A Few Thoughts On Baseball Pitching Coaches

I'm in the process of finishing another book on pitching specifically for coaches and parents due out later this year. As I was thinking about the roll of the coach in a pitcher's development, some of my favorite coaches came to mind - my dad, Mike Macchione of Adrean Post 625 in Utica, Bill Thurston at Amherst College, Dewey Kalmer and Mike Dunne at Bradley University, Dan Davis formerly of the El Dorado Broncos in Kansas, Mike Anderson and David Haas of the Cubs organization, and many others.

It's my belief that the most successful coach is not one who gets the most out of his top players, and not even one who gets the most out of the good players. A truly outstanding coach is one who can take the below-average pitcher and elevate him to a higher level.

All those coaches I mentioned above did that. It's something to think about the next time you work with a group of pitchers. Your instruction, believe it or not, actually has a big impact on the players you coach.