Head Baseball Coach at Denham Springs High School

Joined January 2013
Craig Castello retweeted
The hitter’s swings, foul balls, and takes give you a good idea of his approach. What do I mean? Fastballs: Is he late on the FB? Where are his foul balls? Pulled foul? Or over the opposite dugout? Or, is he taking them? So, if late, this means that we pitch FB in, up, and expand down. If he’s taking them, he might be sitting strike offspeed. Also, if he’s late on FB, be careful throwing a get me over strike offspeed pitch. You will be doing him a favor. A good question to ask is, where can we go where his barrel can’t square the ball up? Offspeed: is he pulling them foul? Are his takes good or bad? Does his swing look comfortable on the offspeed? Where does he chase? A good tidbit to follow is that we should chase bad swings. The best hitters in the world can make the adjustment pitch to pitch. Most players, especially at the HS and below level, can’t do that. So if he takes a bad swing on a pitch, throw it again. If he takes it, throw a different pitch, then go back to bad swing pitch. Another tidbit is that if the hitter fouls a ball straight back to the backstop, be very careful repeating that, because he just missed it. Many more nuances to this but this is basic food for thought.
Replying to @JLucroy20
Can you expand on how you teach this concept to catchers? It's good to know what a hitter's deficiencies are, but that doesn't explain the proper way to sequence.
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Craig Castello retweeted
Perhaps the most successful freshman pitcher in college baseball so far this season, Sawyer Pruitt (@SawyerPruitt) has been dealing for @RaginCajunsBSB 💪 19.2 IP 1 R 0 ER 25 K (31.6 K%) 6 BB (7.6 BB%) 🔗 d1ba.se/4b9s8KC
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Every parent, coach and player should listen to this. Maybe listen twice just to let it sink in.
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Craig Castello retweeted
.@RaginCajunsBSB freshman pitcher Sawyer Pruitt is feeling it #GeauxCajuns
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M6 | MoState 2, UL 7 Sawyer Pruitt with 3Ks in his first collegiate appearance; 14 pitches with 12 for strikes 📻 ragncaj.co/BSBRadio21426 📊 ragncaj.co/BSBStat21426 #GeauxCajuns | #WaterHoseBoys
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LSWA CLASS AAAAA ALL-STATE BASEBALL ⚾️ TEAM P Will Andrade - Holy Cross P Bradyn Cupit - West Monroe P Drew Ferguson - West Monroe P Jarius Miller - Barbe C Andrew Clapinski - Catholic BR IF Ryan Darrah - Brother Martin IF Casey McCoy - Dutchtown IF Dom Pellegrin - Holy Cross IF Jack Ruckert - Catholic BR OF Jackson Lee - Ruston OF Cole Snell - Benton OF Christian Turner - Haughton UT Brayden Calamari - Slidell UT Cole Flanagan - Sam Houston UT Cole Navarro - Brother Martin UT Sawyer Pruitt - Live Oak UT Cooper Smith - Live Oak OUTSTANDING PLAYER: SAWYER PRUITT - LIVE OAK COACH OF THE YEAR: CHAD HEBERT - SAM HOUSTON Honorable Mention: Nate Alario, John Curtis Thomas Allen, Benton Lytton Arledge, West Monroe Lenny Cline, Rummel Tanner Conley, Fontainebleau Trey Davis, Higgins Tristan Dehart, Terrebonne Connor Donnelly, Jesuit Davis Emonet, Catholic BR Parker Franks, Neville Troy Green, Slidell Owen Galley, Sam Houston Kanyon Griffin, Acadiana Hunter Guillot, Thibodaux Mason Hickman, Mandeville David Griep, Ruston Brock Laird, Natchitoches Central Lucas Lawrence, Catholic BR Noah Lewis, Catholic BR Lawton Littleton, Barbe Carson Malasovich, Northshore Chase Marcotte, Destrehan JP Moak, Ruston Wes Oats, Pineville Gavin Panks, Covington Brayden Rachal, Alexandria Tyler Roark, West Monroe Tyler Roach, Ruston Logan Rogers, H.L. Bourgeois Koa Romero, Hahnville Aidan Ryan, Covington Andrew Sharp, Captain Shreve Slade Shove-Knox, Sulphur Connor Smith, Northshore Austyn Taylor, Pineville Abel Thetford, Parkway Brody Trosclair, Thibodaux Bryce Wilson, Chalmette Zach Wilburn, Byrd
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2025 Louisiana Baseball Coaches Association All-State Baseball ⚾️ Teams
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💎 𝕎𝕖𝕓 𝔾𝕖𝕞 𝔸𝕝𝕖𝕣𝕥 Check out this play by 2026 LHP Zant Gurney (Live Oak HS) The @PB_Uncommitted junior southpaw fields this bunt down the first base line barehanded and makes an accurate off-balanced throw for the 1-3 putout. Live Oak and Benton remain tied at 1-1 heading to the 4th inning. #BeSeen @AlexArmandPBR | @davisj_9
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Craig Castello retweeted
I want to thank all the coaches that reached out to me in the past two weeks. I’m staying home. 🌶️🤟🏽@RaginCajuns @RaginCajunsBSB @RaginReview @CoachDeggs28 @GunnerLeger @Coach_Thib @JesseCassard @CoachCaryMyers @AlexArmandPBR @2D_sports
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Craig Castello retweeted
🚨Every coach should listen to Nick Saban talk about transformational coaching. ⁉️Do you care about your players for your benefit or their benefit?
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Craig Castello retweeted
I’m grateful to be able to announce that I have committed to play baseball at Bossier Parish CC. I want to thank God, my coaches, and my teammates for supporting me through this journey to the next level. @LiveOakBsB1 @BPCC_BASEBALL @knightknation4L
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🔒 Cal Cassard 🔒 2025 | OF | Live Oak Bossier Parish Community College Congrats to 2025 OF @CalCassard8 on his commitment to @BPCC_BASEBALL Cassard was 1st Team @lbcaupdates All State this past Spring and looks to have a big senior year for the Eagles.
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'Earn the right to do more.' "People work to do less. This is the big fight we have with success. Failure is easy. Success is way harder than managing failure. People believe when you do good, you have earned the right to do less. With success, you earn the right to do more."
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A simple advantage every pitcher can have: When facing same sided hitters, stand on arm side of the rubber. When facing opposite handed hitters, stand on glove side of the rubber. The horizontal approach angle plays up for every single pitch.
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🎥 How to Train as a Sidearm/Submarine Pitcher Complete podcast, discussing: -How to drop down effectively -Customizing drills to a low slot -Common compensations -Best secondary pitches to throw -Should you long toss @Mark_Fischer50 @T_Zombro24 @saucysean7
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2025 @OleMissBSB commit RHP @SawyerPruitt with a big outing today for 16 Marucci White going 6IP with 10 K’s allows just 1 R on 1 Hit. Marucci White wins 7-1 over Colorado Baseball Academy in the @MarucciSports World Series. @MarucciDugout @PBR_Louisiana @2D_sports @Dmnd_Allegiance
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Pat Summitt said, “Accountability is essential to personal growth, as well as team growth…If you don’t admit a mistake and take responsibility for it, you’re bound to make the same one again.” Success doesn't happen without accountability. The best teams don't just talk about accountability, they build it into their daily habits. Accountability is not only what you do, but it's also what you don't do. You either set the standard or allow it to happen. 6 Steps To Building Accountability In Your Culture 1. Envision The Standard Know what you want, believe in it, and make it a priority. Be clear and specific about what you want and why you want it. You have to have a crystal clear vision of what you're working towards. 2. Set The Standard Set clear expectations for yourself and others. • What does success look like? • What are the rules? • Write it all down and communicate it When you have a clear standard, you have a roadmap to follow, and it makes accountability much easier. 3. Demonstrate The Standard Lead by example. Leaders know the way and show the way. If you want others to follow your lead, you have to walk the walk. Show the world what accountability looks like. Live and breathe the standard you've established. 4. Adopt The Standard Get on board with accountability. Make it a part of your daily routine, mindset, and way of life. Accountability is a process and a journey when putting it into the culture. Communicate the expectations and evaluate when people aren’t adopting the standard. 5. Accept The Standard Good cultures are where the coach enforces the standard. Great cultures are where leaders enforce the standard. • Encourage others to embrace accountability • Share your success • Inspire others • Create a culture of responsibility 6. Adhere To The Standard Hold yourself and others accountable. When the standard is not met, take action. • Celebrate success • Make adjustments Your culture is a living, breathing organism. Feed it, listen to it, and build it over time and you will be amazed at how it grows. "He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else." - Benjamin Franklin - - - Follow @coachajkings for more content like this!
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The best athletes care more about effort than winning. This isn’t because they don’t care about winning. It’s because they know that giving their best effort leads to the best results.
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