Better Men Better Ballplayers Podcast with Matt Jones Shippensburg Univ

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BIO

HC at Shippensburg University (Since 2008 17 years)
Over 400 with Raiders, over 500 total as HC (Former HC at Elizabethtown)
2008 ABCA/Diamond Sports Company North Atlantic Region Coach of the Year
2-time PSAC Coach of the Year (2022 East, 2008 West)
2 College World Series appearances
10 PSAC Tournament appearances
4 NCAA Regional Tournament appearances
35 victories in postseason play – including a 10-6 record at regionals.
Six Raiders (MLB) Draft
Several other players have gone on to play professionally as undrafted free agents or in an independent league
Overall, Jones has coached in 54 conference tournament games,
- 21 NCAA regional tournament games
- 5 College World Series appearances

NOTES

IF you don’t like where you are at you get a new hat
You have to keep recruiting your guys when they are there
I want the player to be with my players by themselves
The family to be with the players by themselves
Make sure you take two visits before you commit
No one gets married after the first date
New facility allowed to never go inside
Winter workouts to be ready for 20-30 pitches and trust guys to get it done
Replicate the starters stuff on a machine
In our program its still about the program
It needs be team first
The younger you are the more blinders you have to have
As you get through school it will widen
Moving guys around the locker room
Changing hitting groups
Moving guys around in study hall
Purposeful seating or hotel roomates
Checking up with guys at practice that have nothing to do with baseball
Let them see me as more than a coach
We don’t hide things from the team
Most of the things kids dealing with are not full reality
- No ugly pictures on IG
- Not posting the 0-3, but will post the HR
You still need to decide how much to of the truth to tell a kid
Respect their feelings and understand where they are and how much info you give them
Fortunate to have bosses that appreciate how we do business
Number #1 rule - “Don’t be a jerk!”
Its not all about winning the last game of the year
I want the 90 minutes of the day at practice to be the best part of the day
Be someone that someone wants to be around
I am an educator, I recruit kids to a university, and guide them to what they are going to do the rest of their lives
Ultimate responsibility of the university is to guide people in to being productive adults
Coaches should Ask more questions than give directives to players
Communicating and getting guys to understand what your saying and understanding it is their career
We are going to have different relationships with all of you
I will be here as much as you need me here!
- Coach? I will be coach
- Dad? I’ll be dad
You have to be ok to admit when you need help
I don’t have to do it, I get to do it!
I work with the travel ball tournament parents to get them to realize that it does not matter in those tournaments
Balance time with team time and individual time
Record practice and spend some individual time
Figure out how they learn and what they respond to