Cornerstone Coaching Academy Podcast

In this episode you will find the 5 reasons baseball drills fail The towel drill is a controversial drill that doesn't very well simulate what happens in the game. If you search for "Baseball Drills" on the YouTube, you will find 242,000 drills, some of them involve movements that closely simulate what happens on the baseball field and you will find some that involve chairs, coffee can lids, towels, broom sticks, bands, and many more implements that will not be with you on the baseball field.   It is my opinion that baseball drills should look a lot like what happens on the field, and should not have a lot of implements that guide your movements.  Be sure to check out the resources below to be sure your drills translate from practice to the games:   Resources of the show Cornerstone Elite Membership - Contains over 60 tactical games to help your players learn to play the game and to compete, not just how to hit, field, and throw. Tactical Games Examples - Includes Tactical Games for Infields, O

It's that time of year again! Fall ball is done and players are getting ready for a little rest before either hitting the hardwood, or the weight room.   As a travel or high school coach, you are starting to get ready for your offseason conditioning program to get your athletes bigger, stronger, and faster.  But you also have to be sure that what they're doing will maximize their time in the weight room and give them the greatest benefit on the playing field.       Check out the Complete Offseason Conditioning Program   5 components that MUST be in your offseason conditioning program 1.) Periodization - Changing sets, reps, intensity, and exercises to maximize gains and convert strength into power as the season approaches http://www.acefitness.org/acefit/fitness-fact-article/2624/periodized-training-and-why-it-is/               2.) Core - We aren't talking about the kind of core where you lay on your back and do 300 crunches.  We are talking about generating as much power from the ground a

We've all been there... You're trying to get your offseason training program going, and your numbers aren't very good, the kids don't seem that into it, and you just don't see the results you think you should. This podcast will give you 7 practical tips for getting buy in to your 2015-2016 offseason conditioning program.     Resources for the show Complete Offseason Conditioning Program for 2015-2016 - Baseball specific offseason program for high school teams or individual high school players.   Pre and Post Testing for Offseason Conditioning - Use this to show your players their improvement from the beginning to the end of your offseason program.  It also works as evidence for future years to get buy ins to your offseason program.   If you have question you'd like to submit to the Cornerstone Podcast to be featured on one of our shows, you can submit it to www.cornerstonecoachingacademy.com/qa.    

I will begin this post by acknowledging that ANY physical activity that isn’t physically harmful is good and will likely increase an athlete’s performance, and will benefit one’s overall health.   Many weight rooms contain tons of machines. This might be great for the "weeknight warrior," but is it what your baseball players should be doing? There are a lot of traditional training methods that can in fact increase performance simply by increasing overall strength, and by the athlete being in better overall shape, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that those methods are the best training methods for baseball players. Players aren’t necessarily getting the best bang for their training buck (time and effort).   Let's go through the "traditional" method of working out that you see at a lot of local gyms and workout facilities:   Attend our FREE Web Clinic on creating strong, explosive, powerful, dynamic baseball players The Warm-Up (Movement prep) Weeknight and Saturday morning warriors at the gym show up

  Check out our 2nd Q & A podcast!!! In this episode, we answer two questions by loyal Cornerstone Podcast listeners.   Question #1 - Jonathan from Tulsa asks "What does an outline of your typical BP/hitting practices look like and consist of? How much time do you devote to hitting daily?"   Question #2 - After watching the Little League World Series, Chuck from Elgin, IL asks "What are your thoughts on pitchers throwing curveballs at a young age, and what age do you think a pitcher should learn to throw a curve ball?"   Resources for the show Check out our podcast on maximizing your batting practice session. Check out our tutorial on throwing a devastating change up. Here's the NY Times article on curve balls and arm injuries (the link to the Journal of American Sports Medicine can be found in there)

Our first Q & A Podcast!!!!!!! In this episode, we answer two questions by loyal Cornerstone Podcast listeners. Question #1 - Tom from Washington asks - How much of a rest from baseball should we give my 13U player? Question #2 - Matt from Arizona asks - My son can't hit slower pitching, how can I help him? Resources mentioned in the show  Check out our podcast on preventing pitching injuries The article on Jordan Spieth playing multiple sports as a youth (ok... so he's kind of still a youth) Check out our three plate hitting drill here   Submit your question to the Cornerstone Coaching Academy Podcast here: Enter your question belowName: *City, State *Your question: * VerificationPlease enter any two digits *Example: 12This box is for spam protection - please leave it blank:

I know that I promised that the next podcast would be a Q & A podcast, and it will be... after we address this.   I wanted to post a timely response to James Harrison making his kids give back their participation trophy while it was still in the news and still relevant.   In case you missed it, you can check out the article on it:   http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/13447657/james-harrison-pittsburgh-steelers-takes-away-kids-participation-trophies-says-awards-earned   After James Harrison posted his opinion on participation trophies on Istagram, there was a lot of response, mostly in support of Harrison and his position.  I agree with a certain amount of this sentiment, and do believe we have a entitlement problem with players and parents in our sports system.     I disagree with him that the "participation trophy" is the reason why.   1.) Kids know the difference. He's not giving the kids the enough credit.  They know the difference between a participation trophy (or medal, or certificate) and the t

  In this episode we will discuss how to help players adjust to college baseball their freshmen year: Making sure you're at the right school to begin with Unusual demands on your time The blessing and curse of great freedom Conquering the freshmen dorms Oh no! My velocity is dipping! Everyone was all conference/area/state Staying on top of your academics during the most demanding schedule in college athletics Resources: iTunes - Leave us a review on iTunes and have it be read on the air. Part 1 of playing college baseball... warning! This was my first attempt at a podcast, it probably isn't very good! Cornerstone's Free Bronze Membership -  Totally free membership area includes all podcast and blog premium documents, ebooks, drill videos, and much, much more. Cornerstone's Elite Membership - $1 Trial membership, over 60 tactical games, 5 online course, weekly video/audio tips.  

    Every program has (or should have) their points of emphasis for each position.  We have had a significant paradigm shift over the past few seasons which has lead to our 7 points of emphasis for pitchers for 2015 and beyond. In this episode, you will learn: What we are doing to increase our pitcher's velocity Why we are shifting our emphasis away from JUST throwing strikes on 0-0 and 1-1 counts How we take the advantage back in hitter's counts Our plan for 0-2 counts Why our pitcher's are responsible for being strong and healthy at the end of the season How pitchers can help themselves after the ball is thrown Why that 3 mile run pitchers want to do is a waste of time.         Resources for the show Throwing a change up tutorial - How to throw three different types of change ups, when to throw change ups, and how to make it a devastating pitch.   10 Things Pitchers Must Do To Be Successful - This FREE eBook adds some additional points of emphasis you may want to consider for your pi

  This is combination podcast/blog post, so you get choose your medium for consumption!  As you will see in this episode/post, we are all about choices!!!       We've seen it in every aspect of the game, your players dominate practice!   They are great mechanically. They can field forehands, backhands, make routine plays, make double plays, field slow rollers, and their arm looks great.   Then game time comes.  Their "mechanics" still look good, but they make errors. Lots of errors. They seem unsure and hesitant. They don't know where the ball needs to go.  They seem surprised the ball is hit to them.   Then they look like they don't want the ball hit to them.   What's going on?   Let's look at the top 4 reasons infielders don't translate practice performance into games. 1.) A lack of understanding of what a "good fielder" at your level is - Here's the bottom line, we aren't dealing with professional infielders.  I went back and looked at how our shortstops have fielded since 2011.   In that gro

  In this episode you will learn: How completely not caring about the score of the game helped us win more games The MAJOR part of the game that I think is missing on so many teams How I created competition within our team to reach our goals The outstanding results we got from our new focus Resources of the show Team tactical checklist for games or scrimmages 10 Tips for Playing Great Team Defense video course

  In this episode you will learn how to maximize bullpen sessions by: Giving you eight great tips for bullpen How to warm-up appropriately for their bullpen session Simulating the work load of a game  Working on your ENTIRE game in pitching Making sure they are comfortable throwing the most crucial pitches they will need to throw in a game Creating competition in bullpen session   Resources Tactical Games Examples - Includes the R-O-C-K-E-T-S game for creating competition in bullpen sessions Complete Throwing Program for Amateur Pitchers - Sign up for more details on our new throwing program Baserunning Chart - We keep this chart for our pitchers in their bullpen session so that they can work on varying their timing in the stretch. iTunes - Leave us a review on iTunes and have it be read on the air. Cornerstone Elite - Get started with our Cornerstone Elite Membership for just $1.  The 60 tactical games and challenges is just the tip of the ice berg with the content in this membershi

    THIS IS PART TWO OF OUR TWO PART SERIES ON KEEPING PITCHER HEALTHY.   AS YOU KNOW, THERE IS NO "MAGIC BULLET" OF PITCHER HEALTH, BUT THERE ARE SEVERAL THINGS A PITCHER AND COACH CAN DO TO HELP KEEP PITCHERS HEALTHY. In this episode you will learn: What pitchers can do BEFORE they pitch to help the recovery process If pitchers should ice or not after pitching. How to tell if a pitcher is sore or injured. Post pitching routines for pitchers What pitchers should do, and should not do the next day         Resources for the show: Complete Throwing  Program for Amateur Pitchers - Sign up for more details on our new throwing program Pre-Game Pitcher Routine - This routine will prepare your pitcher's body body for the game and help minimize their recovery time after the game. Podcast on coach's role in keeping pitchers safe - Common sense actions coaches can take to minimize pitching injuries  Crossover Symmetry System - This is the shoulder strengthening system we use to t

  In this episode, you will learn: Why pitcher health is so important The risk factors for major throwing related injuries Why showcases can be causing a lot of arm injuries Why 100 pitches may really be 160 or MORE!!! If your players/son should pitch and catch How to manage a pitching staff to minimize late inning offensive surges Common sense actions coaches can take to minimize pitching injuries   Resources mentioned in this show: Complete Throwing Program for Amateur Pitchers - Sign up for more details on our new throwing program Blog post on pitcher safety - This blog post gives you many of the risk factors and common sense actions coaches can take to prevent pitching injuries.  Throwing a change up tutorial - How to throw three different types of change ups, when to throw change ups, and how to make it a devastating pitch. Pitcher Availability Worksheet - This worksheet gives two common summer ball models, the league play and weekend tournament model, and the weekend tournam

  This week's question comes from John, a travel coach in suburban Baltimore.  He is concerned that he has had a large amount of turnover in the past several years and his teams seem to be a collection of individuals.  He is looking for help in developing a team philosophy, or "more we, less me."   In this episode, you will learn: The challenges of developing a sense of team in school and travel baseball in 2015 How to keep your players focused on the team first and the individual second How your practices can create a team first environment How individual accomplishments can be framed as a team accomplishment How you can be a team first coach   Resources Cornerstone Elite Membership - The Elite Membership includes all of the charts mentioned in this podcast to measure your player's performance AND keep players involved in the game, and over 60 tactical games to develop teamwork during your practices. Our 10 Practice Plan Series contains pre-planned, ready to use practices that will save you TONS of

In this episode, you will learn: My take on defensive shifting and why I think you're crazy if you don't use them How to utilize defensive shifting intelligently in high school baseball and below. How to not overreact to one swing and shift when you shouldn't. When we shift and why. Where right handed hitters generally hit groundballs/flyballs and where left handed hitters generally hit groundball/flyballs.   Resources: Sign up for our complete free email video course and get 10 actionable tips on playing great team defense  Get our simple system for calling defensive shifts here   We'd love to hear from you! Submit your idea for a podcast topic here:   Submit your topic here!Name *Email *Enter your podcast topic or question here * VerificationPlease enter any two digits *Example: 12This box is for spam protection - please leave it blank:

 In this episode, you will learn Why so many players today are looking for a "quick fix." How to handle the question "what do I need to do better?" so that your players actually improve. Why mechanical changes usually aren't the answer to hitting slumps, and how to address them. Why hitting a baseball is the hardest thing to do in sports. A much better way to measure hitting performance than batting average.         Resources Cornerstone Elite Membership - The Weighted Quality at Bat Spreadsheet is just the tip of the iceberg. Opposite Field Drill Progression - These 8 drills will help players learn to DRIVE the ball to the opposite field Maximizing Your Team's BP Session - Use these practical tips to get the most out of your team batting practice sessions Handling Slumps - blog post adds to the topic of this podcast by identifying the "causes" of slumps, and helping players get out of them. Preventing arm injuries - blog post that gives common sense solutions to decrease the number of arm injuries.

  In this episode you will learn: The simple equation we use to determine how successful our baserunners will be stealing stealing second. The system we have used to teach our players how to read pitchers and how to get great jumps. The chart we keep to use to help our players get to know each pitchers and when they should and shouldn't run. A simple tip you can use to increase the pitchers time to the plate, AND the catcher's POP (glove to glove) time on a stolen base.  Resources/Show Notes: Cornerstone's Elite Membership - $1 Trial membership, over 60 tactical games, 5 online course, weekly video/audio tips includes Weighted QAB Spreadsheet.  Cheat sheet for stealing bases - Covers inside tips on stealing bases not covered in this podcast! iTunes - Leave us a review on iTunes and have it be read on the air. Baserunning Chart - Helps your players learn when to run, and teaches them how to read pitchers in games.  Can also be used to help your pitchers vary timing and shut down the running

Oooooppppsss!  If you are looking for the shownotes for Episode 20, please click here.  For some reason, I said the show notes from Episode 20 were here... they are not.   In this episode, you will learn: How to put decision making in your player's hands When is it important to make sure of an out, and when is it important to keep the run from scoring How to defend the early leave or "walk-off" Why we don't have predetermined 1st and 3rd plays   Resources: iTunes - Leave us a review on iTunes and have it be read on the air.   If you enjoyed this podcast, you will LOVE our 10 Tips to Playing Great Team Defense email course.   Cornerstone's Elite Membership - $1 Trial membership, over 60 tactical games, 5 online course, weekly video/audio tips