The award – named for coaches whose first goal is winning, and whose second, more-important goal is teaching life lessons through sports – carries a $250 prize, a trophy and mention within the websites and newsletters of Positive Coaching Alliance (www.PositiveCoach.org ) and the Liberty Mutual Responsible Sports program (ResponsibleSports.com).

“Rich wins on the scoreboard, and more importantly, he wins by creating a positive, character-building sports experience for youth athletes,” said Jim Thompson, PCA’s founder and executive director and author of several books on coaching and sports parenting, including the just-released The Power of Double-Goal Coaching. “Ultimately, the youth athletes Rich coaches are the real winners, and as those athletes become tomorrow’s leaders our society as a whole wins.”

Several award nomination letters praised Gonzalez for helping instruct players on opposing teams even when it cost his team competitively in the playoffs. “Whether my team is up or down in the last inning of a championship game, I’m going out of my way to help a kid on the other team, because that is what life is all about. Baseball only lasts an hour and a half, and then we have life to live. The most important thing is teaching character and integrity.”

Gonzalez also earned praise for cultivating work ethic and passion.

“The work that you put it has to come from passion,” he said. “You want to instill this passion, but how do you do that? It’s simple. It’s because the players enjoy being around you and their teammates, and when they enjoy it, they’re never going to look at it as work. And I’m not trying to instill that passion just in baseball, but in anything they do in life.”

Liberty Mutual and PCA have also partnered to help youth sports coaches and parents, through the Liberty Mutual Responsible Sports program. Founded in 2007, the program serves as a means to highlight the positive impact that everyday, responsible actions can have on our youth.

The Liberty Mutual Responsible Sports program provides resources for parents and coaches at ResponsibleSports.com to help children reap the full benefits of playing a team sport. The online community incorporates blogs, videos, and best practices on youth sports topics that provide practical, real-world advice. Parents and coaches also can complete guides on positive sports mentoring that offer best practices for handling challenging sports scenarios.

About Positive Coaching Alliance
Founded as a non-profit within the Stanford University Athletic Department in 1998, Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA) has the mission of “transforming youth sports so sports can transform youth.” To that end, PCA has conducted roughly 7,000 live group workshops nationwide for more than 400,000 youth and high school sports leaders, coaches, parents and athletes. Workshop attendees have helped create a positive, character-building youth sports environment for more than 3 million youth athletes.

PCA’s partnership network includes more than 1,700 youth sports organizations, cities and schools. In 2010, PCA will conduct roughly 1,300 live, group workshops across the U.S., while assisting thousands of other individuals via online courses at www.PositiveCoach.org.

PCA workshops train coaches to be Double-Goal Coaches, whose first goal is winning and whose second, more-important goal is teaching life lessons through sports. PCA sports parent workshops cultivate “Second-Goal ParentsTM,” who focus on life lessons through sports. PCA student-athlete workshops produce “Triple-Impact CompetitorsTM,” who work to improve themselves, their teammates, and their sport as a whole.

PCA has the support of elite coaches and athletes on a National Advisory Board, including National Spokesperson, Los Angeles Lakers Coach Phil Jackson.

About Liberty Mutual Group

“Helping people live safer, more secure lives” since 1912, Boston-based Liberty Mutual Group is a diversified global insurer and fifth-largest property and casualty insurer in the U.S. based on 2008 direct written premium. Liberty Mutual Group ranks 86th on the Fortune 500 list of largest U.S. corporations, based on 2008 revenue. The company has over 45,000 employees located in more than 900 offices throughout the world.
The eighth-largest auto and home insurer in the U.S., Liberty Mutual sells full lines of coverage for automobile, homeowners, valuable possessions, personal liability, and individual life insurance. The company is an industry leader in affinity partnerships, offering car and home insurance to employees and members of more than 12,000 companies, credit unions, professional associations and alumni groups.

Contact:
David Jacobson, Positive Coaching Alliance
Phone: 650-210-0808
E-mail: david_jacobson@positivecoach.org

Glenn Greenberg, Liberty Mutual
Phone: 617-574-5874
E-mail: glenn.greenberg@libertymutual.com

It seems that many players and coaches recognize how little time is allocated during practices for catchers to work on their catching skills. Blocking, exchange drills, pickoff throws, proper handling of pass balls with throw to pitcher covering plate, just to name a few.

Often times it has been said to me that there just isn’t enough time to fit it in a practice. I would like to challenge that idea by pointing out the most wasted 20 minutes in a catcher’s life.

The time is called “Infield Practice”. I’ve lost count how many practices I have observed where a coach is hitting infield practice with often times the starting catcher standing beside them taking the throw from the fielders and then handing the ball back to the coach. WHAT A WASTE!!!

Now I know that some of the items covered during infield practice do require the catchers involvement in a true game situation play. However I have seen at least 20 minutes go by when all they do is catch the ball and hand it to the coach.

I suggest that at the beginning of infield practice another player fill that role, and even maybe rotate with other infielders. During that time the catchers, all of the catchers if possible, are off to the side working on blocking, throwing etc.

When it is time to do the plays that involve the catcher, call them back over and run them all at one time.

I saw this next quote on a web site about how much we depend on catchers to get it right, but how little time we provide for them to practice the skills they will need to get it right in a game.

“It will take a dozen outstanding plays by the catcher to make teammates forget a single disastrous E-2 that could have been prevented by practicing catcher skills.”

I know that scheduling a meaningful practice is always a challenge. But here is any easy fix that will provide at least 20 minutes every practice for your catchers to work on their skills.

- Dave Weaver, Founder of the New England Catching Camp (catchingcamp.com).