78 - Pete Savage: Reno High School (NV)

Savage Notes

 

Bio

• Head Coach at Reno High School (NV) since 1995
• Over 700 career victories 
• Has won 82% of his games at Reno
• From 2001-2004 teams went 105-13
• 2004 Nevada State champion
• In 2003 his team won 32 consecutive games 
• 12 regional titles
• 15 state tournament berths and 4 runner up
• Garrett Hampson was his first big leaguer
• The bottom line of the bio is we are about what we are doing for our players today!

Notes

• If you come see our program you will see a bigger picture of how we help others  
• First reason why we are so successful is we have 3 former head coaches
  • You are only as good as your assistant coaches
• Second reason we are successful is our program vocabulary
• You need to take a step back and realize why you are doing what you are doing
• Complexity is the enemy of execution - SIMPLE
• We focus on us 50:1 compared to the other team. 
• We play against the game and how we play the game
• The word I is not allowed in our environment
• The word “perfect” is not allowed in our program
• You are either with us or against us, there is not middle ground
• How to be a great teammate
  • What does it mean to be a good teammate? Show examples
• Failure vs success - define the two
  • Definition of failure is when you stop playing
  • Its a learning opportunity not failure
  • What is the definition of success - giving your best effort on behalf of your teammate
• Being relentless and stay in the fight
• Be consistent
• Measurement = motivation
  • Give people data to compete
• Everything matters - dugouts, practice, everyone matters
• PILLARS - all decisions run through our pillars
• Its more important the interaction player to player, coach to coach and do not allow anything you do not like
• Catch them doing good! Praise them for their efforts
• There is no better way to get better besides being together! Spend quality time together
• Work the grind, play the game
  • Work your butt off at practice, and then enjoy your game
  • Practice is for the coaches and games are for the players
• Baseball is a game you cannot rush, there is no clock!
• Spend as much time planning practice as you do actually practicing
• Practices as competitive as possible
  • Chart every swing, pitch, groundball etc
• Live pitchers vs live hitters
• Just win today’s practice!!
• A bad practice bothers me much more than a bad game!
• Coach needs to be a facilitator for the players development on and off the field
• At times you need to be a player coach, and another time you need to be honest and put them in their place
• If we are going to demand all of these things from them we need to display those things and walk the walk!! 
• It is important you build the relationship through the player to show you care, are prepared, and come with great attitude
• Do a good job where you are at!
• It is important that 
• Player to coach - built on respect and trust
• Player to player - earning the respect of your teammates
  • Critical to team development an player development
  • Players rate each other based on individual qualities
• We all have something to work on. No one is perfect, and it fall back to that philosophy
• Foxhole test - 3 points for person on your back, 2 on your right, 1 on your left
• Hero, highlight, and hardship - each kid gets a chance to speak about who their hero is, personal highlight, and a time they had a tough hardship
• As you see it….
  • Players write out the lineup, starters, relievers
  • Helps self evaluate
• Mental game is huge for us!!
  • Ken ravizza
  • Brian Cain
  • Justin Dehmer
  • The game teaches you how to deal with things
• Our job is to help prepare our players for the challenges life throws at it
• This is the Reno High baseball way RIGHT NOW!
  • 10 commandments (the fundamentals of the game) - they don’t change: being a good teammate, throwing strikes, hitting the ball hard, etc will always be there, but we need to find ways to help teach guys and be the example of getting 1% better. 
• Legacy of a number - connecting successful people who wore the numbers
• The secret to the teams success is building that relationship, so that player is going to bust his butt for his teammate and get better!! BUILD that relationship
• To be loved, to be taught, to be challenged!
• Some kids need to be hugged, and some need to be kicked 
• Pregame
  • 2 hours prior to a game
  • “Savage time” - 15 minutes early
  • Active warm up
  • Catch play
  • BP
  • Game goals - team, pitching, hitting, defense
  • Back Cals - talk through hitting approach with who team, go over situational baseball
  • Meet as a team, do sprints, play
• 6 phases of offense
  • Hitting
  • Situational hitting
  • Short game 
  • Plate zone discipline - hit your pitch, look for it, never chase
    • Quality swing chart - try to get 2 swings off every AB
  • Baserunning
  • Base stealing
• Practice checklist, practice what happens the most
• Ranking system - hitters rank pitchers, pitchers rank hitters
• Are you that bad of a hitter that you can’t change your 2 strike approach?
• Do you emphasize it? Do you practice it?  Everyone knows 
• Figure out with our pitching staff where the ball went, and then train, train, train
• Define what you want, and then track it!!
• Play of the day - defensive play of the day, shirt for the defensive play of the day
• What you honor and what you emphasize has to become special to the players!
• Hustle chart - 
• Stop watch is analytics
• What do you want to be good at??? Track it and emphasize it!! Measurement = Motivation
• 5 games - do you win??? Game within the game
  • On the bus
  • Pre game
  • in/out
  • Game
  • Post game
• Wasting time is a cardinal sin - our time is valuable so lets make it important
• petes@savageandson.com
• 775-690-9316
• Be your own coach. YOU BE YOU!
• Emphasize it
• Everything reflects back on you! You are the leader!!!!