WYC 006 Youth Baseball – Ken Stuursma from Kings Baseball

What does it take to be a winning youth coach? Listen in as Coach Ken Stuursma shares coaching stories and discusses his journey to becoming a successful youth coach. Ken is married and has 3 children- 2 girls and a boy. He played baseball throughout his childhood and through the college level. He is the founder of Kings Baseball in Northeast Ohio, a youth baseball organization that focuses on growing strong men, not just athletes. Listen Now: Listen in ITunes: Itunes link Listen in Stitcher: Stitcher link   Coaching/Leadership Quote ▪   ‘Other than Dad, the best thing you can be called is Coach’ click to tweet! Coaching your own Kid ▪   It’s a joy to coach your own kid – but the challenge is the perception of others who might question your kid’s playing time. You should have discussions with your son/daughter up front about the fact they are going to have to be better than anyone else to earn a position. My ‘Cringe’ Moment ▪   Early on – it was more about me and my success instead of being focused on the kids Coaching AH-HA Moment ▪   A conversation with an old-time cowboy, Lou Skeridan – who taught him that kids come to him with their hearts wide open, and you have 2 choices: You can build into it and make their heart bigger, or You can crush that and make their hearts smaller Inspiring Story ▪   Watching his son Jake and some of the other boys on his son’s 17 year-old team develop into leaders and men Teaching Children ▪   ‘Kids don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care’ – Sam Rutigliano  click to tweet! Inspiring Story part 2 ▪   Craig shared a story where he witnessed Coach Stuursma show grace to a kid on the opposing team and it really impacted Craig’s outlook on coaching Coaching Resources ▪   Best resource is: Other coaches! Don’t be shy about sharing ideas with other coaches Discipline/ Teambuilding ▪   The kids have to first know you are doing it for the right reasons. HUGE IDEA: ▪   They tell their kids that every practice and game – they have to come to practice for somebody else – selfish attitudes are garbage and selfish behavior is the first and most important item to eliminate ▪   When an individual gets disciplined – they will have the primary offender do 10 push-ups, then when he finishes – the entire team has to do 20 Reward, Recognition, and Teambuilding ▪   Celebrating every accomplishment, whether big or large, is paramount Winning ▪   You have to define what your wins are. Ultimately winning is having the kids fall in love with the sport. But especially once you put on a school team uniform – yes you should be playing to win.  The One that Got Away ▪   When Ken was playing college baseball they lost a game to their arch rival in the bottom of the 9th when the coach put in a hard-throwing freshman Coaching/Leadership Motivation ▪   Book: ‘Raising a Modern Day Knight’ by Robert Lewis – story of bringing a boy into manhood Kings Baseball ▪  Developed to show boys that if God has given you a gift of athletic ability – there are responsibilities that go with that ▪  4 cornerstone principles (from Raising a Modern Day Knight): Accept responsibility Lead courageously Reject passivity Expect a greater reward click to tweet! Parting Advice ▪  Don’t take the wins/losses too seriously, but take very seriously the impact you are having on these kids Interview Links ▪   HUDL Ready to be an Awesome Youth Coach? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter @ WinningYouthCoaching Newsletter