I have found Ron Polk's Baseball Playbook to be a fantastic source of information since I first bought it at a Cherry Hill, NJ clinic about 15 years ago.

I have been thinking about putting something together for my own son and daughter, as well as kids who play for me over the next several years.

Since my coaching experience has been limited (15 years at the 17-18 age group), I would like to focus the book on skills / drills / etc... on that age group (might have it finished by then since my daughter is 8 and son is 4)

I thought I would break down my manifesto like this:

1. General thoughts on philosophy (ie PLATO, STENGEL, MARTIN, LaRUSSA, etc...).

2. Baserunning

3. Fielding

4. Hitting

Would appreciate thoughts on other topics or specifics to cover. Thanks...and remember, I don't make a lot of money, so my kid's college education may depend on this!

ive been wanting to do that for about 20 years now. reading polk's book in college was my inspiration also. thats what im trying to do with our website is put all this stuff together in an organized readable form. mainly for our youth coaches in our program. ive got a long ways to go to get everything on "paper" but ive at least finally started.
good luck. i'll buy it. contribute to the college fund. im always looking to learn. reading, watching and listening to anything i can find.

I got the book as a kid when I went to his camp at MS. State. Great book for a coach starting out. It has everything from how to signal hittes to what the PA guy needs to say.

I have thought the same thing, but what do you put in and what do you leave out. There is so much you would have to put down on paper it would end up like his and be several hundred pages long.

Go to:
http://www.tivschools.com/Youth%20Sports/ken%20d%20web/...EBALL%20PLAYBOOK.htm

This is what I refer to as the "Updated Polk."
They did an excellent job with this.

Coach Labeots-
Wow - that link is SOMETHING, isn't it? Very impressive...everyone on here should take a quick peek.
Polk's book is very good - if you ever get the chance to hear him, he's also an excellent clinician.

I didn't read it all. Skimmed through most of it. Nice effort to create a playbook.

However, I spent some time in the hitting section. I highly recommend you skip it.

Linear


Again you show your "spots" --why would I not listen to Ron Polk and listen to you ?

Duh !!!!!!!!!!

Because Linear knows more about hitting than Polk..........

Doggie,

IMO - You are dipping that snout into the extra strength Egg Nog way too early!

impressive to put something together like that..Have a website going with quite a bit myself..some stolen ideas from Raider

Most my own.

BlueDog:

LOL! If I recall correctly, you (or one of your other screen names) were rather vocal in a thread a while back at another site. The topic was “delusional dad”, LOL.

However, I do see "your" truth in the statement........ “because Linear [Teacherman] knows more about hitting than Ron Polk”. Linear just might know “more” in your view of "hitting".

But what you don’t seem to want to understand is that what Ron Polk knows and teaches about hitting, matters in the “real world” where the game is actually played by actual players on an actual 60/90’ diamond. Polk does not know (or care to know) about the secret, cyber, word and mind and screen name game you guys play where Barry Bonds and Linear and a death row inmate and my grandmother and a 10 year old kid in Indonesia, are all equal (anonymous and un accountable too). Hey if you dish out advice on hitting that turns out to be a waste of half of somebody’s kid’s youth playing career, no problem, just change screen names, deny that was you and get back after it.

Hoss, it’s not how much you know about hitting, it’s how much of what you know that will matter in the real world (batters box against pitchers that pitch as well as you hit).

THop

PS:

I base this on the 30 minutes I talked hitting with Ron Polk in 1999. And the 3000 minutes I have spent reading the posts of Linear (teacherman, oozer, etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc.) from 1999 to present.

I also wanted to add that I think this is a wonderful playbook for parents of youth players to use as a workbook/refereence.

It’s “good baseball” and very well rounded (mental/physical-hitting, base running, pitching, defense).

THop

I have always highly recommended Ron Polk's book. If you learn nothing from that book, you're unable to learn.

Truth is, some of his hitting thoughts I might disagree with. There's even a few other items in his book I might disagree with. Then again, I realize he is the one who wrote the book and I'm the one who read it. It's very possible, I'm the one who is wrong.

Once again, I think this is the very best baseball instruction book ever printed, especially for coaches! Ron Polk is a "GREAT" baseball man!!!!

One question, Coach Labeots

Is that link pretty much a free copy of Ron Polk's Play Book? I know some things have been added and I think it's great that you share it on here. Not trying to cause any trouble, just wondering about copyright type things. Once again this is not a complaint.

PGStaff,
I couldn't agree more. This is the first book that I recommend to new coaches that enter our program. I myself have two copies! As you state, nearly every aspect of baseball has varying views. It is the person that can learn from all of those views and encorporate what they feel to be the best ideas along with their own that really excell. If you can't learn from others and examine views different from your own, you will not go very far.

I guess I'm confused. The link above is not very similar to Polk's book. That's not meant as an insult, just an observation. Polk's book is much, much longer and in depth as well as covering aspects of the game, such as hosting tournaments, not seen in the linked book. In fact, Polk's book is so comprehensive that it's almost intimidating!

And I thought Linear's comment was directed at the linked book and not at Polk's. I guess Linear will have to clear that up.

I echo others: the linked playbook is an incredible effort. Any high school program would benefit from its coaches making the same kind of effort.

I'm not sure about copyright things either. I got the link off another site, and rather than reinvent the wheel I just tweaked it to match our program.

Coach,

After looking closer, I agree with “Sorpe”. There are many differences between the link and Ron Polk’s book. Also agree with those that say it’s an amazing effort and very good.

Guess what confused me was the reference to “the updated Polk”