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- The Baseball Recruit Letter
As I mentioned is last week’s newsletter, I intended to provide recommended resources for ALL areas of the game, but I ran out of time.
This letter is “part two.”
Below you will find the best resources I know of for catching, infield, hitting, baserunning, strength and conditioning, and the mental game.
Catching
Jay Weaver is the founder of “The Catching Camp.” He runs a variety of catching camps across the country along with other programs.
I took my son to one of his "Road Trip Camps” several years ago and was impressed with the instruction Jay and his staff provided.
Jerry Weinstein has a decorated career coaching at all levels of college baseball and is one of the most respected catching instructors in the game.
His content is well worth a deep dive by all players looking to improve as a catcher.
My high school son stumbled upon Nick’s online catching instruction by chance. He scheduled a phone call and begged my wife and I to fund his lessons.
It’s been money well spent! Nick sets weekly catching development plans for my son, reviews videos my son sends him, and calls him occasionally to talk about his progress.
Sienko is the founder of Catch and Throw, a website devoted to helping catchers improve their game.
I listened to him speak at a convention several years back. He really opened my eyes to catching techniques that have now become commonplace, such as one-knee stances and anticipatory glove loading.
Coburn is known as “The Catching Guy” and runs a website with the same name.
Admittedly, I haven’t studied Coburn’s methods at length, but I’ve heard enough people that I respect rave about him that I know he deserves to be on this list.
Griffin is the head baseball coach at Carson-Newman University in Tennessee.
I’ve heard him speak twice at baseball conventions and used several of his catching drills when I coached college baseball.
His website, “Catch, Block, Throw It,” is a goldmine of information about catching.
Goodro is popular catching instructor who runs camps, provides individual instruction, and remote training for catchers.
His website is goodrocatching.com.
Infield
Dickerson is the infield coach for the Philadelphia Phillies. He’s held the same role for other organizations previously.
He became a YouTube sensation in baseball circles after videos showing him coaching professional infielders circulated. Here are my favorites:
Correa is the bench coach for the San Francisco Giants and one of the most sought-after infield instructors in the country.
The Giants have posted several videos of Correa instructing the team’s infielders on YouTube.
Antonelli is a former MLB infielder who started Antonelli Baseball after he retired.
His YouTube channel is a goldmine of information about all aspects of baseball, including infield play.
Click here for a link to over 200 videos Antonelli has made about infield play.
Famous for often wearing a wicker bucket hat with his baseball uniform, Trosky is another infield instructor worth studying.
Trosky runs infield camps all over the country and has a YouTube channel with quite a few good instructional videos.
Outfield
I’ve heard several college coaches talk about outfield play at the annual ABCA convention through the years, but no one person has stuck out to me as an outfield “guru.”
I searched online for quite a while and couldn’t find one specific person our resource worth mentioning in this article for outfield play.
Someone has an opportunity to take over this space!
Hitting
Not to be confused with former MLB pitcher Bob Tewksbury, Bobby Tewksbary runs Pelotero, offering high-level hitting instruction and more.
I mentioned Driveline in last week’s newsletter about pitching instruction. The company also offers a comprehensive manual for hitters, including drills and training programs.
Myers runs Hitting Performance Lab and has written several books about hitting.
I came across his YouTube channel several years ago and enjoy learning about his perspective on hitting.
I mentioned Antonelli in the infield section above. His hitting content is also very good.
Lisle has coached baseball and softball and multiple colleges. He founded “The Hitting Vault,” a comprehensive hitter development program for players at all levels.
I implemented a lot of Lisle’s drills with college hitters I’ve coached.
Schenck, a.k.a. “Teacherman,” is a private hitting instructor who has worked with several professional hitters, most notably Aaron Judge.
If you’re active in baseball circles on Twitter, you probably know that his methods are polarizing. I find them fascinating and certainly worth learning about to compare with other methods and systems.
Baserunning
Talarico is the baserunning coordinator for the New York Yankees.
His website is StealBases.com, where he promotes his book, “The Complete Base Stealing Manual.”
Riser is the head coach at Memphis. I heard him speak on baserunning. at the ABCA convention when he was the head coach at Southeastern Louisiana.
This podcast episode details his baserunning philosophy.
Roberts is a former college coach who authored an excellent book on baserunning.
You can learn about his philosophies on YouTube.
Strength and Conditioning
Cressey is one of the most well-known strength and conditioning coaches in baseball circles. His website offers useful information and products about baseball training and training in general.
Reinold is a former trainer for the Boston Red Sox. He co-founded Champion Physical Therapy and Performance in Boston. His website is a valuable resource for players looking to maximize their development and stay healthy.
Dechant is the strength and conditioning coach for the TCU baseball team.
His book, “Movement Over Maxes,” is must-read material in my opinion. I bought the book and have used the program with my high school son.
Mental Game
McCabe is a clinical and sports psychologist. He played baseball at LSU in the 1990s. Along with running his own business, he is the sports psychologist for the University of Alabama athletic program.
His website contains a plethora of resources for mental training in all sports.
Cain is a popular mental training coach in baseball circles, although he works with athletes in all sports.
His website offers articles, coaching services, courses, and more.
I read Kramer’s first book, “Stillpower,” many years ago and was fascinated by the material. Fascinated enough, in fact, that I scheduled a few coaching sessions with him.
He also wrote “The Path of No Resistance.”
I read “Heads Up Baseball” in high school and implemented many of its principles as a player.
The book provides many practical examples and exercises to help players stay present and play the game “one pitch at a time.”
Ross is a former military drill sergeant, medic, and infantry soldier. She is currently a mental performance consultant.
She offers a variety of services on her website and has put together special mental training packages specifically for our players at College Athlete Advantage.
Like “Heads Up Baseball,” I read “The Mental Game of Baseball” in high school. It became a bible of sorts for me as I navigated the ups and downs of playing high school and college baseball.
There you have it!
By no means is this an exhaustive list of resources, but it’s certainly a good starting point if you’re looking for trusted information about improving your game.
Feel free to reply/comment with any questions and/or insights.
All the best!
- Matt
P.S. If you'd like to schedule a free consultation with me about the recruiting process, reply to this email or send me a text at 319-883-0242.
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