Ahead Of The Curve with Jonathan Gelnar

Anthony Iapoce on daily routines, game planning and preparation and servant leadership

Today we have on the Chicago cubs major league hitting coach, Anthony Iapoce. Anthony was named the Cubs major league hitting coach in October, 2018 after three seasons as the hitting coach with the Texas Rangers ... prior to joining Texas, he spent the previous three years in the Cubs organization as a Special Assistant to the GM while overseeing the club's minor league hitting program from 2013-15 ... Has been in a coaching/player development capacity since the 2006 season. On the show we talk about working with some of the best players in the world and how we can be an advocate for them. We talk about daily routines, which includes game planning and preparation and we get into how we can best serve all of our players. This episode is so good with Anthony Iapoce!
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George Lombard on the Dodgers culture, how coaches can make a different everyday, and he shares about his mom, who was civil rights activist.

Today we have on George Lombard. First base coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers. George has been a member of the dodgers for 5 years, after previously serving various roles in the Braves and Red Sox Minor League Systems. George’s story is one word, powerful. His mom was a civil rights activist with Martin Luther King jr. His grandfather was the dean of Harvard business school for 40 years. George was an all American running back and signed at the university of Georgia before ultimately deciding to pursue baseball which led to playing 6+ years in the big leagues.
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Andy Barkett on how to earn trust with our players, why learning their routines is important, we discuss game-planning and approaches.

This episode is brought to you by Marvbands. Use code AOTC for 10% off of team sets! Today we have on 2018 World Series champion, Andy Barkett. Andy was an assistant MLB hitting coach with the Boston Red Sox in 2018-2019. On the show, we talk about how to earn trust with our players, why learning their routines is important, we discuss game-planning, approach and why Andy thinks that hitting coaches are basically part time psychologists. You’re gonna love this episode with Andy Barkett! Contact @abarkett17 Foundations of Coaching Professional Hitters https://bsbliq.com/courses/foundations-of-being-a-professional-hitting-coach/ Show notes courtesy of Zach Casto.
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Hunter Mense on the process of making changes with players , experimentation coupled with communication, and how to coach coaches

Today we have on the Toronto Blue Jays Minor League Hitting Coordinator, Hunter Mense. Born in Liberty, MO, Hunter attended the University of Missouri. And was drafted in the 17th round by the Florida Marlins. After his playing career, he went back to Missouri and served in several roles- undergrad and graduate volunteer assistant coach, and color commentator on the team’s radio broadcasts and then made the jump back to pro ball with the padres for 1 season, then the bluejays as the AA hitting coach and now as the hitting coordinator. On the show, we discuss what the process of making changes with players looks/sounds like, we go over the process of experimentation coupled with communication, and we discuss his role as a coordinator which essentially coaches coach’s. You’re gonna love this episode with Hunter Mense! Resources Range- David Epstein Instagram and Twitter Relationships Contact Twitter Show notes courtesy of Zach Casto.
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Chuck Box on a year of development which includes individual player development plans, schedules and culture building

Today we have on Chuck Box, Head Baseball Coach and assistant athletic director at Hartfield Academy. We flipped the script a little today, and so Chuck takes us through an entire year of what they do at Hartfield. We go over individual player development plans, schedules, culture building and so much more. If you want a practical episode, this one is for you. Here is Chuck Box! Show notes courtesy of Zach Casto.
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Tony Vitello what he looks for on the recruiting trail, how to get players to own their career, and everyday competition

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Today we have on the Tennessee Volunteers head coach Tony Vitello
Vitello arrived on Rocky Top following four seasons as assistant coach/recruiting coordinator at Arkansas. His rise to the head coaching ranks also included stops at Missouri (his alma mater) and TCU. After leading the program back to the NCAA Tournament in 2019, Vitello and the Vols looked poised to take another step forward in 2020 after a strong start to the season. The Vols were ranked as high as No. 11 in the nation after a 13-0 start to the year and were 15-2 heading into SEC play before the season was halted and eventually canceled due to COVID-19) global health crisis. 
Prior to the season being canceled, Tennessee led the country in total runs and runs per game while ranking second in home runs, slugging percentage, walks, and on-base percentage. 
 
On the show, we discuss what he looks for on the recruiting trail, how to get players to own their career, and we go over what they do for competition everyday and how that propelled them into leading the country in runs in 2020. 
 
Here is Tony Vitello
 
Resources
Heads up baseball- Ken Ravizza
Mind Gym- Gary Mack
Joe Rogan Podcast
Trevor Moawad
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Head Coaches- Rob Cooper and Steve Owens on how to communicate with players and build relationships, the recruiting process, and building culture

Today we have on Head Coach Rob Cooper from Penn State and Steve Owens from Rutgers In this episode we have over 40 years of bead coaching experience between the two, so we dive into lessons learned, how to communicate with players, how to build relationships and how the formula for recruiting and the process of building culture changes year to year and especially program to program. Here is Rob Cooper and Steve Owens! Contact Rob- rjc40@psu.edu Steve- baseball@scarletknights.com Show notes courtesy of Zach Casto.
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Alon Leichman on Israel Baseball, the World Baseball Classic, and relationship building.

Today we're talking with Alon Leichman, Milb pitching coach for the Seattle Mariners. Alon has an interesting background, being born and raised in Israel and then playing college baseball in the States. So we talk about his journey to the Mariners, which includes volunteer coaching in Cape Cod during his first summer after playing. What he learned as a bullpen coach in the World Baseball Classic, coaching with Jerry Weinstein. And we also dig into how we can get to better know our players and why that is vital to everything we do as coaches.
 
Resources
Hoops Whisperer
Range
 
Contact
alonleichman@gmail.com
Alon Leichman
 
Show notes courtesy of Zach Casto
Alon Leichman: MiLB Pitching Coach (Seattle Mariners)
Surround yourself with good people. 
Relationships with your players are the first part of success. 
Get to know your staff the same way you get to know your players. 
This creates whole team trust. 
Pick the brains of the members of your staff, friends, and others. 
This time is a great opportunity to learn. 
You are either learning and growing or you are getting passed up. 
Take a step back and appreciate what you have during these circumstances. 
Have gratitude for all the blessings you are given. 
Spend time with the players and be yourself. 
Be your authentic self so that the players will trust you. 
When coaching players they are ELL’s don’t be afraid to mess up with Spanish. 
This allows the ELL athlete to be vulnerable and trust you as well
One of the biggest problems players have is overthinking. 
Have a strong enough relationship to allow players to come to you to talk about it. 
The sooner you recognize this the quicker the problem will be fixed. 
Reassure them they it’s okay to struggle and they we are all in this together. 
You want to get them out o an athletic mindset and not struggle with over thinking. 
The more we can use external cues and give the players a goal the better chance the athlete will self organize and accomplish the goal. 
The more we think about our mechanics the more the mechanics will break down. 
Without data, we must use an educated guess to help the player. 
When you see video: see if the delivery is fluid. 
When at foot strike, is the arm in a good position?
Is the elbow and shoulder level? 
Deficiencies: body limitations. 
Talk to strength coaches and have them help you find out these deficiencies. 
The arm recoil isn’t necessarily a bad thing. 
For some players it is natural to do this. 
It’s natural with some hard throwers. 
Recoiling is a natural deceleration for the throwing arm. 
Take the strengths of the player and give data based off of the technology of what you have. 
The data can show you where you’re at with accomplishing your goal. 
Individual plans and goals provide clarity for the player on what to do to dominate their role. 
“Process over results.”
Individualized plans provide buy in for the player. 
If you don’t know the player and the his strengths the. You won’t be able to help develop the player the best way possible.
Involve the player when making decisions on their goals. 
Don’t change without asking the player’s side first. 
Give evidence as to why you want to make a change. 
Learn to listen but don’t switch super fast. 
You have to know how to tell evidence to your players. 
“It’s not the content that you speak, it’s the way you speak it to the player.” 
You want to be engaged with your guys. 
Example: one way to be engaged is to throw with the pitchers every day. 
Throw different pitches with each guy.
Have your catchers try out different stances in bullpens. 
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Nick Winkelman on communication in coaching, internal vs external cues, coaching feedback loops and the role of attention

Today we have on Nick Winkelman, Head of Athletic Performance & Science for Irish rugby and recent author of “The Language of Coaching.” Nick's primary role is to oversee the delivery and development of strength & conditioning and sports science across all national and provincial teams. Before working for Irish Rugby, Nick was the director of education and training systems for EXOS and oversaw the speed and assessment component of the EXOS NFL Combine Development Program and supported many athletes across the NFL, MLB, NBA, National Sports Organizations, and Military. Nick has his Ph.D. on motor skill learning and sprinting.  On the show we talk mainly about the role communication plays in coaching, and here’s a hint, it's a big one. More specifically we get into internal and external. Cues, how we can use coaching feedback loops and we discuss the role of attention and so much more Here is Nick Winkelman! Resources Julian Treasure Ted Talk www.languageofcoaching.com Contact info@languageofcoaching.co www.languageofcoaching.com @nickwinkelman Show notes courtesy of Zach Casto.
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Tyler Yearby skill acquisition techniques, constraints led approach, and game-like practices

Today we have on Tyler Yearby Co Founder of emergence which is a dedicated resource and community for coaches and movement specialists looking to explore the ever growing world of skill acquisition through ecological dynamics. Tyler also works at Starters Sports Training, which trains baseball and softball players.  Tyler’s speciality is in skill acquisition, so we go over how we can use skill acquisition techniques in baseball. A few things we go into, constraints led approach, how we know if a skill “Sticks” long term, what is “game-like” and we go into how to do this in a team  Resources Nonlinear pedagogy Constraints led approach Dynamics of skill acquisition Dexterity in its development https://emergentmvmt.com/ “Underpinnings” course Visual perception and action in sport Contact @TylerYearby @EMERGENTMVMT http://www.starterssportstraining.com/ Show Notes courtesy of Zach Casto.
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