When, and only when, your Player is in a “listening mode”

You have a kid on your baseball team that bats 485. However, his stance is not textbook; he has a lousy grip, and swings at everything and anything. However, little Joey is batting 485. What is the only question a coach should ask him? Believe me there is one and only one question. When you learn and apply this question to your coaching you will be successful. The answer is, “Joey, is this how I spell your name on the lineup card?

Please trust me. This is not the time to change the kid. So when is a good time? Be patient. You will know when. Let me give you a hint; Little Joey or Big Joey for that matter will come to you. When will that be you ask?

In many cases Joey’s batting average will falter to 385, then 285, and then sinking past the Mendoza Line into low 200s and possibly lower. Joey will come to you. He may not come to you directly but his body language will tell you (Tell you it will be screaming at you…”Coach what am I doing wrong”). More importantly he will be in that rarest of modes, the listening mode. Managers need to be prepared for that moment and provide one (and only one) short, succinct observation along with a corresponding recommendation followed up by a genuine dose of encouragement. WARNING: Do not allow parents to come into the dugout during a game and work with their little darlings. AND the reason is the kid doesn’t want them there and if they do well, you made a bad selection in the draft. Learn and move on. This should be discussed in a parents meeting during the manager expectations part.

I am adamant about one recommendation and it must be the most important. Giving a player a list of things to do in the game is overwhelming and sends him faster down the slippery slope of despair. Moreover, it is difficult to turn a player around during a game. There will be plenty of time to work with Joey and his parents on that one thing in the batting cage