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PULL THE TRIGGER!

This blog is very significant for the times we are in right now. I’ve spoken about approaches in previous blogs, and as I’ve said before, you can have the best swing in the world, but without a solid approach, you will not have success. Let’s recap some basic concepts from previous blogs: We talked about “Controlling the Counts” and “Taking Advantage of the Counts.” What exactly does this mean? Controlling a Count means putting yourself in a situation to have success. Know when you want to hit, know what count you are looking for, and put yourself in offensive counts. Taking Advantage of the Count means that when you do get to your offensive count, you do damage and “PULL THE TRIGGER!” This brings us to the topic of this blog: “PULL THE TRIGGER.” I’ve been dealing with this issue at the high school level, and from the reports I hear, my younger levels are experiencing similar struggles. Anytime something comes up—even if it feels like a failure—it can be used to your advantage and ma...
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Focus on The Long Game

What is the “Long Game”? This is something that I really feel is missing in the game nowadays, especially at the youth levels. While travel ball has been great for the game, it has also hurt it in some ways! Because of travel ball, the best players can compete against each other. It’s the highest level of youth sports. This is a great thing! It has created more talented players and fostered competition that drives players to work hard! But, at the same time, it has brought a lot of negativity. Because it's a high level, fans, parents, coaches, and players feel more pressure. Tempers flare up! Arguments between fans and coaches are a regular thing nowadays. Friendships are lost, and I feel the fun in the game gets lost as well. Players, parents, and coaches forget what this is all about. It's now become all about chasing that $5 ring rather than developing players to be their best in the long term. When I was growing up, there were only a handful of travel teams in all of San ...
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Finding Your Edge: The Focus and Will to Win

These are the two key topics I’m covering in this blog, and for us, they will work together.   In our last blog, we talked a lot about Finding Our Edge . Now, we’re shifting to The Will to Win —the driving force that will help us build and sustain our edge as a team and organization. We’ve all experienced or watched games where our team just couldn’t get things going or seemed flat. On the flip side, we’ve also seen our team firing on all cylinders.   What makes this happen? What causes us to be locked in and focused at times and flat and disengaged at others? As with most things we discuss, there isn’t a single answer. But today, we’re going to focus on The Will to Win  to bring it all together.   I believe the Will to Win  is what pushes us to train hard, inspires us to connect and communicate as a team, motivates us to rally for the big hit or clutch pitch, and makes us hungry and eager to contribute. It’s what drives us even when moments are s...
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Approach in Offensive Counts

My goal is to teach the mental side of the game as we continue to grow physically and fundamentally. In our previous blog, we introduced the concept of an approach—my definition of what approach means in baseball. In the coming weeks, we’ll cover various approaches, such as two-strike approaches, executing hit-and-runs, when to isolate specific zones, and more. In our last blog, we discussed controlling the counts and taking advantage of offensive counts. I will continue to emphasize this point because of its importance. Now, we’re going to build on that idea and explore how to apply it to achieve success. Now that we understand what offensive counts are, let’s focus on our approach in these situations. Many hitters are unsure of what to do in these counts. I’m not here as an “all-knowing coach” but rather to share my perspective on hitting and what has led to my own success, as well as the success of players I’ve coached and played with. Often, hitters are taught to overswing, pull th...
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Hitting Approaches

Hitting Approaches There are many thoughts, philosophies, and ideas around hitting. Many players and coaches focus on the mechanics and fundamentals of hitting. While mechanics and fundamentals are very important, they are basic and shouldn’t be complicated. I'm not writing these blogs to come across like I’m an all-knowing coach. I'm simply offering my beliefs and philosophies in the hope that they can help you become a better player. Here are my basic thoughts on the mechanics of hitting: - Have a quiet head and eyes! This means minimal movement. Our eyes tell us the speed and location of a pitch, as well as when to get ready. - Have a short and direct path to the baseball. - Finish "throwing the baseball," meaning keep your bat/hands through the zone as long as possible. - Have a strong base, meaning finish with the strongest posture you can. There are a few technical elements that can improve overall strength and power, and it's important to always look to imp...
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The Little Things in Baseball Make a Huge Difference: Coach Nicks take on Game 3 and 4 of the NLDS

 Love watching this game! Crazy how the smallest things can make a huge difference in the game. Im completely locked in on the playoffs primarily the Padres games. The past two nights I have seen a few things that I felt I needed to share. Not every fan noticed them but they made a huge impact in the game. In game 3 of the NLDS there were 3 plays that led to the Padres big inning. These plays were simple but extremely high level and in my opinion coaches, including myself need to point out.  Play 1:  Manny Machado's taking away the throwing lane on the ground ball hit to Freddy Freeman. Manny understood that the throw was coming from inside of the baseline. The trick to this is to run towards the glove of the defender. In plays like this we can't see what's going on behind us. You watch where the defender is set up, watch his eyes and glove positioning and run towards it. This play forced a tough throw and the ball hit Manny in the back and ended up in left field and gave...
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