Why Baseball Planning Is Overrated

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Baseball's beautiful chaos demands more than just careful planning—it requires thorough preparation. In this thought-provoking episode, Coach Ken Carpenter challenges conventional coaching wisdom by explaining why preparation consistently trumps planning when navigating the unpredictable nature of America's pastime.

Drawing from his 27 years of coaching experience, Coach Carpenter illuminates the fundamental difference between these approaches. Planning creates rigid roadmaps based on expectations—the perfect pitch sequence, the flawless double play—but crumbles when reality inevitably deviates from the script. True preparation, however, builds resilience, adaptability, and creativity that thrives amid baseball's inherent disorder.

Through practical examples like base running, Coach Carpenter demonstrates how prepared players develop the muscle memory and mental fortitude needed when the unexpected occurs. Rather than merely knowing how to execute a steal with textbook precision, prepared players understand what to do when the pitcher turns with a killer pickoff move or when the ball takes an unpredictable bounce.

The episode delves deeply into mental preparation—arguably baseball's most crucial element. While no amount of planning can fully account for striking out with bases loaded or handling late-inning pressure, proper preparation builds the psychological framework that allows players to bounce back, refocus, and perform under stress. Coach Ken Carpenter offers coaches a transformative question: "Stop asking what's the best-case scenario and start asking what's the worst-case scenario and how do we respond to it?"

Ready to transform your coaching approach? Subscribe now, share with fellow coaches, and join us every Wednesday for more insights that will elevate your program and prepare your players not just for the game you expect, but for the chaotic, beautiful game that actually unfolds.

Join the Baseball Coaches Unplugged podcast where an experienced baseball coach delves into the world of high school and travel baseball, offering insights on high school baseball coaching, leadership skills, hitting skills, pitching strategy, defensive skills, and overall baseball strategy, while also covering high school and college baseball, recruiting tips, youth and travel baseball, and fostering a winning mentality and attitude in baseball players through strong baseball leadership and mentality.

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Chapters

00:00 - Introduction to Baseball Coaches Unplugged

01:23 - Why Preparation Beats Planning

03:38 - Building Mental Resilience

04:55 - Shifting Coaching Mindset

07:50 - Closing Thoughts and Sign-off

Transcript

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Welcome back to Baseball Coaches Unplugged, the podcast that equips you, the listener, with strategies to elevate your coaching.

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You'll gain practical insights from some of the best coaches around the country that you can implement with your team.

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Today.

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I'm your host, Coach Ken Carpenter.

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Today we're tackling the topic that hits at the very core of effective coaching Preparation versus planning.

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Welcome to Baseball Coaches Unplugged with Coach Ken Carpenter, presented by AthleteOne.

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Baseball Coaches Unplugged is a podcast for baseball coaches With 27 years of high school baseball coaching under his belt, here to bring you the inside scoop on all things baseball, from game-winning strategies and pitching secrets to hitting drills and defensive drills.

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We're covering it all.

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Whether you're a high school coach, college coach or just a baseball enthusiast, we'll dive into the tactics and techniques that make the difference on and off the field.

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Discover how to build a winning mentality.

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Inspire your players and get them truly bought into your game philosophy Plus, get the latest insights on recruiting, coaching, leadership and crafting a team culture that champions productivity and success.

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Join Coach every week as he breaks down the game and shares incredible behind-the-scenes stories.

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Your competitive edge starts here, so check out the show weekly and hear from the best coaches in the game.

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On Baseball Coaches Unplugged.

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Baseball Coaches.

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Unplugged is proud to be partnered with the netting professionals, improving programs one facility at a time.

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Let's dig into why preparation always beats planning and why baseball demands a mindset built for chaos and not order.

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As coaches, we've all heard the saying fail to plan is planning to fail.

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It's a cliche that rings true in certain contexts Business meetings, project deadlines, even dinner parties but when it comes to baseball, a game of infinite unpredictability planning alone won't cut it.

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Why?

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Because planning is rooted in expectations of order.

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It assumes we know exactly what's coming next the perfect pitch sequence, the flawless bunt, the textbook double play.

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Planning is neat, tidy and systematic.

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Qualities of baseball seldom delivers.

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Preparation, on the other hand, embraces chaos.

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It doesn't just acknowledge unpredictability, it expects it.

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Preparation means training baseball players not just for the ideal scenario, but for scenarios that make you want to pull your hair out.

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It's about equipping your team with tools to adapt, innovate and thrive when the game throws curveballs, literally and metaphorically.

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Think about this.

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When we plan, we create a detailed roadmap based on what we expect to happen.

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We draft our batting order with the assumption our leadoff hitter will get on base.

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We choreograph our defensive shifts, banking on hitters following their usual patterns.

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But what happens when the pitcher is off their rhythm or the opposing team's best hitter bunts instead of swinging away?

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Planning falls apart in moments of chaos because it's rigid.

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Preparation, on the other hand, is fluid.

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It's not just about knowing how to execute a double play.

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It's about knowing what to do when the ball ricochets off the third baseman gloves and rolls into foul territory.

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Preparation is about developing instincts, fostering resilience and cultivating creativity.

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And cultivating creativity it's about teaching your players to read the situation, adapt on the fly and make smart decisions under pressure.

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Take the example of base running.

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You can play on all day long for a textbook steal, the perfect jump, the flawless slide.

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But what do you tell your player when your pitcher turns and has a great pickoff move?

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If that player hasn't prepared for contingencies, if they haven't practiced scrambling back to the bag or timing their lead differently, they're caught off guard.

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Preparation builds muscle memory for the unexpected.

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Preparation also teaches us as coaches to control what we can and adapt to what we can't.

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Whether delays, bad umpire calls, injuries or even the wild unpredictability of the baseball None of these can be planned for.

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But we can prepare for them mentally and strategically.

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We can instill confidence in our players to adapt, improvise and keep battling.

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Let's not forget about the mental side of the game.

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Planning might outline a pregame pep talk, a neatly structured motivational speech game.

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Pep talk a neatly structured motivational speech, but preparation, preparation involves training the mental toughness of your players.

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It's about ensuring they know how to bounce back after striking out with the bases loaded, how to shake off the pressure of a late inning and how to step up when the game's on the line.

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Mental resilience isn't something you can plan for.

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It's something you develop through preparation.

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So how do we, as coaches, shift our mindset from planning to preparation?

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Here's the key.

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Stop asking yourself what's the best case scenario.

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Start asking what's the worst case scenario.

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Start asking what's the worst case scenario and how do we respond to it.

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Stop scripting every detail of the game.

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Start equipping your players with skills to think critically, adapt quickly and stay focused, no matter what curveballs literal and figurative come their way.

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I'll leave you with this thought Baseball is not a game of certainty.

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It's a game of chaos.

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Planning might help you map out the journey, but preparation is what ensures your team can navigate the storm when the map gets blown away.

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Prepare your players for the unexpected, train them to embrace the chaos and when that moment comes, the moment that defines the game, you'll see why preparation always beats planning.

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That's all for today.

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Please be sure to tune in every Wednesday for a new episode here on Baseball Coaches Unplugged.

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If you enjoyed today's show, share it with a friend and don't forget to hit the subscribe button.

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Today's show was powered by the netting professionals, improving programs one facility at a time.

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Contact them today at 844-620-2707, or visit them online at wwwnettingproscom.

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As always, I'm your host, coach Ken Carpenter.

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Thanks for listening to Baseball Coaches Unplugged.