Coach Candrea

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I got this off of Hey Bucket which is CA version of OFC:

From Coach Candrea
How did we ever learn how to play the game without having all the resources of today?s athlete? It is not uncommon for a kid today to have a pitching coach, hitting coach, personal trainer, sports psychologist and the best equipment that money can buy

When growing up in the 60s and 70s, it was not common to see a group of kids at the end of the neighborhood street playing Wiffle Ball, pickle, stick ball or even just good old catch. How did we learn the skill sets of the game without all of these resources common today? We emulated our heroes that we watched on a black and white television with rabbit ears and copied their batting stance, pitching motion and even their mannerisms. I could show you the stance of Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle and even Walt ?no neck? Williams! We just played the game along with any sport that was in season. Today, neighborhoods are empty and Xbox and Wii have taken over.

Building Respect for Umpires
One of the most difficult things for coaches, and our players alike, is to see the game from an umps point of view.

One concept Responsible Coaches follow is Honoring the Game, which includes rules, opponents, officials, teammates, and self.

Watch a youth softball coach walk her team though honoring officials during practice by making close calls at first base from an umps point of view. A lot harder than it looks! Watch now.


On one of my trips to the Dominican Republic with our USA Softball Women?s National Team, I was amazed that every patch of dirt, fields, or parking lots was packed with young kids playing baseball. Even though many did not have a glove, they improvised with a milk carton and a piece of rope to secure it to their hand. Now I know why our professional leagues are loaded with players from this area. After all, if you can learn to field a groundball with a make shift glove, no shoes and a surface that bounces any which way but straight ? you learn how to play the game by trial and error. I did not see many video cameras on that trip.

On my trip to Yankee Stadium, I had the pleasure of seeing technology at its finest. Although Ruth, Gehrig, Mantle and the rest of the fortunate to wear a Yankee uniform played the game in its purest form ? no technology at all! Hell, the scoreboard was even without electricity and was operated manually. Today, players have the ability to watch every at bat immediately afterwards and every swing is neatly cataloged throughout the year. Software allows hitting coaches to identify and compare the essential key positions of the swing. They supply information and video on opposing pitchers ? showing tendencies and patterns. Yet, at the end of the day, these tremendous athletes still must have the passion for preparation. Yes, Derek Jeter hits off a batting tee, takes short toss ? just like you! The key to these players is still and always will be the data base created by playing the game ? swing the bat!

Technology has helped all of us advance the game and used the right way to identify and teach, can be a great asset for any player. I believe you can also and must learn to play this game by playing, emulating motion and not become a robot! There is a time for learning mechanics and a time for learning how to compete, have fun, and realize that we do not play a game that requires perfection all the time!


Until next month,

Coach Candrea

 

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Cool.

Is this like a newsletter that you can subscribe to? Or you just go looking for it?

 

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I just came across it on the Hey Bucket web site. I am not sure if he sends out a newsletter or not. I have seen stuff he has also written on the ASA site tied to the Liberty Mutual Responsible Sports.

http://www.responsiblesports.com/our_partners/asa_softball/candreas_corner/default.aspx

 

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Here is another excellent article off of the Liberty Mutual Responsible Sports:

Being a Responsible Coach

It is mind boggling to think about the number of people we have given the title of “coach” to over the years in the various levels of sports. Coaching a team can be a life changing experience for any parent who has a child in youth sports, or sports enthusiast and an even greater experience for the many young people they touch through the trials and tribulations of a sport season. There have been many outstanding coaches who have given the time, energy, expertise and leadership that have made a tremendous impact on the development of our youth. What a great opportunity and responsibility we have to influence so many young people during a time in their development as athletes and, more importantly, as people. Some of my most influential mentors who helped shape me into who I am today were coaches throughout my youth.

We cannot argue that the foundation of our character is built by our own parents, although for many young people, it is their coaches that provide them with the moments and experiences that ultimately make a difference in their development as adults. I can look back today at the coaches that I had in elementary school, Little League, high school, and other various leagues that I participated in up through my college career. I can remember every name, and more importantly, what kind of influence they had on my life. That is a very powerful statement and it proves the point that Responsible Coaching can have a tremendous influence in shaping the character of our youth. I was influenced so well that I chose to coach as a profession. To this day, I continue to thank the coaches in my life for the guidance, discipline, encouragement and knowledge they’ve instilled in me over the years.

When we make the choice of becoming a coach, it is imperative that we understand some simple guidelines that have been proven over the years to provide the proper environment for our youth to develop their athletic skills, but more importantly, the skills they will need to be successful in life. These principles are the foundation of the Responsible Coaching coursework on ResponsibleSports.com.

Coaching is a privilege and great coaches have to wear many hats. The most successful coaches have the teaching skills of an educator, the training expertise of a physiologist, the administrative leadership of a business executive and the counseling wisdom of a psychologist. But the most important role you play in youth sports is to teach character. Coaching for character is helping your players know the right thing to do and then helping them to do it right!

Guidelines to coaches for teaching character:


1.) Respectful

Of the game and to its rules and traditions
Of your opponents
Of the officials
In victory and defeat
Responsible Coaches conduct themselves by a code, which Responsible Sports and Positive Coaching Alliance call "Honoring the Game." To remember the components of this code, remind yourself and your players that Honoring the Game means respecting the sport's ROOTS. The acronym ROOTS helps remind us that we must respect Rules, Opponents, Officials, Teammates, and Self. Learn more about Honoring the Game and ROOTS.


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2.) Responsible

Prepare yourself to do your best
Be punctual for practices and games
Be self-disciplined
Be cooperative with your teammates
Our society tends to put scoreboard results ahead of everything else. Responsible Coaches care about the scoreboard, but they care even more deeply about instilling a "Mastery Approach" in their athletes. A simple way to remember the three keys to the Mastery Approach is another Responsible Sports and Positive Coaching Alliance acronym, ELM, where ELM stands for Effort, Learning and Mistakes.


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3.) Caring

Help your teammates play better
Support teammates – Encourage vs. Discourage!
Be generous with praises; stingy with criticism
Play for the team, not yourself
Responsible Coaches keep players' “Emotional Tanks” full. Responsible Sports and Positive Coaching Alliance refer to a person's “Emotional Tank” like a car's gas tank. When it's full we can go anywhere we want to, when it's empty we can't go at all. Players with full “Emotional Tanks” give Responsible Coaches some distinct advantages like being more coachable, more optimistic and better able to handle adversity. See a youth softball coach in action with her team as the players fill the “Emotional Tanks” of their teammates in the video “Softball Buddy System.”


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4.) Honest

Play by the spirit of the rules
Be loyal to your team
Make good choices on and off the field
Admit to your own mistakes
Jessica Mendoza talks about how she learned to overcome mistakes as a youth softball player and how her softball lessons have carried over into life lessons in the video “Handling a Mistake.”


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5.) Be Fair

Treat other players as you wish to be treated
Be fair to all players, including those who are different
Give all players an opportunity to grow & succeed
Play to win within the rules
In Coach Candrea’s “Player Development” video, he talks about getting kids to understand how to handle failure, and how that moves right into teachable life-long lessons.


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6.) Be a Good Citizen

Be a good role model
Strive for excellence
Give back to softball
Encourage teammates to be good citizens
One way to demonstrate to your players to strive for excellence and how to act as good citizens is by Coaching Beyond the X’s and O’s. Responsible Coaches, beyond the X's and O's, teach athletes life lessons in persistence, teamwork, sacrifice, effort, empathy, discipline, leadership and overcoming adversity.

Until next month,


Coach Candrea

 

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How do you coach? Do you help fill up your player's buckets or do you empty them without even knowing it?

The Effects of Positivity

December is one of the greatest times of the year! As we begin to decorate our homes for the holiday season and enjoy the anticipation of family gatherings, we often make promises as we ring in the New Year to become better spouses, parents, children and even coaches! It is also a special time for me knowing that we are just around the corner from another season of highs and lows. Have you ever thought about the effects that we can have on people just by eliminating the negativity in our relationships, work environment and of course, our teams?

I just finished reading the book titled “How Full is Your Bucket?” by Tom Rath and Donald O. Clifton, Ph.D. I was so impressed with the message that I felt it would be a great time to encourage you to think about your approach to people in the work place and on your team. We all know how great we feel when someone gives us a compliment or surprises us with a kind note, text or email. It is something that takes very little time, yet it has long lasting effects.

As coaches, we are quick to find the things that kids don’t do well, which is the nature of coaching. But how often do we acknowledge the good things that are happening with a player, on our team, or in the work place? With a little thought regarding the impact of positivity, we as coaches have the ability to master one of the most important factors of productivity. Our ability to manage people will have a direct affect on performance and relationships in the work place and on the field with our kids.

I would like to share a powerful theory from this outstanding book.



The "Theory of the Dipper and the Bucket" hits home the Responsible Sports team and the principle of filling our youth softball players’ emotional tanks. Emotional tanks are just like a cars gas tank, when its full we can go anywhere, but when its empty, we can’t go at all, just like the invisible bucket!
Former Olympian Jessica Mendoza talks about how her parents played a critical emotional role in her life. Her dad helped her stay focused on the game, while her mom supported her heart. Watch her Parents' Role video!

Check out the Responsible Sports Media Library for more of videos of Jessica Mendoza, her parents giving their point of view, Coach Candrea, a youth softball coach and more!

The Theory of the Dipper and the Bucket:

Each of us has an invisible bucket. It is constantly emptied or filled, depending on what others say or do to us. When our bucket is full, we feel great. When it’s empty, we feel awful.
Each of us also has an invisible dipper. When we use that dipper to fill other people’s buckets by saying or doing things to increase their positive emotions we also fill our own bucket. But when we use that dipper to dip from other’s buckets by saying or doing things that decrease their positive emotions we diminish ourselves.
Like the cup that runneth over, a full bucket gives us a positive outlook and renewed energy. Every drop in that bucket makes us stronger and more optimistic.
But an empty bucket poisons our outlook, saps our energy, and undermines our will. That’s why every time someone dips from our bucket, it hurts us.
So we face a choice every moment of every day: We can fill each others buckets, or we can dip from them. It’s an important choice, one that profoundly influences our relationships, productivity, health, and happiness.

A simple fact is that 9 out of 10 people say they are more productive when they’re around positive people. We live in a negative culture and it is our job as parents, coaches, and leaders to do our part in always being the bucket filler!


Wishing you and your families a happy Holiday Season!


Coach Candrea

 

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The part about not being a robot is great and I use it with every single girl who visits our school. I don't want robots, I want players. As Candrea says, a combination of the technology and simply learning by experience makes for the best players.

 

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Cool.

Is this like a newsletter that you can subscribe to? Or you just go looking for it?

When you take the ACE certification and pass the background check you will receive the "Candrea on Coaching" e-publication. At least I have for the last 3 years.

 

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yes, that's how I get the monthly letters. Very nice stuff!!!

 

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I'm sure Coach Candrea doesn't send his players to the end of the street with milk cartons tied to their hands to get better. Nope, he uses every inch of technology and advanced techniques and equipment he can to get the edge.

It's not the tools, it is the desire.

 

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When you take the ACE certification and pass the background check you will receive the "Candrea on Coaching" e-publication. At least I have for the last 3 years.

yes, that's how I get the monthly letters. Very nice stuff!!!

And everyone thought we wouldn't get anything for the $25.00 . :lmao:

 

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ROI in the fastpitch world...

 

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A little off topic but...It seems everytime I hear one or read one of the fastpitch big shots talk,the same coaches that are hawking their skills videos,their $300+ camps, RVP or endorsing some new training gizmo, They all say the samething, kids use to play outside in the neighborhood, copied their favorite players etc. Times have changed coaches get over it, the kids lives are organized, they do a lot of stuff, the misconception that kids are sitting around the house playing video games and spending countless hours on the computer are assumptions made by people who dont have kids. Kids today are far more involved then in the old days and I would guess every bit as happy as they were back then.

I know they miss getting the unmolded clay, the stud athlete that they can make into the type of player they want. They can still do that if they want, but obviously the results wont be what they want.

BTW 28 Major league baseball teams have baseball academies in the dominican republic, so I am not entirely sure that the most purest form of the game is being played there lol.