4. From Average to Excellent with Justin Sherman

I am excited to have Justin Sherman on this episode of the podcast.  Justin is the owner of JustinTime Ball out of New York.  I am excited to share everything he is doing with youth baseball players.  

Justin Sherman, a life-long lover of all things baseball, was introduced to baseball at a young age and continues to inspire other young athletes by instilling a sense of confidence and independence through the game.  Justin was born and raised in Westchester, NY where he played for New Rochelle youth baseball leagues and later went on to play for the New Rochelle High School varsity baseball team. While pursuing degrees at Westchester Community College and SUNY Purchase College, Justin played for the WCC Vikings Baseball Team, as well as the Purchase College Panthers where he was appointed team captain. Upon graduating, Justin later went on to be the assistant coach of the Purchase Panthers. He also began working privately with local young athletes—a hobby that would soon grow into what is now known as JustinTime Baseball.  As a coach, mentor, and founder of JustinTime Baseball, Justin has spoken at several baseball conferences and clinics. In May of 2019, Justin gave a speech to student award recipients at the Southeastern Zone Physical Education Award Ceremony in Arlington, NY. Justin is currently pursuing a Masters in Physical Education at Manhattanville College.

In this episode, Justin shares all about his baseball career and how that led him into what he is doing today.  He shares the importance of the basics as well as the impact baseball can have on your entire life.  He has so much great advice for both players and parents.  

• [00:37] Justin is the owner of JustinTime Baseball out of New York. 
• [01:51] In high school he was cut from his junior varsity team and the coach told him what he needed to work on and it ended up being one of the best decisions.  He later went on to play on the varsity team and for a division 3 college.  
• [02:25] He was an average player, but he put in ten times the effort.  
• [03:09] His program focuses on instilling work ethic and life lessons and pursuing your potential.  
• [05:27] The secret sauce is to do more. The actions of successful players are more frequent.  
• [06:15] The more you do, the more you can do.  
• [07:36] He realized he didn’t have to do anything different.  He just had to increase his actions.  
• [09:04] A great coach is one that pushes you.  The target is the pursuit of your potential. 
• [10:46] One thing Justin started before the pandemic is training parent coaches. 
• [13:01] Using some of the parents that have good ideas, love the sport, and are willing to sit down and study it is really key. It is huge if you can take the time and create a system for these helpers. 
• [16:01] Doing basic things (playing catch/throwing) at home is extremely helpful to the coaches.  
• [17:24]  The foundational parts are being skipped and then coaches have to go back and teach the basics. 
• [18:01] The youth are the future of our sport and our country.
• [19:25] The goal is to teach kids and give them mini victories.  They can take those principles of learning into their career and life.  
• [22:27] Know and build on your strengths.    
• [24:24] It is really tough when you learn how to coach at the younger ages when you are teaching the foundation.
• [27:18] Justin’s biggest advice for parents is to take it easy on your kids.  Enjoy the process.
• [29:42] Understand at the end of the day baseball is a game.  If players are questioning their playing time, don’t look at the coach, look at their work ethic. 
• [31:48]  Stop focusing on winning. 
• [33:24] Failure often motivates players to work, train and play harder.  
• [35:47] Train More Play Less is creating a class for kids to really work on the basics of playing catch every single day.  
• [38:19] Focus on correcting throwing and catching techniques earlier will make a huge impact.

• Train More Play Less Website
• Train More Play Less on Instagram
• Train More Play Less on YouTube
• Train More Play Less on Facebook
• Train More Play Less Podcast
• JustinTime Baseball Website
• JustinTime Baseball on Twitter
• JustinTime Baseball on Instagram
• JustinTime Baseball on YouTube