Is there a resource available for coaches who are interested in living and working in Europe as a public or private baseball coach? I am a recent University graduate who has been involved with competitive baseball most of my life, including two stints with U.S. teams in The Netherlands, New Zealand, and Australia.

My skills as a player capped around my senior year in high school. At 5'11" 150lbs, I was a bit size-limited (especially for a RHP), and although I had various tryouts with pro clubs, including the Atlanta Braves, I realized that my time as a player was truly preparation for a career as a coach. As such, I served as a student assistant with Central Michigan University, a D-1A (Major Division) program, though I never played collegiate ball.

I'm interested in coaching in Europe for a couple of reasons:

1) I'm looking to get away from the politics and "good old boy" attitude prevalent in the American baseball community. I am a hard-nosed (but extremely positive) coach who has an intense passion and respect for the game, and I'm looking for an opportunity where I can help grow the game in the right way--a way that is sound fundamentally and respectful of the context of the sport both as athletic endeavor and a cultural institution.

2) My degree is in English/Creative Writing, and, baseball aside, I want to see a part of the world and live in a community which is fundamentally different than the one I grew up in.

3) It's difficult/almost impossible to land a significant coaching job here without equally significant playing experience or a previous coaching resume.

As far as my coaching skills/theories/practices:
I will be happy to go into more detail when/where appropriate, but here is a general overview, broken down into what I consider two key sections:

1 - Attitude and Philosophy:
- 100% Positivity. I never use negative reinforcement as a motivational tool as related to physical performance. I will never--NEVER--criticize a player for physical inability.
- Constant Effort. I am a demanding coach; I expect my players to give me everything they have all of the time with zero exceptions, and I believe in baseball as an athletic, motion-based sport.
- Communication. While I may ask a lot from my players, they will understand why I am asking it; I always explain the things I teach and the drills we do as a team. And I am always willing to re-evaluate my own position.

2. - Technical Theories:
- Baseball as a science. Pitching is my specialty, and I teach from a bio-mechanical, model-based position (this is true of how I teach hitting, as well). The fundamental pitching mechanics I teach are a blend of the Tom House "long stride" approach (I believe in around a 90% stride as opposed to House's, which is considerable loner), and the Dick Mills' hyper-flex/core rotation method.
- From a hitting standpoint, I am a firm believe in the "inside the ball" methodology; the goal of hitting should be to score runs, and I believe that an effective offense is one that can consistently make use of deep-count and off-speed pitches, as well as hit strategically (as opposed to a purely power-centric approach).
- Defensively, I am somewhat of a radical. I teach sound fundamentals, including the Circle C, which are meshed together with unorthodox shifts and rotations. I don't believe that we should limit our defensive strategies simply because the game has been played a certain way for X number of years. I am constantly searching for ways to take my player's and team's game to a higher level.
- Video. I am a firm believer that video must be a key process of all stages of competitive player development. In my opinion, any coach worth his weight in salt will seriously consider video footage as a starting point when developing a long term player-goal, as well as for instructional purposes. Players cannot see themselves, and slow-motion/stop-frame imagery is a key teaching tool.

So if anyone has any advice regarding places to begin the process of finding a job, I would really appreciate it. Given my degree, I am also qualified to teach English language and English Literature, and I am willing to coach at any level, including the youth level.

Also, due to the anonymous nature of the internet, I'll just close by saying that I have no history or arrests, convictions, or drug use; I do not smoke or drink heavily (although I do enjoy a well-crafted beer), and will be more than happy to submit to whatever background checks might be requested.

Thanks.

Coach M. / coach.malec@gmail.com

Hello Coach M.

First I’d like to introduce my self.

I’m Melanie Wanner from the Therwil Flyers Switzerland (www.therwil-flyers.ch) and we are looking for a Headcoach Baseball.

We have a Team in the highest league of Switzerland. Our Team has been Swisschampion in 2003. Since then the team has been reformed with many young player, who are very talented, but are not yet at there peak. For this year we would like to make at least the playoffs, if not even achieve the title.

We are looking for a headcoach how can motivate the young players and help them to become better. We are also looking for someone who can improve the pitching of everyone. (we have one player who is a pitcher form the Swiss national team and also many young pitcher.)

I hope to hear from you and I wish you a good week.

Melanie Wanner
Board member from the Therwil Flyers
melanie.wanner@bs.ch