I was promised I would be asked some HARD questions for the upcoming podcast. I'm excited to connect and learn from everybody, the hardest questions make us all better. What kids ask me: Do you know any famous people?! What parents ask me: What's the BEST drill for my kid? What coaches ask me: How do you talk about <insert topic> to your teams? What organizational leaders ask me: How do you influence culture change in an org? I'm already expecting those, who's got some unexpected ones?

Here’s the question I want to take from the video into our dugout: Where would having a choice in the moment make the biggest difference in your coaching? Give us one situation, your usual response, and one alternative you’d try. For example: “When a player makes the same mistake twice, I repeat the same cue louder. Next time I’ll ask what they saw, then change the drill if I need to.” If you reply to another coach, suggest one thing they can test at their next practice. — Coach JT

Dr. Heber C. Crockett’s research, reported in the Omaha World-Herald, looked at how professional baseball pitchers’ shoulders differ. It doesn’t answer the question I hear at tournaments: “Can this athlete pitch for us today?” To answer responsibly, start with what you know and what you still need to check. Scenario: A player is listed to start Saturday and says they pitched for another team Thursday. You don’t have a verified count yet. Who gets the missing information, which league or event rules apply, and who can start if you can’t verify the workload in time? Baseball coaches, use the current age-based Pitch Smart guidance. Softball coaches, explain how you’d handle the same situation using softball-specific guidance. Drop your decision process below. Keep any real player examples anonymous. — Coach JT Archive: Doug Thomas, “New Twist Offered on Pitching,” Omaha World-Herald, June 13, 2000. Dr. Heber C. Crockett and colleagues’ published baseball study. MLB Pitch Smart. Fastpitch softball research review

Ira Rosen’s follow-up lesson applies to this group too. A coach asks a good question, someone shares an idea, and we don’t always hear what happened when it hit a real practice. That’s the part I’d love to see more of. Find a question you asked or a piece of advice you tried. Tell us the age group, what you changed, and one thing you saw. If it didn’t work, bring that back too. “The cue helped in tee work but disappeared in live at-bats” gives us something specific to work on together. What’s one coaching experiment you can report back on? If you’re still deciding what to try, post the situation and tell us when you’ll check back. — Coach JT Source: Ira Rosen, The Daily Mojo Day 2: How To Follow Up

Ira Rosen’s video made me think about how often we already know the next move and are waiting for it to feel comfortable. Sometimes we’re genuinely missing information. Other times, we know enough to take a small step and see what happens. Try putting it in three sentences: “Here’s what I want. Here’s what I keep avoiding. Here’s one thing I could do before the next practice.” Maybe you want better player ownership and you’ve been avoiding handing over warm-ups. Give two players one station and ask them what they’d change after they run it. Now you’ve got something to learn from. What’s one situation you’re stuck on right now? Give us the sport, age group, and the action you’re considering. If you answer another coach, give them one move they can try this week. — Coach JT Inspiration: Ira Rosen on The Daily Mojo (Mojo Global)