Saturday, July 28, 2012
The Enjoyment of Coaching Mature Collegiate athletes who stay Focused
The summer of 2012 has been so enjoyable for our coaching staff with the Cotuit Kettleers in the Cape Cod Collegiate Summer League. We are fortunate to have a team of collegiate athletes who: 1) enjoy practicing baseball to improve their fundamentals skills each day before the team goes into their regular pre-game routine. 2) The athletes have pushed their egos to the side and are truly a close knit “Team!” The players like and respect one another and the coaches and fans see this each day 3) the players have mentored 600 young people in the Kettleer Camps this summer and done so with enthusiasm each morning. 4) The players have embraced their “Host Families” and integrated themselves into this beautiful Cape Community. 5) This “Team” has fun playing each evening as if they were play in a “Backyard game of Wiffle Ball.” From the Coaching Staff to the Kettleers Players in 2012 we deeply appreciate this team for being a focused group of young athletes. You have made this summer special!!
Monday, July 23, 2012
Double Steal in Cotuit Kettleers Game vs. Harwich Mariners (Cape League) Game
Kettleers win vs. Harwich Mariners tonight included an outstanding double steal by Patrick Biondi (Michigan) who was on 2nd base and Tony Kemp (Vanderbilt) who was on 1st base in the 9th inning. Patrick stole 3rd on the 1st pitch and Tony stole 2nd behind him and the ball was thrown away at 3rd base. Patrick continued home on the over-throw and the left fielder threw the ball to home and the ball got past Brett Austin, Catcher from NC State. Tony Kemp then rounded third and scored all the way from 1st base. Speed is certainly fun to watch when the right players are teamed up. Patrick Biondi and Tony Kemp certainly are a base stealing pair that can turn a game around.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Base Stealing in 2012 for all age groups of baseball
Coach Mike Roberts in 2012 is excited to teach base stealing all over the USA. I am traveling the country putting on clincis. I was in San Diego early Jan. at the UCSD in La Jolla, on Jan. 21st at DBat in Frisco, Tx. w/clinic for all age groups and in Baltimore in early Feb. I will encourage and teach more coaches/athletes to learn the new techniques for stealing bases. From Brian Roberts, at the major league level with the Orioles, to Cotuit Kettleers players in the Cape Cod Collegiate Summer League where wood bats are used and their are few extra base hits and many more college athletes using the BBCor bats, and high school/youth players striving to polish their skills which will help their teams win games. I will be sharing techniques such as jump leads at 1B and 2B, double steals, 1st and 3rd steals, stealing home, leaning leads, decoy leads, and other types of leads. Join me often to learn Base Stealing from the ole’ Baseball Coach at http://www.coachmikeroberts.com.
Monday, December 26, 2011
Coach Mike Roberts
December 26th is the beginning of baseball season, so i’m back to blogging about base stealing and discussing my work at Athletes Performance with Major league and Minor League baseball players, and also my new work at SmartKage.com developing the education system for the newest technology to test baseball players in all areas of their game. More updates to come.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Mike Roberts Blog: BASE STEALING is a KEY ELEMENT to WINNING BASEBALL
The Cotuit Kettleers in the 2009 Cape Cod League baseball season stole 109 bases in 44 games which led the league. This was the KEY ELEMENT for our team playing in the league championship game for the 2nd consecutive year. The team applied pressure at all times to the opposing defense.
The New York Yankees were led to the 2009 World Series Championship by a team of sluggers who used the Stolen Base to place more pressure on opposing teams. Derek Jeter, 35 years old, stole 30 bases for the fourth time in his career. Johnny Damon, 36 years old, stole 2 bases on one pitch in game four of the World Series that turned out to be the “Key Play” in the 2009 World Series. Sportswriters are still discussing whether or not they had ever heard of much less seen with their own eyes a stolen base play such as this.
Coastal Carolina University Baseball stole 121 bases in 2009 which led them to a 47-16 record. Head Coach Gary Gilmore has a philosophy similar to mine that the stolen base is a catalyst to WINNING BASEBALL.
Coaches and players are always searching for more and better ways to WINNING BASEBALL. As you prepare for the 2010 baseball season during this Christmas and Holiday Season I hope you will read my new book written with my son Brian Roberts who led the American League in stolen bases in 2007, and let us help you improve your base stealing game.
The New York Yankees were led to the 2009 World Series Championship by a team of sluggers who used the Stolen Base to place more pressure on opposing teams. Derek Jeter, 35 years old, stole 30 bases for the fourth time in his career. Johnny Damon, 36 years old, stole 2 bases on one pitch in game four of the World Series that turned out to be the “Key Play” in the 2009 World Series. Sportswriters are still discussing whether or not they had ever heard of much less seen with their own eyes a stolen base play such as this.
Coastal Carolina University Baseball stole 121 bases in 2009 which led them to a 47-16 record. Head Coach Gary Gilmore has a philosophy similar to mine that the stolen base is a catalyst to WINNING BASEBALL.
Coaches and players are always searching for more and better ways to WINNING BASEBALL. As you prepare for the 2010 baseball season during this Christmas and Holiday Season I hope you will read my new book written with my son Brian Roberts who led the American League in stolen bases in 2007, and let us help you improve your base stealing game.
Monday, October 12, 2009
College, High School, and Youth Fall Baseball: Base Stealing Practice
Since returning from coaching in the Cape Cod Collegiate Summer League, many baseball professionals have called me from head to assistant coaches affiliated with college baseball wanting to discuss ways to teach base stealing effectively in their fall practices. Most of the coaches have read my new book “You Can’t Steal Second Base and Keep Your Foot on First!” or seen the presentation that my son Brian Roberts (Baltimore Orioles) and I gave at the American Baseball Coaches Association Convention in San Diego in January, 2009.
In the sport of baseball the fall months should be used to teach and teach and teach players how to improve their individual game and how to improve the collective team game. This is also true in all youth baseball leagues, high school fall leagues, and college programs. Fall baseball is not a time for teams to concentrate on “winning a game” but a time for each player to “improve their game!”
Two coaches I have had extensive discussions with on base stealing are Rob Ramseyer, assistant coach at Mid-America Nazarene University in Kansas City, Missouri, who also coaches in the Alaska Summer Baseball League and Tim Corbin the head coach at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. Rob is coaching at an NAIA program and Tim at an elite NCAA Division I program competing in the Southeastern Conference.
The schools are certainly different in number of students on campus, the size of the facility and the amount of money in their operating budget. However; baseball is baseball, all players put their pants on one leg at a time, and similarly strive to improve their game. Each program has a goal to play for a national championship in their division at the conclusion of the season. As such, it is important that they equally focus on the same skills.
One of the best ways for a team to be more successful from game to game is to improve their base stealing. The base stealing game is always available to generate offense as long as someone gets to first base. For example, at the conclusion of the opening game of the 2009 Cape League season, the team I coach the Cotuit Kettleers only had 3 hits but we stole 7 bases and scored 4 runs. The base stealing game generated our offense and gave us a better chance of winning.
I encourage coaches to teach base stealing every practice in the fall. The drills I use still to this day are all outlined in “You can’t Steal Second Base and Keep Your Foot on First!” If you need more information please contact me via my website or email. I would be happy to discuss this passion of mine and want to support your coaching efforts.
In the sport of baseball the fall months should be used to teach and teach and teach players how to improve their individual game and how to improve the collective team game. This is also true in all youth baseball leagues, high school fall leagues, and college programs. Fall baseball is not a time for teams to concentrate on “winning a game” but a time for each player to “improve their game!”
Two coaches I have had extensive discussions with on base stealing are Rob Ramseyer, assistant coach at Mid-America Nazarene University in Kansas City, Missouri, who also coaches in the Alaska Summer Baseball League and Tim Corbin the head coach at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. Rob is coaching at an NAIA program and Tim at an elite NCAA Division I program competing in the Southeastern Conference.
The schools are certainly different in number of students on campus, the size of the facility and the amount of money in their operating budget. However; baseball is baseball, all players put their pants on one leg at a time, and similarly strive to improve their game. Each program has a goal to play for a national championship in their division at the conclusion of the season. As such, it is important that they equally focus on the same skills.
One of the best ways for a team to be more successful from game to game is to improve their base stealing. The base stealing game is always available to generate offense as long as someone gets to first base. For example, at the conclusion of the opening game of the 2009 Cape League season, the team I coach the Cotuit Kettleers only had 3 hits but we stole 7 bases and scored 4 runs. The base stealing game generated our offense and gave us a better chance of winning.
I encourage coaches to teach base stealing every practice in the fall. The drills I use still to this day are all outlined in “You can’t Steal Second Base and Keep Your Foot on First!” If you need more information please contact me via my website or email. I would be happy to discuss this passion of mine and want to support your coaching efforts.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Ellsbury Breaking the Record
Coaching in the Cape Cod Baseball League for the Cotuit Kettleers all summer provides me great Red Sox Fan insight and a pulse on what the team is going through at the current moment. With the Sox maintaining a slight lead in the Wild Card Race things seem to be heating up.
A Cotuit Kettleers Camper sent me a txt the other day informing me that Jacoby Ellsbury had broken the stolen base record for the Boston Red Sox. Historically, the Sox have not been traditionally know for their base stealing prowess but the current ownership and management have an good understanding of the value that base stealing can add to the game, so I was not surprised. I also have the privilege of watching Jacoby train at Athletes Performance in Phoenix, Arizona during the off-season where I am the Director of Baseball Development.
While each base stealer’s approach is unique, I thought the recent graphic in the Boston Globe on Ellsbury’s Record Speed, certainly outlined the excitement that stealing a base can add to the game. Because the outcome of a baseball game can be changed by a pivotal play in a game, base stealing always provides one more tool in a team’s arsenal. While a great baseball stealer has to have certain natural ability and instincts, those can be developed and fine tuned over time. Without the work and practice, the full potential of a natural athlete like Jacoby will not reach maximum potential.
As you may have noticed, base stealing in a passion of mine. I try and make sure that I teach base stealing extensively in every team I build. I began teaching it when I was a college coach, used it when I played and encouraged it with my son Brian Roberts who is the leading base stealer for the Baltimore Orioles. I was lucky enough to co write a book with Brian on base stealing titled, “You Can’t Steal Second Base and Keep Your Foot on First”.
I continue to urge all young baseball players to work on their base stealing in practice and in games. As I hear the wonderful news of Jacoby Ellsbury’s accomplishment, I congratulate him and also wish him good luck on many more stolen bases this season!
Links:
http://www.boston.com/interactive/graphics/200908_ellsbury
A Cotuit Kettleers Camper sent me a txt the other day informing me that Jacoby Ellsbury had broken the stolen base record for the Boston Red Sox. Historically, the Sox have not been traditionally know for their base stealing prowess but the current ownership and management have an good understanding of the value that base stealing can add to the game, so I was not surprised. I also have the privilege of watching Jacoby train at Athletes Performance in Phoenix, Arizona during the off-season where I am the Director of Baseball Development.
While each base stealer’s approach is unique, I thought the recent graphic in the Boston Globe on Ellsbury’s Record Speed, certainly outlined the excitement that stealing a base can add to the game. Because the outcome of a baseball game can be changed by a pivotal play in a game, base stealing always provides one more tool in a team’s arsenal. While a great baseball stealer has to have certain natural ability and instincts, those can be developed and fine tuned over time. Without the work and practice, the full potential of a natural athlete like Jacoby will not reach maximum potential.
As you may have noticed, base stealing in a passion of mine. I try and make sure that I teach base stealing extensively in every team I build. I began teaching it when I was a college coach, used it when I played and encouraged it with my son Brian Roberts who is the leading base stealer for the Baltimore Orioles. I was lucky enough to co write a book with Brian on base stealing titled, “You Can’t Steal Second Base and Keep Your Foot on First”.
I continue to urge all young baseball players to work on their base stealing in practice and in games. As I hear the wonderful news of Jacoby Ellsbury’s accomplishment, I congratulate him and also wish him good luck on many more stolen bases this season!
Links:
http://www.boston.com/interactive/graphics/200908_ellsbury
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