NCAA baseball – Page 5

Getting to the heart of coaching Black boys in baseball

November 29, 2023 by C.J. Stewart

I have been developing elite baseball players for more than 25 years. My current and past players have received honors ranging from the “Gatorade High School Player of the Year,” the first pick in the Major League Baseball (MLB) draft, the “Dick Howser Trophy,” MLB “Rookie of the Year” and the MLB MVP, to name a few.

I owe my success to personal experience as an amateur, collegiate and professional baseball player, trusted mentors, a proven development process, devout study habits and the committed coaches I learn from and team with.

Two of the coaches I work with on a daily basis with L.E.A.D. Center For Youth are Tre’ Hampton and Andre Paris.

November through January is the time our coaching staff is committed to teaching our program participants grades 3 through 12th from Atlanta Public Schools how to practice, build habits and strength during our winter workouts.

They receive thousands of repetitions that we track to help us prepare them for February through April when they will convert their habits to skills.

Here are seven questions I recently asked Tre’ and Andre. Their answers will help you understand the heart of coaching Black boys in baseball:

Why did you choose to play baseball when you were younger?

Tre’: I did not choose baseball, it chose me in a way. I got introduced to it by one of my friends (who was playing) mother. She told my mom to sign me up so we could play on the same team. The rest was history as I fell in love with it. It was just fun to play and watch.

Andre: I chose to play baseball when I was younger because my mom signed me up after she noticed I really enjoyed hitting and watching the ball fly.

What’s the best way to get Black boys interested in baseball that have never played it before?

Tre’: Introducing it to them at a young age, but if that’s not an option the next best option is to approach them with it and play it.

Andre: I think the best way to get Black boys interested in baseball is by introducing the sport to them and allowing them to play in an environment where they are encouraged.

What are the top three things that can cause them to lose interest?

Tre’: No. 1 – Not being able to deal with failure. As we know, baseball has a lot of ups and downs and if a kid doesn’t have the mental capacity to deal with that then they will lose interest.

No. 2 – The lack of patience. Baseball players know there’s a game within the game going on at all times. But it doesn’t change the fact that in baseball, we stand around about 80% of the time. So boys who like quick fast-paced movement all the time like some other sports will cause them to lose interest.

No. 3 – Their environment. In the Black community baseball gets the short end of the stick compared to football and basketball. For whatever reason, the Black community has migrated to those two sports. So young black boys who are usually impressionable go for those sports because their environment tells them to.

Andre: I believe they are a lack of results, other sports that are more highly regarded pulling them away and their outside environment causing them to become distracted.

What are the top three things that a Black boy will learn from baseball that can help him become a good Black man?

Tre’: How to deal with adversity and overcome it. What hard work/discipline really is when it comes to the “real world.” How to work with a team/organization environment.

Andre: I believe that baseball will teach them patience, how to think ahead, and how to deal with adversity. I think these three things are critical because they all are necessary in dealing with the unexpected obstacles that appear in life.

What is unique about L.E.A.D.‘s approach to using baseball to develop Black boys on and off the field?

Tre’: The fact that we have Black coaches who can relate to their struggle. We can emphasize with them because we were them.

Andre: LEAD’s approach is unique because it allows young Black men such as myself to help develop the boys to become better players and people. I believe it’s important to do it this way because we are relatable to the environment they are growing up in.

What’s your favorite hitting drill?

Tre’: The Upper Half Load Drill.

Andre: My favorite hitting drill is the Top Hand Drill.

What’s your favorite defensive position to teach?

Tre’: That’s tough, but definitely anywhere on the infield for sure.

Andre: My favorite position to teach is catcher because I believe they are the glue to the team. Catchers have to manage game situations and be the eyes for all other eight positions. They are the only positions facing the opposite direction.

Henry “Hank” Aaron once said, “What you do with your life and how you do it is not only a reflection on you, but on your family and all of those institutions that have helped to make you who you are.”

Black boys are in good hands with strong Black men like Tre’ and Andre.

For more information, visit L.E.A.D. Center for Youth today.

If you found this inspiring and thought-provoking, or if you have any questions, comments or concerns, add me on Discord and let’s go deeper.

C.J. Stewart has built a reputation as one of the leading professional hitting instructors in the country. He is a former professional baseball player in the Chicago Cubs organization and has also served as an associate scout for the Cincinnati Reds. As founder and CEO of Diamond Directors Player Development, C.J. has more than 22 years of player development experience and has built an impressive list of clients, including some of the top young prospects in baseball today. If your desire is to change your game for the better, C.J. Stewart has a proven system of development and a track record of success that can work for you.

Reminiscing, reliving and loving the road traveled

November 22, 2023 by C.J. Stewart

Potential is not a matter of where you start, but of how far you travel. As we have explored, the original usage of the word coach was a means of transportation. Back then—and still today—a good coach is supposed to get you to your destination.

My first coach was my dad. As a kid, I had lots of different balls and we played a lot of catch. By the time I was 8 years old, I was dreaming of Major League Baseball and playing for the Chicago Cubs. I’d watch their games during the hot Atlanta summers. Then, I would go outside and hit rocks as if I was really at Wrigley Field.

My first coaches at eight years old on an organized baseball team were Emmett Johnson, Joshua Butler and Gus Burns. I played for them on the Cascade Youth Organization (CYO) Braves in Southwest Atlanta.

I remember seeing Hank Aaron at our games along with Maynard Jackson, Andrew Young, Hosea Williams, Ralph David Abernathy, and many other greats because they lived in the Southwest Atlanta community where we played our games.

“If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” — Isaac Newton

We moved to College Park when I was 11, where I started playing for the Old National Athletic Association (ONAA) A’s and Yankees for Coach Zach Davis. I was the new kid in town and he took care of me.

Next, I was able to play for the ONAA Pirates for Coach Godfrey Milliner, and then for Coach James Holliday on the ONAA Yankees. They knew the game and they loved us.

I met Coach T.J. Wilson my freshman year at Westlake High School. He believed in me. Within a few weeks of knowing him, he was financially investing in me to train with Denny Pritchett. I wasn’t training for fun. Coach T.J. advocated for me to have my first professional tryout with the Chicago Cubs when I was 14 years old.

Coach Dave Whitfield was my high school baseball coach at Westlake High School. I remember he made us clean our cleats and bring our uniforms to school on hangers.

Coach Hudson, my history teacher, JV football and varsity basketball coach, encouraged me to focus on baseball my high school season to help my chances of getting drafted.

Coach Derrick Stafford is an Atlanta native. We both grew up in Zone 1 Northwest Atlanta. He was a standout athlete at Morehouse College, eventually becoming one of the best referees in the NBA. He created a team called the Chico’s All-Stars in honor of “Chico” Renfroe, where I was able to play for him. He taught me how to be punctual and the importance of being prepared to play.

I was drafted by the Cubs right out of high school in 1994, but chose to attend Georgia State University (GSU) to play for legendary Coach Mike Hurst.

Saying yes to Coach Hurst meant I had to say no to another legend, Roger Cador, who has developed so many great men and baseball players at Southern University.

While I played well on the field at GSU, I was academically ineligible after my freshman year. I was able to transfer to Dekalb Junior College to play for another legend, Coach Tom Cantrell. I performed at a high level at Dekalb College, but was academically ineligible again.

I was drafted again by the Cubs. A dream fulfilled.

Sandy Alomar was my first manager at the professional level. He liked me a lot and we still stay in touch today. My professional playing career was short because I lacked the core values required to be elite.

I met Joe Logan in my early 20s. He was a former professional baseball player and had become a sought after professional baseball swing coach. He mentored me to become a professional baseball coach—not just in title, but in intentional repeatable actions. This was the start of the first business with my wife, Kelli. We called it Diamond Directors with the mission to provide the blueprint of success for diamond sport athletes.

As a teenager, I was able to get batting lessons from former Atlanta Braves starter, Terry Harper. He mentored me on being a great coach training kids of varying ages and skills levels in the East Cobb community.

Brandon Smith was another trainer I looked up to. He showed me how to convert my passion to a career.

Ed Hartwell taught me how to scout and challenged me to step out on faith and start a sports management group. I was able to advise 10 clients for the amateur draft. Six of them played in the Majors, with Charlie Culberson being my first client.

For several years, I was journaling so that I could do what was in my head in writing. My hope was that one day I could create a methodology to explain how I was able to do all that I was successfully doing. Bill Mclellan took my content and gave it a name, A.T.B.A.T.S.

Pat Alacqua helped me create a suite of services, including my Hitting Lab, which separated me from my competition. This was important because my business was dying as I tried to compete with others based on price. I had to learn that the good stuff always costs more.

Stan Conway challenged me to be more than an accomplished coach for middle class suburban youth. He challenged me to come back home to the inner city of Atlanta to serve Black boys who wanted to grow up to be me. So, in 2007, LEAD Center For Youth was established.

Thanksgiving is a time of reflection. I am indeed living a blessed life and it is because of a lot of great people that have poured into me.

I am excited about my future as well as for the game of baseball.

My prayer is that everyone is able to convert their passion into a career because it is life giving.

For more information, visit L.E.A.D. Center for Youth today.

Getting to the core of excellence

November 15, 2023 by C.J. Stewart

Will Durant once said, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”

I define excellence as meeting expectations. I cannot make it any simpler than that. In order for me to be an excellent coach to my hitters, I must first ask them what they expect from me.

Most times, they struggle to put their expectations into words. When the words come, several have said they expect me to:

Be honest with them about how they are doing
Communicate with clarity
Have a process for them to follow
Not to waste time with them if I don’t believe in them

Excellence is a core value for my family. Because I have made it a habit of being excellent starting with the ones I love the most, it allows me to show up with others as my real self.

I am not perfect, but I do make it a habit of living a life of excellence.

Talent is what you do well and a habit is what you do well repeatedly without thought. Habits consist of a cue, routine and a reward.

A cue is a signal for action. Me being honest in love with my hitters is the routine and the reward is me having the feeling of excellence. There are times when my honesty hurts my hitters. There also are times when they have constructive feedback for me that hurts.

Commit to being excellent and building good habits as you complete your winter workouts through the end of January.

Remember, it takes 3,000 reps to build a habit. If you need to build habits for all seven parts, that’s 21,000 reps.

I teach the swing using seven parts that include:

Stance/Load
Timing
Tempo
Tracking
Approach
Contact
Extension/Finish

Here’s a good drill for you to execute 3,000 times to improve your tempo and approach.

For more information, visit L.E.A.D. Center for Youth today.

Are you ready for the challenge to the best?

November 8, 2023 by C.J. Stewart

Robert H. Schuller once said, “Tough times never last, but tough people do.”

My hitters spend August through October trying new things to find out what works and what doesn’t. November through January is when they commit and discipline themselves to build habits and strength based on what works.

For example:

Hitter A – August – October

Trying new loads that will allow him to produce power during the spring season.

Varying load types include:

High Leg
Toe Tap
Bat Wrap
Hand Drop

Hitter A – November – January

Focusing on:

Building a repeatable habit of a high leg load to produce more power.
Building hip flexor and core strength in order to repeatedly get and keep his body in position to produce power.
Building mental awareness to determine when he is doing things wrong so that he can make quick adjustments.
Building emotional capacity to remain patient while it takes 3,000-plus reps to build the habit.

Talent is what you do well. Habits is what you do well reportedly without thought, while skills is what you do well reportedly without thought while under stress.

Habit = Cue + Routine + Reward

The routine part is where most coaches start and spend the most time with hitters. We commit to focusing on making sure that your load is good along with a good approach, etc.

The reward is lots of hits and being able to do it with power.

A cue is a signal for action.

When it comes to hitting, a cue would be the different pitches that are thrown by the opposing pitcher in a game.

Fastballs are fast and change ups are slow. Curve balls have height, tilt and then depth. Each pitch is thrown strategically to prevent hitters from producing power.

So in order for my hitters to develop good habits November through January that will help them compete February through May, we cannot spend all of our time creating great routines without changing the cue—varying pitch types.

I teach the swing using seven parts that include:

Stance/Load
Timing
Tempo
Tracking
Approach
Contact
Extension/Finish

Remember, it takes 3,000 reps to build a habit. If you need to build habits for all seven parts, that’s 21,000 reps.

Toughness is physical or emotional strength that allows someone to endure strain or hardship. It definitely takes toughness to commit and discipline yourself for three months to build habits and strength.

I define discipline as doing the things that need to get done especially when you don’t want to do it. Many people want fame and fortune, but don’t want to be committed and disciplined to get it.

Here’s a load drill that you can commit and discipline yourself to execute to improve your habits and strength.

For more information, visit L.E.A.D. Center for Youth today.

Why you should be ‘chunking’

November 1, 2023 by C.J. Stewart

How do you eat an elephant? One piece at a time. This is an example of what coaches say when we are stuck on simplistic. To be simplistic is to treat complex issues and problems as if they are simpler than they really are.

How do you find simple solutions out of complex issues? Chunking.

I believe all things that are simple start out as simplistic. Then, simplistic things must be intentionally challenged, complicated and chunked in order to become simple to do.

Chunking is a process by which small individual pieces of information are bound together to create a meaningful whole later on in memory.

Human perception relies on chunking up lots of information into smaller units to make sense of it. For example, you might use “homes” to remember the names of the Great Lakes (Huron, Ontario, Michigan, etc.) or “Never Eat Soggy Waffles” to remember cardinal directions north, east, south and west.

How many times have you heard a coach say, “Trust the process,” only for him to never tell you what the process is.

Here are a few examples of chunking that helps me coach and lead with excellence.

I have internalized our L.E.A.D. Center For Youth core values and I teach our program participants to remember them as “Every HIL Seems Tall.”

Excellence
Humility
Integrity
Loyalty
Stewardship
Teamwork

The methodology I created for our baseball training business, Diamond Directors is ATBATS:

Assessment
Training for strength
Basics
Approach
Training for skill
Situational hitting

Systematize your stuff if you want to have success:

Identify all the stuff that needs to be considered
Make the stuff specific which will remove all the stuff that’s not necessary to do
Sequence the specific stuff
Make sure that the sequenced specific stuff is simple to do

I didn’t create S.M.A.R.T. Mapping, but I use it a lot because it is so simple. S.M.A.R.T. Goals help ensure your objectives are attainable within a certain time frame.

Make your goals Specific
Then make ’em Measurable
They gotta be Achievable
They gotta be Relevant
And if they ain’t Time-Bound, you will be relying on hope and chance

A good process will give you:

Simplicity
Scalability
Efficiency
Profitability

This may sound like good simple chunking for a business because it is. I challenge you to start treating your baseball and personal development like a business by challenging your coaches to coach you using a tried and true process.

As Alfred, Lord Tennyson once said, “Words, like nature, half reveal and half conceal the soul within.”

Complexity is the state of being complicated.

Chunking is a process by which small individual pieces of a set of information are bound together to create a meaningful whole later on in memory.

Efficiency is about removing wasted actions.

Profitability is to have financial gain.

Methodology is a system of methods used to achieve a goal.

Process is a series of actions taken to achieve a goal.

Scalability is the capacity for something to be changed in size or scale.

Simplicity is when something is easy to understand and do.

Simplistic is to treat complex issues and problems as if they were much simpler than they really are.

Systematize is to create an organized system.

For more information, visit L.E.A.D. Center for Youth today.

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Why did you choose to play baseball when you were younger?

What’s the best way to get Black boys interested in baseball that have never played it before?

What are the top three things that can cause them to lose interest?

What are the top three things that a Black boy will learn from baseball that can help him become a good Black man?

What is unique about L.E.A.D.‘s approach to using baseball to develop Black boys on and off the field?

What’s your favorite hitting drill?

What’s your favorite defensive position to teach?

Hitter A – August – October

Hitter A – November – January

Habit = Cue + Routine + Reward

L.E.A.D., Inc. | L.E.A.D. Center For Youth