Chris Smith's Page

To all the dads who help their son’s find the joy in the game…and for their support.

Excerpt from Gods, Gloves, Pop-ups, and Ponies: A look at the character found playing youth baseball.

     “I knew my dad had not arrived yet because he too would be arriving by bicycle.  Always a great supporter of my baseball endeavors, I rarely saw him arrive at a game.  Most of the time, he would roll in somewhere in the course of the game and magically appear in the stands.  He always had…

Dealing with the doubt that comes with playing youth baseball.  I offer an excerpt from my book Gods, Gloves, Pop-ups, and Ponies. 

As we enter into the summer season and kids are faced with a full plate of games in which they have to rebound from losses and pull themselves back to earth after wins, I offer an excerpt from my book Gods, Gloves, Pop-ups, and Ponies.  A look at the character found playing youth baseball, in which I talk about doubt.

“The fragile wall…

The process of becoming great is a better place to keep our focus rather than focusing just on results.

We talk a lot in our program about focusing on the process of actualizing our movements in the game of baseball.  Working on the small elements of a swing or on the individual pieces of fielding will create the bigger success without the player ever really noticing or worrying about the result.  When players focus solely on the results of their actions too often they…

We look for players who have poise on the mound or poise in tough situations, but what does poise really mean?

We know what poise looks like but how do you get it and can it be taught?  Poise is another one of those intangibles that can make a player stand out and that can also make them a critical player in tough situations.  When the game is on the line you are looking for your team, and especially your pitcher, to maintain their composure and to go about the business of performing…