Player Development Part I

What is player development, one may ask, It covers a vast variety of details. I have been involved with baseball player development since 1990, that is 34 years, nearly my entire adult life. I feel qualified to speak on this topic. Most of my time developing baseball players has been spent at the professional level, some 29 years. But I have also been involved at the high school level, the college level and with youth baseball and softball players. A Major League Baseball organization must develop their own talent to survive in this economic client the league finds itself in today. I learned many years ago from a well-known General Manager, the key to his successful tenure, SDSD. Scout, Draft, Sign & Develop. There are many facets to this process. Today’s game has come a long way since I began this journey in 1990. The way in which baseball scouts amateur players has changed in in digital era, the draft process has been upgraded, the signing of talent can be tricky but great organizations find a way to make their budget work. Ah, the development part, we will define development as “a process that creates growth, positive change, physical, mental maturity and where failure is not fatal.

When given players to develop, the most important cog remains building relationships with t players. Establishing a relationship of trust with the athlete a key to player growth. The player must know you care about them, their development and they trust you have their best interest at heart. The coach must have knowledge in the area he or she is teaching, as well. The coach needs to have a passion for their areas of expertise.

Assessment of an athlete is one of the first steps in developing a long-term development plan. Good player development programs have long term vision and do not allow short term obstacles to get in the way of player growth. In baseball, we have always measured. But the days of a stopwatch and a radar gun have been replaced by much more sophisticated tools. An athletes’ development is enhanced when the medical team, the coach and strength staff work together. The power of individualized exercise programs, strength programs and nutritional goals have enhanced player development. I would consider these participants to be under the medical umbrella, Team Orthopedic, Certified Trainer, Physical Therapist, Certified Strength Coach, Movement Specialist, Mental Coach, Nutritionist. That is quite an important team, and this group work must with the on field coaching staff to enhance individual player development. Let’s not forget a successful organization will have a team of data analysts, that can suggest ideas based on data findings that will enhance individual players development goals as well.

Regardless of what you have heard or read, the game is and will always be the best teacher. We as coaches, analysts are there to help the player learn from each game, each pitch, every situation and play. Good coaches use all the tools available to shorten the learning curve for their players from level to level of competition. Teaching organizational team defense (part of the development process) is paramount when joining any organization, High school, college, AAU or professional baseball. Quality organizations teach the team game as well as individual skills. A good organization will have continuity in what is taught as far as team defense, they will use the same verbiage and will execute the same way. Defense in baseball is different than other sports in the fact that we have the ball when we are on defense. Sound fundamentals are taught at the introductory levels and rehearsed and practiced at every level of baseball. One third of baseball games your team will outslug the other team and then one third of the time, that team will outslug your team. It’s the other one third of the games in which the team who executes the fundamentals best, wins those games. It is paramount to root each player in sound fundamental baseball. Some organizations are better than others when teaching fundamentals, keeping the drills fresh and to the point. Teaching responsibilities and holding the player accountable is crucial to team success. A pitcher for example, needs to do more than just throw the ball over the plate. He is responsible for managing the opponent’s running game, he must back up bases, he must know the bunt defense, he must be able to field his position and make all the throws to the bases as needed. These mentioned responsibilities are true in the lowest of the minor leagues to the major leagues. This is a small sample of team defense, but part of player development is learning how to defend, where do your responsibilities lie once a ball is put in play. The player knows the verbiage on run downs, relay throws from the outfield and on fly ball communication, wherever he moves within an organization.