The Baseball Forward Podcast

Join hosts Ross Hawley and Jim Schwanke as they elevate the next generation of ballplayers and coaches.
CJ Beatty, The Baseball Motivator, joins us on this episode. Owner of The Motivator Brands & Beatty Enterprises, CJ is one of the most sought after motivational speakers around. In this episode, CJ and I discuss his baseball background, what motivates him, advice for players and much more. Follow CJ Beatty on Instagram @cjbeatty44 and Change Your Life!
The Intro
04:10 Motivating high school kids.
08:40 Importance of coaches and teachers using social media.
12:05 How does CJ connect and motivate youngsters.
19:10 What about baseball captured CJ.
24:00 Specific advice for a struggling high school player.
31:00 How to have balance in life.
35:55 The best baseball advice CJ ever received.
47:00 CJ talks about facing Chris Sale.
52:57 CJ talks about being drafted.
54:40 What CJ would do to improve the game of baseball.
Follow us social media @BaseballFwd and @RossHawley39. Visit www.baseballforward.com to join the movement!

Join hosts Ross Hawley and Jim Schwanke as they elevate the next generation of ballplayers and coaches. In this episode, the legendary Coach Gary Ward talks shop with Ross and Jim.
 
Gary Ward was the head baseball coach at Oklahoma State from 1978 to 1996, compiling a record of 953–313–1. Ward won 16 Big-8 championships at OSU, including 14 in a row from 1982 to 1995. He led his team to 18 40-win seasons, and 12 times his teams finished in the top 10. He led the Cowboys to 10 CWS appearances. He later became the head baseball coach at New Mexico State. During his tenure, he became only the 24th coach in college baseball history to gain 1,000 career wins. Coach Ward was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2008.
 
Follow us social media @BaseballFwd and @RossHawley39. Visit www.baseballforward.com to join the movement!

Join hosts Ross Hawley and Jim Schwanke as they elevate the next generation of ballplayers and coaches. In this episode, Ross talks with an old teammate and friend, former MiLB RHP Kole Strayhorn.
Episode Highlights:
02:15 Ross and Kole catch up.
05:40 Kole discusses his love for the game, early in life.
09:05 Kole talks about the pressure of being a high round draft pick.
15:15 What does Kole wish he would've known then, what he knows now.
19:45 Kole talks about failure in baseball.
23:30 Kole's message to younger players and how to handle failure.
33:00 Kole gives his advice to young pitchers learning the game.
47:25 The best baseball advice Kole received.
48:25 Kole's speed round of questions.
 
Follow us social media @BaseballFwd and @RossHawley39. Visit www.baseballforward.com to join the movement!
 

Join hosts Ross Hawley and Jim Schwanke as they elevate the next generation of ballplayers and coaches. The topic of this episode: Practice Plans
Highlights from this episode
03:00 Winning the last game starts with the 1st practice.
06:30 Structuring a 2-hour, outdoor practice.
09:15 How self-toss fungos develop young players in practice.
12:30 Advice for coaches hitting fungos.
19:00 Breaking down a 2-hour practice into 3 segments.
41:00 Structuring a two-team practice.
47:35 A summary of the 3 segments of practice.
49:05 The difference between team offense and individual offense.
Follow us social media @BaseballFwd and @RossHawley39. Visit www.baseballforward.com to join the movement!

Join hosts Ross Hawley and Jim Schwanke as they elevate the next generation of ballplayers and coaches. In this episode, the legendary Coach Gary Ward talks shop with Ross and Jim.
 
Gary Ward was the head baseball coach at Oklahoma State from 1978 to 1996, compiling a record of 953–313–1. Ward won 16 Big-8 championships at OSU, including 14 in a row from 1982 to 1995. He led his team to 18 40-win seasons, and 12 times his teams finished in the top 10. He led the Cowboys to 10 CWS appearances. He later became the head baseball coach at New Mexico State. During his tenure, he became only the 24th coach in college baseball history to gain 1,000 career wins. Coach Ward was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2008.
 
Follow us social media @BaseballFwd and @RossHawley39. Visit www.baseballforward.com to join the movement!

Join hosts Ross Hawley and Jim Schwanke as they elevate the next generation of ballplayers and coaches. In this episode, the legendary Coach Gary Ward talks shop with Ross.
 
Gary Ward was the head baseball coach at Oklahoma State from 1978 to 1996, compiling a record of 953–313–1. Ward won 16 Big-8 championships at OSU, including 14 in a row from 1982 to 1995. He led his team to 18 40-win seasons, and 12 times his teams finished in the top 10. He led the Cowboys to 10 CWS appearances. He later became the head baseball coach at New Mexico State. During his tenure, he became only the 24th coach in college baseball history to gain 1,000 career wins. Coach Ward was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2008.
 
Follow us social media @BaseballFwd and @RossHawley39. Visit www.baseballforward.com to join the movement!

Join hosts Ross Hawley and Jim Schwanke as they elevate the next generation of ballplayers and coaches. In this episode:
02:30 The purpose of the Baseball Forward movement.
06:02 Jim discusses his love for the game of baseball.
10:45 Expectations for the Baseball Forward Podcast and website.
15:35 Jim talks about the story of the Warren Morris walk off HR for LSU in the '96 CWS.
26:10 The purpose of working with the younger generations.
31:55 Breaking down the MLB 2024 draft by the numbers.
36:30 The realities of playing NCAA D1 baseball.
Follow us social media @BaseballFwd and @RossHawley39. Visit www.baseballforward.com to join the movement!