The Need for the Professional Baseball Player Development Model

I knew early on that there was something not right with youth league baseball. My parents always brought lawn chairs to the ballgames and sat out beyond the outfield to watch our ballgames.

Mom and Dad avoided the fray that took place in the bleachers between the dugouts.

Although my folks did not share with me and my brother as to why they avoided the little league baseball bleachers at the time it became clear as to why very soon.

It didn’t take kids long to realize the craziness around the bleachers, the dugouts, the treatment of the umpires and the whole highly intense nature from the coaches and spectators.

How Did I Get Here to the Right Baseball Player Development System?

I had top baseball coaches in college at Fresno State with ‘Hall of Fame Coach’ Bob Bennett. I played for great professional baseball coaches and more ‘Hall of Fame’ players with the Boston Red Sox from the late 70’s through the early 90’s.

I know how the baseball professionals teach and train baseball players.

In the late 90’s I wanted to stay at home more so I started Holt Baseball—a full service baseball-training center in Salinas, California. With the help of my family we soon started a summer collegiate wood bat baseball team in the California Coastal Collegiate Baseball League.

I got an up close look at all facets of youth baseball in our community. I got to see, hear, feel and breathe the local youth baseball scene. Some good, some bad and some really ugly.

This is when I started really looking into and researching what was actually going on in youth baseball in America. I constantly went back to my knowledge of the professional baseball player development system and wondered why the youth leagues did not follow the same system.

Why do the little leagues and youth baseball organizations focus on winning at all costs and all-stars rather than baseball player development?

Mission & Purpose for My Baseball Player Development System

With all the USSSA travel ball and all the other travel baseball tournaments and teams one would think more baseball players should be evolving into high school baseball teams and college baseball teams.

Something is wrong with this picture. There must be a problem if we are playing so much more baseball but still not developing a significant amount of talented players.

My mission and purpose evolves from a statement that the former All-Star player and GM of the New York Yankees Bob ‘the Bull’ Watson made several years ago about his observations on the state of amateur baseball in America. When asked by a reporter a probing question about what he thought was wrong with baseball he made the following comments.

“The two things most wrong with baseball today is the

1. A strong emphasis on winning vs. the emphasis on development of strong players at the youth league baseball levels, and

2. The lack of quality coaching at the youth league baseball levels.”

Youth League Baseball Player Development System

I tailor our baseball training system on the professional player development system. The minor leagues have a purpose and that is to provide baseball players to their major league team.

Training baseball players to play at the major league level is the whole purpose and function.

Winning is a part of the system but never trumps player development. This is the same mindset that we want to bring to the youth leagues—it is very much okay to try to play to win, but never at the costs of developing baseball players to get better on and off the field.

Measuring Success in Baseball Player Development

The real success comes from

1. How many players stay in the game for the longest amount of time, and

2. How many coaches leave a legacy with their players by building high character values, virtues, the importance of team work, and sportsmanship within their teams, opponents and umpires.

There has to be more to youth baseball than the league standings and all-star teams.

Baseball Player Development is Our Vehicle

First,: We need to improve our quality of coaching so we can develop baseball skills to keep players in the game longer. We know that 75% of youth baseball players are out of baseball by age 14.

What do we need to do to help baseball players stay in the game longer?

Answer: A better baseball coaching approach using the professional baseball player development model system.

Second: The need for our youth league coaches and parents to avoid the win-at-all-costs approach and teach more than the game.

Baseball is the vehicle to teach more than the game. Baseball is the platform to teach lifelong values.

For example, the Boy Scouts of America teaches their members the importance of character using the motto of being trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent. The Boy Scouts is the teaching platform to share these vital values in their kids.

This is the reason we want to fashion and use youth baseball as our platform to teach in addition to baseball skills.

Few of our young baseball players will even play baseball past 12 years old and even fewer will play high school baseball much less college baseball or pros. We better do the best we can in leaving a strong legacy with our young athletes during the time we are blessed to have them.

Developing Our Baseball Coaching Approach

Often his players never realized at the time what Coach Wooden was really doing. It was years later when his players would be able to look back on their time with coach Wooden and reflect on his message.

This is what leaving a legacy is all about. What kind of legacy are we going to leave the kids we have the privilege of coaching? Are you gong to be a win-at-all-cost Vince Lombardi type?

What coaching approach do you want to be remembered for? It is time to reflect on the type of legacy we are going to leave and the impact on the children we have the opportunity to be a role model for.

1. Be true to yourself.

2. Help others.

3. Make friendship a fine art.

4. Drink deeply from good books, especially the Bible.

5. Make each day your masterpiece.

6. Build a shelter against a rainy day by the life you live.

7. Give thanks for your blessings and pray for guidance every day.

From ‘Coach Wooden’ by Pat Williams: 2011

Back to Home Page
Return to About Me from Baseball Player Development

New! Comments