of team sets! Today we have on 2018 World Series champion, Andy Barkett. Andy was an assistant MLB hitting coach with the Boston Red Sox in 2018-2019. On the show, we talk about how to earn trust with our players, why learning their routines is important, we discuss game-planning, approach and why Andy thinks that hitting coaches are basically part time psychologists. You’re gonna love this episode with Andy Barkett! Contact @abarkett17 Foundations of Coaching Professional Hitters https://bsbliq.com/courses/foundations-of-being-a-professional-hitting-coach/ Show notes courtesy of Zach Casto.

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Quotes
One of the first conversations we have is where does your arm hurt? We have to start with the pain
A lot of what we do is player led. Guys tend to figure out things more when they have to teach other people what the ultimate goal of the activity is. 
Every year i have someone who doesn't fit the ideal mold, so it keeps pushing me to try and reach everyone in the program.
If I have 13 pitchers, I should have 13 pitching programs.
Every time a bullpen is thrown, they're competing against someone for something. If we're asking them to compete in games, then practice should be a competition. 
Our goal has always been to help the players become better people. Learning life lessons will help them to become better baseball players.
Start looking at players as individuals. One size doesn't fit all, and one size doesn't even fit one guy for very long.
 
Resources 
Ron Wolforth
Randy Sullivan
Eric Cressey
Paul Nyman
Brent Pourciau
Kyle Boddy/Driveline Baseball
 
Contact Information
@BRobo_20
Brent Robison on Facebook
brobison20@gmail.com
 

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Quotes
We call ourselves the valley boys. Because we represent the valley. We're getting out on that field every single day and sweating in this heat and working hard and doing all the extra things so when the valley comes and watches us play, they can be proud.
We have our players back and we continually let them know that we love them and are there for them
Are you an OKG?  Our kinda guy. I'm not a salesman. I'm going to show you everything we do and our vision with development focus. I'm going to get the guys that are in on this thing and the guys that arent, I don't want.
Culture coaches when the coaches aren't around. We're going to recruit personality and character before skill. We think we can take anyone and make them better.
We believe in having short, efficient practices. We come in, go as hard as we can, and leave. We don't condition because you should be so tired from practice 
We don't clone people here. We don't cookie cut. We try and help each player find his best swing.
You decide NOT to swing, you dont decide to swing. This is a HUGE deal for us.You step into the box swinging at the pitch
Hitters make themselves. We don't make them, They do the work and they stand in the box. We can help them but we dont make them.
 
Resources
Fearless- Eric Blehm
Mindgym- Gary Mack
Dustin Lind Google Drive
Craig Hyatt
Contact Info
cody.atkinson@utrgv.edu
@coachcody_
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Quotes
I want them to be in competition with themselves to be perfect. That's the only way we're going to field at a really high clip and win games.
Some elements that I like to include every single day that I don't think coaches do enough of
          1. Stretching and catching regardless of position
          2. Stretching and picking regardless of position
          3. Catching infield fly balls (GB to FB ratio is 4 to 1 in MLB)
          4. Picking and tagging.
          5. Redirecting the baseball
I partner the old with the young. Its always an old guy and a young guy. I want to empower my older guys to provide input. Catch play, picks, footwork. Always an old guy with a young guy. I think that builds leadership, but I also think it builds ownership.
On purpose, every single week, I pick a part of practice to watch from the dugout. If ive done my job and we've truly built a unit, the show is going to go on without me. 
If you're not willing to have a dialogue with your players about why you're doing something, then you need to take a long look in the mirror to make sure that what you're doing is not just something that your comfortable with and that its the best way to do it.
 
Resources
Link to ABCA Presentation
Watch Elite fielders
Watch your competition
Watch other sports practices
Contact
@ThatGuy__Kai
http://www.fridayfielderscamps.com/
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 Quotes

"We've been doing an overload and underload throwing program for 22-23 years. We call it the Nate Smith throwing program. We use a tennis ball, a softball, and a baseball."

We throw more than any program than i've ever run into. But i've always had the belief that we pitch too much and we dont throw enough.

We have a much higher focus on individual player development than team development.

We don't allow headphones in our program.That way they cant just sit there by themselves. They have to communicate and they have to talk to each other.

Everyday after practice we line up and shake hands with a firm handshake and looking each other in the eye. IF we had a bad day at practice or if we got onto a kid, we have a chance to read that kid and leave on a positive note.

Our culture is #1 and our alumni are a close second. I have a text group from every year from 99 on that we reach out to on a consistent basis. We have an alumni fantasy baseball league. We want them to stay involved because they’re the ones that build the program. The players are the reason any coach has success

In our program #1 is velocity, #2 is velocity and #3 is velocity. And the reason is that we've never had a kid that throws 80-82 that got a college scholarship. So that's our philosophy with player developmentt 

 Resources

CB Drill

Heads up Baseball

Jon Gordon

Inside out coaching

Driveline

Rapsodo

Hit trax

 Contact 

theld@defcity.org

@defiancebball

@fungo20

@rweaver23

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This episode is sponsored by Athlete's Brand. Today we have on Ryan Sienko- Catching Coordinator for the LA Dodgers Ryan was a catcher at the University of Iowa, played professionally for the Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox and in independent baseball where he was an All-Star. His current responsibilities include catching philosophies and drills, deciphering receiving metrics, blocking philosophies and drills, throwing philosophies and drills, coordinating player plans, working with the research and development department, drills and skill work, and traveling to all affiliates to work with the catchers. On the show, we discuss how he evaluates catchers, what data and trends we can look for, and we go through several drills and thought processes with how we can setup up catchers to maximize their potential, on and off the field.  Resources Choose love not fear Getting outside of your comfort zone. “Ask other people what challenges the face, and how they overcome them." Contact @Catch_and_Throw https://www.catchandthrow.com/ Show notes courtesy of Zach Casto.

On todays show we have on Kyle Stark who is a leadership and coaching consultant. Kyles went to ball state, got his law degree from Toledo but he always knew he wants to be in baseball, so much so that in grad school he also serves as the pitching coach for St. Bonaventure, where he got his masters in business administration. He started as an intern with the Cleveland Indians and then he was hired by the pirates and worked his way up to be the assistant GM until 2019. On the show we discuss coaching and feedback, we take a deep dive into culture and we discuss why conversations need to start with clarity, connectedness and consistency.
 

Resources

The Bible

Contact
tkstark8@gmail.com

This episode of Ahead of the Curve is brought to you by New Era. New Era is the official headwear provider of the MLB, NFL, and NBA. If you love to rock New Era Caps as much as I do, then you won’t want to miss out on the opportunity to wear what the players wear AND get 15% off when you go to NEW ERA CAP DOT COM/AOTC and use code aotc at checkout. That's 15% off your order using promo code aotc.

Bio
Tyler, in his first year  leading his team, led them to the first NAIA National Championship in program history. The  Warriors went 48-9 last season, which culminated in a 7-6 victory over Lewis & Clark State in the 66th Avista NAIA World Series.

LaTorre  came to Westmont from Sacramento State where he served as pitching and catching coach. He also previously coached at San Jose State and San Francisco State. While at San Jose State, LaTorre was honored as both the 2018 San Jose Assistant Coach of the Year and the 2019 Fellowship of Christian Athletes Coach of the Year.

On the show we discuss last years national championship run, how they are attacking the transition from NAIA to division 2, and we go over lessons learned in his first season that set them up for success. You’re gonna love this episode with Tyler LaTorre.

Time stamps
01:00- national champs
07:00- fall development and the transition to d2
20:00- year 1 reflections
28:00- fear of failure
33:00- Pre season
42:00- in season / post season
50:00- quick hitters

Contact
EMAIL tlatorre@westmont.edu
PHONE 805-565-7092
Twitter-@tylerlatorre

This Episode is brought to you by www.seventy8sports.com

Bio
Brenton Del Chiaro is in his sixth season with the Brewers and first in his current role as hitting coordinator after spending the previous two seasons as assistant hitting coordinator.

He joined the organization in 2016 as a hitting coach with the Arizona Brewers, a role he continued through the 2021 season in addition to his duties as assistant hitting coordinator.

Prior to joining the organization, Del Chiaro spent nine seasons (2008-16) with the Los Angeles Angels organization. This included roles as a coach at Rookie Orem (2008), hitting coach (2009-10) and manager (2011) at Class-A Cedar Rapids, manager with the Rookie Arizona Angels (2012), hitting coach at Class-A Inland Empire (2013-15) and hitting coach at Double-A Arkansas (2016). He also spent time with the Major League team as a bullpen catcher in 2007 after retiring following a seven-year playing career in the Angels system (2001-07).
On the show we discuss his role as a hitting coordinator, we talk hitting environment, and how he goes about having conversations when making swing changes. This episode is so good with Brenton Del Chiaro!

Time Stamps
01:00- Mike Trout
07:30- Role of a hitting coordinator
13:00- Training Environment
21:30- What are some of the first things you do when evaluating what a player needs to work on?
30:00- Conversations when making swing changes
36:30- Gameplanning and approach
42:20- In dugout conversations
54:40- Quick Hitters

Resources
Mike Trout Article
https://theathletic.com/3346131/2022/06/03/mike-trout-minor-leagues/

Contact
https://twitter.com/BDel_Chiaro

On today show we have Todd Interdonato, head baseball coach at Wofford College. Todd is in his thirteenth season as head coach of the Wofford baseball program. He was named head coach of the Terriers on June 26, 2007 after previously serving for two seasons as an assistant coach at Wofford. With 323 career wins, he is first all-time among Wofford baseball coaches in that category. Interdonato has led the program to unprecedented success, with 30 or more wins in five of the last six seasons. On the show We talk about how we give a ton of ownership to players, while holding them accountable, Todd gives us some insight into how to provide clarity to players in their roles, and we talk about how to build a team offense that is multifaceted. Contact interdonatotj@wofford.com

This episode is brought to you by Motor Preference Experts
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Bio
Dave Turgeon is currently the Field Coordinator at IMG Academy in Bradenton, FL. Turgeon played in the New York Yankees farm system from 1987-1990 after being drafted out of Davidson College. Before playing for the Baltimore Orioles’ AAA affiliate in 1998 he spent eight years playing abroad. From 2000-2002 Turgeon began managing in the Cleveland Indians organization before entering the college ranks where he coached with Boston College, the University of Connecticut, Duke University, and Virginia Tech. He spent the next 11 years managing and being the Coordinator of Instruction for the Pittsburgh Pirates Organization. He is also in the St. Bernard High School Athletics Hall of Fame as well as the Davidson College Athletics Hall of Fame. Recently, Turgeon was named to the 100 Year Anniversary Team for the Southern Conference.

Time Stamps

• 02:00- Role as field coordinator
• 07:00- Coaching Coaches
• 22:00- Routines and Fighting Boredom
• 33:00- Team > Me and creating cultures
• 42:00- Periodization of fall program
• 55:00- Competitions

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Quotes
My coach in middle school said 4 words that changed my life and those 4 words were ‘Get on the line’. In that moment I found out what discipline was. Discipline is doing what we don’t want to do today, to get what we want tomorrow.
I liked to think I was special, but it was our coaching staff that was special. My coaches taught me how to make choices, they taught me responsibility, they taught me that what the statistics said didn’t have to become who I was unless I chose, and that mindset of taking responsiility changed everything for me.”
My life was changed by my high school coaches sand I want to help coaches do that for their athletes.”
There is so much power in giving a kid what they don’t don’t deserve. Give kids a second chance, but teach them what to do with that second chance. Sometimes coaches will give a kid a second chance, but don’t teach them what to do with that second chance. So what happens? The same thing they did the first time because they don’t know any different.”
Are you more about who you are or what you do? If you are so wrapped up in what you do, then what happens if that gets taken away?
Theres a lot of things in life that are optional if you want to be successful. Talent? Optional. The right family? Optional. The right school? Optional. Genetics? Optional. But the one thing that is required to be successful? Sacrifice. 
Resources
Tim Ferriss
The Unbeatable Mind- Mark Divine
Dave Campbell Podcast
Coach 360
ABCA Calls from the clubhouse
1% Better- Joe Ferraro
Plus 1 Podcast
Pastor Craig Groeschel Leadership Podcast
Luke Norsworthy
Rick Warren
Contact
@mackeyspeaks
2words.tv
2words.tv/gameplan

Website and Social Media sites for the show 
www.aotcpodcast.com
Twitter
@aotc_podcast
Facebook
Ahead of the Curve Coaches Facebook group
Instagram
aotc_podcast

What can we learn from a ship captain that got his ship stranded in the ice 80 miles the coast of Antarctica? Find out next.

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Quotes

I love baseball but it's something I had never done in my life. That allowed me to look from the outside and get a fresh look on why I think the best players are getting injured so much and what could be improved in their training.

Diversity breeds immunity. Every great system also creates great deficiency. 
 

Most people think strength is always the answer. But we believe there are many things that come before strength. We first work with coordination, then when we get more organized we find a rhythm. Then that rhythm leads us to more kinetic potential and kinetic potential leads to power exploration. Power exploration then leads us to strength training.
 

We want baseball players bodies to work in one rhythmic unit spending less energy on moving and putting more energy on where to react properly and making the right decisions.  
 

My background is in art, and what is the most important thing in art? Staying creative. We need to always stay creative and find new alterations

We all need to improve our training methods. We're kind of sleeping there because we have good training methods. What blocks us just being good to getting better? We need to be pushed to look past what is obvious.

Resources
Fighting Monkey Baseball
Contact
https://fightingmonkey.net/

 Website and Social Media sites for the show 
www.aotcpodcast.com
Twitter
@aotc_podcast
Facebook
Ahead of the Curve Coaches Facebook group
Instagram
aotc_podcast

On todays show
Keith is currently a senior baseball writer for the Athletic. He previously wrote for ESPN.com and ESPN Scouts, Inc. and for Baseball Prospectus. Keith also worked in the front office for the Toronto Blue Jays from 2002-2006.
 
On the show, we discuss scouting and its role in player development which includes a discussion on what traits can be taught, and what cant. Then we take a deep dive into analytics and what Keith thinks could be the most impactful information for the next decade.
 
Time Stamps
2:30- How Keith started in baseball
8:30- Analytics
11:30- Future Trends
25:30- Scouting
34:30 cognitive Biases
40:00 Traits that we can develop and traits that are innate
47:35- Acquiring players with traits you can develop
53:00- Resources
55:30- Last Things
 
Contact
The Athletic
Paste
Twitter
Blog
 
Resources
Thinking Fast and Slow- Tversky and Kahneman
Inside Game- Keith Law
Smart Baseball- Keith Law
Whistling Vivaldi- Steele
Biased- Eberhardt

Bio
Today we have on John Carter, Head Baseball coach at Round Rock High School. John is a graduate of Round Rock High School and attended Round Rock schools growing up. Upon graduation from high school, Coach Carter attended Texas Tech, where he played both football and baseball. After his playing days ended, he remained at Tech as a graduate assistant from 1992 – 1994. He returned to Round Rock in 1995, coaching multiple sports including softball, soccer, football, and baseball. John became the head coach in (when). John also was the texas HS baseball coach of the year in 2017 a year after graduating 7 D1 players. 
 
On the show we talk culture, competition and core values so much more! Here is John Carter!
 
Time Stamps

• 3:00- Vision of the program when he started
• 6:20 - Core Values
• 16:00 - Culture building
• 21:20 - Competitions
• 227:00 - Parent Involvement
• 31:30 - Transition periods from offseason to in season
• 36:13- Baserunning
• 38:00- Quick Hitters

• Culture Code- Daniel Coyle
• Lead for Gods Sake- Todd G. Gongwer

• Twitter- https://twitter.com/Rockhardball
• Email- john_carter@roundrockisd.org

Today we have on Andy Bass Coordinator of Mental Conditioning for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
 
Andy has an awesome story, with playing professional baseball and developing the yips, then deciding he wanted to focus his attention onto helping players with the mental side by getting his advanced degrees in psychology and then motor learning.
 
On the show, we discuss how to integrate mindfulness into our practice sessions, we go over how to allow some autonomy players, we dive deep into game-like practices and feedback loops
 
 

Resources
Blackbox thinking- by Matthew Syed
Beartown- by Fredrick Backman
 
Contact
Andy.bass@pirates.com