The Reason We Do This
Today I had a pitching lesson w/ a young lady that is just learning to pitch. She was struggling to throw strikes and needed a few minor corrections to help her find the zone. The entire time she was there she was attentive, trying her best, and most of all SMILING! I told her I loved her smile, but she might want to get a little meaner as time goes on if she really wants to be a pitcher.
At the end of the lesson, her dad had called to check on how it went. She was ecstatic going on about how much fun she had and asking “could she do it again”. In the short time we were together, she went from throwing the ball all over the place, to honing in on the plate. It only took a couple minor adjustments as she is fairly athletic in the first place, but the look on her face after we were done makes all the effort we put into this worthwhile.
This, my friends, is why we do this. What is your best “feel good” story? We would love to hear about it.
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Associated Press Interview
I just completed an interview w/ the Associated Press (AP) for an editor by the name of Beth Harpaz. She writes a column on pre-teens and was curious what my feelings were about why they drop out of Little League and how sad that was.
Anyone want to guess what I told her? I will pause now……….OK, you got me. Positivity!!!! That is how you keep them around. You provide a positive environment where successes are applauded and failures treated as learning experiences that bring you one step closer to a success! But everyone who reads this already knew that is what I would say didn’t you?
Why do you think pre-teens quit Little League? I would love to hear.
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What Makes a Team Magic?
A couple of years ago we had a softball team that could do no wrong. When we called bunt, they dropped the bunt down, when we needed a rally in the bottom of the 6th, we got the rally, when we played a team that should beat us, we found a way to win.
It was terribly nerve-wracking! Every game close, but somehow we won. Teams that come to mind are the 2008 Tampa Rays, the Florida Marlins pulled this off twice! How about the Colorado Rockies? All teams that didn’t really have super-stars, but they had “magic”. Where does it come from? This year I think it comes from our bright lime-green uniforms, but I have to wonder how? Why?
I have heard coaches and players at all levels speak of this before. The most magic team I ever witnessed was Joe Gibbs’ Redskins when Mark Rypien threw to the three amigos. The guy couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn, but put him in a game and he would heave it down field 50 yards and Gary Clark would run under it for a touchdown! I remember having one game like this in the front yard of Riverside Elementary School. I would close my eyes, heave, and someone would catch it! Amazing stuff!
But why does this happen? What combination of attributes come together to create true magic? I am not talking about total dominance, anyone can put together dominant teams, I am talking about magic. That, “can’t do anything wrong” feeling. The kind where you turn to your friend and say, “she’s gonna hit” and she does, where does that come from and how do we continue to tap into it?
I guess if someone knew the answer to this they would be a billionaire, for now, I am just going to enjoy the ride! Anyone have any ideas?
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Proud Papa
First, I am proud of all my children whether they succeed or fail, it makes no difference to me. I prefer to put them in a position to succeed, then, win or lose, it doesn’t matter, it is a life learning lesson no matter what happens. Tonight, my youngest daughter decided she was going to succeed, and she did!
I think it might have been the large fry and small Dr. Pepper we had before we went to the field, lol, I don’t know for sure, but next time she pitches you can guarantee that is what she will be having on the way to the field!
She has worked hard. She comes to every single pitcher/catcher practice and clinic we hold. She never really has been given the opportunity to pitch even though she has been coming to all of these practices for over 3 years. She has had control problems in the past, and was unable to stay out there. Not tonight! Tonight she was on fire, throwing strike after strike. It was beautiful to watch!
She has been saying for days she could do it, but I have to admit I had my doubts. Our coaching staff was wondering as well, but she was fantastic. The best game she has ever had, bar none. To cap it all off, she finally stayed behind the ball, turned on a pitch, and hit it over the left fielder’s head for a triple! Woohoo!
Why all this success suddenly? Because she is not afraid of failure. We have done everything in our power to create an environment where success is awesome, but failure simply brings you one step closer to success. In the sales world the saying goes, “every ‘no’ you get brings you one step closer to a ‘yes’.” This is also true in sport.
Every strike brings you one step closer to a hit, when pitching, every ball brings you one step closer to a strike, and in life, every failure brings you one step closer to a success.
What is your greatest success story? We would love to hear it.
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thecarconnection.com 2009 Chevy Impala Overview
I remember her well, she was puke green, wide as the lane, smooth as the ocean, and powerful as the wind. I used to sail her around town growing up in Newport News, VA. She was a chick magnet! She was my very first car, a 1976 Puke Green Chevy Impala! I loved that car!
I remember packing my things, checking in behind my sister, and moving north to the metro DC area. I had my ax, my amp, and my clothes. What else could I possibly need? Life was good! If only things could be so simple today!
Life has changed, and so has the impala. The car once reserved for grandpa, has become sleek and sophisticated. A favorite of all generations. Millions share the love of this car with me, but nobody offers more comprehensive Chevrolet Impala reviews than thecarconnection.com. One of the hottest cars of the year is the 2009 Chevrolet Impala. I will own another Impala one day, of course, I will likely be a grandpappy by then!
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Self Confidence vs. Ego
I am reading a book right now by David J. Lieberman called You Can Read Anyone
While I initially purchased this book to improve upon my already incredible sales skills, I have found a lot of useful information that applies to Little League. The most prominent point in the book involves ego vs. self confidence, and it is very enlightening.
According to Leiberman, the common definition of ego differs from the psychiatric one. So, I went to dictionary.com and looked it up. According to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, here is the definition:
the one of the three divisions of the psyche in psychoanalytic theory that serves as the organized conscious mediator between theperson and reality especially by functioning both in the perception of and adaptation to reality
Basically, in layman’s terms, Leiberman defines ego as a defensive mechanism. One that cannot allow a person to be responsible for anything that is wrong in their life. The bigger the ego, the less personal responsibility one is willing to take, but inversely, the bigger the self-esteem, the more likely we are to admit mistakes, forgive others, and rely not on anything anybody else says, only on what we know is truly right.
The reason he goes on about this at great length in the book is because you must first establish whether a person is self confident, or egotistical (in the psychological sense) before you can begin to read them. This is so true of little ones.
How many times have you heard a kid come to the dugout after striking out blaming the umpire’s strike zone? How many times does a kid boot a grounder and say “it hit a rock” or something of the like. This is the ego getting in the way, or from a coaches perspective, this is a kid lacking in self confidence.
What is the inverse of this? The kid strikes out and says, “man that was a good change up, I won’t swing at it next time though”. Or, “geez, I should have had that ball, sorry guys, I will get it next time”. That is a player with self confidence who is destined to succeed! The appropriate response from a teammate? A pat on the back and “That’s alright, you will get the next one”.
So where do they derive their lack of self confidence? A lot of it is inexperience. I have spoken often here of the “light bulb” syndrome, where suddenly you see a light bulb in a player’s mind turn on and they “get it”. They just start doing things right, and confidently. But that is down the road.
I believe that kids lacking self confidence have not been allowed to fail. They are sheltered and have no real experience as far as success and failure go. The ONLY path to success is through failure. Any good businessman knows this, and every coach on the planet preaches it daily. If parents shelter their kids from failure, or make excuses for their shortcomings, they are not allowing their self confidence to grow, and their ego must take over. Because our ego will not allow us to be failures, so we must blame the world for everything that is wrong with our life.
How do we overcome this? Youth sport is a fantastic way to build self confidence. Even a kid that strikes out every time occasionally walks, that is a confidence building opportunity! When they actually get a hit, holy cow! Now we have a beaming smile of confidence. Ever notice how hitting is contagious? This is why, confident batters are successful, those that allow their ego to cast blame, usually fail.
One of my favorite sayings is “in baseball you get paid millions of dollars for failing 7 out of 10 times, don’t be afraid to fail, without failure, there is no success”. It is so true. I read an article about this at littleleague.org the other day and they were asking if parents were confident enough to allow their little johnie or janie to fail and still stay out of it?
Are you? Can you? How about yourself? Do you blame the world for everything that is wrong in your life or do you accept responsibility and apologize to those you have wronged? A self confident person apologizes, an egotist continues blaming the world. Which will you be?
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