MMV #001: Building and Implementing Player Development Systems

Today I am going to teach you how to develop your own systems for your team.

As coaches, having core beliefs and a philosophy is essential.

Our philosophy is where all of our systems stem from.

Within pitching there are many areas we have to develop.

These include:

• Command
• Mechanics 
• Game Strategy
• Pitch Development
• Strength and Conditioning 

Each of these areas require development plans. Without having a system of how you attack player development, it is going to be difficult to have consistent results.

Other reasons having a detailed system and plan are important:

• Players thrive on structure
• You think more critically about what to implement
• Ability to objectively track what is working and what isn't
• Efficiency at practice and training sessions (players know what do)

These are three obvious reasons, but I am sure you can think of more.

Now that we know we need to have a plan, how do we develop one?

Start by picking one of the main categories above. Let's use mechanics as an example. Based on the information you have (motion capture data or slow motion video) decide what the low hanging fruit is for the pitcher. When deciding this, I like to start with the lower half because improving that can often improve the upper half. 

Let's say the mechanical goal you decide is to improve his back leg loading pattern.

You now are going to create a plan that attacks this. This could include plyo drills, core velocity belt, movement based drills, etc.

I would encourage you to talk through the plan and reasoning with the player before implementing it. Let them have a say in the plan because at the end of the day you are not going to get the results you want if the player is not bought in.

After you have decided on the plan and talked with the player, now it is time to go to work. Track progress and take video consistently to see if you need to make any adjustments. 

Follow this same system with other areas of development that you choose.

Whether you are a high school or a college coach, you will be ahead of a lot of coaches if you:

• Objectively track progress
• Have a system for development 
• Give players a voice and input in their program

As time goes on, your system can and should evolve as you learn and grow. This is just a starting point. 

You don't have to have all the answers to start. Just start.

I hope this was helpful.

See you next week!

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