Coach Jordan Harlow: Help Your Players Become Their Own Best Coaches

In this episode of The Coachers Podcast, Keanu Yamamoto interviews Coach Jordan Harlow, the head baseball coach at Linfield University. They discuss Coach Harlow's journey from high school coaching to leading a college program, his coaching philosophy, the challenges of modern coaching, and the importance of character in recruitment. Coach Harlow emphasizes the significance of teamwork, mental toughness, and the evolving landscape of baseball, including the impact of analytics and the NIL era. He shares insights on effective communication, handling player slumps, and the brand of baseball at Linfield. Coach Harlow believes in the significance of teaching players to be their own best coaches and respecting the game and those who came before you.  Coach also shares insights on off-season training, scouting reports, and the importance of maintaining a positive team culture. The conversation concludes with discussions on lifelong learning and book recommendations for coaches.

Takeaways

- Help Players become their own Best Coaches

- You can’t hold a player accountable for something they haven’t been taught

- Base Running is like Special Teams in Football - Both get overlooked

- 3 Pillars: Tradition, Toughness, Team First

- Respect the game and it will respect you back

- Recruiting: What do we look for in a prospect (LKGs)

- Win the Freebie War

- The Game within the Game and what makes Baseball unique

- Coaching is about continuous learning and adaptation.

- 6 Tool Player: Availability 

- Help teach your players to compartmentalize their life.

- Empower assistants to be masters of their domain

- Meetings should be structured and purposeful.

Photo Credit: Linfield Athletics

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Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction and Background of Coach Jordan Harlow
• 3:35 Transitioning from High School to College Coaching
• 7:11 Coaching Philosophy and Evolution
• 11:13 Challenges in Modern Coaching
• 13:20 Recruiting Process and Values
• 16:10 Brand of Baseball at Linfield
• 18:14 Mental Aspects of Baseball Coaching
• 24:34 Key Situations in Baseball Practice
• 28:55 Traits of a Good Recruit
• 30:28 LKGs (Linfield Kind of Guys)
• 33:11 Unconventional Metrics in Baseball
• 35:45 The Role of Analytics in Modern Baseball
• 38:14 Understanding the Game Beyond the Numbers
• 41:06 Defensive Strategies and Shifts
• 43:35 Anela Question of the Day?
• 44:49 What does Team mean to you?
• 46:44 Meeting Structure and Accountability
• 49:52 Offseason and In-Season structure
• 54:14 Balancing Strength Training and the Mechanics of Baseball
• 56:24 Empowering Leadership and Team Dynamics
• 1:01:22 Mental Health and Compartmentalization in Sports
• 1:06:52 Scouting Reports
• 1:10:21 Coach any player past or present? Who would it be and why?
• 1:11:23 Books and Resources for Coaches
• 1:14:30 Conclusion: Be a lifelong learner