88 - Veronica Alvarez: USA Baseball & Oakland A‘s

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Bio

• USA baseball women's national team head coach since 2019
  • 2019 team of the year and coach of the year
• Been a part of the 12U baseball ID series, task force, and trials staff.
• Served as an assistant coach for one year prior to her time at the helm
• first woman to be named the USA Baseball Rod Dedeaux Coach of the Year
• Played 2008-2015 as a catcher on the US National team
• ​​Team USA finished its tournament with a perfect 7-0 record and the program's first gold medal since the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games and was voted USA baseball team of the year that year
• 2019-2020 served as a coach with the Oakland Athletics at Minor League Baseball Spring Training
• 2021 Oakland A’s roving catching instructor for minor league baseball

 

Notes

• MLB breakthrough series - all girl event for high school girls
• The Trailblazer series for 12-14 year olds
• USA baseball develops
• USA baseball website for future events
• Veronica’s events on Instagram
• The softball and baseball swing should be more similar than they are
• Prepare for the highest level by tearing things down before we build them up. 
• Attack your weaknesses and think more long term
• One knee down (OKD) has gotten out of control, 
• If you don’t know why you are doing something then it can go by the wayside
• Capitalize on adjustability
• Receiving is about our feet, hips and have adjustability based on pitch location
• Adjustability when a pitcher misses so you don’t move too much
• Change to a knee when pitcher is missing up
• Pitcher throws down constantly and you need to receive low pitches more
• Be able to be balanced and have it all in your versatile.
• Keep strikes, strikes, make balls, strikes
• Blocking balls, making plays helps the pitchers mental capacity
• Catchers need to keep the mentality of the pitcher strong
• If pitcher is working fast, you need to keep them working fast
• Pitcher is working slow, slow them up - calling time, calling outs, talking to umpire, giving the pitchers extra seconds to think and take deep breaths
• bench/role players know their roles to keep the energy up and keep everyone engaged
• Catchers can call their own game and have that experience
• Target practice for throwing
• Blocking competition 
• Receiving - thumb under technique
• Use 3 joints to help with framing - shoulder, elbow and wrist
• Less movement the better, lets make this look as sneaky as possible.
• Strike zone awareness - knowing where it is and how much I need to move my glove to get a strike
• Use markers on my body to know the zone (top of the catcher knee is the knee on hitter)
• Receiving starts in the middle of the strike zone, use your joints, and then catch the angle as it tries to go away from the strike zone
• Pre pitch movement - glove down to the ground to then come up and receive it (flex to firm); start with a neutral elbow
• Sneaky receivers done with good timing
• Tracking the ball is also pre pitch movement
• Exaggerate movements with youth level
• How can I explain the same things a million different ways
• I want them to have success
• All about the team, if it does not help the team, we are not doing it!
• Staying in touch with the players and have a personal relationship with each person
• Everyone is a leader in some way on the team
• Instagram @veronicaoalvarez

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