Youth Baseball Edge

Get in the know...and get the Edge

  • Youth Baseball Edge
  • About
    • About
    • Support
    • Contact
  • Podcast
  • Blog
  • Ask Rob
  • Resources
  • Reviews
  • Plans
  • My YBE

YBE 119: Building Competitive Toughness with Jake McKinley

By Rob Tong | June 14, 2019 Leave a Comment

YBE 119 cover art
Never back down. Never give up. Never lose hope. Players who embody these attitudes have competitive toughness. No matter the stakes, no matter the situation, these players are not only the ones you want to go to war with, they are the players who will want to be in the war with you. But are players with competitive toughness born or raised? And if they are raised that way, how do we as coaches raise that in them? In this episode, Milwaukee Brewers minor league pitching coordinator Jake McKinley answers these questions and more regarding competitive toughness. Plus Austin Wasserman has the Wass Strength Tip of the Week on single leg RDLs. And Rob answers the Question of the Week about how to help hitters who adjust to umpires making bad strike zone calls.

In this 44-minute episode, you'll learn:

  • when Jake began to realize he could have potential beyond high school
  • how Jake got the Brewers job
  • whether his passion for the game was innate or developed
  • what drove Jake to persevere in baseball despite being one of the worst players on his youth teams
  • how competitive toughness differs from having a strong mental game
  • whether competitive toughness is a genetic trait or a trainable skill
  • how to assess whether players have competitive toughness
  • the key to a proper training environment for developing competitive toughness
  • one pothole to keep in mind when assessing individual players' competitive toughness
  • the three types of competitors
  • how to assess players' competitive toughness
  • how to nudge players towards healthy competitive toughness
  • what is an ideal coach demeanor to instill competitive toughness
  • how coaches can individualize their demeanor to different players
  • what the 40/70 rule is
  • why stress can be helpful, and why rest is helpful
Resources and links mentioned in this episode:
  • videos for the Wass Strength Tip Of The Week on single leg RDL
  • Michael Jordan's "Flu Game" highlights
  • Michael Jordan's "Failure" commercial
Right-click on this link and 'Save as...' to download this episode.

Want MORE Edgy Info?

Never miss an article! Enter your info to get more practical, actionable youth baseball coaching info like this.

Success! Now check your email to confirm your subscription.

There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

Powered by ConvertKit
Are you a new coach? I have a free 15-day email course just for you, where I walk you through coaching a team for an entire season over the course of 3 weeks.

Hang out with me!

Facebook
Facebook
fb-share-icon
Twitter
Visit Us
Follow Me
Tweet
Instagram
RSS

BONUS EBOOK

Only-drills-cover-200 Sign up for my newsletter and get my best ebook FREE: "The Only Drills You'll Ever Need (Hint: There Are Only 4)"

Success! Now check your email to confirm your subscription.

There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

100% spam-free. Unsubscribe anytime.
Got a question?
Ask Rob! Submit your question via voicemail or text and Rob will answer it in an upcoming YBE podcast. It's fun, fast and free!
Rob Tong, YBE podcast host
Ask Rob

Copyright © 2015-22 Youth Baseball Edge. All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use