Karch Kiraly, the Babe Ruth of volleyball, when asked how he prepared to win

Olympic Gold replied," I never did. I only prepared to win the next play."

Baseball players might take that to heart. You don't prepare to make the

HS varsity, get a college 'ship, or play pro ball you just prepare to make the

next play. Yet how often do you see Baseball Academies and hot shot select/travel

teams advertise that they are preparing players for High School and imply that

you will also get a college scholarship and big signing bonus if you just give

them your money and play for them.

Parents, to even voice those goals to your baseball player are wrong and counterproductive.

All he should be doing is preparing so that he can have the most success/FUN possible the

next play! That is all he can control. The rest takes care of itself if he does well enough.

My son enjoyed playing college baseball so much more than pro baseball. In college, the

sole focus was to win. In pro baseball, the sole focus for most is to put up numbers that get

you to the next level or get you more money in the next contract or arbitration. Many pro baseball

players don’t know how to play to win. They have only played to put up numbers and the wins

were a by product but when it gets down to the time when all that matters is winning, they don’t

have it in them because it isn’t something you can just turn on. Live with it Mets fans. Great players,

but just as you don’t “walk off the island”, just because you can put up flashy numbers doesn’t mean

you know how to win.

Playing to win is a learned skill just like how to turn a double play or hit the curve. Sadly, many

youth baseball programs treat the idea of playing to win as a negative. To them it is all about batting

averages, HRs, babying arms with pitch counts and playing lots of games so that the people who put

on these programs can maximize revenues. When you play a tournament every weekend, they become

just another opportunity to hit a HR. What’s the difference if we win or lose. We will play another

tourney next week and maybe I’ll get a HR and be entered into the “Over The Fence Gang” section

of the team website.

The Coach

SEE ARCHIVES

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