Why do We Show Up Ready to Fight?
I don’t know how many of you have read or watch “The Secret”. Basically, it tells you that everything you have you brought into your life. That anything positive your bring upon yourself and all negative influences are brought upon yourself as well. If you think you are going to “get screwed” when you show up somewhere, then you probably are, if you think that all will go well when you show up somewhere, it probably will.
I really don’t know why this is. Some have referred to it as “mind over matter” in the past, but the truth is, you really do control this. It isn’t that you change anything that happens in your “universe” as the secret says. Maybe you do, but that is a little far fetched for me, but how you handle and react to a given situation is entirely in your control.
If you go somewhere thinking “this is going to be miserable”, 9 out of 10 times, it is. If you go somewhere thinking, “this is going to be fun”, again, 9 out of 10 times it is. So WHY do so many Little League teams, parents, and coaches, show up at games thinking, “this is going to be horrible”, or “those umps are going to screw us”, or “we don’t stand a chance against this team”. Why? They are simply bringing it upon themselves. If they show up with this attitude, they have practically guaranteed a negative experience.
Why not take a different approach? Why not say, “today we are playing ball and that is fun no matter what!”, or “the umps can’t make us lose or change the way we play”, or “any team can beat any team any day”. Stay positive!
I remember before I knew the power of positive thinking once I had a vendor offer me Redskins tickets. I had never been to RFK for a football game and I was like a kid in a candy shop. That Saturday night before the game, I got deathly sick! Vomiting, diarrhea, you name it, I had it. I was very angry! I could have quit, whined and stayed home sick, but I refused too.
I sat down in a chair in front of the TV. I repeated over and over and over all night long, “I will not be sick, I will not be sick, I will not be sick.” I woke up the next morning and it was all gone! Mind over matter. It exists. Those that have the power to use it, have a decided advantage over those that simply accept fate as their master.
Like a batter that steps in the box in a key situation and wills themselves a hit. The mind is a powerful thing that we don’t fully understand. Why would we assume that things will be negative? Why would we assume that when we go somewhere there will be a fight? Why don’t we take the opposite approach. When we travel somewhere or go into a hostile environment, we will have fun regardless of what happens. Isn’t this why we are here? To have fun?
Does anybody remember fun? Tomorrow when you head out to the field, tell yourselves, we are going to win and it is going to be fun. That way, you are starting your journey on a positive note. The chances of your evening ending in turmoil will be slim because your attitude will be good. Attitude makes the person. What will your attitude be today?
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Attitude So Bad They Bring Your Whole Team Down?
Image via Wikipedia Can One Player Destroy a Team?
The trading of Manny Ramirez today makes me ask the question, is a single player’s attitude enough to bring an entire team down? An analyst on ESPN today wondered why in an "individual sport" the Red Sox would trade their best player. How, he asked, could one player bring down an entire team?
Absolutely
This may or may not be true at the major league level, but in youth sports I say ABSOLUTELY a bad attitude can destroy an entire team. A bad attitude on a weak player will probably not effect a team, but a star player w/ a bad attitude will destoy the entire team’s moral.
Just Say No
I know coaches, and I am one of them, who will pass on a player w/ an attitude even if he or she has more talent than the next selection in the draft. I will take 12 average players with good attitudes to 12 superstars that can’t get along or don’t listen. I will usually win also. It is amazing how you can bring a team together with eager kids and a lot of hard work. It is equally as interesting how much faster a team can be torn apart by a kid with an attitude.
What About the Parents?
Another thing that will tear a team apart is a disrespectful parent. How will a kid ever respect the authority of a coach if their parents don’t show the coach respect? I once had an all-star team of fairly talented players. We were playing a team we should have beaten. I had the tying run on 3rd and one of my best bunters at the plate. I gave the squeeze sign. The ball came in at a perfect bunt level, the runner took off for home, and the kid swang and missed! Easy out. We never recovered.
What angered me the most was the look the kid gave me after fanning at the pitch. It was as to say, "I am not going to listen to you because my dad said I don’t have too". I know his dad had told him this because his dad did not respect me. I really don’t care what his dad thought of me, but as parents, we have to instruct our kids to respect the authority figure.
Of course this guy was a regular season coach as well and could have put in for the all-star team. He chose instead to sit in the stands and critisize me constantly. Again, I don’t care, but the effect it had on the entire team was disasterous.
Get Rid of the Cancer
Apparently the Red Sox thought that Manny was such a cancer on their team that they were better off without him! How bad of an attitude do you have to have to get traded from the team that you have delivered over 100 RBI’s and hit over 300 for 8 years for? I can relate, I will NEVER draft another kid with a bad attitude or a bad parent. Life is too short not to have to put up with an ungrateful parent or kid.
What is the worst experience you have had with a kid?
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Top Ten Reasons Your Kid is an All-Star
Image via Wikipedia 1. He is born with natural talent
2. She works harder that the other players
3. He has a good attitude
4. She has mastered a position
5. He is a great pitcher
6. She is a great outfielder
7. He is a solid hitter
8. She can lay down a bunt
9. He has honed his skills
10. She is the best she can be and that is good enough
Anything I forgot? Please chime in.
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