Every year in late September the excitement builds for baseball fans around the country. The pennant race is coming to a close, and with only a few games left, it's hard to tell if your favorite team will be in the playoffs or not. I am a firm believer that playoff baseball is the best entertainment in sports today. Between seeing a new pitcher every night, and the anticipation placed on every pitch, you can feel the excitement in air.
Now that I no longer play, I can step back and really appreciate what it takes to be successful at that level. After a long 162 game season, players must battle through 3 more series to take home the most coveted prize in baseball. And if that's not enough, the "playoff atmosphere" will make these games the most mentally and physically demanding baseball games of the year.
Between the meticulous practice sessions, and the hours in the gym, it takes a true professional to keep his mind right and battle through the ups and downs of such a rigorous season. I played just over 100 baseball games every year during my college career, and to be successful I had to be conscious of every decision that I made. Success and longevity became a product of my every day operation, not just my performance on the field.
Achieving and maintaining success at that high of level for that long is more than just talent, it is a lifestyle commitment. One step in the wrong direction mentally or physically, and rest assured you season is coming to a close long before the baseball season is over. The type of success they achieve is a product of their daily mental and physical habits. Professionals know that every action they make will consequently have one of two results, create a good habit or create a bad habit. If you are not careful, you can coast through every day decisions and miss opportunities to better yourself and your skills. Every day decisions affect you mood, your energy level, and how productive you are. If you make bad decisions off the baseball field, they are sure carry over on the field.
Now of course you don't have to train your baseball hitting skills every day, or work your motion to the plate every day, but it does involve a tremendous amount of discipline and the elimination of shortcuts from your mode of thinking all together. Short-cuts bread laziness, and laziness ensures mediocrity or worse. Even the simple choice of what do drink, what to wear, how much sleep will get affect your energy level and thus your performance. In order to be game ready over the course of an entire season, players must have a minute to minute commitment of good choice after good choice.
If you are not asking yourself the question, "Will this make me better?" at least 10 times a day, then your not working on getting any better. In fact, most people will never ask themselves this posing question. Quite simply, most people do not want to change. Change involves effort, and most people would rather be stuck in their ways than actively try to change.
If you're a professional baseball player, you probably have your performance plan down pat. However, if you are a young athlete working towards your baseball goals, you may still be under the mindset that success on the field and off the field are two different things. If you are a selfish person off the field, chances are you're a selfish player off the field. If you are easily distracted in the classroom, chances are you are easily distracted on the baseball diamond.
Take the time to view your situation from the outside in and surround yourself with people that will help you achieve your goals. If your peers are brining you down, find new peers. If you need a more knowledgable batting instructor, find him. Do everything in your power to change your situation for the better.
In order to begin making quality decisions on a minute by minute basis you have to actively try and look a things from a different perspective. I have often beed told, "You can't solve a problem with same mindset that created it." If you are struggling with an issue whether on the baseball field, or in the classroom, ask someone else's opinion. Don't just choose any random person, find an expert who knows more about the topic then you do. Education is a powerful tool that will change anyones perspective. By reading or listening to different approaches to the same topic, you naturally incur what it is like to begin a task with a different mindset, but also achieve same result with a different solution.
If you want to be the best batter on you team, train like the best batter. Spend time developing your batting mechanics and do what is necessary in your batting training sessions, not just what is fun. If you want to be the best fielder, or pitcher, try out some new baseball drills or learn a new way to approach your position differently. The better quality education you receive and the higher focus repetitions you are able to practice, the better you will become.
By know you should be saying to yourself, "This all sounds great, but where do I begin?" Keep it simple. What is it that you are really after on the baseball field? What do you want to accomplish in your next baseball batting training session? What grades do I want to get in school or what job would I like to have?
The most common trap for young baseball players is trying to take shortcuts. Whether it is on the field or off the field, shortcuts lead to failure. A shortcut will do exactly what it's meant to do, it will shorten your playing career and cut your talent at the knees. If you are constantly taking shortcuts, then you never fully invest in what your doing. It's impossible and at the end of the day you will end up with a bunch of would of, could of, and should of's.
Now that you have answered those questions write down what you can do today to make that happen? The last piece of the puzzle is keep asking yourself questions, and writing actionable steps to accomplish the solution. Make good choices a habit, not a choice! This is the only way to pitch on short rest, hit in the clutch, and keep you performance consistent day after day! A series of successful days equals a successful week, a series of successful weeks equals a successful year, and a series of successful years equals a successful career!
Now that I no longer play, I can step back and really appreciate what it takes to be successful at that level. After a long 162 game season, players must battle through 3 more series to take home the most coveted prize in baseball. And if that's not enough, the "playoff atmosphere" will make these games the most mentally and physically demanding baseball games of the year.
Between the meticulous practice sessions, and the hours in the gym, it takes a true professional to keep his mind right and battle through the ups and downs of such a rigorous season. I played just over 100 baseball games every year during my college career, and to be successful I had to be conscious of every decision that I made. Success and longevity became a product of my every day operation, not just my performance on the field.
Achieving and maintaining success at that high of level for that long is more than just talent, it is a lifestyle commitment. One step in the wrong direction mentally or physically, and rest assured you season is coming to a close long before the baseball season is over. The type of success they achieve is a product of their daily mental and physical habits. Professionals know that every action they make will consequently have one of two results, create a good habit or create a bad habit. If you are not careful, you can coast through every day decisions and miss opportunities to better yourself and your skills. Every day decisions affect you mood, your energy level, and how productive you are. If you make bad decisions off the baseball field, they are sure carry over on the field.
Now of course you don't have to train your baseball hitting skills every day, or work your motion to the plate every day, but it does involve a tremendous amount of discipline and the elimination of shortcuts from your mode of thinking all together. Short-cuts bread laziness, and laziness ensures mediocrity or worse. Even the simple choice of what do drink, what to wear, how much sleep will get affect your energy level and thus your performance. In order to be game ready over the course of an entire season, players must have a minute to minute commitment of good choice after good choice.
If you are not asking yourself the question, "Will this make me better?" at least 10 times a day, then your not working on getting any better. In fact, most people will never ask themselves this posing question. Quite simply, most people do not want to change. Change involves effort, and most people would rather be stuck in their ways than actively try to change.
If you're a professional baseball player, you probably have your performance plan down pat. However, if you are a young athlete working towards your baseball goals, you may still be under the mindset that success on the field and off the field are two different things. If you are a selfish person off the field, chances are you're a selfish player off the field. If you are easily distracted in the classroom, chances are you are easily distracted on the baseball diamond.
Take the time to view your situation from the outside in and surround yourself with people that will help you achieve your goals. If your peers are brining you down, find new peers. If you need a more knowledgable batting instructor, find him. Do everything in your power to change your situation for the better.
In order to begin making quality decisions on a minute by minute basis you have to actively try and look a things from a different perspective. I have often beed told, "You can't solve a problem with same mindset that created it." If you are struggling with an issue whether on the baseball field, or in the classroom, ask someone else's opinion. Don't just choose any random person, find an expert who knows more about the topic then you do. Education is a powerful tool that will change anyones perspective. By reading or listening to different approaches to the same topic, you naturally incur what it is like to begin a task with a different mindset, but also achieve same result with a different solution.
If you want to be the best batter on you team, train like the best batter. Spend time developing your batting mechanics and do what is necessary in your batting training sessions, not just what is fun. If you want to be the best fielder, or pitcher, try out some new baseball drills or learn a new way to approach your position differently. The better quality education you receive and the higher focus repetitions you are able to practice, the better you will become.
By know you should be saying to yourself, "This all sounds great, but where do I begin?" Keep it simple. What is it that you are really after on the baseball field? What do you want to accomplish in your next baseball batting training session? What grades do I want to get in school or what job would I like to have?
The most common trap for young baseball players is trying to take shortcuts. Whether it is on the field or off the field, shortcuts lead to failure. A shortcut will do exactly what it's meant to do, it will shorten your playing career and cut your talent at the knees. If you are constantly taking shortcuts, then you never fully invest in what your doing. It's impossible and at the end of the day you will end up with a bunch of would of, could of, and should of's.
Now that you have answered those questions write down what you can do today to make that happen? The last piece of the puzzle is keep asking yourself questions, and writing actionable steps to accomplish the solution. Make good choices a habit, not a choice! This is the only way to pitch on short rest, hit in the clutch, and keep you performance consistent day after day! A series of successful days equals a successful week, a series of successful weeks equals a successful year, and a series of successful years equals a successful career!
About the Author:
Before you tackle the annoyance of improving your baseball batting, join us at our website. You can also view my baseball batting training video lessons on our YouTube channel.
No comments:
Post a Comment