Courtesy Photo | U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Aaron Webster, the national partnerships action officer with...... read more read more
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CHARLOTTE, N.C. – In a partnership that brought the worlds of baseball and military strategy together, Marine Corps Recruiting Command partnered with the American Baseball Coaches Association to host the 2023 Barnstormers Clinic at the University of North Carolina Charlotte on October 21, 2023. The event on the university's baseball field saw multiple college and high school coaches gather to share their expertise to help demonstrate how to inspire and coach the next generation of baseball talent.
The coach's clinic featured a lineup of experienced coaches who delivered speeches and demonstrated the innovative drills they use to develop their players' skills. The event brought out a diverse range of coaches, from college-level to high school, all eager to improve their coaching abilities and learn new tricks.
U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Alex Goetz, a former college baseball player from Denver, Colorado, delivered a 30-minute speech to the coaches about leadership. Goetz, now a recruiting support officer based in Charlotte, drew upon his experience in both baseball and the military to provide valuable insights to the attending coaches. His speech emphasized leadership principles, including Commander's Intent, Decentralized Command, and A Bias for Action, showcasing their relevance in baseball coaching.
"The reason we have this partnership is to show these coaches that the Marine Corps and the sport of baseball are very similar, and I think that many of the leadership values the Marine Corps has can benefit both the players and coaches," Goetz said.
Goetz led the attending coaches in a tactical decision game designed to reiterate the leadership principles he spoke about. During the TDG, coaches were challenged to assimilate these principles into baseball-related scenarios, illuminating their utility in developing emerging athletes, instilling leadership traits, and honing their decision-making abilities.
"I wanted to do the TDG with these coaches because we have all been in those talks or classes where you are trying hard to focus and not fall asleep," Goetz said. "I wanted to make this more interactive to keep the coaches thinking as I walked them through a small tactical scenario."
Coaches took turns explaining their decisions in the scenario while trying to adhere to the principles of Commander's Intent, Decentralized Command, and Bias for Action.
"I found the talk and scenario presented to us by Capt. Goetz to be extremely helpful and unique," said George Conner, the assistant coach of Hopewell High School in Charlotte. "It gave me a new idea of how to incorporate the teachings and philosophies of the Marine Corps and how to lead our student-athletes."
Partnerships like this one are created through the Marine Corps National Partnership program, which engages educators and coaches to increase awareness of the Marine Corps and galvanize recognition that the Marine Corps' purpose aligns with the partnering organizations' purpose. These partnerships are initiated, planned, and activated to inspire influencers to provide recruiter access to qualified men and women.
| Date Taken: | 10.25.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 11.09.2023 10:29 |
| Story ID: | 456489 |
| Location: | CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
| Hometown: | DENVER, COLORADO, US |
| Web Views: | 20 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, From the Battlefield to the Baseball Field: ABCA Barnstormers 2023, by LCpl Payton Goodrich, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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