Legends Baseball & Softball Camps

I used to lecture kids about hustle.

Now I just tell them a story.

This week the theme at our Legends summer camps is HUSTLE, so I told a field full of campers about Willie Mays and his dad Cat.

Cat worked brutal shifts at the steel mill.

But before the sun came up, exhausted and worn out, he still woke up early to play catch with his son every single morning.

The kids were dead silent. Every single one locked in.

Here is what I have realized after 18 years of coaching.

Baseball is the greatest classroom there is.

Every great story carries a life lesson inside it. Hustle. Grit. Showing up when it is hard.

So I have been working on storytelling as a real skill. Using the game to teach kids things they carry far beyond the field.

Today’s at home challenge: find your own “Cat.” Write down someone in your life who hustles every single day and gives 100%.

Bring the sheet back tomorrow and they earn a Legends token to spend at the camp store.

Teach through story. Watch it stick. ⚾

There is a difference between punishment and discipline, and it matters more than people think.

Punishment is punitive.

It is about making a kid pay for something. It comes from frustration, and it usually leaves them feeling smaller.

Discipline is different.

Discipline is about building something. It is teaching a standard, holding the line, and helping a kid become tougher and more locked in than they were yesterday.

One tears down. The other builds up.

De La Salle is proof of what the building kind looks like.

They started their season 0-5.

But that early stretch gave them discipline, camaraderie, and a team that bonded because they fought through something hard together.

A couple months later they won the NCS Division One championship.

So if you are a coach who is scared to be tough on your team, just make sure you are after the right thing.

We are not trying to punish kids. 💪
We are trying to discipline them.

And done right, that pays off in a way winning early never could.

Every summer we bring in fresh camp prizes with whatever’s in style.

This year we went back to a classic from when I was a kid.

Woven necklaces!

Neon yellow, neon green, black, and of course the classic Legends forest green, golden yellow, and white.

Already signed up? Your child can work to earn one of these at camp!

Not signed up yet? What are you waiting for!? Get in there at https://f.mtr.cool/xkymjvwsvj

How to throw a "kick" changeup. ⚾💪🔥

First run for the Legends collegiate summer team.

For those who don’t know, we are in our 18th summer of collegiate summer ball. We play in the California collegiate league.

They are the fuel behind our famous summer camps.

If you’re in the Bay Area, be sure to come out and catch a game at Baylands in Palo Alto!

You get 1 spring Little League season per year. You can play tournaments every weekend.

Missing your rec league games to play in a travel ball tournament is not legit. It's also not safe from an arm care perspective.

The travel ball player is probably a top Little League player, so it really hurts the team. Dont put your child that situation. And dont do that to the team.

It puts the Little League head coach in an awful position.

What are they supposed to tell the team?

"Oh yea, little Bobby is playing on his travel team this weekend instead of with us..."

And then that travel ball player is expected to just be slotted back into the lineup? That's not right. I bet if the LL coach sits the player for skipping out on the team, those parents complain. In fact, I literally just had this happen with a good friend... which prompted this reflection.

Play Little League or Travel Ball.

And if you do both, prioritize the rec league with the team who has worked together for months with the goal of playing meaningful baseball at the end of the season. Show up for the volunteer coach who probably selected you as one of their top picks to carry and lead the team.

And just wait a few more weeks and play in as many weekend tournaments as your heart desires. ⚾💪🔥

The baseball gods are always watching…

100% of kids want to win. However, if I have a really good team, or an older team that's a high school/college team, I actually focus LESS on winning. Ill talk more about the process and getting better... Winning will be a byproduct of development.

At the YOUTH LEVEL, unless my team is extremely rough, I focus MORE on winning and use it as motivation to keep them focused. It's just my style. And all teams and kids are different but what I can say with confidence is kids want to win!

ALL. OF. THEM!

Winning is fun! Isnt this about having fun!?

I find that it just keeps kids focused and gives them something to work towards. Ultimately, we do want to develop winners!

But really, for me, the key to winning at the youth level (without a doubt machine and coach pitch) is to make your bottom three or four kids are contributors. Its also very special when you can get things to click for those kids!

Just wrapped up another incredible Little League season.

Every year it gets more fun and I keep learning what works and what doesn’t.

While fresh in my head, hear are some of the ideas/things that are working for me that could hopefully work for you too!