The Baseball Collegian is proud to present the wisdom of coaching legend Skip Bertman for coaches and players to help take their game to the same championship level as he did in his coaching career at LSU and Miami.

If you were there, you know the wisdom you were listening to was a game changer. When Skip Bertman took the stage at the 2001 ABCA Convention in Nashville as the traditional first speaker by the defending national champion coach, he laid out an inspiring path for how to be such a champion leader. It was a profound moment for the education of a coach.

Bertman coached LSU for 18 years and won five national championships. He had a 20-1 record in NCAA championship games and went to the College World Series 11 times. His teams also won six SEC titles. He is one of three coaches to win five national titles, along with Rod Dedeaux (USC) and Augie Garrido (Cal-State Fullerton/Texas).

More importantly, Coach Bertman has been a beacon of inspiration for players and coaches throughout the game. The Baseball Collegian is committed to continuing his legacy by making sure the baseball world remembers the profound lessons he gave to the game.

His speech at the Opryland Hotel was an inspiring look at why he is known as an authority on building championship programs.
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Here are the key outtakes from Skip Bertman’s speech at the 2001 ABCA Convention:

“They can’t legislate against size, against vision, against knowing how to win. There’s no rule that’s against me motivating my players.

“Everything starts in the mind. It starts with a vision. It’s not about facilities, it’s about people. We are in the dream business – You have to supply the dreams.

“The law of attraction says that with excitement, you think more clearly. I thought about Omaha every morning, every night. I had pictured myself shaking hands with the other coach. When it happened, I’d done it 100 times. Make that vision clear: See it, feel it, hear it.

“Visualize, use video, tell stories. Vision, motivation, enthusiasm. ‘Nothing, nothing in life can be accomplished without enthusiasm.’ – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“You can achieve anything at all that you: 1) Vividly imagine; 2) Ardently desire; 3) Sincerely Believe; 4) Enthusiastically act upon.

“One person with belief equals 99 without. The difference between possible and probable is determination. When you’re in a tight place and can’t go on, hold, then a new fate will come. Every man dies, not every man really lives.

“They will replicate what you ask them to do. Make the vision clear, then motivate them. I make them feel special. Everyone wants to feel special. A touch on the shoulder or something – There are 300 things to do to make him feel special.

“We’re only held back by a lack of clarity of vision. You’ve got to risk – Your vision has to be big.”