'In the Dugout' is a monthly column written by a local youth, travel, high school or collegiate coach about a specific aspect of the game. This month's guest columnist is Ron Tugwell, who guided West Springfield High School to 431 victories and two state championships between 1974-2000. The Spartans won 12 district championships and six region titles during his tenure as the head coach at the school, and his 1998 team was ranked No. 3 in the magazine’s All-Time Northern Virginia Top 10 feature earlier this year.
Tugwell writes this month on how he would approach building a successful high school program today, and lists some suggestions on how coaches can improve their practices.
Building a successful baseball program is a combination of a lot of factors. At the top of the list would be coaching experience and the energy from the head coach; a dynamic, positive positional assistant staff; support of the parents, community and school administrative staff; a strong youth little league system; and a lot of luck along the way.
When asked recently for one Christmas wish, a local high school coach told this magazine, “I would like a transfer LHP who throws in the high 80s.” Don’t we all hope for that. But the stark reality is, we have to develop what we have within our own boundaries. Having great talent certainly helps build the program, but it does not guarantee winning seasons year-after-year.
I firmly believe that a well-organized practice lays the foundation for everything needed to build a championship team. And by a ‘championship team’, I mean a team and program that is consistent each and every season, competing and challenging for titles, and being the best you can be every year. Andy Lopez, addressing his Pepperdine University team a few years back, stated, “These two hours you are with me every day is not a matter of life and death. No, it’s more important than that!”
It has been said many times that practices are for the coaches, and the games are for the players. How true! Preparation is a winning formula, at every level.
I have had the great pleasure and opportunity to coach high school players for over four decades. If I were to take over a new baseball program, I would incorporate and utilize the following.
The first thing I would do is to try to build a great staff of coaches. The late John Scolinos once said, “The five most important words in coaching are, 'Surround Yourself With Great People'.”
I would like to have people who care about the young men they are helping. Next, can they handle a fungo? Can they throw a solid BP, throw every day, and command a breaking ball? Players need to see ‘game-like’ BP and team drill work. Throwing from 40 feet behind an L-screen and in a cage gets old, and during the course of a long season, it becomes counter-productive. Hit live and on the field!
The most important part of practice organization is setting the tone early in the season for how practice will flow. It should be crisp from the beginning of warm-ups. Emphasize with coaches and players that practice will consist of two hours of no sitting, no standing around, no idle talk … “We will be focused entirely on getting better, a little bit each day!”
An up-tempo practice will speed things up, so in the game, players can slow it down. Underline this. Challenge your players in practice. Communicate with them that we’re going to have some fun, but push the envelope. Let them know if it is easy, it isn’t worth doing! Sports discipline has tremendous long-term value; these are carryover skills they will use throughout their lives. A coach once told his team, “You have three months to work and 40 years to remember.”
Three things should be brought to practice every day: passion, energy, and attitude (from both the coaches and the players). From day one, building the team concept should be a main goal. Tom Verbanic, the current football and baseball coach at Flint Hill School in Vienna, is the best I have seen for team-building, getting guys to believe in “one heartbeat”. It is amazing how much can get done when nobody cares who gets the credit.
Below are 17 ideas and suggestions on how you might further improve your practices in 2017.
1. Vary Start Times - First pitch for most high school games are in the evening, usually between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. So why are we not practicing more at that time, considering the positioning of the sun, cooler weather, and adjusting to the lights? Practicing under the lights should be a no-brainer, unless you don’t play with lights. Here are the times I held my practices: at 3:07, soon after school dismissed; at 6:30 p.m.; at 8 p.m.; early on Saturday mornings; sometimes a “Midnight Madness” practice on Friday nights after a game, with pizza at midnight; and at other times a “Morning Delight” session early in the season or if bad weather was forecast for the afternoon. Indoor gym space can be a problem at some schools, so practicing before school can be a solution for that. I remember one time going outdoors in early March at 6 a.m. on a school day and my my son, Marc, remarked that he had never seen the sun come up while playing baseball. Dark-to-light practices can be a one-time, fun experience. It’s team-building!
2. Utilize Resources - Bring in ex-players, professional players, strength and conditioning experts, scouts and umpires to speak to your team. Learning about the game from as many qualified perspectives as possible will only help your players.
3. Active Warm-ups - Utilize three-minute stations during a 15-20 minute warm-up session, with a coach at each post. Some station examples are bunting, base running, flexibilities and stretching, dry swings, ground balls (no throws), and fly balls (no throws). Be creative, come up with your own stations.
4. Accountability - Keep everyone accountable and don’t let mistakes go unnoticed during practice. Nobody should take anything for granted. Be sure to cover everything.
5. Demand Hustle - It takes no ability to hustle on every play. Running a hard 90 needs to be expected, every time. Ask your players what the best running time to first base is? Answer: on a ground ball back to the pitcher!
6. Split Your Squad - Early in the season, divide your varsity squad into two teams as a way to make time more efficient. Keep these squads together for your intrasquad scrimmages, tri-squad breakdowns, 21-out scrimmages and drills, and one- and two-inning games. Use team jerseys or T-shirts in school colors, and let the players choose the team names to keep things fun.
7. Carry a Stopwatch - This is a great tool to have during team and individual drills - it keeps things fun and competitive. And on time!
8. Use your Scoreboard - Keeping score while holding 21-out, intrasquad or tri-squad scrimmages or one- or two-inning games can spice things up during a practice.
9. Game Speed - This goes back to my earlier remark about speeding things up in practice, so things slow down for a player during games. Make sure they feel the tempo and pressure so they become accustomed to it.
10. Comfort Zone - The best way to help a player become comfortable is to make them uncomfortable in a practice setting. This helps prepare them when those situations arise in games.
11. Base Running - Implement a base running segment to practice, every day. Spend time teaching your players how to put pressure on your opponent.
12. Outfield Reads - Give your outfielders live reads off the bat during live batting practice. Fungos can become counter-productive.
13. Bunting - The short game is important, so spend time on it. Have bunters focus on getting the ball down against live pitching and under pressure - and while facing fastballs and breaking balls.
14. Team Defense - This should be a primary focus when organizing daily practice. Keep your players sharp.
15. Video - Don’t just cancel practice and send everyone home on rainy days. Use video of your players taken during games and practices to review hitters and pitchers.
16. Compete - Using creative and competitive team drills is good every day, especially as a way to end practice.
17. Finish Strong - The last 30 minutes of practice is a very important time for players to concentrate, when they are the most-tired. “Boys, this is seventh-inning time. How are you going to finish?”
Hopefully, coaches reading this might implement a couple of these suggestions to help keep your practices both upbeat and competitive.
I’ll leave coaches with these four lines to consider when working with their teams, courtesy of retired Mississippi State University coach Ron Polk:
“If a team has plus-talent [and] plus game-oriented practices, [it] will be a big winner. If a team has poor talent [and] plus game-oriented practice, [it has] got a chance to win. If a team has plus-talent [and] poor game-oriented practices, [it] still has a chance to win. If a team has poor talent [and] poor game-oriented practices, you have got to be kidding!”
Thanks for allowing me to spend time with you, and I hope something here can help you be more successful in 2017.
