Howard Kaplin

Random observation and data dump from player development today: Everyone seems to have a brand, a system, or a swing philosophy. Coaches often position themselves as the stars—each trying to fix players or leave their personal stamp on a player. This creates the perception among players that there’s always some magic pill, some guru or brand, that will solve all their problems. Or that they even *have* problems to begin with. But in my experience, having been around some truly elite baseball minds and coaching for awhile, I’ve learned that sometimes the best coaching is knowing when to leave a kid alone. Sometimes, your job as a coach is to protect a player from unnecessary changes and cues. Protect them from the random coach that says “I can fix you.” Sales 101. Fix me? Something must be broken. Shoot, what do you see, Doc?! As a coach I’ve learned from one of the greatest PD minds ever that you might even have to walk past a bad swing and let it go. (This is an entire discussion on its own.) Not every swing needs a correction, and not every perceived flaw requires immediate intervention. We’ve conditioned players to believe there’s always something wrong with their swing, that they constantly need fixing or answers. Yet, many of these players are having career years, great seasons, etc. It’s worth asking: are we helping, or are we just feeding insecurity? Shoot, are coaches *creating* and planting the seeds of insecurity? If coaches constantly frame themselves as daily problem-solvers, players will inevitably start seeing themselves as having daily problems to be solved.