Target Audience: KMBA Coaches (information may also be relevant for all families)

Click here to watch the Panthers Training instructional video

Q: Who will I get to train us based on Silver, Gold and Platinum levels

A: Silver – Elite players or college players with lesser instructional experience.  These folks are great trainers but are still learning.
Gold – College players and others with a lot of instructional experience.
Platinum – Elite trainers with professional training experience.  Aby Valdez is the most obvious examples but there are others that may be added to this category.

Q: Why does Silver, Gold and Platinum training have to be booked in blocks of 6?

A: KMBA has setup training “Periods” to allow us to both speak about the annual timeframes and also so that our trainers can be properly scheduled.  Read all about the periods on the Training Structure page.  When we all book sessions within the prescribed periods then trainers can be assigned knowing that at the end of the period they can move to the next set of classes.  If some training runs 8 weeks and other training runs 6 weeks then trainers assigned to the 8 week sessions can’t start the 2nd set of 6 week sessions on time and after 8 weeks will have no classes to pick up.

Another key reason for the “periods” is to allow us to align our training strategy and communicate it clearly.  What should we be working on in Period 1, Period 2 etc.  The Training Structure page has basic information for now but this will be expanded as we build the program with the help of Aby.

Diagram of Training Period Key Dates

Q: When I choose a block of 6 instructor-led training sessions can I have a mix of skills covered or does it need to be one skill only?

A: The preference is to focus on one skill for the 6 week sessions.  Instructors have 6 one-hour sessions to show demonstratable improvement in the players they are instructing.  Trying to cover everything in these 6 hours is possible but does not allow for sufficient time for a full program to be run and the instructors cannot guarantee marked improvement in any one skill.   If this is something that is really wanted a 6 week Silver or Gold “All Skill” session can be run.

Q: What makes up the cost of the training sessions?   If I see a cost on the booking how do I figure out the cost to each players. 

A: The cost of the training sessions is comprised of payments to the instructor and rental of the facility space.  All these costs also include HST.

A: The cost per player is calculated as (Cost of the class * # of classes)/# players in the group.  (ie. 6 Platinum classes for a group of 4 is ($170 * 6)/4 = $255).

Q: When and how will the team or each family be invoiced? How should we pay?

A: For KMBA teams and families booking sessions being covered by team fees whomever is booking the sessions can use the Promo Code “Panthers” to remove the credit card payment requirements.  KMBA will be paying for these classes and if the cost is covered by the team budget there will be no additional invoicing.  If the team budget allocations have been exceeded KMBA will invoice families as required.   No Panthers training should be paid via credit card directly to the vendors.

KMBA will invoice at the end of each month retroactively for classes taken the previous month.

Q: Why does my budget keep changing?

A: KMBA is learning alongside all the coaches how to best manage and administer the budgets.   Some key learnings have been: 1. instructor-led training needs to be in multiples of 6 ; 2. we need to include HST in all the costs.   We will get this down to a science quickly, for now KMBA thanks everyone for their patience.

Q: I want to do more training then my budget allows, can I add classes and have parents pay for them?

A: Yes and No.  KMBA has made a firm commitment to parents that their published fee allows them to fully participate in the baseball season, no other costs are required.  Coaches may not add mandatory training above what is covered in their budget with the expectation that parents will pay more.  However, coaches may suggest additional training that, if the parents wish, can be added to each player’s training plan.  Parents may then act on these suggestions by signing up for available Panther’s training of their own free will.

KMBA is very aware that many families see coaches as holding strong persuasive power over their experience.  We ask coaches to recognize this and to carefully word your recommendations to ensure families do not feel they have no choice or that they would face repercussions if they do not follow the recommendation.

Q: What ages and levels will Aby train?  Can anybody book Aby?

A:  Aby is more then happy to train players of any age or any level.  The guidance provided by Aby is that in order to benefit fully from the level of training Aby can provide players need to have established a strong level of fundamentals.  Players who lack base fundamentals (due to age or development level) will benefit equally from Aby or any other instructor since up to a certain point the direction is the same.   Aby will help establish teaching methods across the instructional team.      The direction to lean toward Silver or Gold training for lower ages is to use funds wisely as the additional expense for Platinum training may not provide additional benefits.  We also need to engage Silver and Gold training to spread the workload, Aby will not have enough hours in the day to train every session.

All that said , any team can book Aby by selecting “Custom Booking” from the Book Training page and can add Platinum training.    We will not stop anyone from booking Aby.

Q: What could a sample training plan look like?

A: Here is one possible sample plan template to use to play.  Everyone may do this differently.

Q: OK, I am ready to book.  What are the mechanics to do that?

A: Once you are ready to book sessions there are a few options based on what you have selected.

  1. Team Training (No Instructor) – You are booking space at Blue Chip only and will provide your own instruction.  To do this:
    1. Go to https://kitchenerminorbaseball.ca/book-training/ and hit “Book Space at Blue Chip” (you can also get here by using the “Book Training” menu on the website
    2. Login to the booking system (create an ID if required)
    3. Choose what you want to book at Blue Chip (Tunnell or Fitness area),  typically this will be a tunnell
    4. Add a booking for tunnel space for 6 (or more) weeks starting the first week of January
      1. Scroll to January and then select the tunnel you want to book in the Employee selector.  Don’t worry about what tunnel you book, just choose what provides the data and time availability you want.  You can even book different tunnels if needed to get the date and time slot you want.
      2. Keep booking until you have all the slots you need to handle the number of sessions you desire (ie. if you have 14 players and are doing 1 team session per week you should book 4 time slots and then have 4 players per slot)
      3. If you know the actual players you plan to put in each slot you can add the names, if not that is OK, just book with your account and select your team during the process.  You can manage actual attendees outside this sytem.
  2. Team driven (private) Instructor Led Training – You are booking Silver, Gold or Platinum sessions for members of your team to participate in, not a public class for anyone to join.  You would do this if you want to keep your team training in small groups together and as a coach you want to allocate the groups and times.  To do this:
    1. Go to https://kitchenerminorbaseball.ca/book-training/ and hit “Custom Booking” in the Book Panthers Training section (this is the white button)
    2. Login to the booking system (create an ID if required)
    3. Choose the Panthers Training class type you want (ie. Platinum Pitching, Silver Fielding etc.)
    4. Scroll to your desired start date (typically in the first week of the period you are booking) and select the date
    5. Check the times and select the desired time for this booking.
    6. Set the “Repeats” option to “Weekly” and “Stops after” to 6 occurances (this books the 6 classes within the session)
    7. Add your information including the list of players if you know it.  You can figure this out later and manage it seperatetly if you like
    8. Hit Next to get to the Payment screen.
    9. Use the Promo Code “Panthers” to zero out the payment. The total cost of the sessions is what will be invoiced to your team.
    10. Submit.  You will receive a confirmation email and can always check you sessions by hitting “Manage Upcoming Bookings” in the booking tool.
  3. Public Instructor Led Training – These are classes open to anyone to join (ie. 11U Gold Pitching).  Families will typically sign up for these on their own.
    1. Go to https://kitchenerminorbaseball.ca/book-training/ and hit the appropriate Panthers Training button based on age level.  Ages are in 2 year increments (ie. 9U means 8U or 9U)
    2. Login to the booking system (create an ID if required)
    3. Choose the class you wish to join in the Service or simply take a look at the available classes in the list.  Classes with room available in the active training period will show, you are able to add yourself to an open spot.   This can be useful if you miss a class or if you just want to add an extra time when space is free.
    4. To book a set of 6 classes for the upcoming training period book the first date in the period and repeat for a total of 6 weeks.