Jon Shehan- Head Baseball Coach, Millersville University (PA)

During this episode of Ahead of the Curve, I interviewed Jon Shehan, Head Baseball Coach at Millersville Univ. NCAA D2. Jon discusses the importance of coaches being humble and admitting that they don’t know everything, creating an enjoyable environment to make players love coming to baseball practice, and ways to adapt practice time to player’s needs.  Episode Highlights: How did Jon Shehan get involved in baseball and as a coach?   What were some of Jon’s first steps when he became a head coach? What is he doing with the time and staff he has? Are there things that have worked for team culture building? How can you go about relationships with players individually? What is he doing to make the lives of his assistant coaches easier? What are some other rules and standards he has in his baseball program? What are some different practice plan tips Jon Shehan recommends? If Jon Shehan could go back to being a first-year head coach, what advice would he have for himself? What are some training things that Jon is excited about? Are there training activities that his players love to do? What are the three things we would notice if we watched Jon Shehan’s practice? What are some of Jon Shehan’s favorite books and resources?  3 Key Points: Jon Shehan’s players track their nutrition using apps every single day and turn their numbers in on Friday mornings. Jon Shehan has read and recommends the book “Old School vs. New School” by Eugene Bleeker. Jon has read it twice now. Try changing practice activities every 5-10 minutes. Tweetable Quotes: “For the young coaches out there, man, just don’t be afraid to dream.” – Jon Shehan (05:08) “The guys that work for nothing are probably your most valuable resource and you have to find ways to thank them, and keep them involved, and keep challenging them as well. Not overwork them, but challenge them.” – Jon Shehan (07:21) “Being able to take that data, then show it to the players has been crucial for us. Because so many of these guys feel like things are going the right way. But I think what we have done is speed up the development process.” – Jon Shehan (09:47) “At the end of the day, our values aren’t going to change. That is what you are signing up for. Because we may find something better next week that we are going to adapt and put into our program..” – Jon Shehan (16:10) “Making it intentional that we are building relationships with each and every individual on the team, even though it is a competitive environment. And maybe one of the toughest things we have to do.” – Jon Shehan (17:36) “One of the interesting things we do as a team the first week of class every year is going over those core covenants, and first ask, ‘Are there any other values that we need to add?’” – Jon Shehan (26:00) “One of the biggest values, sometimes, it’s a blessing and a course, is...make it better. It’s just simple, make it better.” – Jon Shehan (42:33) “One of my biggest theories is making practice fun. I want our guys to show up and enjoy practice and have it be one of the best parts of their day.” – Jon Shehan (46:07) Resources Mentioned: Ahead of the Curve Podcast Twitter: @AOTC_podcast Jon Shehan: Twitter Book: “Old School vs. New School” by Eugene Bleeker Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices