Mongero Monday #17 with guest, David Smart, current high school head baseball coach at Denmark High School in Alpharetta, Georgia. Coach Smart is in his 28th season as a high school coach, was the 2018 Ga Dugout Club Ethics in Coaching recipient, 2019 Ga Dugout Club 4A Coach of the Year, 2019 Atlanta Braves 400 Club Coach of the Year and has coached in 10 State Finals Series, winning three.
Show Notes:
- The journey it takes to be great.
- Players vs parent expectations.
- Coaches: are you chasing wins or are you chasing player development?
- Love, serve and care.
- Winning is a by-product of loving your teammates and working hard and ethics.
- Holding people/players accountable.
- Work ethic.
- Play multiple sports!
- College coaches are looking for athletes.
- Having perspective within the game.
- Rest and recovery.
- Coaches holding players accountable for example: if they are sick or can’t make workouts then the player has to communicate to the coach.
- The best nine are going to play at all times.
- Players need to seek short term memory when it comes to baseball.
- “He was so respectful, his demeanor didn’t change at all.”
- Understanding what needs to be done before a college year.
- “7 seconds to make a first impression”.
- Eye contact is an important factor for first impressions.
- Eye test, body language, energy. The little things add up to the big things.
- Coaches can give the players freedom after he prepares them for the game.
- Character piece when recruiting to college in a big piece!
- Most of the time the college coach is going to ask the high school coach about your makeup/character.
- Some other questions that are going to be asked when recruiting: Does he play any other sports? Is he a good teammate? Can he handle adversity?
- How you practice earns opportunities in the game.
- Learning the right questions to ask a coach to be able to get playing time.
- Learning how to communicate.
- Expectations are set at the beginning of the year.
- I want to encourage college coaches to be approachable.
- Being positive in a culture of momentum.
- Promote a positive culture.
- The player/kid needs to take responsibility for his actions.
- There’s always a choice to be make….Do I workout today?
- Rest and recovery.
- Less is more.
- Sometimes you need a break from the game!!
- Work smarter not harder.
- Consistency.
- Playing multiple positions so you can find your niche.
- Train to be a shortstop,
- Rent is due everyday.
- Parents need to understand who you’re dealing with on an individual basis.
- A sense of family, a sense of community, a sense of school, pride…it’s much bigger than yourself.
- Set the expectation early and then the players/coaches know what to expect.
- This is your window of time to go for it.
- Put the phones down and get some rest.
- Take care of you, take care of your body.
- Make your best effort, nobody’s perfect.
