June 16, 2014
WYC 006 Youth Baseball – Ken Stuursma from Kings Baseball
What does it take to be a winning youth coach? Listen in as Coach Ken Stuursma shares coaching stories and discusses his journey to becoming a successful youth coach.
Ken is married and has 3 children- 2 girls and a boy. He played baseball throughout his childhood and through the college level. He is the founder of Kings Baseball in Northeast Ohio, a youth baseball organization that focuses on growing strong men, not just athletes.
Listen Now:
Listen in ITunes: Itunes link
Listen in Stitcher: Stitcher link
Coaching/Leadership Quote
▪ ‘Other than Dad, the best thing you can be called is Coach’
Coaching your own Kid
▪ It’s a joy to coach your own kid – but the challenge is the perception of others who might question your kid’s playing time. You should have discussions with your son/daughter up front about the fact they are going to have to be better than anyone else to earn a position.
My ‘Cringe’ Moment
▪ Early on – it was more about me and my success instead of being focused on the kids
Coaching AH-HA Moment
▪ A conversation with an old-time cowboy, Lou Skeridan – who taught him that kids come to him with their hearts wide open, and you have 2 choices:
- You can build into it and make their heart bigger, or
- You can crush that and make their hearts smaller
Inspiring Story
▪ Watching his son Jake and some of the other boys on his son’s 17 year-old team develop into leaders and men
Teaching Children
▪ ‘Kids don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care’ – Sam Rutigliano
Inspiring Story part 2
▪ Craig shared a story where he witnessed Coach Stuursma show grace to a kid on the opposing team and it really impacted Craig’s outlook on coaching
Coaching Resources
▪ Best resource is: Other coaches! Don’t be shy about sharing ideas with other coaches
Discipline/ Teambuilding
▪ The kids have to first know you are doing it for the right reasons.
HUGE IDEA:
▪ They tell their kids that every practice and game – they have to come to practice for somebody else – selfish attitudes are garbage and selfish behavior is the first and most important item to eliminate
▪ When an individual gets disciplined – they will have the primary offender do 10 push-ups, then when he finishes – the entire team has to do 20
Reward, Recognition, and Teambuilding
▪ Celebrating every accomplishment, whether big or large, is paramount
Winning
▪ You have to define what your wins are. Ultimately winning is having the kids fall in love with the sport. But especially once you put on a school team uniform – yes you should be playing to win.
The One that Got Away
▪ When Ken was playing college baseball they lost a game to their arch rival in the bottom of the 9th when the coach put in a hard-throwing freshman
Coaching/Leadership Motivation
▪ Book: ‘Raising a Modern Day Knight’ by Robert Lewis – story of bringing a boy into manhood
Kings Baseball
▪ Developed to show boys that if God has given you a gift of athletic ability – there are responsibilities that go with that
▪ 4 cornerstone principles (from Raising a Modern Day Knight):
- Accept responsibility
- Lead courageously
- Reject passivity
- Expect a greater reward
Parting Advice
▪ Don’t take the wins/losses too seriously, but take very seriously the impact you are having on these kids
Interview Links
▪ HUDL
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