Advice From a Coach: Why High School Coaches Should Embrace Hudl’s Video and Data Tools for Baseball

Dear high school baseball coaches,

My name is John Edman and I’m the head baseball coach at La Jolla Country Day School (CA). I’ve been a teacher and coach for the last 26 years—and I fully believe that we, as high school coaches, have the best job in the world. Coaches get to play such a pivotal role in the lives of young people and it’s something none of us should take for granted.

I’m writing to you today to tell you about my positive experience with using Hudl’s baseball tools, explain why my staff and I have embraced video and data and share some of the lessons I’ve learned throughout my coaching career. 

Baseball is in my blood

Before I tell you about my experience using Hudl, let me explain just how much baseball means to me and my family.

Baseball has been a huge part of my life for as long as I can remember. From Little League to high school and college, it’s brought me joy and taught me countless lessons. The sport has been so good to both me and my family. I love the sport. My wife loves the sport. And my kids love the sport, too. My oldest child is a data engineer for the Minnesota Twins. My middle son plays for the Los Angeles Dodgers. And my youngest used to work with the St. Louis Cardinals. Simply put: We’re a baseball family through and through.

Advice to young coaches

I’ve spent so much time around the sport throughout my life, and I like to think I’ve learned a thing or two. Whenever I’m asked for coaching advice, here’s what I always come back to:

• Think of each team you coach as a journey. Every journey is different, but helping your players have fun and get 1% better every day should always be the top priority.
• Teams are like families. Find ways to intentionally create a baseball family environment, both for your players and their parents.
• Don’t get complacent. There are always small ways to improve and get better. Always evaluate what your team, your coaching staff and your players need from you.
• Take the time to connect with your players. Coaches should be mentors, and it's hard to mentor if you don’t take the time to connect in meaningful ways.
• Empower your assistant coaches. When you empower them, you’ll help them grow and your team will benefit. 

Focus on the important things

We live busy lives as coaches, which means we have to be efficient with the time we have.

There are a million things you can teach and drill in the game of baseball, but I’ve found it helpful to keep the main thing the main thing. Spend most of your time coaching the parts of the game that have the biggest impact.

One way we do that in my program is with a game called “Code Red”. The first time we played it, the winning team got Mountain Dew Code Red, and the name just stuck. Here are the guidelines:

• You have an offense and a defense. The offense gets 15 minutes to score as many points as they can.
• Every hitter starts with a runner on first base and gets five swings to get a hit.
• The offense gets a point for every base hit or error and gets three points if they score the runner by the time his round is done.
• The defense makes live plays on the runner and the batter, even though the batter only runs on his fifth swing.
• If a lead runner is thrown out during the round, he’s cleared off the bases.
• Once the base-runner is cleared, outfielders aren’t allowed to make any more throws and infielders aren’t allowed to turn around to watch the outfielders make a play…the next pitch is coming as soon as we know that no play was made, even if players are out of position.
• Once the 15 minutes are up, we total the points and switch sides.

With this game, our team gets a lot of competitive swings, great base-running work, gets practice at making defensive plays under pressure and has a lot of fun in the process. 

Baseball is changing–and Hudl is helping us change with it

Video and data in baseball are here to stay. The sooner you embrace it, the better.

One of the ways my staff and I have embraced video and data is with Hudl’s baseball tools. Here are just a few of the ways Hudl has benefited our program:

• By filming your games, it’s so much easier to break the game down in a meaningful way. We use the Hudl Focus Point camera to film. The kids learn so much better and faster when they can see themselves on video.
• We record swings and pitching in practice - and it’s been a tremendous help for teaching technique and good form. Our players have even taken it upon themselves to watch film via the Hudl app and make mental notes, even away from the practice field.
• We film every game too and it’s helped our staff do some incredible things. Video just makes it so much easier to show rather than just tell.
• We’ve really enjoyed having access to Hudl Assist (Hudl’s stat breakdown service) too. Assist makes it easy to quickly find key moments in the game and see the bigger picture.

Baseball is the greatest sport in the world. It can humble you, lift you up and teach you so much. Even after 26 years in the dugout, I’m learning every day.

Hudl has been a driving force in helping me do more, learn more and impact my players in new and exciting ways. Give Hudl’s baseball tools a try and you won’t regret it.

- John Edman, Head Baseball Coach at La Jolla Country Day School