WebBall.com - Talking With Your Players

Talking With Your Players

Pete Sprenkle Pete brings more than 30 years of coaching experience to a project he developed called the Coaches Tool Kit. This is a book plus a software package on CD-ROM which includes forms, self assessments, motivational material, practice organizers, and more. It has more of his guidelines, words of wisdom, drills to run, activity sheets, plus other handouts and tips to help you become a more organized and productive youth league coach. The Tool Kit is available at www.baseballtoolkit.com (Click to close.)

by Pete Sprenkle, creator of the Coaches Tool Kit

The following suggestions will identify some important guidelines for turning what could sound like negative criticism into a positive, constructive for both coaches and players.

1Tell your players what you want them to do.

Say everthing in clear behavioral terms, easy to understand.
e.g. "Use a crow hop when you throw.
Tell them what to do up front, rather than correcting mistakes.
Do not tell them what NOT to do. Tell them what to do.
NO: Stay off the high pitch
YES: Hit the low pitch

2 Criticize the performance, not the performer.
Hate the sin, love the sinner

AND, always end with a positive statement/self talk
NO: You threw to the wrong base
YES: That throw was behind the runner, next time throw ahead of the runner. With your great arm we’ll get the out.

NO: You messed up that play.
YES: On bunt defense the 2B always covers 1st base. With your speed you should be in good shape to take the throw.

3 Don’t assume they’ve learned it; repeat it.

Repetition is fundamental to learning, especially complex tasks.
Rule of 3 - if you've explained it three times and it isn’t getting through, try a different approach.
(e.g. "If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you 1000 times".)
Who do you think is really the slow learner here?

Listen, see, do.
Put another way: Tell them, show them, have them do it.

4 What you say to your players is what matters.

What you say vs. what they hear...
Have listener repeat back to you what you said.
Getting positives into their heads.
e.g. In response to... “I can’t bunt.”
NO: “Sure you can, just keep trying.”
YES: Break skill down into small elements, do one piece successfully; get the player to say something positive about performance.
“I was able to square around properly.”
NEVER: Stop trying!
ALWAYS: Expect excellence of yourself!

5 Bring a constant, consistent positive message.

Your players don’t care how much you know...
until they know how much you care.
You never exceed your own expectations.
Say it, write it, look it, listen, teach it, define it, teach it...
But keep it positive
The ones who really love us...
are the ones who demand the most from us.

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