I recently sat down for coffee with Yeshayah Goldfarb, who has worked for the San Francisco Giants since 2001, currently with the responsibility of directing baseball resources and staff development. My relationship with Yeshayah began in 2008 when I was traded from the Milwaukee Brewers to the Giants and started my Giants tenure in AAA Fresno. At the time, Yeshayah was working in baseball operations and, among many other things, was the one who sent your yearly contract in the mail and helped players manage their travel and living arrangements throughout spring training and the season. I played in the Giants organization from 2008-2010, but was more recently reconnected to Yeshayah as his son is a high school baseball player and also a left handed pitcher.
Over the course of his career, Yeshayah has had many responsibilities in the organization and currently his role primarily consists of 2 things - hiring, training and developing staff members, and helping make coaches job’s easier by providing tools and resources to amplify the areas that they are great at. You can take a look at the SF Giants front office directory here to see the incredible amount of people it takes to run an MLB organization!
Our conversation zeroed in on thoughts around athlete and player development. Working backward from the highest professional level - players have an almost limitless amount of resources to help them in every aspect of their professional life. From nutritionists, chefs, multiple trainers, masseuses and body workers, performance and mental skills coaches, data analysts and dedicated skills coaches. The organizations job is to blend all of these resources and ensure they are all working collaboratively to keep players on the proper trajectory. When looking one notch down at the college level, it varies greatly from program to program, but most college players have access to many of the same type of staff and coaches. These resources are only growing with the professionalization of college athletics. Will some of these things bleed down into youth/high school programs? Many already have - with clubs and training facilities doing more and more to develop athletes and set them up for future success.
In a constantly evolving and competitive landscape, how can we navigate the priorities of academic success, social growth, mental skills and support, and physical & athletic development? We want to provide resources and opportunities for our children, but we also want to ensure they aren’t being spread too thin, increasing their chance of burnout or injury. Finding the right balance between academic, social, and athletic endeavors will only become more complex. Choosing the right people to be in your corner has a profound impact - from the clubs you join, programs you register for, and supplemental coaches, teachers and consultants that will help your son or daughter thrive.