Ryan Pratt's Blog

      In the coaching industry there is a lot of debate over whether an old school or new school approach is better. I tend to lean towards the new school because I think if we are not constantly evolving then things can't continue to get better. One old school trait that will never go out of style is holding everyone in the program accountable for their actions. The coaches and players must be held to the same standard no matter their skill level or nothing will ever be accomplished over a long period time. The buzzword culture is used a lot these days and I think overused especially if everyone isn't being held accountable for their actions.      Accountability has to start with the head coach laying down expectations for the assistant coaches and players and tell them exactly how you want things done. If this isn't done, then accountability is immediately lost right away because the head coach has no expectations for anyone. If these ...

      The debate that has lasted far too long and is one of the most pointless arguments in sports is the Brady and Belichick debate of who is better. The real answer is obviously not popular because it doesn't cause drama but they both needed each other to sustain their success for so long. In the world of professional football teams don't just have the success the Patriots had all those years without a legendary quarterback and coach. Belichick set the culture for the team and without his processes, incredible management of the roster, and game situations Brady would have never been put in the situations to win the Super Bowls that he did. Without Brady's leadership ability and great ability to take hard coaching from Belichick, the implemented culture might not have been respected by the whole team.      The truth about both of them is that to reach a sustained level of success like they did you have to love the process of getting better every day and ne...

      We seem to live in a time when more injuries are happening for pitchers at all levels, but coaches are part of the problem, not the solution. Coaches need to have plans in place to make sure pitchers aren't being overused but also the metrics that we measure might need to change. Many throwing programs are built from distance thrown, which isn't bad but isn't the best way to measure the stress you are putting on the arm. The best way to measure this stress is to use a radar gun and see how hard you are throwing every throw. People only use radar guns a lot to measure how hard they can throw but it is good to use on recovery days when you want to not get above a certain stress level on the arm. The other thing that needs to be measured which can be using Driveline Pulse is how many throws you make. If you can't afford this type of technology, then simply using something to count throws and intensity on your throws will be fine. Most athletes don't realize how m...

      It is well-known across the United States that the number of officials for all sports has dramatically decreased in people who want to become officials. The truth about it is the job isn't fun for anyone anymore as you have to hear the constant complaining from fans and coaches and a lot of the time they have no clue what they are talking about. In baseball, constantly complaining about the strike zone or out and safe calls has set a bad example for the youth who also seem to complain a lot to officials. The scary part of the situation is the track we are on sports will not have enough officials which will make it more difficult for games to be played. This could cause major trouble for youth and high school sports as they literally won't be able to find officials to referee games. I believe this issue can be fixed though if some action steps are taken to create change.      I would first implement a no-tolerance policy for fans to argue or yell anyth...

      Habits and routine are a really important part of the process and I think at times coaches fail to live up to the ways that they preach to their athletes. Coaches need to live up to the standard that they set for their players when it comes to the daily habits needed to perform or they in my opinion won't get the same respect from the players. In general, more respect is given to people in shape and who have some energy about them that helps them gravitate toward others. Also, those habits like working, out, nutrition, hydration, and mental skills work will help people become better coaches because they are functioning at a more optimal level. Coaches at every level get preoccupied and are very busy day in and day out but they all should have a set routine that includes the principles of eating healthy, working out, and being hydrated enough to operate at the highest level. Coaches get caught a lot preaching those standards to their players but fail to live up to th...

      The generation we live in always wants a quick fix to get better at something, and it happens all the time in baseball. Players believe that one lesson or a quick drill will help them perform better but in reality, it takes time and a lot of repetition to get better at whatever you want to improve at. The saying I always go back to is Tiger Woods when talking about how he got better is that you have to "dig it out of the dirt". This means he took rep after rep in golf to improve while also having a great mental game and this is why Tiger became one of the best golfers of all time. Tiger never looked for a quick fix because as most of the greats do he earned his improvements every day through trial and error.      In baseball to improve at times you have to be willing to try things that may not work initially but once you find out what works for you personally the biggest skill that you need to improve is consistency. The player that hits 5-6 days a we...