Tyler P.

Besides the occasional private lesson and camps, I was a student coach at Texas State University last fall. I worked with the catchers, hitters, and wherever else I was needed during the fall semester. So I have coached t-ballers all the way up to collegiate athletes ranging from ages 4 to 21.

I have played baseball for 20 years now and am currently playing/catching in the Chicago Cubs organization. I attended Monterey High School in Lubbock, TX where I played on the Varsity Baseball team for 4 years. In playing there I received a couple 1st Team All-State awards and made the Texas Rangers Area Code team. I was then drafted by the Cleveland Indians after my fourth year of high school, but decided to get my education before I went on to play professionally. From there I went on to play at Rice University for my freshman year of collegiate baseball. After Rice University I went to play at Grayson Junior College in Sherman, TX. I received my Associates Degree from there while playing with one of the top Junior College teams in the country. After Grayson, I then went on to play at Texas State University where I would play my final two years of college baseball. In finishing my senior year at Texas State, I was then given the opportunity to continue my baseball career by being drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 25th round of the 2014 major league draft. I currently just finished my third season with the Cubs, where I finished off the season catching with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans. (Advanced A with the Cubs)

With the experience I have had at almost every level of baseball, a client can expect to learn multiple different things during every session. As far as drills or techniques learned, it depends on the players experience as well as the position they play. If it was a catching session, drills could range anywhere from blocking drills and transfer/receiving drills, to hip flexibility or even game calling. I would primarily focus on what the client needs to work on most and progress from there to more advanced, in depth, concepts. With the professional experience I do have, I have a lot to offer and to teach to clients. I have learned many drills over the years and I think it just depends on what the client has or has not already learned, or what specifically could benefit them the most.

Example of a hitting session:
One thing that will happen at the beginning of every work out is a quick warm up and stretching session. In order to stay healthy and to prevent injuries, a warm up will always be required before the sessions begin. When I am playing and in season, the first thing I always do before any other hitting drill is Tee work! In my opinion, Tee work is the most important tool a hitter can use. It not only allows you groove your swing, but it gives you instant feedback on a good or bad swing. After tee work, we will then progress and move on to front toss. Front toss allows a hitter to see a moving ball at a much slower speed. This allows you to focus on your swing and drive the ball to the middle part of the field. With front toss, there are many other drills a hitter can take part in. To end a hitting session, we would end with regular batting practice. In this part of the lesson, the athlete will continue to drive the ball to the big part of the field and will tie in the drills learned in the previous drills. At the end of the lesson, I will go over everything learned/taught again with the athlete to make sure they remember everything throughout the lesson.