A different way to look at the same problems.

“Good writing does not succeed or fail on the strength of its ability to persuade. It succeeds on its ability to engage you, make you think, and give you a glimpse into someone else’s head – even if you decide that’s a place you don’t want to be.” – Malcolm Gladwell, from What The Dog Saw

If you’re interested in:

  • Being right and attacking those who you think are wrong
  • Driving agendas
  • Clinging to the comfort of tradition
  • Invalidating skin in the game 
  • Neglecting other perspectives
  • Launch angle swings
  • Lactic acid flush runs

this place probably isn’t for you. If instead you’re interested in:

  • Bringing a fresh set of eyes to something you never considered
  • Seeking to understand before seeking to be understood
  • Filtering out the noise and finding what matters
  • Being transparent about previous mistakes and using them as learning opportunities 
  • Having productive conversations and not being afraid of thoughtful disagreement
  • Making coaching a career, not just a passion project

you’re in the right place.

 

 

 

This blog is dedicated to the coaches who are in the trenches every single day solving problems and finding ways to help players get better. It’s to recognize the pioneers who paved the way for all of us, inspire the ones just getting started, and to fuel the fire for those who aren’t satisfied with knowing “enough.”

We all made a decision at one point to turn a kid’s game into a career, but with that decision came great responsibility. How we handle that responsibility impacts our ability to pass the torch and continue to push this great game forward. Some like it, others love it, few live it. Coaching can’t just be something we like to do. It must be an obsession. 

“It is a privilege to be in a position that allows you to mold the lives of players and have them simultaneously shape yours. Never take that role and those relationships for granted.” Kainoa Correa, bench coach San Francisco Giants

Disclaimer: This blog is not filled with feel good stories and cliches. Everything in here is real. If you’re afraid to tackle the messy realities that run most coaches away from this profession, save yourself the time and go somewhere else. You won’t like what I have to say.

For everything uncertain about our profession, there are some things I can guarantee: Our journeys as coaches will traverse the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. We’re going to forget more than we remember, not every player that comes to us is going to get better, and we will come across information that challenges everything we’ve ever known. We’re going to have to give more than we receive, operate on limited budgets, navigate political environments, and make the most of situations that are not ideal

Coaching is a thankless profession that will challenge us and make us question why we even got started in the first place, but that is the ultimate privilege of being one. The destination is the disease. The reward is the journey. 

The perfect time to get started is right now.

Create your competitive advantage.

Ask better questions

The answers you seek are often the right questions away. If you don’t understand it, you probably haven’t asked the right questions. Peel back layers and try new angles. You might not get the answer right away, but you’ll at least you’ll have a better idea on where to start.

Start with why

Every action and decision has a story behind it. If you just look at what happened or how it happened, you’ll miss out on the most important component: Why it happened. Don’t look at events in isolation. Context shapes content. You won’t fix what happened until you learn why it even happened in the first place.

Veja Du

Feeling stuck? Stop looking where everyone else is looking. Investigate a different field. Ask someone who has no relation to the problem. Take a trip down a road with no destination. Our brain is a pattern recognition machine. It will find what you’re looking for. You just need to change the lens you’re looking through.  

 

Connecting what hasn’t been before.

Dec
03

How baseball fell victim to a mistake from World War II

Back in the height of World War II, the United States faced a big problem. Bomber flight pilots were dropping like fleas. For every 100 sent to fight the war in Europe, less than 45 were returning. They were, in the words of military history Kevin Wilson, “dead men walking.” 

Nov
29

What “Basketball’s Moneyball” should warn us about the future of baseball

Back in 2006, Houston Rockets owner Leslie Alexander hired Daryl Morey to be Houston’s new general manager (GM). Morey was 33 at the time. He had no playing background. He had earned an MBA from Harvard, as well as an undergraduate degree in computer science from Northwestern University. His only

Dec
26

The parallels between a multi-million dollar discovery and my new hobby

On a quiet Saturday afternoon, James Dyson had finally had enough. At the time, he was in his mid 20’s. He was vacuuming his home – a small farmhouse in the western part of England. On this day, he ran into a familiar problem: His vacuum quickly lost suction. This

May
18

California – Thank You

I remember my first day in California like it was yesterday. Considering the events going on in the world, it was tough to forget. The date was March 14, 2020. My dad and I had spent a week driving across the country from my hometown in York, PA. I left

May
09

How these two prospects showed us “stats are really for losers” – but in two distinctly different ways

The 1999 MLB amateur draft was approaching. Tampa Bay – coming off their first ever season in franchise history – owned the first overall pick. They had their eyes on two particular prospects. Both were high school prospects hailing from the Southeast part of the country; one a right handed

Apr
11

Why our current perception of adding velocity is going to create more problems like this

The other day, I was having a conversation with one of my good coaching friends. We met back when we were still players and have continued to keep in touch beyond our playing careers. During the conversation, he brought up a similar problem two of his better pitchers were experiencing.