Patty Jansen

Head Coach @Aquinas Softball, Grandma of 5!!

[Patty Jansen @jrdntay]

@16USchliewe Well done Coach!!!

[Patty Jansen @jrdntay]

@CaraSteele2027 That is a BIG DEAL!! Absolutely be proud!

[Jermaine Curtis @JermaineCurtis]

One of the biggest mistakes I made as a hitter...

I thought hitting was all about my swing.

- If I struggled, I'd fix my swing.
- If I hit a ground ball, I'd fix my swing.
- If I popped the ball up, I'd fix my swing.

Then I got to professional baseball.

After being around Major League hitters, I realized something.

The best hitters weren't obsessed with their swing.

They were obsessed with their operating system.

- They knew what pitch they were hunting.
- They knew what pitches they could drive.
- They knew what type of contact they wanted.
- They had a plan before they ever stepped into the box.

That completely changed how I practiced.

I stopped studying my swing.

I started studying myself as a hitter.

I did this by...

Going to Walmart, bought a notebook, and started tracking everything.

- Every pitch I saw.
- Every swing I took.
- Every ball I hit.
- What I was thinking.
- What I was feeling.

At the end of each week, I'd go back through my notes and look for patterns.

Then I'd build a plan to improve my operating system.

I wasn't trying to build a better swing anymore.

I was trying to build a better hitter.

Because here's one thing I learned from being around Major League hitters:

The swing wasn't the starting point.

It was the result of everything that came before it.

Thank you for reading,
Jermaine Curtis

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

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

[Patty Jansen @jrdntay]

@LoreleiRubino @CamWoodBats Hey Lorelei please drop me your summer schedule!! Keep grinding!

[Aquinas Athletics @AQSaints]

The Living Memory of Aquinas Athletics: Celebrating the Past, Present, and Future of the ‘Coach Bo’ Hall of Fame #SaintsMarchOn #AQYEAH
https://t.co/qFAiZf0Wyz

[Patty Jansen @jrdntay]

@AQSaints Congratulations! Its a great day to be a Saint!! GO GET THIS THING!!!

[Patty Jansen @jrdntay]

@AQSaints LET’S GOOOOOOOO Goodluck!!

[Coach AJ 🎯 Mental Fitness @coachajkings]

Dawn Staley shares the simple rule that drives playing time decisions.

"I've always told our players: If you play well, you get extended minutes. If you don't, that has to go to somebody else."

"It could be you at times. It could not be you at times."

Playing time is earned, not given.

Successful people don't expect opportunities to just be handed to them.

They prove they deserve them.

They know: YOU GET WHAT YOU EARN.

[Clint Hurdle @ClintHurdle13]

My son came home from karate with a white belt.

I asked what it meant. He said: "You know nothing. You have an opportunity to learn everything."

That stopped me cold. I was an MLB manager at the time.

Most leaders confuse experience with wisdom.

They've "seen it all" so they stop listening, stop asking, stop being curious.

But the leaders who last longest never stop being students. They have the White Belt Mentality.

Here are 3 principles of the White Belt Mentality.

Principle 1: Approach every room like you have something to learn.

The moment you walk in thinking you already have the answers, you've lost.

• Ask more questions than you give answers
• Seek out people who challenge your thinking
• Be the first to say "I don't know but let's figure it out together"

The leaders who stay curious outlast the ones who think they've arrived.

Principle 2: Your team will teach you.

When I was managing the Pirates, my best ideas didn't come from strategy sessions.

They came from conversations with players, coaches, and support staff who were closest to the problem.

I had to listen, not just wait to talk. Actually listen.

People tell you exactly what they need, if you're willing to hear it.

Principle 3: Build habits that force you to keep growing.

Staying a white belt isn't an attitude, it's a daily practice.

• Carry a journal and write down what you learn, not just what you do
• Spend a few months learning from one voice, book, or mentor, and then follow the seeds to the next
• Seek out people who tell you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear

The best leaders in any room aren't the ones with the most experience.

They're the ones still acting like they have the most to learn.

[Mike Hoffmann @MikeHoffmann]

Luke Falk shared a Mike Leach story that stopped me cold:

Two kids. One rich. One poor.

Every training camp, Coach Leach told his team about these 2 kids.

The rich kid has two choices.

Get soft. Get entitled. Expect everything handed to him because he was handed more.

Or take the resources, the coaching, the opportunities, and compound them into something greater.

The poor kid has two choices too.

Say nobody gave him anything. Blame the world. Make his circumstances the reason he never became what he could have been.

Or outwork everyone in the room.

Luke said the locker room had both. Kids from wealth. Kids from nothing. Kids with every advantage. Kids who scraped for every inch.

Same choice for all of them.

Ownership or victimhood.
Fuel or excuse.

The rich kid can waste the head start or build on it.

The poor kid can drown in the deficit or weaponize it.

Greatness doesn't come from where you start.

It comes from which kid you choose to feed.

Credit to @coachlukefalk for continuing to share golden nuggets about Coach’s legacy

[Patty Jansen @jrdntay]

@CaraSteele2027 @ClaireF999 Stay the course!! One amgame doesn’t define you

[Greg Berge @GregBerge]

20 years as a varsity coach taught me 10 things about building winners.

#7 is the hardest one for coaches👇

1. Culture is built in the moments you think don’t matter.

2. Your best player sets the standard, or destroys it.

3. Discipline is a form of love.

4. The locker room tells you everything about your real culture.

5. The coach-player relationship is the foundation of everything. Build it first.

6. Players don’t remember plays. They remember how you made them feel.

7. The hardest thing to coach: getting players to want what the team needs more than what they want.

8. It’s not just what you say. It’s how you say it, who you say it to, and when.

9. Getting players to own their role, not just accept it, is rare.

10. The coach who wins long-term builds people, not just players.

20 years. 500+ games.
This is what actually matters. 🏆

[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.

[Patty Jansen @jrdntay]

@GregBerge TRUTH!!!!

[Patty Jansen @jrdntay]

@CaraSteele2027 Keep that train moving!!

[Brian Kight @BrianKight]

If you’re a coach who wants to challenge players while building awesome relationships, you should read this.

The problem is . . . challenging players in uncomfortable ways is absolutely necessary for excellence but risks turning them off, damaging trust, and undermining confidence. They seem to work against each other.

But it only seems that way.

The truth is . . . you can challenge players incredibly hard AND build deep trust. They're not opposites.

The key is making players feel how the challenge comes from caring, not instead of it. Most players in your program have never experienced that from a coach. They’ve had intense coaches who challenged and caring coaches who connected, but not a coach that does both. At the same time.

Here’s the phrase to use —>
“High love with high standards.”

That's the phrase you need to repeat over and over and over. To yourself. To your players. To their parents. To your staff.

1000x a week.

High love is high standards. Lowering standards is not a sign that you care. It’s not an act of love. It’s an act of fear. Soft coaching is the opposite of love. It says, "I don't think you're capable of more or better."

High standards is high love. Holding high standards doesn’t require that you withhold love or connection. A player’s connection with you (and teammates) is the single most powerful force you can tap into to drive high standards. People will do anything for the people they love.

Every player is a person first, a player second. Show each player you see them as person first. Before practice, during water breaks, after mistakes, when they’re struggling.

Learn their unique desires fast. Ask about specific details in their lives, not just “How’s school? How’s your family?”. Notice their effort, not just their results.

When they feel that YOU are FOR them, they'll run through walls for you.

Then bring the intensity.

"Not good enough! You can do better! You must be better than that!"

When a kid knows you love him and believe in him, he hears your challenges totally different. Your challenges become proof that you care. But only if THE PERSON believes you care about him specifically. It’s now how much you think you care. It’s how much the person believes you care.

E+R=O helps you stay clear, disciplined, and confident as a coach:

The OUTCOME you want is better performance and a stronger relationship, improvement AND connection. You don't have to pick one or the other.

Your EVENT is their performance (effort, focus, execution).

Your RESPONSE is direct, honest feedback—HIGH LOVE + HIGH STANDARDS —delivered with energy and belief.

Players WANT a coach who expects excellence. They just need to know you won't abandon them when they struggle, fall short, or fail.

So challenge them in the moment, then reinforce the relationship immediately after.

"That was sloppy. Focus and fix it. You can do this. Now let's go."

High love with high standards. 1000x a week. Watch your players, and your relationships with them, transform.

[Patty Jansen @jrdntay]

@MatthewMeracle She is a keeper!!!!

[Patty Jansen @jrdntay]

@FeelGoodMovez @BeautyTips700 Sciatica

[Coach Vint @coachvint]

We have to let our kids work through their problems.
There are two kinds of parents.
One prepares the path for the child, and the other prepares the child for the path.

[Patty Jansen @jrdntay]

@MichaelDavolt @jackunheard @HarmeetKDhillon Holiday everything closed so ALL people can vote-mail in ballots work for me!!!