Coach J Powell 3

Coaching since 1992. Since 2008 growing the game in northeastern NC at Lawrence Academy. Teams have won 400+ games. AKA: Bertie County Peanuts family

[Bertie County Peanuts @BertieCtyPnuts]

Feeling a bit nostalgic today. Check out the horse drawn wagon that was used to remove the poles holding up the large peanut bales. Hard work!
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[Bertie County Peanuts @BertieCtyPnuts]

Thinking Chocolate and Butterscotch? Come see us here in Windsor. We have all the products all the time.
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[Jermaine Curtis @JermaineCurtis]

The biggest mistake I made as a hitter...

I used to take the first pitch fastball.

I told myself I needed to get my timing.

"See one first."
"Time the pitcher."
"Get comfortable."

At the time, it sounded like a smart strategy.

The problem?

It wasn't strategy.

It was fear.

Fear of swinging and missing.
Fear of making an out.
Fear of looking stupid on the first pitch.

But I disguised it as "getting my timing."

What changed everything was a hitting journal.

Throughout pro ball, I tracked everything.

Every pitch I saw.
Every pitch I swung at.
The count.
Pitch location.
What I was thinking.
What I was feeling.

After a full season, I sat down and started digging through the numbers.

One stat jumped off the page.

On 0-0 fastballs...

I was hitting .367.

Not only that, a huge percentage of my doubles, triples, and home runs came on that pitch.

I couldn't believe it.

The pitch I was letting go by was one of the best pitches I'd see all at-bat.

It completely changed my perspective.

That's when I learned a lesson I'll never forget:

Don't confuse fear with strategy.

A lot of hitters do it.

They pass on good pitches because they're "getting their timing."

They become passive because they're "being disciplined."

They play careful because they're "trying not to do too much."

Sometimes that's true.

Sometimes it's fear wearing a different uniform.

My journal exposed it immediately.

From that day forward, I stopped trying to get comfortable.

I started preparing to hit from pitch one.

If you're someone that is unsure of swinging at the first pitch...

Here's my "first pitch crusher plan" I'd Do Tonight to help you:

1. Front Toss (10 Swings)
Treat every pitch like it's 0-0. Be ready to attack your pitch immediately.

2. Short Box (10 Swings)
Every pitch starts 0-0. Compete from the first pitch instead of easing into the round.

3. Batting Practice (10 Swings)
Look for a first-pitch fastball you can drive. Train yourself to be ready from pitch one.

One thing I've learned from baseball:

The best hitters don't wait to get comfortable.

They prepare themselves to compete from the very first pitch.

Thank you for reading,
Jermaine Curtis

P.S. - If you enjoyed this and found it helpful, please share it.

(This tells me you want more content like this.)

[Bertie County Peanuts @BertieCtyPnuts]

Salt and Pepper...on a peanut...it can't get much more simple than this....and they are delicious!
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[Bertie County Peanuts @BertieCtyPnuts]

We think these are some of the best peanuts found in the market today!
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[Bertie County Peanuts @BertieCtyPnuts]

The classic. Blister Fried Peanuts. Can't go wrong!
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[Bertie County Peanuts @BertieCtyPnuts]

We have an assortment of hats!
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[Bertie County Peanuts @BertieCtyPnuts]

When we are on the go!
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[Bertie County Peanuts @BertieCtyPnuts]

Tasty!
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[Bertie County Peanuts @BertieCtyPnuts]

Never forget.
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[Bertie County Peanuts @BertieCtyPnuts]

Just a photo of some of our peanuts.
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[Bertie County Peanuts @BertieCtyPnuts]

Tasty!
https://t.co/zLIWe3UMXp

[Bertie County Peanuts @BertieCtyPnuts]

Come see us if you're in the neighborhood! We'll leave the light on for you!

[PGC Basketball - Point Guard College @PGCbasketball]

Coaches,

Here’s an EXCELLENT warm up game to start practice

“Buddy Ball”

@flcwbb

Awesome stuff!!

[Coach J Powell 3 @CoachJPowell3]

@GretchenPSmith Amen on the long wait. Had to wait 3 hours for my son to get his license!!

[Dustin Moseley @DustinMoseley26]

Right now, what I’m seeing is a major lack of situational awareness and pattern recognition in young athletes.

For example, pitchers aren’t picking up on subtle cues like where a hitter is standing in the box, whether he was early or late on the last pitch, what he handled well, what he didn’t. Those details are supposed to help dictate the next pitch. Instead, it’s like every at bat is the first time they’ve ever faced the hitter.

Defensively, it’s the same thing. Kids forget positioning, cutoff responsibilities, where the next play is, double play situations, first and thirds, bunt coverages… and these are kids that have been playing baseball since they were 6 years old.

The problem is we’re still coaching kids the same way we were coached, and the world isn’t the same anymore. When we were growing up, you had two choices… go outside or watch TV. And when sports were on, we watched sports. We studied the game without even realizing we were studying it. We watched how players moved, how they reacted, how the game flowed. We collected cards and took snapshots of the positions they were in when the picture was took. Today’s kids don’t watch baseball. Half of them barely know the rules, much less the unwritten rules and nuances that actually make good baseball players.

And honestly, most parents don’t understand the game either. Mom is screaming from the stands. Dad is yelling contradictory instructions. Everybody’s talking, but very few are actually teaching the game.

And holding kids’ hands through every swing and every throw doesn’t work either. Stopping after every rep to correct every little thing is creating athletes that can’t think for themselves. These kids struggle to retain information because most of them don’t read, don’t write, and rarely have to truly process information on their own anymore.
On top of that, most of them have almost zero proprioception. They don’t understand what their body is doing, why the movement happened, or how to self correct it without someone immediately telling them. They can’t feel adjustments. They can’t diagnose misses. They just repeat the same movement over and over waiting on external feedback.

We’ve got to go beyond reps now. Reps alone aren’t enough. We need to build the athlete’s mental playbook. More scenario work. More situational quizzes. More writing things out. More teaching the “why” behind everything they do. More of “I’m not helping, you figure it out”.

Because right now, too many kids are participating in baseball for years without ever truly learning how to compete and be a good baseball player.

[Greg Berge @GregBerge]

The 10 Truths Parents Rarely See

1. Coaches lose sleep.
2. Decisions aren’t personal.
3. Playing time is complex.
4. Culture matters more than stats.
5. Accountability is care.
6. Coaches invest emotionally.
7. Development isn’t instant.
8. Hard feedback is intentional.
9. Wins don’t tell the whole story.
10. Coaches remember kids forever.

Perspective matters.

[Baseball Dudes Inc. 🇺🇸⚾️ @BaseballDudes48]

For the parents and coaches of baseball and softball players, this is for you and them…

Players:

Until the day comes when you are perfect, never make an error, never strike out, never walk a batter, never make a mental error and are on point with your preparation, you shouldn’t even be talking about your teammates mistakes, the umpires “bad calls” or how you think your coaches are bad.

Your mental weakness is showing you aren’t ready and to be brutally honest, you’re showing that you’re not as good as you think you are.

I was you. I was the reason for my inconsistent performance. I was holding myself back with excuses and blaming. But the moment I realized what I was doing to myself and my team, it all changed.

Fix your attitude. Fix your mindset. Become accountable and get mentally tougher.

Adults (parents and coaches), stop participating in these conversations, stop instigating them and STOP allowing them.

[Dennis Marshall @mar5hallhoops]

Kids don't realize they can get scholarships off of this. But it's not cool enough to play this way.