Behind Every Great Baseball Practice…

Dash Johnson isn’t afraid of working hard. He played baseball at Northwestern Oklahoma State University for six years, getting an extra year because of the Covid pandemic. During those years, he earned an undergraduate degree in health and sports science, a Master’s degree in sports administration and was the only graduate student to be recognized as an All American player in 2021.

While playing baseball, Dash spent summers with his parents in Dallas and coached at the Texas Rangers Youth Academy. Beginning part-time with 9-year-olds, he moved up quickly to coach 15- to 18-year-olds. In 2022, Dash became the manager of baseball and softball operations at the Youth Academy, where he builds out the programming, or training sessions, for the entire year. He also runs their Nike RBI, an MLB initiative that gives underserved populations, kids ages 13 to 18, the opportunity to play baseball. 

Describe the perfect practice

I want each kid that I’m working with to get 1% better every day. As coaches, we serve so many different skill levels and we can’t really compare everybody on the same scale. Everyone is at different places in their baseball journey and in their life journey, and I want to meet the kids where they are and make sure that they got something positive out of the day. A perfect practice is when they walk away with a baseball skill that they’ve gotten better at, but also with a life lesson that translates to off the field, something they’ll have for the rest of their life. 

What are some of your go-to drills or games? 

Here at the Academy, we do a competition called “last man standing.” If we’re working on ground balls or infield work that day, kids have to field the ball cleanly and make good throws across the diamond to a target. Making things competitive is a great way to keep kids engaged, and it’s something that I use a lot with younger kids. I make sure it’s something where everybody has the ability to succeed, no matter what skill level each kid is at. They just have to have that attention to detail and focus. 

For my older kids, we have some infield drills that make them really focus on the details, like having to field a ground ball on the second bounce rather than getting it whatever they want. On the hitting side, front toss, or flips, is something that really makes them focus and have to execute the little things. Another good one is our line drive drill where players try to hit balls on a line for the 10 throws, or however many pitches they get.

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What’s something you’ve learned from another coach? 

Start practice by going over the plan so the players know what we’re striving to get to that day. I always give the layout of the practice, what we’re trying to execute and what the process will be, which are the drills or the workout. At the end of practice, we’ll go over what we talked about, what we tried to accomplish, and where we can try to get better. Then I like to leave the kids with a quote that they can think about, some food for thought. Something that I’m big about is walking away with a life lesson.

What’s the most challenging part of being a coach? 

I push myself to try to reach as many kids as I can and sometimes I may miss out on key opportunities when I’m trying to be that perfect coach for everybody. It’s a gift and a blessing having the number of kids that we have come through these doors. At times it gets tough to juggle 100 kids on any given day, and I find it hard to be able to give each kid my full attention. That’s probably the toughest thing. I don’t have a problem building relationships or teaching kids the game, but I want to give every kid as much as I can. 

What’s the best thing about being a coach? 

I find it super gratifying to be able to give back the knowledge that I have and to serve the population that we serve. Having been a minority in baseball, I take pride in being able to help those who may not have the opportunities or the financial means to play. 

I really take pride in being a positive role model, that person the kids can come to, both when things are going bad at home or when things are great. I want to be that coach who has that open door policy all the time. I focus on building relationships and lifelong bonds because I have coaches that I played for that I still consider mentors and talk to monthly. 

I love coaching baseball, period. I love being able to develop young men and women in the game that they love. I truly believe that’s my purpose in life, to be here to support these kids, not only on the field, but to help them reach their full personal potential. One of my favorite coach quotes is, a good coach can change a game, but a great coach can change a life. I take that with me every day. 

What’s the secret to great coaching?

You’re more than a coach. Coaches can teach life lessons through the sport and have a big influence on kids. If that’s your “why” and you stick to it, you’ll be a great coach.

 

Dash Johnson is a National Winner of the Positive Coaching Alliance Coach of the Year award, which is presented by TeamSnap.