BASEBALL COACHES UNPLUGGED

8 Analytics Secrets That Winning High School Programs Don't Want You to Know

Send us a text [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/1542601/open_sms] Want to win more high school games without a big budget or a data team? We break down a practical roadmap for using analytics that fits into a busy coach’s life, from what to track in a notebook to the in-game decisions that swing close contests. The message is simple: ask better questions, measure what matters, and teach your players the why behind every choice. We start by replacing old offensive habits with clearer metrics. On-base percentage becomes the north star for lineup construction, and quality at-bats turn plate appearances into teachable moments. You’ll hear how to use hash marks and weekly leaderboards to reward hard contact, walks, and two-strike wins so players focus on approach, not just batting average. Then we tackle pitching the right way: trade ERA for strikeouts, walks, WHIP, and competitive pitches. Protect arms with pitch counts and rest rules, and use simple review sessions to connect pitch selection and results to real adjustments. Tech doesn’t have to be expensive to be effective. A smartphone delivers powerful video feedback for swings and deliveries. A basic radar gun keeps development honest and celebrates real velocity gains. Free stat apps provide spray charts and tendencies you can use for smarter positioning and scouting. We translate data into decisions you can trust: when bunting actually pays, who should really lead off, why your best hitter often belongs in the two-hole, and how to beat the third-time-through penalty with a prepared bullpen plan. The heart of the episode is culture. Share the numbers openly, explain decisions with clear math, and praise the right habits even when luck cuts against you. Players learn faster, stay confident longer, and grow into baseball thinkers who can compete at the next level. If you’re ready to blend old-school grit with modern clarity, hit play, grab a notebook, and start tracking OBP and QABs this week. Subscribe for more coaching strategies, share this with a coaching friend, and tell us which metric you’ll implement first. Join the Baseball Coaches Unplugged podcast where an experienced baseball coach delves into the world of high school and travel baseball, offering insights on high school baseball coaching, leadership skills, hitting skills, pitching strategy, defensive skills, and overall baseball strategy, while also covering high school and college baseball, recruiting tips, youth and travel baseball coaching tips, and fostering a winning mentality and attitude in baseball players through strong baseball leadership and mentality. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1542601/support] * Follow: Twitter | Instagram @Athlete1Podcast https://www.athlete1.net * Website - https://www.athlete1.net [https://www.athlete1.net] * Sponsor: The Netting Professionals * https://www.nettingpros.com [https://www.nettingpros.com]

What We Lose When Baseball Stops Telling Its History

Send us a text [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/1542601/open_sms] Old-time baseball isn’t a museum piece—it’s a masterclass hiding in plain sight. We invited Jim Koenigsberger, a gifted storyteller of America’s pastime, to trace how legends like Yogi Berra, Jackie Robinson, Satchel Paige, Ted Williams, and Rickey Henderson still shape the smartest coaching on today’s fields. What emerges is a fresh, practical lens on development, durability, and the decisions that win games. We start with Yogi’s real greatness—RBI crowns on stacked Yankees teams, marathon doubleheaders, and humble service—then connect it to the coach’s eye test that numbers can’t replace. From there, we follow Jackie’s path through a welcoming Montreal and onto a hostile national stage, using that journey to rethink how context unlocks performance. Jim brings the Negro Leagues into full focus, arguing that the Monarchs and Homestead Grays could hang with any era, and that their players’ versatility should reshape how we teach roles, reps, and resilience. Development takes center stage as we challenge the two-pitch prospect pipeline and spotlight simple safeguards—pitch counts, rest rules, and patience—that actually protect arms. Ted Williams becomes our hitting blueprint: elite vision, relentless practice, and mentorship from Jimmie Foxx, all bookended by combat service that interrupted but never dimmed his prime. Finally, we reclaim the running game with Rickey Henderson’s playbook, showing how intelligent aggression pressures modern defenses when paired with reads, jumps, and situational awareness. If you’re a coach, parent, or fan who believes the past can coach the present, this conversation delivers tools you can use tomorrow—sharper practice plans, better development paths, and a renewed love for the craft. Subscribe, share with a coaching friend, and leave a review to help more baseball people find these stories and turn them into wins. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1542601/support] * Follow: Twitter | Instagram @Athlete1Podcast https://www.athlete1.net * Website - https://www.athlete1.net [https://www.athlete1.net] * Sponsor: The Netting Professionals * https://www.nettingpros.com [https://www.nettingpros.com]

"Normal Equals Average": Why 90% of Baseball Coaches Do This (And How to Stop)

Send us a text [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/1542601/open_sms] Normal equals average. That single idea hits like a fastball under the hands, because it calls out the comfort that keeps programs stuck. We pull back the curtain on why talent and facilities won’t save a team that avoids adversity—and how a humble, hungry culture turns hard moments into momentum. We start with the coach’s mirror: owning the postgame questions that matter. Did we prepare them for pressure, manage with intent, and teach adjustments, or did we fall back on routines that feel safe? Humility is not weakness; it’s the foundation of growth. When we label our mistakes in front of players, we teach them how to respond to theirs. From there, hunger becomes the engine. One more inning of film, one more tough conversation, one more targeted adjustment—these daily choices set a standard that players mirror when the game tightens. You’ll hear practical frameworks to build a team that embraces adversity. We outline pressure-first practice design, with game-speed, consequence-driven scenarios that demand rapid decisions. We share debrief prompts that turn failure into feedback, and we show how to reward the grind: extra reps, self-scout habits, and resilient at-bats get the spotlight. Expect clear examples across travel, high school, and college contexts, plus mindset cues that keep your best hitter locked in during a slump and your ace composed after a crooked number. If your program sometimes plays not to lose, this is your reset. Replace comfort with clarity, raise the bar you walk under every day, and watch players choose courage over excuses. Subscribe, share this with a coaching friend who needs a spark, and leave a review telling us the first standard you’re raising this week. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1542601/support] * Follow: Twitter | Instagram @Athlete1Podcast https://www.athlete1.net * Website - https://www.athlete1.net [https://www.athlete1.net] * Sponsor: The Netting Professionals * https://www.nettingpros.com [https://www.nettingpros.com]

Gary Gilmore Explains Exactly How Coastal Carolina Scripted And Won The 2016 College World Series

Send us a text [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/1542601/open_sms] A holiday thank you turns into a masterclass on building a champion when Gary Gilmore, the recently retired head coach of Coastal Carolina, joins us to unpack how a mid-major beat the blue bloods in Omaha. From overlooked recruits to a dogpile on the final out, he takes us step-by-step through the strategy, the culture, and the belief that changed everything. We start with the foundation: recruit athletes, not résumés; redshirt for strength and skill; and teach the details that win close games. Gary breaks down why regionals are a bullpen marathon and why Omaha rewards clarity and roles, then shows how Coastal became brutally hard to beat—leading the nation in home runs and sacrifice bunts while stealing bags, defending cleanly, and placing pressure in every inning. If you care about baseball player development, college baseball culture, or winning in the NIL and portal era, this conversation is packed with takeaways you can use tomorrow. Then we go inside the moments that defined the run: the LSU Super Regional ninth inning where a freshman error threatened to derail everything, the bold 3–1 slider call, the perfect steal break, and the sequence that sent them to Omaha. Gary shares the postgame locker room where he asked his players to lock hands and eyes, then laid out a plan that unfolded almost pitch-for-pitch in the championship—converting an All-American reliever to start, bridging with the best inherited-run stopper in the country, and trusting a career starter to record the final strikeout as a reliever. Woven through it all is his why: lead with love, hold a high standard, and let belief carry talent further than pedigree. If you’re a coach, parent, or player, you’ll leave with practical tools for culture-building, recruiting overlooked athletes, and preparing staffs for postseason stress. If you’re a fan, you’ll relive the chills of a true David vs Goliath story. Follow the show, share it with a baseball friend, and leave a quick review to help more coaches find it. What part of Gary’s plan will you try first? Join the Baseball Coaches Unplugged podcast where an experienced baseball coach delves into the world of high school and travel baseball, offering insights on high school baseball coaching, leadership skills, hitting skills, pitching strategy, defensive skills, and overall baseball strategy, while also covering high school and college baseball, recruiting tips, youth and travel baseball coaching tips, and fostering a winning mentality and attitude in baseball players through strong baseball leadership and mentality. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1542601/support] * Follow: Twitter | Instagram @Athlete1Podcast https://www.athlete1.net * Website - https://www.athlete1.net [https://www.athlete1.net] * Sponsor: The Netting Professionals * https://www.nettingpros.com [https://www.nettingpros.com]

How A Five-Minute Survey Can Transform Your Team’s Culture And Communication

Send us a text [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/1542601/open_sms] A roster full of talent won’t save a season if communication fractures. We sat down with Travis Davidson from Team Sports Consulting Group to unpack how a simple five‑minute survey can transform culture, reveal real leaders, and help coaches read stress before it derails a game. From high school diamonds to College World Series runs, Travis shows how relational science turns “culture” from a buzzword into a repeatable system you can coach. We dig into the four core traits that shape how players think, lead, and learn—and how those patterns show up under pressure. You’ll hear how to stop forcing your best hitter into a role he hates, use side‑by‑side profiles to resolve coach–player conflicts, and set your team’s environment on purpose: locker pods, bus assignments, even hotel routines that preserve energy for the moments that decide seasons. Catchers get a special spotlight as we explore pitcher–catcher scans that equip them to spot backup styles, slow the game down, and anchor tempo when the count and crowd tilt against you. Travis also challenges a myth: there’s no single personality that makes a great coach. The real separator is self‑awareness. Whether you lean gut or analytics, the edge comes from knowing your style, speaking in each player’s language, and building a shared map of how your team works. With clear pricing designed for high schools and a no‑risk offer for head coaches, the path from guesswork to clarity is closer than you think. Ready to turn communication into a competitive advantage? Listen now, claim the free head coach scan, and share this with a staff member who picks captains. If this conversation helped you think differently, follow, rate, and leave a review so more coaches can find it. Join the Baseball Coaches Unplugged podcast where an experienced baseball coach delves into the world of high school and travel baseball, offering insights on high school baseball coaching, leadership skills, hitting skills, pitching strategy, defensive skills, and overall baseball strategy, while also covering high school and college baseball, recruiting tips, youth and travel baseball coaching tips, and fostering a winning mentality and attitude in baseball players through strong baseball leadership and mentality. X - @TravisSkol Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1542601/support] * Follow: Twitter | Instagram @Athlete1Podcast https://www.athlete1.net * Website - https://www.athlete1.net [https://www.athlete1.net] * Sponsor: The Netting Professionals * https://www.nettingpros.com [https://www.nettingpros.com]