Why a Whiteboard is the Best $20 a Coach Can Spend

With seasons starting up all over the country we wanted to give you a 5 min way to help improve the quality of your at-bats and success of your baserunning. Enter the whiteboard. Every H.S. dugout in America should have one, yet almost none do. Below I will breakdown why it's so important and how you can implement it TOMORROW. 

One of the biggest issues of H.S. players is not being ready to compete. All 9 guys can face a pitcher and all 9 can make the same mistakes, strictly because they are not paying attention to what matters. Set up a whiteboard at the front of your dugout and tally what the pitcher throws on P1 of every at-bat. I guarantee you will see a trend. If a guy is 90% first pitch fastball, your guys need to be ready for it. No waiting around - that first pitch is hittable and consistent. Simply knowing a trend can give a hitter a huge boost of confidence, enough to make a difference. 

Next, you should track how fast the pitcher is out of the stretch to home. Take a stop watch, and when the pitcher initiates his leg lift, start the watch. When the pitch hits the catcher's glove, stop the watch and record the time. As a rule of thumb:

Every hitter should know his time from first (w/ lead) to second. If his time is better than the pitcher, then mathematically he should be safe on a steal attempt. Writing down the times will again give your players more confidence to be aggressive and win you games. Data takes away doubt!

It is vital to track exactly how many times a pitcher looks at runners when he comes set. Most pitchers will give 1-2 looks depending on the situation, but almost all pitchers fall into trends. Common trends are: 2 looks w/ a 1 second pause then Pitch. But looking for those trends can be a huge difference maker.

 

Runners, when a pitcher comes fully set, count in your head "U.C.L.A" like 1,2,3,4. Does the pitcher constantly pitch on "L"? or "C" or "U or A but never C & L"? Understanding the set time will give you a huge advantage when determining when to steal. If a pitcher is constantly an "L" I can be pretty confident that if I go right before "L" I can get a huge jump. Again, this is all about confidence. Find the trends - become more aggressive. 

The final not is does the pitcher slide step at all? This will be valuable info as it may make you slightly less aggressive on pitchers who are slow to the plate. If they mix in a slide step it is something to look out for. "If you go and he slide steps, go back".

A whiteboard in the dugout not only keeps guys prepared and confident, but also more focused. If I strike out, but know that I have info the team can benefit from it makes dealing with failure easier. Everyone has a job and a responsibility with this system. Bench players can help the starters steal more bases and in return win more games. It's all about the opportunities you give your players and the culture you build. 

-Mike Castellani

WHAT OTHER STATS DO/SHOULD YOU TRACK DURING A GAME?

 

-MIKE CASTELLANI