I ask myself this question a lot. As a coach and private instructor I believe part of my appeal with my students and their families is that I can take some of the concepts of baseball and make it simple to understand. I don't think it has ever been a gift but something I have learned over time, and many mistakes.
My coach would always tell me "Victor...you have to stay inside the ball" daily, hourly, minutely, and every second. My swing was not going anywhere but down hill, and so was my run production and average. Day after day the same thing, till I found my way to the bench series, and after the last game I asked coach as I did every day "what do you mean, because I am doing what you are saying, I am staying inside the ball" his answer was simple and sweet "no you are not, and the bench is where you will be if you don't fix it" did I mention that my coach was a verbal coach, he never explained much visually. Out of frustration I asked him to demo what he meant and sure enough I saw the error of my ways and the error of his. His demo made it clear what he wanted and what I was not doing, but it was a long two weeks getting there for the both of us.
We have all been there...on the job, in the house with your child or loved one, and as a coach on the field. We forget and give out instruction as we would do it or as we would play. Coaches have to seek simplicity and remember that all players are different and have varying degrees of knowledge. Its our job to explain so they can absorb it best. It takes an all angled assault to explain what to do in this game, some kids are audible, most are visual and all do not ask many questions, so we must explain the game on their level to get the best results.
That player that just does not seem to "get it", might be able to if he got you.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Why good enough is never great and why its a big deal!!!!!!
I remember growing up in Southern California and always being around the wonderful game of baseball. My mom and dad were both youth coaches, mom with softball, dad with baseball even before I was born. They never pushed the game on me though, it was my decision to play, but just being good enough was never an option.
I was around 11 at the time, and was just learning the game, just beginning to get comfortable, really lagging in ability to my teammates. I was up to bat and there was a man on second base we were tied, a past ball sent the runner to third, the next pitch was a fastball down the gut and I was o'fer on the day so far, I was nervous and took a very ugly, please don't make an out swing and hit a chopper that due to my speed produced a good result, and a win. As a kid caught in the moment I was excited, a walk off how cool is that, then I saw the glare my dad was giving me from the dugout and excitement turned into confusion, fear and unease.
After packing up we got into his truck and as always talked about the game, when we got to that last at bat again he asked me if I thought it was good or bad. I replied with 11 yr old bravado "good, real good, we had won and it was a hit and i was the hero". He proceeded to turn his head a raise his voice a little and told me the words that "son, good enough is never great, and great is where you want to be" He told me that it was good that I got the run home, it was good that I was successful, but it was not my greatest or best effort and due to being fleet of foot, the game should have been tied and that I was not a hero but less than that for not giving it my best effort. He told me that being great is just giving great effort and playing fearlessly, and that he did not expect great things or results from me, he just expected great effort, and even though we won, I had failed.
My 11 yr. old mind had turned "Failed" into "I WAS A FAiLURE", and he knew it .As tears rolled down my face he told me how I was loved and that I was not a failure, but I had failed that athletic test and I should know the difference. He said I would fail many more times the more I played, but I would become a failure in the game and in life if I did not give great effort. He explained to me that great work and effort pays off faster, good enough, is good enough to get passed by, and it was up to me to control that because nobody could but me.
I say this because I hear it a lot in my lessons. I am trying to get a student to perform a drill or swing mechanic and they hit the ball in a non successful way and they are saying that it was good enough, and I come back with...."I would rather see you miss the ball than do it that way because we don't want to keep bad habits" We as mentors, teachers, parents are trying to instill life lessons as well as functional athletic lessons and in today's life good enough has crept in and taken over for being great. We want them to be great, to give great effort and to not settle, to have great fun doing it. Every player I work with may not be the best player on their team, but they can be some form of great, a great teammate, a great situation hitter, a great cut off man, a great inspiration, a great worker, and the game will teach them some great life lessons.
My dad taught me that day.....good enough was not acceptable in our household, or on the ball field. He wanted my game to be great fun, and knew it required great effort, I kept that lesson a part of my game and aspired to be great, and 14 years later applied to the rest of my life.
I was around 11 at the time, and was just learning the game, just beginning to get comfortable, really lagging in ability to my teammates. I was up to bat and there was a man on second base we were tied, a past ball sent the runner to third, the next pitch was a fastball down the gut and I was o'fer on the day so far, I was nervous and took a very ugly, please don't make an out swing and hit a chopper that due to my speed produced a good result, and a win. As a kid caught in the moment I was excited, a walk off how cool is that, then I saw the glare my dad was giving me from the dugout and excitement turned into confusion, fear and unease.
After packing up we got into his truck and as always talked about the game, when we got to that last at bat again he asked me if I thought it was good or bad. I replied with 11 yr old bravado "good, real good, we had won and it was a hit and i was the hero". He proceeded to turn his head a raise his voice a little and told me the words that "son, good enough is never great, and great is where you want to be" He told me that it was good that I got the run home, it was good that I was successful, but it was not my greatest or best effort and due to being fleet of foot, the game should have been tied and that I was not a hero but less than that for not giving it my best effort. He told me that being great is just giving great effort and playing fearlessly, and that he did not expect great things or results from me, he just expected great effort, and even though we won, I had failed.
My 11 yr. old mind had turned "Failed" into "I WAS A FAiLURE", and he knew it .As tears rolled down my face he told me how I was loved and that I was not a failure, but I had failed that athletic test and I should know the difference. He said I would fail many more times the more I played, but I would become a failure in the game and in life if I did not give great effort. He explained to me that great work and effort pays off faster, good enough, is good enough to get passed by, and it was up to me to control that because nobody could but me.
I say this because I hear it a lot in my lessons. I am trying to get a student to perform a drill or swing mechanic and they hit the ball in a non successful way and they are saying that it was good enough, and I come back with...."I would rather see you miss the ball than do it that way because we don't want to keep bad habits" We as mentors, teachers, parents are trying to instill life lessons as well as functional athletic lessons and in today's life good enough has crept in and taken over for being great. We want them to be great, to give great effort and to not settle, to have great fun doing it. Every player I work with may not be the best player on their team, but they can be some form of great, a great teammate, a great situation hitter, a great cut off man, a great inspiration, a great worker, and the game will teach them some great life lessons.
My dad taught me that day.....good enough was not acceptable in our household, or on the ball field. He wanted my game to be great fun, and knew it required great effort, I kept that lesson a part of my game and aspired to be great, and 14 years later applied to the rest of my life.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Lets get it Started
Not just a old song from the BEP's, I am talking about real relaxing and real training. The fall season is over and its time to wind things down and take advantage of some quality training with your private instructor, your dad or whomever it is that you trust with developing your game. The off season is the perfect time to get quality muscle memory back and not have to worry about game play, or practices. Its your time and your time only to focus on you.
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