Zac Cole is the pitching coach at College of Central Florida, one of the top-ranked NJCAA programs in the nation. As a former player, his career started at the JUCO level and eventually took him to Tennessee Tech and to the Baltimore Orioles organization as a right-handed pitcher. On the show Zac shares his expertise in a variety of areas including:
Playing and Coaching Journey
Experiences through playing and coaching and using it to guide the players you're coaching
Recruiting Advice for players and families
Social Media commitments are temporary celebrations
-Every path is unique for every kid/family
-Financially, socially, academically, spiritually, athletically, find your fit
-My friend early committed as a freshman or sophomore - what about me?
-Don't be complacent at any given time
The reality and truth of playing college baseball
You have to be good enough to help programs win
Character matters - reliability and talent help programs win.
Intangibles are important, but ultimately are your physical skills good enough at the college level?
Second chances through the game of baseball
Resources available to get better as an athlete
-free resources coaches are sharing through social media platforms
-benefit from good information that instructors and coaches are posting for free
-Tread athletics - Driveline - KineticPro - and more
Pitching development and managing workloads
Arm care tips
Today's kids have an advantage with the information and player development tools they are exposed to
Mastering his craft by educating himself through asking questions and learning from others
Having technology vs understanding how to use the technology and the data to make players better
College of Central Florida program development - technology combined with coaching experiences
Yakkertech- players have access to practice and game data
Motus arm sleeve > Pulse - capture throwing volume and stress for workload and arm care management
Properly on-ramping players to build their arm to the workload required in the season
Active rest periods - adjusting the volume of throwing and intensity
Planning your throwing for your season - calendar year
Multisport athletes to manage their arm care before their season starts
Are breaking balls the problem with arm injuries?
Pitching lessons during the season and arm health
Listen to your arm/body - rest/recovery is important
Shadow bullpens - and mental game work on off days
Putting yourself in situations mentally before the game
Getting better on your non-throwing day
Every pitcher is different - throwing journals - food - sleep
Every pitcher's day should not be exactly the same
Coaching accountability for what you ask of your pitchers
Pitch counts are unique for each player
Recovery - when I'm done pitching - how do I get ready to pitch again
Effective mechanics that create a good pitch vs how it looks a certain way
Using summer baseball for long term development and building relationships with players and coaches
Is it more important to train or play in the summer?
Biggest advice for parents in amateur and youth coaching
Take ownership of your development and put your time in the right places.
What academics say about you to a college coach
Benefits of watching college baseball and developing physically in the weight room
Feel free to reach out to Zac at the following:
Twitter: @ZacCole_
Email: zscole21@gmail.com
