"Change" Is NOT A Four-Letter Word

"The most dangerous phrase in the language is, 'We've always done it this way.'"

(Grace Hopper, 1906-1992)

The baseball community is a tough place to try to induce change. I can appreciate baseball purists. I too love the historicity of the game, but there are many who feel that any change at all has the potential to compromise or damage the integrity of the game. I will admit, some change seems irrelevant and causes one to question the true motivation behind it, such as the suggestion of beginning extra-inning games with a runner on second base. This ridiculous idea creates a whole realm of questions in my mind, but I won't go into those here and now.

Still, in many respects, there is room in the game for change, especially when it comes to coaching. In fact, I would venture a guess that anyone who is still coaching everything today 100% the same way they were coaching 20 years ago, they are probably becoming very frustrated and likely not experiencing the same kind of success or joy that they perhaps once did.

This world is an ever-changing place. Culture has changed drastically in the past 20 years. Parenting and family dynamics have changed significantly. Technology has caused tremendous change in all of society and particularly in the sports world. That same technology has created a completely different kind of young person today than we were coaching 20 years ago.

Those are all things that you cannot change. They have happened, whether you like it or not. Whether you agree with it or not. No matter how much you dig in your heels and refuse to accept it or how much you just flat out ignore it, it has happened and it is continuing to happen. The context in which we are all coaching is always changing.

Therefore, coaching too must change.

Before we go any further, I want to look at a couple different words and the importance of distinguishing them from one another, especially when we are talking about the need for change. Those two words are: PRINCIPLES and METHODS.

One of the best ways to differentiate between these two words is to just state it plainly, like this: "Principles never change. Methods always do."

Principles last forever. Methods must be changed with each new generation in order to be able to connect with them. The issue comes when we confuse the two and make our methods into sacred cows that can never be questioned. This is why many coaches fall into slumps and start to question whether or not they should even continue doing what they do. It is not because they have lost the desire or their passion for the game. It is because they are losing touch with their players and perhaps the changes that are passing them by in the game. It is because they associated holding onto a particular method as an absolute that cannot be changed or adjusted. When asked about why they still do it that way, there is rarely a satisfactory answer given. Usually, the answer is more like, "It's been done this way for years and has proven to be successful, so it should still work today." The truth is, unless we learn to and are willing to separate methods from principles, the slumps will continue to occur, the joy of coaching will continue to fade, and the disconnect will continue to widen between you and your players.

I'm going to speak candidly here. In any sport or athletic endeavor, having a dogmatic attachment to any one way of doing things reflects an immature, short-sided, egotistical view of coaching. If this is you, please understand that you are not only limiting your own development and growth as a coach, but you are also limiting the potential success of your players and teams. Opening your mind to different methods – methods that are, of course, based on solid principles – is crucial. This is why it is so important to understand the difference between principles and methods.

It is also important to realize that there is a big difference between 20 years of experience and the same experience 20 years in a row. The difference is: GROWTH! Getting better every day. Not becoming so complacent and set in your ways about methods, but always asking questions like: "Why do we do it this way?" or "Why do I hold to this particular belief about _______ (insert any method here)?"

Coaches, "change" is not a four letter word. Here is a known fact about us, coaches. Most of us teach the way we had been taught. Probably 99% of us, at least when we first began coaching, taught the game and it's various aspects the exact same way, or similar, to one of our favorite coaches from the past. Initially, there is nothing wrong with that. Everyone has to begin somewhere, and those coaches from your playing days are your only point of reference. I did it, and there are some things my past coaches taught me that I still hold fast to today, because they are principles that will never be compromised by changing methods.

However, there are some things I strongly believed in and held to when I first began coaching that I have completely changed my approach in today. For example, when I first began coaching and for several years into my career, I had a "no conversations with parents" policy. I was taught, and embraced the personal belief, that it was necessary to keep parents at a distance. My method was, I will communicate to my players and it will be the players' responsibility to communicate information to their parents. I thought that if I were to have a conversation with a parent that was positive and jovial, then it would be perceived by others that I liked their kid more or that I would be persuaded to favor their kid more. If I entertained any kind of negative conversations with parents, then it might be too difficult to separate that from my feelings about their child. So, I simply chose to have a "no contact with parents" policy.

That is not my approach and method for handling parents today. Of course, the principles for why I chose that approach in the past are still good principles today. I still do not want to be persuaded either positively or negatively by anyone other than the player and his/her effort, attitude, performance and behavior. I still see the potential for perceived misconceptions about favoritism if I befriend some parents more than others. I still believe that it is a player's responsibility to effectively and accurately communicate all team business to his or her parents. Those principles haven't changed.

My methods, however, have changed. I realize that young people are not always the best communicators. Sometimes they leave out important details. Sometimes they focus on and emphasize minor points without providing proper perspective of the major points. It's no slight to young people, this is just the way it is. Therefore, if I want to be sure team business is communicated effectively, then the best way to be sure of that is to communicate it myself. I have, in fact, become an "over-communicator." I will send email (sometimes long, detailed emails). I create text message groups and send updates regularly to those. I use multiple forms of social media on a daily basis. And, whenever I see a parent of a player, I have conversation.

Of course, there are still some things that I refrain from discussing with parents. If any parent wants to ask about his or her child's playing time, I am fine with providing them information regarding our coaching decisions, on the basis that I have first had the same conversation with their child. Also, on the basis that we will ONLY be discussing their child's role in context of the team. No other players' names will enter into this conversation (that's a difficult one, because usually whenever a parent wants to discuss playing time it is because of another player they feel should not be playing over top of their child). Additionally, it has to be understood that any such conversations must be open and honest, which means I may say some things that can sound critical or negative about their child. The intention is not to criticize or be negative, but simply to be honest and truthful about why the child's playing time has been limited. This information is very hard to accept, but in today's world in particular, such candor is necessary to hear, in my opinion. That is why I have adjusted my approach on this topic.

Additionally, there are several other areas of coaching, things that are more directly related to strategies of the game or mechanics for certain skills, in which I have grown and changed the way I coach. Methods.

Nineteenth century American business theorist, Harrington Emerson, made this comparison between principles and methods: "As to methods there may be a million and then some, but principles are few. The man who grasps principles can successfully select his own methods. The man who tries methods, ignoring principles, is sure to have trouble."

Principles of games like baseball are pretty consistent, and there are actually not a ton of them. The game of baseball has existed since the mid-1800s, and since that time a lot of science regarding the game has been researched, years and years of data has been collected and analyzed, technology has been developed to help us better observe what is actually taking place in a given movement or skill. We have tremendously expanded upon what we know about the game. This does not change the principles. It is still played on a diamond-shaped field with 90' between the bases, 60', 6" between the home plate and pitcher's rubber. The plate is still 17" wide. There are still 9 players on defense, 3 outs per half-inning, 3 strikes and 4 balls per batter, and so on and so on.

Just because we may change our methods for how we play these 9 positions, or how a pitcher throws the ball from 60' away, or how a batter approaches his at-bat, or how an infielder approaches and fields a ground ball... none of these things things have any impact on the principles of the game.

The bottom line is, METHODS need to change. And just because they do, it does not mean the PRINCIPLES also change. If you understand principles, you can pick your method. There could be many different "right ways" to get the same job done.

I used to say things like, "That team plays the game the 'right' way," and in so saying, what I really meant was, "That team plays the game 'my' way." It was the way I preferred to play it and teach it. But that doesn't mean it was the "right" way, or surely not the ONLY "right" way.

The principles of a game like baseball are like ice cream, and the various methods for how to play the game of baseball are like flavors of ice cream. There may be many different flavors, but they are all ice cream. You probably prefer certain flavors over others, while another coach prefers different flavors. Both may be very good. How so? Because they are both ice cream, and everyone loves ice cream! Some like to eat ice cream from a cone while others prefer to eat it out of a bowl with a spoon. You probably wouldn't look at someone and say to them, "That's not the right way to eat ice cream," or, "What you're eating is not ice cream." It might not be the way you eat it or your preferred flavor, but it is still ice cream and nothing will change that fact.

Coaches, step outside of your box from time to time. Try a different flavor of ice cream. Talk to a coach who does things differently than you do, and learn from them about why they choose those particular methods. You might find that there is some merit to doing things differently than you always have.

We expect our players to always remain coachable and always be willing to grow and learn and be willing to do things differently if it will make them better. As a player, you understood the importance of this. Why wouldn't that continue to be true for you as a coach?

Stay coachable. Keep learning. As you progress in this game, make sure you are not just having the same experience year after year but that you are gaining years of new and challenging experiences that are molding and shaping you as time, culture, the world and our players continue to be ever-changing.