Coach Barksdale's Top 10 Holiday Gifts!

For those of you who were signed up for my email newsletter last year you may remember my holiday gift guide.  I got a lot of positive feedback from parents and players about that newsletter so I thought I'd do it again this year.  In this blog post I'll list my Top 10 Holiday Gifts for Catchers in 2011.  The gifts will range from about $5 to around $300 so there will be something for everyone.

Happy Holidays!

10.  Hitting Jack-It: $19.95 and Up

The first item on my list is the Hitting Jack-It.  Although this isn't related to catching this is a piece of equipment that I think every player can benefit from.  I've always been a big advocate of swinging a weighted bat because I feel like that played an important role in my development as a baseball player.  The nice thing about these bat weights is that you're able to hit balls off a tee or short toss with the weight on your bat.  Some of the bulkier bat weights don't allow players to do this.  As far as offensive products go, this is my favorite hitting accessory on the market!

9.  RightView Pro - Video Analysis Software: $250 - $3000

If you have heard me speak before, or read my book, you will know that I am a big time believer in video analysis systems...and this is the king of them all!  This may not be in everyone's price range this holiday season, but if you're looking for a video system this is the one you want.  These are most commonly used to study video footage of hitters and pitchers, but there is no reason that catchers can't be filmed receiving, blocking, or throwing.  There are a lot of other video systems out there that may seem more cost effective, but I would urge you to spend a little more money and get RightView Pro if you're looking for video analysis software.  Put simply, it's the best there is!

8.  For Love of the Game DVD: $5.49

This is one of the best baseball movies of all time!  While the main character is a pitcher, you can get an inside look at the relationship between a pitcher and his catcher.  This is one of those movies that baseball guys can watch 50 times and not get tired of it!  You can't call yourself a baseball player if you don't own this movie on DVD.  There is no reason not to own it because it's only $5.49 on Amazon.  This is a great stocking stuffer!

7.  Oakley Flak Jacket: $90-140

Every baseball player needs a good pair of sunglasses, and nobody makes them better than Oakley.  These are stylish glasses, but the main reason that I like them is because they're not too big and bulky and can easily be worn underneath the facemask.  Some of the larger sunglasses seem to be too cumbersome to wear during a game, but these don't ever cause a problem.  Pick out a color scheme to match your team colors!  These can also be found on Amazon.com.

6.  EvoShield Spartan Wristguard: $21.99

This has become a very popular item among all baseball players, but it's especially useful for catchers.  Sure, it's stylish and there are a lot of colors to choose from, but what I really like about this wristguard is how much protection it offers.  All catchers know that one of the most painful get hit is in the wrist.  There isn't a whole lot of "meat on the bones" around the wrist and this area is exposed when blocking balls.  Plus, the neoprene design helps keep sweat off of your hands during those hot summer games.  For only $22 this is something that every catcher should have...for protection, and for style!

5.  Catcher's Thumb: $35

This product has been able to help thousands of players not lose innings behind the plate due to nagging thumb injuries.  Most people wait to order one until they have suffered a hyper-extended or broken thumb, but it's great for preventative reasons as well.  The off season is a great time to start using one so that you don't get hurt during spring training and set yourself back.  If you order a backup Catcher's Thumb they're on sale 2 for $60.

4.  Catcher's Performance Summary iPhone/iPad App: $12.99

The CPS app works on iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch.  It was released just before last baseball season and is being used by some of the top college baseball programs.  It allows you to capture the most detailed defensive statistics available for catchers and immediately email them after the game is over.  This helps catchers by making them aware of exactly how many balls they are blocking and blocking, their pop times, Catcher's Earned Run Average, and a ton of other useful statistics.  If you've got an iPhone you need this app!

3.  Baseball Express Gift Certificate
The perfect gift for the baseball player that already has everything!  Baseball Express is the #1 place on the Internet for baseball equipment and clothing so I'm sure he'll be able to find something there!

2.  All-Star CM3000SBT Catcher's Mitt: $299.99

If you follow me on twitter or facebook you've probably heard me say a number of times that my favorite catching gear is made by All-Star.  I believe that they make the highest quality catching equipment that you can find and their mitts are no exception.  This is the mitt that I used my last few years with the Braves and I would recommend it to anyone.  There are a few different sizes to choose from, but my personal preference was the "SBT"...that's the smaller size.  Getting a mitt for the holidays gives the player plenty of time to break it in before the season starts!

1.  Catching-101: The Complete Guide for Baseball Catchers: $24.99
My book has already made my publisher's "Best Sellers" list and I have gotten a ton of nice comments from parents, coaches, and players about how much they have learned from it.  If your catcher doesn't own it yet this is a perfect time of year to get it for them!  Even though it may be too cold to get outside and practice this book will help your catcher have a better understanding of the position so that when spring practice starts he'll be a step ahead!

Do you know the NCAA recruiting rules that coaches have to follow?

As a recruiter, I run across a lot of players and parents that aren't aware of the recruiting rules coaches have to follow based on the NCAA rules.  That's really no surprise because the manual that coaches have to follow looks like a phone book!  Some of the rules that I'm referring to are things like: when can a coach call you on the phone; when can a coach email you; can a coach text message you; why didn't that coach speak to you at the tournament last weekend when you walked right by him?  These are just a few situations that come up quite often, but there are plenty of others that you might have questions about too.

If you really want to learn the rules you should go right to the source, the NCAA DI Coaches Manual.  There is a lot more info in there than you will probably need, but it's a good resource to have if you have any questions.  In particular, chapter 13 (Recruiting), is where you will need to look for most of the issues that deal with PSAs (Prospective Student Athletes).

The best part is that it's free to download!  I think it's a good idea for players, parents, and summer ball/HS coaches to be familiar with the rules.  I would recommend downloading it and saving it for a later date because you may not have any questions now, but they will more than likely arise as you get deeper into the recruiting process.

I hope you find this useful and that it helps you better understand the rules that coaches must follow throughout the recruiting process!

Follow this link to the NCAA DI Coaches Manual 2011-2012.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays.  Partly because I love the turkey, dressing, pecan pie, and all of the other great food, but mainly because I get to spend time with my family.  For a college baseball coach, Thanksgiving is one of 2 or 3 times a year that I get an opportunity to go home and spend a few days at my parent's house.  I love college baseball, and I love coaching, but I really LOVE getting to come home and spend time with my mom, dad, brother, 2 nieces, and all of my old friends that I only get to see a few times a year.

I'm thankful that I'm able to make a living doing what I love (coaching baseball), but it is an extremely time consuming occupation.  The majority of a coach's time is spent practicing, recruiting, playing games, and being on the road.  This doesn't leave a whole lot of time for other things and thats OK with me because I wouldn't want to be doing anything other than coaching.  But, when I'm able to get home for a few days and spend time with my family I realize what I'm most thankful for!

I'm thankful for all of our military, past and present, who have sacrificed so that we're able to live in the greatest nation on earth.

Readers of this blog are usually split into one of three categories - players, coaches, or parents of players.  To all of the players out there I hope that you're thankful to be able to play the great game of baseball.  Thankful for your coaches spending time with you, thankful for your parents giving you rides to and from the ballpark, thankful that you have a glove to put on your hand to play catch, and thankful for your health which allows you to play baseball.

Thanksgiving is an excellent time to remind ourselves how lucky each one of us actually are...and to load up on turkey and dressing too!  Happy Thanksgiving!

Ladder Drills are a great way to make your feet quicker!

There are two main ways that we can cut down on our pop time to 2nd base.  The first, which I've written about before, is increasing your arm strength.  This is done primarily by long tossing and also occurs naturally as our bodies mature.  There are definitely ways to speed this process up by incorporating a long toss and pre-hab programs, but for the most part it is a pretty slow process.  It's hard to increase our arm strength by 6, 7, 8, or 10 MPH, and it doesn't happen over night!

Other than strengthening our arm, we can cut down our pop time by decreasing the time that it takes us to get rid of the ball.  Or, as you may have heard it said before, making our feet quicker.  This is an area that most catchers have plenty of room to improve in...most of us aren't known because of our lightning fast quickness!

Today I'm going to write about one of my favorite tools that we can use to improve our foot speed...the ladder.  I'm going to refer to the ABC Ladder made by Perform Better because I feel like it's the best quality one there is and it's reasonably priced between $54 and $89.  Thats about 1/3 the price of a new mitt and it should last your entire baseball career!

Click to watch video of Ladder Drills

The ladder is a great tool to help players increase their foot speed while also learning body control.  If catchers can get both of their feet on the ground more quickly, they have a chance to release the ball faster...which means more base stealers are thrown out!

If you've never seen a ladder used before you should click on the video above and watch some of the exercises to do.  Even if you are familiar with the ladder there are some excellent exercises demonstrated in the video.  Think of it as "hopscotch for athletes"!

One of the great things about the ladder is that you can do these exercises everyday as part of your dynamic warmup for practice.  You all know that I'm a big advocate of long tossing, but that should only be done a few times a week.  These foot speed exercises can be performed every day if you keep your ladder in your baseball bag!

Every catcher who wants to improve his pop time (which is everybody!) can benefit from introducing  ladder drills into your routine.