by ISG Baseball
The 15th annual clinic and convention of the European Baseball Coaches Association was recently held in Mulhouse, France. Conducted in conjunction with ISG Baseball, the anniversary event featured some of the most cutting edge speakers and topics in the game today.
Coaches from fourteen countries attended the three-day event at the Mercure Hotel in the center of the city.
Many have hailed this clinic as the best ever on the continent. The speakers – almost in unison – promoted the latest in motor learning techniques for pitching, hitting and developing players for the modern game. To say it was “cutting edge” would be an understatement!
Paul Davis, newly hired pitching coach for the Seattle Mariners, brought clarity to the often muddled field of pitcher training by sharing his thoughts regarding body movements and how to help young throwers understand them. Pittsburgh Pirates director of instruction Dave Turgeon covered the important topic of the transfer of learning and how it relates to the way coaches should coach.
Houston Astros Minor League Hitting Coordinator Jeremy Barnes dissected the art of hitting and how coaches can help hitters understand the swing process. Barnes will undoubtedly be a Major League instructor very soon.
Several top European coaches also added to the knowledge distributed in Mulhouse. Austrian coach David Burns provided great ideas on how to develop the game better in Europe. William Casacoli of the French Baseball and Softball Federation explained “Baseball 5,” the new WBSC-promoted lead in game to present baseball to non-baseball knowing fans. EBCA Officers Georg Apfelbaum and Bertrand Rue discussed the unique EBCA Exchange Program which pairs EBCA members with college and professional coaches in the USA as well as prominent programs in Europe.
Team Leader Tom O’Connell, ISG Baseball President, held a session on Creating a Championship Culture. Afterwards O’Connell exclaimed, “The amazing thing about this clinic was that all the speakers were on the same wavelength as to how to proceed to teach the game in the 21st Century. It was magical!”
ISG Baseball is a non-profit organization founded in 1985 whose mission is working with national baseball federations to develop coaches at all levels, aiding individual clubs and federations in their rapid growth and development, and assisting them with their coaching
education programs by improving lines of communication with baseball and softball experts.
To organize an ISG coaching development program in your country or be a
sponsor of the program contact Vice President Peter Caliendo at petercaliendo@att.net
or visit www.isgbaseball.com