ULTIMATE COACHES' CLINIC: BILLY MARTIN

In 2008, Pat Williams, the GM of the Orlando Magic and a tremendous motivational speaker put out a book, "The Ultimate Coaches' Clinic." It is a fascinating book because of the style Pat utilized. He surveyed over 1000 coaches and administrators for insights to what is important to successfully do their job. It is a great book to own and I highly recommend it. Here are some thoughts from Billy Martin.

• Teach the fundamentals of baseball, do the fundamentals right, and everything will fall into place for you.

• Winning is the whole idea, sure; and that’s what I’m trying to do. But the enjoyment comes from the things I put in it, the teaching, the problem solving, and the answer to challenges. The victory at the end is only the proof that you’ve succeeded, and nobody can take that away from you once you’ve won. But the fun and the rewards are in what you do getting there.

• Managing is teaching, first of all. That’s even more important than winning itself. When you get a player whose potential you can see, and show him things that can make him better, and show him the things that can make him win, and then you can see him later realizing those things—it’s like a graduation. It makes you feel satisfied even if he’s no longer your player.