It is June 10th and I am three days away from completing my fourth extended spring training with the St Louis Cardinals!!! This has been the best extended spring by far and it only seems to be getting better and better. It is like each year I ask for more stuff whether it be better living arrangements, better players (lol), better relationships with coaches and players, and every year that is exactly what happens. I am super excited about the young group of pitchers I get to work with in Johnson City, TN this year. We may only have one or two kids coming with me that are 21 years of age, the rest are 20 and 19. So we may have our days where we get our asses handed to us but these guys compete and they aren't afraid so I am ready to sit back and watch!!!
That brings me to the subject of this new blog. The more I am around the game the more I realize what it takes for someone to make it in this game, besides the obvious answers such as talent and ability. More and more I realize how you must believe in yourself and also how damn competitive you must be. That's why I called this blog, "Top Two On My List".
I was speaking with some of the pitchers today and I was giving them a goodbye speech and all of my precious words of wisdom!!! LOL! I shared with them what I thought were the two most important things a player needed to have to make it to the big leagues. After listing belief/confidence and the desire to compete everything else just falls under that umbrella for me. Mechanics, knowledge of the game, preparation, focus, etc....it all falls under the belief you have in yourself and the desire to compete. All things will come to you in this game if you practice those two things first.
The reason why I wrote this blog though was to really talk about competition and competing. There is soooooooooo much that goes on during a season for these young athletes that the competitive nature is really what makes you or breaks you. Just think of this, you get up every morning at about 5:30am. You go to the field, eat breakfast and then start early work about 7:30 until 8am. Then you come back inside, take a breather and head back out to the field for an 8:30 meeting before you start the day. From about 8:35am to 10:30am you go through a routine of stretch, condition, throwing, fundamentals, and BP. Then you head back inside for some food. By about 11:35am you head back out to the field for a Noon game that lasts until 3pm on most days. Don't forget this is Florida so it is humid and hot all day, everyday!! Picture this day and then repeat it from March until the middle of June. That is exactly what the kids down here do, the kids who are not able to make a full season club and leave right after a month of spring training.
Be honest, do you think you could handle that??? It is not an easy thing to do at all. That is why if you don't have the desire to compete you will never make it in this game. The story of guys going from college to the big leagues in less then a year is far and few between. It may have only happened a handful of times in the history of the game. Most guys spend year after year in the minor leagues just hoping for a chance. Now, I am not trying to make excuses for anyone here I am just pointing out to you out there in computer land that if you really want this dream you better be one competitive son of a gun or this game will eat you up and spit you out. There are a lot of good players out there in minor league baseball that come to play each and every day. Those are the guys who make it, the guys who love to compete and can inspire themselves to perform each day. The guys who don't depend on anyone else to tell them they need to be ready to play or wake up before it is too late.
I take my hat off to these young kids down here because they are doing things I really don't know if I would have been able to handle when I was their age. It takes some real desire to hang in there and keep battling like these guys do, back on field 75 where nobody comes to watch. So if this is something that calls you, then great!! But make sure you start to practice that competitive drive right now. Don't let anything get in your way, compete, compete, compete!!!
Ok, all for now....wish us luck this year and every now and again check in on the Johnson City Cardinals up in the Appalachian League!!!
Friday, June 10, 2011
Monday, April 4, 2011
Special Guests
Spring Training has unfolded very well this season. Just when I have been writing blogs on consistency we have had the perfect guests to come in and reiterate the thoughts I have been writing down. This month we have had Tony LaRussa, Albert Pujols, Bob Knight and Mike Matheny come and talk to all the young minor league players. The best part of it was that not one of them talked about mechanics or talent or ability or anything that relates to physical capabilities. The focus to all their talks was mental toughness. Being able to understand that to be good in the game of baseball and to achieve the highest level of success you must be mentally tough.
For this blog I thought it would be nice to share with all of you what the main points of each of their talks were. Some more serious then others but all equally pleasing and beneficial.
Mike Matheny was first. He spoke to us at the beginning of Spring Training because he is not around as much as everyone else. Matheny works with the big leagues and minor leagues as a catching instructor. Matheny played for a few major league teams and won a couple gold gloves while he was there. I got to meet Mike Matheny last year when he came to work with the catchers in Johnson City. He has a wealth of knowledge and a big time character guy to back it up. Matheny spoke about the other things in baseball that are more in a persons control. Such as being a good teammate. His message was that to be able to be a guy around the clubhouse who sets a good example, who works hard and does his job quietly, who picks up guys when they are not going so well, who doesn't take their performance out on someone else or blame someone else when he is struggling, that that is what truly matters. His point was that if you are able to do these types of things then the successes will come based on your attitude alone. Your job is to come in and be a professional and truly understand what that means and to embrace it for all it is. Learning to be a professional takes care of all the other stuff.
Bob Knight was next. He came down about two weeks ago and had some amazing stories to tell about his time as the head coach of the 1984 summer olympics Gold Medal winning basketball team. Again he talked about more then just having the physical attributes to play the game of baseball. Knight spoke about how much he loved coaching guys who were mentally tough. He was always trying to find ways to challenge his athletes and get the best out of them. Bob shared a few amazing stories on his time with Michael Jordan during the summer of 1984. The way they would banter back and forth, it really seemed like there was something special there between himself and Jordan.
Then came Tony LaRussa. Tony has spoke to the camp each year that I have been with the Cardinals. Each year he speaks in detail about what he looks for in a player that he wants to play for him in the big leagues. Tony has a list of three things when referring to a player he wants on his team: you must be mentally tough, you must be a good teammate, and you must be a professional (on and off the field). LaRussa is not worried too much about all the physical things because he is aware that most of the kids here in this camp have those attributes already. But to play for a team and compete for a championship, that is a different thing. It takes a different type of player to win in the big leagues and that difference is much more mental then it is physical. I got to ask Tony a question while he was speaking to all of us. I asked him what the younger pitchers could do to make themselves better. To be able to learn about the game more. His answer was simple. Tony said, while you are on the bench or in the bullpen during the game, you must watch the game. Watch the game and see how the game shows you all you need to know. The experiences that happen during the game will show you the answers. That is so very true.
This brings me to the last speaker but of course not the least. Mr. Albert Pujols, La Maquina (the machine) Man, what a treat. Every year I am here I get to speak with and hear from the best hitter/player in the entire world. It is great to hear his story each year. But I don't care about his story of how he got to the bigs because it wasn't really that big of one. What I love the most about his talks are how much confidence he exudes when he speaks. There is no question in the world of why Pujols is Pujols when you get to hear him speak and watch him go about his work on a daily basis. The amount of focus, concentration, confidence, consistency that goes into his approach is why he is who he is. It radiates from him. Talk about habits of thought. I remember Albert answering a young man's question about being positive with himself. Albert said that for every time he says something negative to himself in his head, he counters that with five to ten positive things. He has trained himself into his success and there is no two ways about it. I also got to ask Pujols a couple questions. The first one was about how he deals with the failures of the game and how he is able to turn those failures into successes. People forget, even though he is the best player in the game, he still fails 7 out of 10 times when he walks to the plate. His answer to that was to focus on the bigger picture. Going 0 for 4 is not a bad thing if his approach at the plate was good and he hit the ball hard. Sometimes the results won't be there but that doesn't mean his approach or preparation was bad. He also said he does the best he can to turn the page and look forward to the next day if he happened to have a bad one. The second question I asked him was how he created the consistency in his results. Albert answered that with being able to keep his focus and concentration on a day to day basis. He has his off days just like everybody else, but he doesn't let that get in the way of his work. Being able to concentrate and focus his the reason why he is as successful as he is.
Well, that is the wrap up of my fourth spring training experience with the St Louis Cardinals. The next step for me is extended spring training. I get to work with guys who are rehabbing and then all the young pupps who are working on their process to make it to the big leagues. I love how each year brings me more clarity so that I can convey a clearer message each year to these young players. If I can get them to see the bigger picture, to disregard results and get lost in the work, then I have done my job. Until next time Passion for Pitching family!!!!! Hope all is well and you are pitching your butts off!!
For this blog I thought it would be nice to share with all of you what the main points of each of their talks were. Some more serious then others but all equally pleasing and beneficial.
Mike Matheny was first. He spoke to us at the beginning of Spring Training because he is not around as much as everyone else. Matheny works with the big leagues and minor leagues as a catching instructor. Matheny played for a few major league teams and won a couple gold gloves while he was there. I got to meet Mike Matheny last year when he came to work with the catchers in Johnson City. He has a wealth of knowledge and a big time character guy to back it up. Matheny spoke about the other things in baseball that are more in a persons control. Such as being a good teammate. His message was that to be able to be a guy around the clubhouse who sets a good example, who works hard and does his job quietly, who picks up guys when they are not going so well, who doesn't take their performance out on someone else or blame someone else when he is struggling, that that is what truly matters. His point was that if you are able to do these types of things then the successes will come based on your attitude alone. Your job is to come in and be a professional and truly understand what that means and to embrace it for all it is. Learning to be a professional takes care of all the other stuff.
Bob Knight was next. He came down about two weeks ago and had some amazing stories to tell about his time as the head coach of the 1984 summer olympics Gold Medal winning basketball team. Again he talked about more then just having the physical attributes to play the game of baseball. Knight spoke about how much he loved coaching guys who were mentally tough. He was always trying to find ways to challenge his athletes and get the best out of them. Bob shared a few amazing stories on his time with Michael Jordan during the summer of 1984. The way they would banter back and forth, it really seemed like there was something special there between himself and Jordan.
Then came Tony LaRussa. Tony has spoke to the camp each year that I have been with the Cardinals. Each year he speaks in detail about what he looks for in a player that he wants to play for him in the big leagues. Tony has a list of three things when referring to a player he wants on his team: you must be mentally tough, you must be a good teammate, and you must be a professional (on and off the field). LaRussa is not worried too much about all the physical things because he is aware that most of the kids here in this camp have those attributes already. But to play for a team and compete for a championship, that is a different thing. It takes a different type of player to win in the big leagues and that difference is much more mental then it is physical. I got to ask Tony a question while he was speaking to all of us. I asked him what the younger pitchers could do to make themselves better. To be able to learn about the game more. His answer was simple. Tony said, while you are on the bench or in the bullpen during the game, you must watch the game. Watch the game and see how the game shows you all you need to know. The experiences that happen during the game will show you the answers. That is so very true.
This brings me to the last speaker but of course not the least. Mr. Albert Pujols, La Maquina (the machine) Man, what a treat. Every year I am here I get to speak with and hear from the best hitter/player in the entire world. It is great to hear his story each year. But I don't care about his story of how he got to the bigs because it wasn't really that big of one. What I love the most about his talks are how much confidence he exudes when he speaks. There is no question in the world of why Pujols is Pujols when you get to hear him speak and watch him go about his work on a daily basis. The amount of focus, concentration, confidence, consistency that goes into his approach is why he is who he is. It radiates from him. Talk about habits of thought. I remember Albert answering a young man's question about being positive with himself. Albert said that for every time he says something negative to himself in his head, he counters that with five to ten positive things. He has trained himself into his success and there is no two ways about it. I also got to ask Pujols a couple questions. The first one was about how he deals with the failures of the game and how he is able to turn those failures into successes. People forget, even though he is the best player in the game, he still fails 7 out of 10 times when he walks to the plate. His answer to that was to focus on the bigger picture. Going 0 for 4 is not a bad thing if his approach at the plate was good and he hit the ball hard. Sometimes the results won't be there but that doesn't mean his approach or preparation was bad. He also said he does the best he can to turn the page and look forward to the next day if he happened to have a bad one. The second question I asked him was how he created the consistency in his results. Albert answered that with being able to keep his focus and concentration on a day to day basis. He has his off days just like everybody else, but he doesn't let that get in the way of his work. Being able to concentrate and focus his the reason why he is as successful as he is.
Well, that is the wrap up of my fourth spring training experience with the St Louis Cardinals. The next step for me is extended spring training. I get to work with guys who are rehabbing and then all the young pupps who are working on their process to make it to the big leagues. I love how each year brings me more clarity so that I can convey a clearer message each year to these young players. If I can get them to see the bigger picture, to disregard results and get lost in the work, then I have done my job. Until next time Passion for Pitching family!!!!! Hope all is well and you are pitching your butts off!!
Monday, March 28, 2011
Consistency-part 2 Habit of Thought
Ok, so last time I wrote about Consistency and just laid down the foundation for some future blogs on the topic. I touched a bit on how consistency is really just a thought away. I also touched on emotions and that is really where it all starts. So what I wanted to rap about this time is habit of thought and how to go about creating the habits of thought that are going to head you in the direction of what you want in your baseball career or life for that matter.
Your thoughts and emotions basically go hand and hand. They are like best buddies. Your thoughts don't want to go anywhere without their partner, Mr. emotion. This is how it all starts: you have a thought, during these thoughts that you have there will be an emotion that comes with it. If you can be aware enough of your emotions and what you feel like while these thoughts go in and out of your head, you will know where you are heading in your career and life. For example, Johnny is ten years old. He has trouble throwing strikes when he is on the mound. Parents are screaming at him to throw strikes, the coach is screaming at him to throw strikes and his teammates are doing the same. The next day Johnny is relaxing by himself and playing some video games. As he is playing the video games he remembers what happened in yesterdays baseball game. The thought comes through his head that he is not a very good pitcher. Immediately after thinking that thought he felt a weird feeling in his gut. It felt like failure, pain, maybe even guilt. Well, in that moment his emotions are letting him know that the thought he is currently thinking is not serving him. The thought he is thinking feels bad because it is not really true. Yes, Johnny had a bad outing the other day and couldn't throw strikes, but this doesn't make him a bad person or even a bad player, it just means he has some work to do to get better.
Ok, so what work does he have to do to get better? Well, right now I guarantee everyone who is reading this blog is saying he may need mechanical work or maybe he should get a pitching coach or maybe he doesn't practice enough during the week. Each of you would probably be very right in all of those answers except I want to play devils advocate here. The physical work is definitely a part of the process, but what should really come first? The emotional/mental process or the physical process? For most everyone, especially the kids, the process would always start with the physical work and then somewhere down the line the kid would be good enough or not to continue playing. But what happened if the kid started realizing that his habit of thoughts and the feelings that come with those thoughts are leading him closer or further away to the goals he wants to accomplish in life? Would he want to know this information? And wouldn't it be better to have this information sooner then later in their life's journey?
This brings us to the purpose of this blog, habit of thought. As soon as we wanted to or would be inspired to, we should start to take care of our habit of thought. We do that by being more aware of how we feel and then making statements or creating thoughts that assist us in feeling the way we want to feel. The Universe is a very powerful place, I think we could all agree on that even without getting to deep into this. But if we can believe, as I mentioned in the first "consistency" blog, that our thoughts create our success, then we need to address this as soon as we can. If you are a parent reading this blog you could do many things for your kids to create a positive and uplifting environment for them to succeed and get better. If you are an athlete reading this blog then you have the inside route to success and a long, healthy career that most would never know about. Now, this doesn't mean others will not have success if they don't know about this, they will, many do!! The point is that if we can learn about our thoughts and emotions and practice the mental/emotional game we want, then we can deliberately create a career we want instead of thinking we are at the mercy of politics.
The next step is pretty simple, be aware of how you feel. So after reading this blog sit for a second and try this exercise. Make a statement that makes you feel a fulfilling emotion inside your gut. A feeling like appreciation, love, joy, anything like that. It can be a statement about yourself, a friend, a family member, whatever creates that good feeling emotion. Now, on the flip side, think of something that makes you feel an emotion like anger or frustration. Do you see how your thoughts are creating emotions inside you? Which statement made you feel better? Which statement do you think would better serve you in your career or in your life? This is what habit of thought is all about. As we practice good feeling habits of thought that is what we get back in our life. The success/consistency can come immediately, it really doesn't take long. But, if you have been (for the lack of a better word) a negative thinker for a while, it just may take a little bit to tip the scales and see the consistency on a normal basis. Trust me, you will see a difference in your performance immediately, you just have to be patient to gain the consistency based on how good you are at practicing the thoughts you want to have in your life.
So get to work. Start being aware of how you are feeling and if you don't like it, then make a better statement to get you on track. More to come on this soon.....pitch well everyone!!!
Your thoughts and emotions basically go hand and hand. They are like best buddies. Your thoughts don't want to go anywhere without their partner, Mr. emotion. This is how it all starts: you have a thought, during these thoughts that you have there will be an emotion that comes with it. If you can be aware enough of your emotions and what you feel like while these thoughts go in and out of your head, you will know where you are heading in your career and life. For example, Johnny is ten years old. He has trouble throwing strikes when he is on the mound. Parents are screaming at him to throw strikes, the coach is screaming at him to throw strikes and his teammates are doing the same. The next day Johnny is relaxing by himself and playing some video games. As he is playing the video games he remembers what happened in yesterdays baseball game. The thought comes through his head that he is not a very good pitcher. Immediately after thinking that thought he felt a weird feeling in his gut. It felt like failure, pain, maybe even guilt. Well, in that moment his emotions are letting him know that the thought he is currently thinking is not serving him. The thought he is thinking feels bad because it is not really true. Yes, Johnny had a bad outing the other day and couldn't throw strikes, but this doesn't make him a bad person or even a bad player, it just means he has some work to do to get better.
Ok, so what work does he have to do to get better? Well, right now I guarantee everyone who is reading this blog is saying he may need mechanical work or maybe he should get a pitching coach or maybe he doesn't practice enough during the week. Each of you would probably be very right in all of those answers except I want to play devils advocate here. The physical work is definitely a part of the process, but what should really come first? The emotional/mental process or the physical process? For most everyone, especially the kids, the process would always start with the physical work and then somewhere down the line the kid would be good enough or not to continue playing. But what happened if the kid started realizing that his habit of thoughts and the feelings that come with those thoughts are leading him closer or further away to the goals he wants to accomplish in life? Would he want to know this information? And wouldn't it be better to have this information sooner then later in their life's journey?
This brings us to the purpose of this blog, habit of thought. As soon as we wanted to or would be inspired to, we should start to take care of our habit of thought. We do that by being more aware of how we feel and then making statements or creating thoughts that assist us in feeling the way we want to feel. The Universe is a very powerful place, I think we could all agree on that even without getting to deep into this. But if we can believe, as I mentioned in the first "consistency" blog, that our thoughts create our success, then we need to address this as soon as we can. If you are a parent reading this blog you could do many things for your kids to create a positive and uplifting environment for them to succeed and get better. If you are an athlete reading this blog then you have the inside route to success and a long, healthy career that most would never know about. Now, this doesn't mean others will not have success if they don't know about this, they will, many do!! The point is that if we can learn about our thoughts and emotions and practice the mental/emotional game we want, then we can deliberately create a career we want instead of thinking we are at the mercy of politics.
The next step is pretty simple, be aware of how you feel. So after reading this blog sit for a second and try this exercise. Make a statement that makes you feel a fulfilling emotion inside your gut. A feeling like appreciation, love, joy, anything like that. It can be a statement about yourself, a friend, a family member, whatever creates that good feeling emotion. Now, on the flip side, think of something that makes you feel an emotion like anger or frustration. Do you see how your thoughts are creating emotions inside you? Which statement made you feel better? Which statement do you think would better serve you in your career or in your life? This is what habit of thought is all about. As we practice good feeling habits of thought that is what we get back in our life. The success/consistency can come immediately, it really doesn't take long. But, if you have been (for the lack of a better word) a negative thinker for a while, it just may take a little bit to tip the scales and see the consistency on a normal basis. Trust me, you will see a difference in your performance immediately, you just have to be patient to gain the consistency based on how good you are at practicing the thoughts you want to have in your life.
So get to work. Start being aware of how you are feeling and if you don't like it, then make a better statement to get you on track. More to come on this soon.....pitch well everyone!!!
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Consistency
I continue to get some great ideas for blog topics from friends and interested Passion for Pitching followers. This blog is going to continue with that theme and so I took this idea from my good friend Christine Meyer. She happens to be a tremendous life coach in the lovely state of Pennsylvania. We have great conversations on a regular basis and she is able to challenge my thought process over and over. The topic she wanted me to discuss was consistency. So this will be blog #2 in the series of blogs I am responding to from you guys out there. How can a pitcher become consistent?
Consistency is the key to pitching success, bar none. At any age, if you can produce consistent results on an outing to outing basis you will be a big league pitcher, no question. Seems easy, right?? Produce consistent results and POOF, there you are, in the big leagues. Ok, so if it seems so easy, why is it so tough? Why can't kids create consistency in their outings over and over and over?
I am going to try and make this as easy as possible, as clear as possible. But what I am going to need from you is a little trust, a little leeway. I want you to all understand that this process of success and consistency IS easy. It is only a thought away. Here is what I mean by that, the body is controlled by the brain. The visual information that we take in from a moment to moment process is taken in, received by the brain, translated by the brain and then carried out via commands from the brain. (more or less, this is not a perfect description, but you get my drift) If this is true (and it is) couldn't we add our thoughts to this as well? Couldn't we say that the thoughts we think are being computed by the brain and then carried out through our body? If you can get your head around this and start to believe it, then consistency is truly just a thought away. The more we are able to think thoughts that are success thinking thoughts, consistency thinking thoughts, then that is exactly what we will get.
Think of it this way. If our thoughts can construct our reality then the more I can train myself, the more I can make good thoughts a habit, then a consistent reality is what I will create on the mound. The more I realize that my current experience is being formed by the thoughts I am thinking from moment to moment then I will be more aware of my thoughts and the reality they are creating. I then can realize how important my NOW moment is. My NOW moment is all I have. It doesn't matter what type of failures I have had or inconsistencies I have had in the past because my thoughts RIGHT NOW are what is creating my experience now and in the future.
This is big time information if you can believe in it and really embrace it. Just think of the power you can have in your career, life, relationship, anything! So what do you need to do to get started? Well, I could make this into a long series of blogs and may do just that, but let me give you the first clue. Start being aware of how you feel on a daily basis. You don't need to get too crazy right now, just be more aware of how you feel day to day. This is where it all starts. Emotions are the key. If you can begin to understand what your emotions are telling you and then how to direct your thoughts to improve your emotions, then you will be well on your way to the consistent career you are looking for.
I am going to leave you with that...I swear we will continue this discussion very soon but I think this is a good start for us. So go back through and read this blog a few more times so you can truly understand the message. Then I will come back and get more specific and paint a clear picture on the topic of consistency. It may take a few blogs but it will be well worth the read. Until then hope all is well and hope everyone is pitching their butts off this Spring!
Consistency is the key to pitching success, bar none. At any age, if you can produce consistent results on an outing to outing basis you will be a big league pitcher, no question. Seems easy, right?? Produce consistent results and POOF, there you are, in the big leagues. Ok, so if it seems so easy, why is it so tough? Why can't kids create consistency in their outings over and over and over?
I am going to try and make this as easy as possible, as clear as possible. But what I am going to need from you is a little trust, a little leeway. I want you to all understand that this process of success and consistency IS easy. It is only a thought away. Here is what I mean by that, the body is controlled by the brain. The visual information that we take in from a moment to moment process is taken in, received by the brain, translated by the brain and then carried out via commands from the brain. (more or less, this is not a perfect description, but you get my drift) If this is true (and it is) couldn't we add our thoughts to this as well? Couldn't we say that the thoughts we think are being computed by the brain and then carried out through our body? If you can get your head around this and start to believe it, then consistency is truly just a thought away. The more we are able to think thoughts that are success thinking thoughts, consistency thinking thoughts, then that is exactly what we will get.
Think of it this way. If our thoughts can construct our reality then the more I can train myself, the more I can make good thoughts a habit, then a consistent reality is what I will create on the mound. The more I realize that my current experience is being formed by the thoughts I am thinking from moment to moment then I will be more aware of my thoughts and the reality they are creating. I then can realize how important my NOW moment is. My NOW moment is all I have. It doesn't matter what type of failures I have had or inconsistencies I have had in the past because my thoughts RIGHT NOW are what is creating my experience now and in the future.
This is big time information if you can believe in it and really embrace it. Just think of the power you can have in your career, life, relationship, anything! So what do you need to do to get started? Well, I could make this into a long series of blogs and may do just that, but let me give you the first clue. Start being aware of how you feel on a daily basis. You don't need to get too crazy right now, just be more aware of how you feel day to day. This is where it all starts. Emotions are the key. If you can begin to understand what your emotions are telling you and then how to direct your thoughts to improve your emotions, then you will be well on your way to the consistent career you are looking for.
I am going to leave you with that...I swear we will continue this discussion very soon but I think this is a good start for us. So go back through and read this blog a few more times so you can truly understand the message. Then I will come back and get more specific and paint a clear picture on the topic of consistency. It may take a few blogs but it will be well worth the read. Until then hope all is well and hope everyone is pitching their butts off this Spring!
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
New Year...
It's that time again. Spring Training is in full swing and that means the minor league systems are getting revved up and ready to roll. I'm back down in Jupiter, FL and participating in my fourth spring training with the St Louis Cardinals. It is very exciting to see the pitchers you had in the previous years turning themselves into productive players and perhaps future big leaguers. The start of the spring and new year of baseball has inspired to my first blog of the season!!
For this blog I wanted to be very quick and to the point. I wanted to share with all of you, what I think it takes for a young athlete to evolve and hopefully mold themselves into successful professional pitchers. So what I am going to do is create a list of things I feel are important and fundamental to the process: (in no particular order)
1. Belief...you must have an amazing amount of belief in yourself and not necessarily need physical proof of that at all times. There are going to be plenty of times in your career where things will not go well. Your belief must grow and stay true throughout.
2. Desire...you have to have an amazing amount of desire to want to be better, to want to be a big leaguer and not care about what anyone else thinks, says or does.
3. Evaluation...you must be able to evaluate your level of play in an honest manner. This doesn't mean you have to beat yourself up and say your no good. But you must be able to be honest in the fact that if you need to get better at something, you can't be in denial about it or not be able to recognize that you need to be better. Then once you realize what you need to get better at, you must be able to know if the work you are doing is worth a damn. There are a lot of guys here in this camp thinking they did a whole lot of good in the off season but really nothing has changed.
4. Focus...you must be able to understand what focus is and what it can do for you. If you are not able to understand and use focus to your advantage it will be very tough to have any sort of a lasting career.
5. Preparation...you must know how to prepare yourself MENTALLY and physically for what you are about to do. If there is no preparation to your work it will be a waste of time. Know what you are going to do and why you are going to do it in all situations.
6. Perspective...you must understand the word perspective and how powerful it is for you. What you perceive will eventually become your reality. Do your best to eventually make everything come from a perspective, a point of view, that will be beneficial to you.
7. Contrast...understand that contrast is shaping your future. It is giving you clarity to show you what you need to be better at and how to go about it. If you can take the contrast and perceive it as a good thing, as "showing you the way", then you can use it to fuel your desire and help inspire you to bigger and better things.
8. Stubborn...you must be stubborn enough to be your own man. Not stubborn enough to where you never listen or you are not open to information that could be helpful, but if there are things that you have done over the years that have made you the player you are now, you must be able to stick to your guns no matter who is in front of you asking you to change or do something different. If your gut is telling you that you are on the right track, then you probably are and shouldn't be persuaded by people who have no clue about how you feel inside.
9. Fun...you must have fun!! This process must be perceived as fun. No matter how tough it may seem at times or how many hours you will put into training or no matter how bad it may hurt at times you must look at it as fun. All the different emotions you will feel and all the different experiences you will have, do your best to see the bigger picture. Nothing matters, it is just the game of life. Have fun, smile and don't take it so seriously.
Alright, that is it for today. I am sure there are many more items to add to the list, but this is a pretty good start for now. I was just thinking of where I was and how there are so many guys here working on their dream and thought I would offer some guidance before you get to the same place. There are just too many athletes here who will not make it and it won't be because they weren't talented enough. It will be because they don't have an awareness of some of the things on the list above. So much easier to see these things being a coach and being on the outside looking in, but it is so true.
See you down the line!!!!
For this blog I wanted to be very quick and to the point. I wanted to share with all of you, what I think it takes for a young athlete to evolve and hopefully mold themselves into successful professional pitchers. So what I am going to do is create a list of things I feel are important and fundamental to the process: (in no particular order)
1. Belief...you must have an amazing amount of belief in yourself and not necessarily need physical proof of that at all times. There are going to be plenty of times in your career where things will not go well. Your belief must grow and stay true throughout.
2. Desire...you have to have an amazing amount of desire to want to be better, to want to be a big leaguer and not care about what anyone else thinks, says or does.
3. Evaluation...you must be able to evaluate your level of play in an honest manner. This doesn't mean you have to beat yourself up and say your no good. But you must be able to be honest in the fact that if you need to get better at something, you can't be in denial about it or not be able to recognize that you need to be better. Then once you realize what you need to get better at, you must be able to know if the work you are doing is worth a damn. There are a lot of guys here in this camp thinking they did a whole lot of good in the off season but really nothing has changed.
4. Focus...you must be able to understand what focus is and what it can do for you. If you are not able to understand and use focus to your advantage it will be very tough to have any sort of a lasting career.
5. Preparation...you must know how to prepare yourself MENTALLY and physically for what you are about to do. If there is no preparation to your work it will be a waste of time. Know what you are going to do and why you are going to do it in all situations.
6. Perspective...you must understand the word perspective and how powerful it is for you. What you perceive will eventually become your reality. Do your best to eventually make everything come from a perspective, a point of view, that will be beneficial to you.
7. Contrast...understand that contrast is shaping your future. It is giving you clarity to show you what you need to be better at and how to go about it. If you can take the contrast and perceive it as a good thing, as "showing you the way", then you can use it to fuel your desire and help inspire you to bigger and better things.
8. Stubborn...you must be stubborn enough to be your own man. Not stubborn enough to where you never listen or you are not open to information that could be helpful, but if there are things that you have done over the years that have made you the player you are now, you must be able to stick to your guns no matter who is in front of you asking you to change or do something different. If your gut is telling you that you are on the right track, then you probably are and shouldn't be persuaded by people who have no clue about how you feel inside.
9. Fun...you must have fun!! This process must be perceived as fun. No matter how tough it may seem at times or how many hours you will put into training or no matter how bad it may hurt at times you must look at it as fun. All the different emotions you will feel and all the different experiences you will have, do your best to see the bigger picture. Nothing matters, it is just the game of life. Have fun, smile and don't take it so seriously.
Alright, that is it for today. I am sure there are many more items to add to the list, but this is a pretty good start for now. I was just thinking of where I was and how there are so many guys here working on their dream and thought I would offer some guidance before you get to the same place. There are just too many athletes here who will not make it and it won't be because they weren't talented enough. It will be because they don't have an awareness of some of the things on the list above. So much easier to see these things being a coach and being on the outside looking in, but it is so true.
See you down the line!!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
