WYC 133 – Youth baseball – Dave Holt talks drills and practice design

Coaching your own kids

• Dave’s dad did a great job of just going out and playing with and throwing with his boys, and not instructing them. Just let them learn to enjoy the sport and don’t antagonize them by nitpicking their mechanics.

Cringe moments

• Dave wishes he had spent more time on the one-on-one relationship side of coaching

Teaching Skills

• Maximize # of touches!
• Get lots of touches in some type of competition
• Fast catch – Line up with a partner and when you’ve caught 10 in a row, take a knee (competition)

Mental toughness

• You want kids to be ultra-aggressive and play without fear
• Be thinking long-term development, not short term wins.
• Don’t focus on winning. Focus on playing well.

Travel sports options

• Travel sports lite – you can do travel teams and compete within your own area, not all over the country

Culture – Rewarding success

• Dirtiest uniform, biggest sweat ring on their hat, best encouraging teammate

Connecting with and impacting kids

• Dave coached a kid who was going to quit, Dave got together with the principal and they encouraged him not to quit. He stuck with it and went on to start on the baseball team his senior year.

The one that got away

• Dave had a player who was the best player on the team and skipped a team event. Dave played him instead of disciplining him, and regrets that decision.

Best Stolen Idea

• 3-team it: Break the team into 3 teams and rotate them together. Great way to practice with lots of touches and you can scrimmage with these 3 teams.

Favorite Quote/Book

• Book: The Matheny Manifesto by Mike Matheny
• Book: Inside-out Coaching by Joe Ehrmann
• Book: Go for the Magic by Pat Williams
• Book: Why Johnny hates sports by Fred Engh
• Quote: ‘A good coach can give correction without causing resentment’ – John Wooden

Coach and play baseball resources

• Books, dvd’s, articles, and many more resources
• Website/books: coachandplaybaseball.com

Parting Advice

• Baseball has a very high level of failure. Embrace and expect mistakes. Help kids manage the failures.