Attitude, Mental Preparation and Toughness Are Everything

Sports psychologists will agree that attitude, preparation and mental toughness are critical to the development as a player. The game of baseball is not perfect and neither are you.  Accept this fact and remain positive.

Recall what the great Yogi Berra once said, "Ninety percent of baseball is mental, the other half is physical." Now Yogi may have meant many things, but one thing's certain: Attitude and mental preparation are keys to baseball success.
 
A very good baseball player will get three to four hits in every ten bats over their playing career. That means that they will not reach base and make an out seven times in every ten at-bats.  A very good baseball player will strike out against good and sometimes, not so good, pitching. Umpires can make bad calls that will put a batter behind in the count giving the pitcher an advantage or even call you out on a third strike on a bad pitch. Umpires are human and make mistakes. They are a part of the game. A very good baseball player will go to the plate with the attitude that he will get a hit. A batter has three strikes to put the ball in play. A very good baseball player will try to get three good swings at the plate and try to hit the ball hard somewhere. A very good baseball player will strike out getting three good cuts on occasion. It's a part of the game.

As time goes on and pitching gets better, it will happen more often than it does now. A very good baseball player will minimize his strikeouts. A very good baseball player will make mistakes. A very good baseball player will learn from his mistakes and try to not repeat them. The point of this message is that every player will make outs. Every player will make mistakes. Remember, baseball is a game. Have fun! 

Secondly, have a presence of mind.  Work on situational awareness.  Be prepared to play and engage throughout the practice and game.  Be aware of situations.  Where should the ball go?  How many outs?  Anticipate the ball and know where it should go or be thrown.  I always said to myself when I was playing, "I want the ball.  Hit it to me."

Lastly, as you excel in your physical skills, gaining mental toughness becomes a higher priority for your continued improvement.  A very good baseball player will not show his emotions on the field. He will show class and maturity. A very good baseball player will encourage other players when they're not having a good day. A very good baseball player will try to find any way to help his team win. A very good baseball player will never give up!

Pursuing and improving mental toughness and attitude will greatly enhance your performance as a player. It is the one limitless aspect of the game over which you may exert total control. There are four defining attitudes that I like to preach to ball players:

1. Make a committment to be mentally tough


First and foremost you make a definite commitment to becoming mentally tough. By making this decision, you fuel your motivation to develop all your talents.


2. Take responsibility for your actions and thoughts.
Accept your actions, good and bad, and gain control of your thoughts. Take charge!


3.  Thrive on challenges and stay positive.


Adversity is everywhere. Instead of spending your energy trying to avoid the inescapable, thrive on it, be inspired by it, let it challenge you to be your best. Work adversity to your advantage.

4. Make baseball fun.

Learn to enjoy the battle, the struggle, and the journey. Baseball invites you to many great adventures. By enjoying the process, you will grow to be a great competitor.

When will you allow my son to pitch in a game?

I am in the early part of the regular season with my Little league team and am already facing the challenging questions by parents.  One challenging area, in particular, surrounds pitching and parent's expectations to see their child pitch in a game. 

I realize that every kid that loves baseball has fantasized about being a great pro pitcher and throwing a perfect game. It’s one of those universal American dreams of little boys everywhere. While dreams like these should never be quashed, its important for responsible parents and coaches to teach kids how to pitch a baseball with the correct form and control. Without such guidance, overly enthusiastic children run a real risk of doing damage to their arms, elbows, and shoulder joints when throwing baseballs. They will also end up frustrated and not developing an interest for the game.

I like to give every ball player on the team a chance to develop their pitching skills and test them during games and practices including scrimmages against opponents. The first thing every player needs to learn before he takes the mound to pitch in a baseball game is the correct form. Not only will this give his pitches more power and control, it will also put less strain on the important and vulnerable parts of the body.

There are two big keys for baseball pitchers. First, it must be taught to youngsters that effective and safe pitching is powered mainly by the legs, not the arm. Secondly, the proper form is to train the elbow to lead the hand. The elbow should stay ahead of hand until just before release of the baseball. This takes some practice, but once a child learns to do it without forcing it, he is on the path to better control, more power, and (most importantly) a safe baseball throwing motion.

A good idea is to impress upon the young pitcher that speed is not the top priority in good baseball pitching.  Control is priority. This serves two purposes. First, it will help you slow him down in order to ingrain the proper and safe movements outlined above. Second, its generally easier to build up speed after control is learned when throwing a baseball than it is to learn control after speed.

Lastly, once form and control are learned, repetitions must occur regularly.  Practice makes perfect.  Get out and work with the children on a daily basis. Time spent prior to and after practices and games is just as important as during them.  Coaches can work on their form and control and offer them live experience but we, as parents, need to also work with them on their off time.

A Coach's Philosophy

There are several key elements to a coach's philosophy in achieving the goals for youth sports.  I like to be reminded of these elements often and try to see them through the eyes of the children.

• Be Positive

Players need a patient, supportive coach that can teach and motivate in a positive way. Knowing how to be positive and having the ability to communicate with your players is more important to a successful season than knowing many aspects of the game.

• Show Them You Care

Each player needs to know that you care for him as an individual and that you believe he is an important part of the team. Take time to talk to all players individually. Try to take interest in what is going on in their life outside of baseball.  Many of my current ball players have complexities in their life and it doesn't hurt to ask simple questions.  You will be amazed as to how little time or energy you need to expend in order to get them talking about the various activities at school or home.

• Have Fun

Fun is essential for children of all ages. Develop practices that let them do the things they enjoy. It's also important for you to have fun. Create an environment that is structured and varied enough for you to enjoy what your doing. If you're having fun, chances are your players will be having fun also.

• Emphasize Improvement

Players want to improve and gain new skills. Make sure that you challenge all your players at an appropriate level to foster improvement. This may require that players focus on different skills than other players during practice.

• Effort versus Results

Don't make the mistake of emphasizing results instead of effort. I've seen and heard coaches who try to motivate players by offering rewards. This could be money or candy for getting a hit or getting on base. This focus on results puts additional pressure on the player to perform. This can be especially difficult for the less skilled player.

• Organization And Discipline

Children quickly pick up on a coach that is unorganized and doesn't communicate his expectations. If you don't establish certain rules and don't follow up with an appropriate punishment if the rules are broken, you will quickly lose control of your team. I always have a rule about talking when I'm talking during practice. I expect when I'm explaining something that the players will have their eyes on me and pay attention. For example, I recall the first practice I held this year.  One of the 11 year olds started to speak over me and attempted to assert himself and explain why he did or didn't need to follow what I was saying.  His legs were then given a workout!  After this day, the same player and his teammates are remarkably quiet when I speak.

• Players Learn By Doing

Remember this simple phrase: 'You hear, you forget. You see, you remember. You do, you understand."  This is the same methodology used for Medical School and Residency.  "See one. Do one. Teach one." Often coaches try to teach players a skill by talking about it. The younger the player the less effective it will be. Give a quick explanation while you show them the skill you want them to perform. Then have them do it.

• Attitude And Effort

Coaches that believe winning is the everything have only one direction to take the team...down. Everyone wants to win, but when the main goal is winning, a really good season can be lost. If on the other hand you emphasize attitude and effort, a successful season can be had without a league championship. Winning games really will take care of itself if you prepare the team to play hard and always give their best effort.

• Sportsmanship

The idea of sportsmanship seems to be lost on many youth players. The fact is, sportsmanship must be taught. If children watch professional sports then their idea of sportsmanship may be to trash talk, spike the ball in the opponents face, or to mimic some other visual statement that demonstrates their superiority. As a coach, it's important that you teach the value of sportsmanship. I want my team to show joy when they make an exciting play, but not at the expense of the player on the opposing team. I want my players to always show the other team respect. Your leadership is the best way to get this across to your players. Interact with the players on the other team. Compliment them when they make a good play. Show your players that you appreciate the other team and the opportunity to play against them.

• Dealing With Parents

Dealing with parents might be the most difficult part of being a coach. Research suggests that it's the single biggest reason that coaches quit. It's a common problem, but one that can be difficult to solve. In my experience as both a coach and a parent I have found some common mistakes that coaches make that can bring on the wrath of a parent along with some ways to deal with a parent that is causing you grief.  For example, conducting a parent meeting can alleviate many problems encountered in the future.  Expectations are set.  Another way is to get parents involved.  Make them feel accountable.If a parent makes it to practices, have them help by working with some of the children. They may soon find out that coaching is more difficult than it looks from the bleachers.

• Be Consistent

Stating your philosophy is one thing; implementing it consistently is another. Make sure you make rules for your team that you can follow up with.

Sportsmanship and Honor of the Game

Two very important concepts to educate children on are sportsmanship and honor.  What does it mean to you to be a good sport? Wikipedia and other on-line resources define sportsmanship as an aspiration or ethos that the activity will be enjoyed for its own sake, with proper consideration for fairness, ethics, respect, and a sense of fellowship with one's competitors. Being a "good sport" involves being a "good winner" as well as being a "good loser".

Sportsmanship is important, but in order to get the most out of this season, it is also important to honor the game. Honor is the evaluation of a person's trustworthiness and social status based on that individual's espousals and actions.

Some coaches and mentors will use the principle of "Honoring the Game" and going to the "ROOTS" of the matter.  Each letter in ROOTS stands for an important part of the game that we must respect.

The R stands for Rules. The first O is for Opponents. The next O is for Officials. T is for Teammates, and the S is for Self.

R is for Rules. The rules of the sport are what allow us to keep the game fair. Respect for the rules is important, even when it’s possible to break them without getting caught. I want you to play by the rules, even if you think you won’t get caught if you break them. Breaking the rules dishonors the game, even if it means that we win.

O is for Opponents. Without opponents, we could have no game. A good opponent makes us do our best. Sometimes your opponents are friends of yours. I want you to respect your opponents, and remember they are out there to have fun just like us. I want you to try your hardest to win, not because you hate your opponent, but because you want to play your best. I promise that I will show respect for opposing coaches and teams, and I expect you to do the same.

O is for Officials. It is very important to respect officials. Often, this can be the most difficult part of Honoring the Game, so we need to remember to keep it as a focus when we play. Officials have been selected and trained to enforce rules, and they have a very hard job. Without the officials the game would be unsafe and unfair. Officials are not perfect (just like coaches, athletes and parents!) and sometimes make mistakes. However, there is no excuse for treating officials with disrespect when they make errors. I want you to show respect for officials, even when you disagree with the call. I promise to do the same thing.

T is for Teammates. A big part of sport is the team. Being with your teammates should be fun. Later in life you will often be part of a team, and it is important to learn to work together. I hope you feel a commitment to each other as teammates and that you will agree to always play as hard as you can in practice and games. Please encourage and support each other on and off the playing field.

S is for Self. Some people only Honor the Game when their opponents do, but I want you to Honor the Game no matter what the other team or its fans do. I want us to be the kind of team that Honors the Game even when others aren’t because we set our own internal standards. And we live up to them no matter what. We have so much respect for ourselves that we would never do anything to dishonor the game.

So we, as coaches, must have a "T.E.A.M. — Teach, Enforce, Advocate and Model" approach. These four elements should guide the design of all elements of programs to promote sportsmanship and foster good character as well as guide interactions with players, parents, coaches, officials and spectators.

Dear Coach, Please be my role model

It doesn't matter if you're coaching tee ball, minors, major, high school or at the college level, you're probably the most important role model that your players have during the season. Players are going to look to you not only for guidance and instruction, but they will be watching and listening to how you react to every situation.  They will notice your demeanor as the umpire makes a questionable call on the field or a parent makes a inappropriate remark. A coach can be one of the most influential people in a young players life, now and as they develop into adults.

Many players and former players attribute a large portion of their success in life to the things they learned on the baseball field and from a few great coaches. I was very fortunate to have several mentors during my athletic career and recall all the important lessons and the roles they served.  They were the ones that taught me teamwork, perseverance, work ethic and having a positive attitude. Skills that not only helped them on the baseball field but helped them in life. 


Lastly, many coaches think only of the present year and time but they can help instill a love for the game that can last a lifetime. Good coaches can keep players interested in continuing to participate from year to year and coming back for more.  Collectively, these define my views of a role model and why we, as coaches, exist.

Realities of Coaching..and being a Parent

Coaching youth athletics is an amazingly rewarding experience as well as a frustrating one.  And it becomes even more challenging when one of the ball players is your own son.  We can speak to that challenge in a later post.  But the rewards far outweigh the downsides when you see a child's smile or the sounds of laughter.  This is the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel as to why we endure.

Along the way, there are numerous hurdles and experiences that often make you wonder if you made the right choice to go down this path such as parental interactions and pressure to win or have their child play certain positions, difficulties with balancing family life and your professional career, keeping the children happy and engaged, etc.  These realities, paired with the lack of good resources for parents on the game of baseball and its mechanics, cause the sport of baseball to lose many talented coaches, managers and interested volunteers.  Parents who have an interest just throw their hands up and move in another direction.  I can understand why.  This is why I have made a decision to write about my experiences growing up avidly playing the game of baseball, being taught by some seriously wonderful coache and attempting to transfer the knowledge I acquired to today's children and their parents.  My goal is not only to assist the children but to help out the parents.  If I can improve the game of one child or influence parenting skills to these young athletes, I will feel successful in my role as a coach and as a fellow parent.