At the end of January, the weekend of Jan 21st and 22nd to be specific, I will be speaking at the National Baseball Expo in San Diego. The topic I will be addressing is Developing Young Pitchers. For about a month or so now I have been stewing on how I want to present the information at the expo. Sometimes when you are talking to an audience it can be a little goofy trying to get the info out the way you want to, with the message you are trying to send. I always look for a nice opening to get the attention of the crowd and set the tone for the talk.
So today when I got out of the water from a fun and peaceful surf in Encinitas, it hit me. I know exactly how I should start the talk and the angle I will take to share the information I have learned and loved since I started playing baseball when I was 6 years old. Guess what that angle is.....wait for it....I HAVE NO ANSWERS!!! LOL...how does that one feel audience?? It is the truth though and here is why. (I am fast forwarding some of the background info so give me some leeway on this one)
Let's all pretend that there really are no wrong or rights in this game of baseball and how to teach pitching to young athletes. And since there are no wrong or rights the individual needs to decide what is best for them. What is wrong or right for them. But since there are no wrong or rights we will call it, what FEELS best for them. Now here is where I come into play. Since I have no answers what good am I??? Well, the experiences I have been having over the past several years as a coach has assisted me to come up with guidance and suggestions on what pitchers should do to train themselves and reach the goals they are striving for. I am not giving them right or wrong answers, I am having experiences along the way that FEEL good and as I continue to have those experiences I choose to bottle them up and pass them on to the clients that choose to work with me. But the funny thing about all this is that it doesn't mean that since it worked for some of the kids I work with, that it will work for all of the kids I work with. So now my job is to identify what works for which athlete and curtail a program that works for them.
Now the athletes part is really simple. They must first take ownership for what they are doing. They can't just go to a lesson and wait for me to tell them what they need or do not need. This process takes them further away from who they really are and now we are both going to be lost. The reason why something a coach tells a kid to do actually works is because the coach and kid believe in what the coach is saying. Either the kid really trusts the coach and then the underlying feeling from that kid is a good one and so he proceeds or the coach is so good at inspiring the kid to believe in him (the coach) and in himself (the athlete) and now the suggestions work.
But I want everyone to understand the underlying points here:
Coach has ideas....athlete listens....coach believes in ideas....athlete responds to the belief....coach continues to see the athlete as a success....athlete holds that same belief and now succeeds....
So is it really about right or wrong answers??? Or is it more about believing and having a feeling behind the actions that are taking place, the actions that the athlete takes to become better???
This is why it is soooooo important for the athlete to be present when these "lessons" take place. It can't be an excuse that a kid is too young to understand or to care about what they are doing. It can't be an excuse that the kid is too young to understand the process of how the body works to throw a ball and that they must be aware of how their body moves in space to create an efficient and powerful throw.
This is also why the parent should be present in this process as well. To support the young athlete and continue to believe that their young pitcher can and will turn into something great if they so choose, no matter what the situation!!!
That is just about it for this blog....just wanted to write a little about my slant on the topic of Developing Young Pitchers and share that with you. Now, to get the rest of the info, as in, the suggestions I have for these young kids.....well.....guess you are going to have to come to the expo to find out!!! LOL....at least for now...I'll shoot out another blog after the expo for all those who were not able to be present to let you all know what we discussed.
Ok, that's all for now....happy pitching!!! Hope everyone truly enjoyed their holidays!!! I know I have!!!
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Want and Believe
So I went to a workshop this weekend, one that I normally attend at least once a year. This workshop is for my personal growth, but then again everything in life really is. But I use the workshop as a way to evolve as a person which in turn will always allow me to evolve as a coach. My job as a coach is to not only research, watch film, gain knowledge in my sport, but it is also to get better as a person so I can have better relationships with the players I work with. In the end that is what it is all about because I could have all the answers and the best information in the world, but if nobody wants to listen because I am the worlds biggest jerk, then none of that really matters.
The message I wanted to talk about and get across to the lovely athletes who actually read this thing is a little thing called Want and Believe. This is something that stuck with me this weekend. In order to manifest anything you want in life there is always a process of creation that is going to take shape. But before you can move forward in the process you must bring along two very specific things, Want and Believe. Seems pretty simple right. This is the starting point and basis to everything you go for in your life.
Now in my line of work this is a HUGE deal. To want and to believe is really what it is all about. The thing is though that the wanting has to be through the roof. You have to want so badly that you will do anything to get what you want out of this profession. You have to want so badly that there is no real sacrifice because you don't care about anything else. You have to want so badly that all the workouts and the games and the traveling and all that other stuff you could throw into the bag is never called work or a job. You have to want so badly that you eat, sleep, drink... (you know the rest)...this sport. To be a professional pitcher in the biggest of stages your wanting needs to consume you. Yes!!! Consume you!! I understand I am on the verge of sounding cultish and insane and overdone but it is the truth. There is always perspective that comes into this as well. So when I mention all these crazy sentences you must realize the perspective that you must have on all this. The perspective is coming from a passion and a love. Not from a lack or a longing for. This means that sacrifice doesn't exist because your perspective on what you are doing is clean. This means that work or a job type focus is not in your vocabulary because it is just your life and what you love to do. This means that the choice to have baseball consume your life is a choice of joy and not insanity. It just means you love the sport so much and you choose to succeed so you practice at your craft and you study your craft and you love your craft. That is the "consume" that I speak of.
The next step is the Believe part. If you have this ever-burning desire or wanting to be a major league pitcher you must then have the belief in yourself, no matter what the situation brings, to back that wanting up. You have to believe so clearly and confidently that you never hear the doubters, the naysayers, the people who tell you that you are too small, too short, too fat, too slow and whatever else the critics think of. The perfect example of belief right now is Tim Tebow. Look at that guy. You think he believes in himself?!? He believes so strongly in himself and he wants to succeed at quarterback so badly that he has convinced his entire team, his entire organization that he can win, no matter what. No matter how bad it looks or how bad he throws or how bad the game goes into the 4th quarter. Nothing matters, nothing shatters his belief because he knows he is capable of anything. Just think of the belief he has in himself when week after week he has to hear the critics and the opposing teams continually criticize the way he looks on the football field. But yet he wins and has been highly successful solely based on his wanting and his belief.
So the next time you go to practice or to your game and are wanting to have results that are satisfying, just think about how much you want it and then believe that it can happen. You could go as far as measuring on a scale from 1 to 10. 1 being the low and 10 being the high. If you go home each night and answer the question honestly to yourself you will know exactly why you get what you are getting out of your sport right now. Increase the wanting, increase the belief and see the performance in your sport flourish!
Ok, that's all for now folks...hope all is well in your baseball world and keep throwing!!!!
The message I wanted to talk about and get across to the lovely athletes who actually read this thing is a little thing called Want and Believe. This is something that stuck with me this weekend. In order to manifest anything you want in life there is always a process of creation that is going to take shape. But before you can move forward in the process you must bring along two very specific things, Want and Believe. Seems pretty simple right. This is the starting point and basis to everything you go for in your life.
Now in my line of work this is a HUGE deal. To want and to believe is really what it is all about. The thing is though that the wanting has to be through the roof. You have to want so badly that you will do anything to get what you want out of this profession. You have to want so badly that there is no real sacrifice because you don't care about anything else. You have to want so badly that all the workouts and the games and the traveling and all that other stuff you could throw into the bag is never called work or a job. You have to want so badly that you eat, sleep, drink... (you know the rest)...this sport. To be a professional pitcher in the biggest of stages your wanting needs to consume you. Yes!!! Consume you!! I understand I am on the verge of sounding cultish and insane and overdone but it is the truth. There is always perspective that comes into this as well. So when I mention all these crazy sentences you must realize the perspective that you must have on all this. The perspective is coming from a passion and a love. Not from a lack or a longing for. This means that sacrifice doesn't exist because your perspective on what you are doing is clean. This means that work or a job type focus is not in your vocabulary because it is just your life and what you love to do. This means that the choice to have baseball consume your life is a choice of joy and not insanity. It just means you love the sport so much and you choose to succeed so you practice at your craft and you study your craft and you love your craft. That is the "consume" that I speak of.
The next step is the Believe part. If you have this ever-burning desire or wanting to be a major league pitcher you must then have the belief in yourself, no matter what the situation brings, to back that wanting up. You have to believe so clearly and confidently that you never hear the doubters, the naysayers, the people who tell you that you are too small, too short, too fat, too slow and whatever else the critics think of. The perfect example of belief right now is Tim Tebow. Look at that guy. You think he believes in himself?!? He believes so strongly in himself and he wants to succeed at quarterback so badly that he has convinced his entire team, his entire organization that he can win, no matter what. No matter how bad it looks or how bad he throws or how bad the game goes into the 4th quarter. Nothing matters, nothing shatters his belief because he knows he is capable of anything. Just think of the belief he has in himself when week after week he has to hear the critics and the opposing teams continually criticize the way he looks on the football field. But yet he wins and has been highly successful solely based on his wanting and his belief.
So the next time you go to practice or to your game and are wanting to have results that are satisfying, just think about how much you want it and then believe that it can happen. You could go as far as measuring on a scale from 1 to 10. 1 being the low and 10 being the high. If you go home each night and answer the question honestly to yourself you will know exactly why you get what you are getting out of your sport right now. Increase the wanting, increase the belief and see the performance in your sport flourish!
Ok, that's all for now folks...hope all is well in your baseball world and keep throwing!!!!
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