Only 100 seats left! Register now! Those words get me every single time. No, it isn’t a trap. Well, it might be a trap, but it’s free, and more importantly, it is another opportunity to learn.
Give [Baseball] Twitter one good scroll these days and there is a new webinar, zoom conference, or google hangout to take part in seemingly every night. From my perspective, this is heaven. From my girlfriend’s perspective, not so much. I find myself nearly every evening logging in to another webinar or happy hour to discuss the game. As top minds gather around baseball and mind-blowing conversations become readily available at the click of a button, in this post, I will discuss the best methods to maximize your overall virtual learning experience.
Note Taking
There is zero debate on whether or not you should take notes. Do it. If you do not have notes, you may as well be binging another show on Netflix. Yes, all of these webinars can be entertaining, but remember the purpose and opportunity at hand. These webinars are a chance to learn and grow so use them as such. That said, you decide whether pen and paper or a word/google doc will work best for you. I am a pen and paper guy as it helps me stay focused, but that won’t be the case for everyone.
Start with a clean sheet or at least somewhere on a page with a clear division from any other work. Write down the title, date, and the hosts/headliner guests and their affiliations. These may seem like incredibly basic details but doing so will help with recall and filing of your information. Also, before you dive into the content, reflect on what you wish to gain from participating in the webinar. I find it particularly helpful to jot down my goal or desired outcome as to what would truly make the experience worth my time at the top of my notes. I suggest you do the same. This does not need to be complicated. Try just a single sentence or phrase. Defining a goal or ideal outcome allows you to operate with a more purposeful approach to a given webinar and brings more direction to your notes.
When it comes to note taking styles, nothing is out of bounds. To the best of your abilities, I encourage trying to section off notes based on topics or subtopics. One sectioning method I have found particularly helpful is labeling each section with who said what (as shown in the picture below). This approach facilitates better organization by making it easier to follow the natural flow of the meeting, rather than trying to label each topic. Note taking should never feel like a high-pressure situation, therefore, using speaker names as subheadings can immensely simplify the process. If you do wish to organize your notes by topic rather than chronology/speaker, I suggest first working chronologically with speaker names as subheadings, and then reviewing and reorganizing your notes by topic after the webinar on a clean sheet.
As you can see by my relatively sloppy notes, your notes don’t have to necessarily be the cleanest thing in the world either. They only need to make sense and be legible to you. Typically, I work in standard bullet points, but when inspired by something that involves my own personal development as a coach more so than the development of my players, I tend to frame it as a question or a phrase. This is my own way of keeping track of items I want to explore further, give thought to in the short or long term, or simply review.
When it comes to the actual content you write down, do not hesitate to comment, question, refute, etc. This is part of the learning process. The basis of the Socratic method is to question everything. Discussion pushes education forward for all parties involved. Recognize that not all of your questions or refutations will be handled immediately in the webinar format, but used properly, these are the topics that go immediately to the top of your reading list. With additional research, you will either feel more strongly about your convictions, learn why the point made by someone else may be more correct or applicable, or gather something entirely new, but regardless, you will learn and be better for it.
Leverage the Situation
Beyond their impact on coaching development, these webinars can also be an extremely powerful networking tool. Coaches throughout the country and world are gathering to grow their own knowledge of the game. Knowledge may be critical as we live in an age where content is king and results can be found at the click of a button, but never lose site of the adage, “it isn’t what you know, but who you know that matters.”
Virtual networking in a webinar is not the same as in your normal cocktail mixer, but there is no reason to not incorporate the social aspect. In most webinars, typically somewhere between 2-5 people will run the show. However, everyone can participate with questions in the chat bar, an invaluable tool that gives you instant access to every attendee. Take full advantage of that.
Whenever you use the chat feature, put your name, title, and a method of contact—social media is probably best—in the chat box. This is a simple way to let the hosts know you are in attendance and engaged, as well as enable you to introduce yourself in an unobtrusive manner to the hundreds of others on the call. You will be amazed how willing the baseball world is to connect and share. Simply putting your name and info out there instantly makes you a part of the conversation.
I also highly suggest you find a meaningful way to participate at least once in the chat box during each webinar. A simple way to get involved is to pose a question to the host/panel. Best case scenario, the panel answers your question live on the webcast; worst case scenario, another webinar attendee chimes in with their perspective or provides you with a resource you can pursue at a later time. Often, you will find that your simple question leads to interaction with coaches you did not know previously. This is exactly how the coaching fraternity grows. Also, some webinars will email a list of questions and answers that were not touched upon during the meeting. Suffice it to say, asking a single question can do wonders to help you expand your network.
Stemming from that same theme, I highly encourage you to reach out to at least one other attendee in any webinar you participate in. This habit may be the single most impactful piece of information in my post. You never know what reaching out may lead to. Whether you are hoping to present something new to a coach at a level you aspire to reach, simply grow your network of same-level coaches, or just lend a helping hand to a coach trying to better him/herself, there is no way to quantify the true power of reaching out. Whether it is a message, twitter follow, or a simple acknowledgement, this seemingly small act can provide the groundwork to build your network and expose you to content or materials you have never seen before.
Recently, I adopted the practice of reaching out to someone I don’t normally talk to each day. Whether that person is already in my network or someone new, I have found that building relationships through conversation or exchanges of experience can open up countless unexpected doors. This may be a time of physical distancing, but there is no reason to socially distance. Whether it’s to talk, share, exchange, argue, refute, question, or discuss it does not matter. Reaching out is so simple, and it can do wonders for your personal growth and your career. Steve Jobs often said you can never connect the dots forward, only backward. Adopt the practice of reaching out to someone you don’t know, or deepen a connection with someone you’ve recently met, and I am confident you will one day look back and see how the dots aligned as a result of your efforts.
Taking Action
You may be wondering how I took something so simple and made it complex, but to me, each webinar is an opportunity to better myself and better my program. If we expect our players to give us their best efforts daily, we should demand the same of ourselves. Consequently, simply tuning in to a webinar is not enough. Note taking and leveraging the platform offered by these webinars is a great start, but what good are those activities if we do not revisit them?
As noted earlier, I will ask myself questions or give myself actionable points regarding something from a webinar. The following morning, I review my notes to first make sure I have a clear picture on the topics covered. If I have questions or particular interests, I make additional notes of what to research further, who I should reach out to, or what actions a point may require. Once I run through those, I shift my focus to whatever my overarching questions or focus happens to be at the time. Currently, it’s to find ways to work smarter, not harder, as inspired by Tucker Frawley of the Twins in a recent webinar. Now as I reflect on my notes, I challenge myself to think of at least one very specific new way to apply this principle. For example, in the webinar with Tucker Frawley, he suggested comparing practice and game data to determine how well practice is representing a game and to better assess which players are the most game ready. From there, given my focus on player development, I challenged myself to go through the in-practice data I had captured, and reshape our practice plans to better represent game-like reps, especially on defense. Now, without diving too deep into our practice set up, the total numbers of reps in a practice may decrease slightly going forward, but player decision making and pressure will certainly increase. So in decreasing the manpower needed to rep out tons of fungo ground balls or fly balls daily, our players will actually be better served for game competition.
Information is more readily available now than ever, but what makes this time so unique is the baseball community’s willingness to share and grow the game. As some of the great minds in baseball take the time to share their knowledge and have discussions, making the most of these opportunities requires that we understand how to take advantage of each webinar. When it comes to note taking, set a goal, decide what is important to you, and do not be afraid to ask questions. These forums also make everyone accessible. Leverage that. Reach out to someone new each time you are on a call in some way and cultivate those relationships. You never know what doors might open for you. Finally, revisit your notes and your actions. Be a continual learner. We as a baseball community have a tremendous opportunity to come out of “the season that never happened” better than ever. With so much available at our fingertips, we have to find a way to win the day.
Adam Moreau, MBA, CSCS
Director of Player Development and Recruiting Coordinator
Eckerd College
419-250-7243
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