Hello Chargers!

The weather outside gives the allusion that we are far away from the start of our season,  but realistic we are only a few months away.  The kids are hard at work in our indoor facility, and coaches are working everyday to develop them as young men and ball players.

Since accepting the role of Director of  Player Development, I have spent many hours on my vision and strategy. As you can imagine this will be an evolving process, but it is well underway.

I am in the process of scheduling conversations with the school district to discuss leading the developing of field locations. We have invested in some new equipment: tennis balls, paddle gloves, and a new pitching machine. This will expand the types of developmental drills we can perform with our players, and give the coaches more options to keep practices fresh and engaging. 

This leads me to the resources that we are working on for coaches. I am in the process of developing an On-Demand Coaches Library which will be accessible right from their phone. This will contain videos of various drills, organized by position/skill level, and practice plans already done for coaches. The coaches will have the option to build their own practice plan from the video library, or choose a turn key plan that will have links to the videos right on the plan!

We want to develop some consistency in our coaching approach across our organization, support our coaches that feel they need help with planning a solid practice, and save time for those who are gracious enough to coach. The hours these coaches put in stretch far beyond the games and practices.

Finally, I am working on a series of Skill Specific All Organization Camp opportunities. We are looking to have Hitting, Pitching, Infield,  Outfield, and Catching specific camp options. I will lean on my network of former college and professional players, high school and college coaches, to deliver more concentrated development for our players. 

My goal is to create a developmental strategy where in Sussex, from every little boy to the top players at any level, they see the Jr. Chargers as a place they can and want to developed as a ball player.  We want to provide our community with a program that rivals any of the academies from a developmental standpoint at a fraction of the expense. 

 I hope you share in my excitement in this approach, and focus on creating the best players and young men we can.

Go Chargers!!

Johnny Arnold
Director of Player Development