It's been awhile since my last post. They won't be weekly anymore, but whenever I have the time to sit down and organize some thoughts...I feel like that is the best way to go about this.
We are well into winter practice with Madison College, and the season is coming fast. I feel good about the preparation to this point, but we still have a lot of work to do. There is one reason why I think guys are getting a lot out of their preparation this year, and it is the idea that they are doing a good job with "competing with what's being asked of them."
"Competition" is a word that is used a lot within our program. The easy form of competition is team against team, and pitcher against hitter. I believe, that to get the most out of your preparation and practice settings, players need to learn to compete with what is being asked of them, whether it's a drill, or a swing adjustment, or whatever else. For example, if there is a particular drill that we are putting them through with game like feel, they need to win that drill. Another example is when making swing adjustments, or trying to establish a certain "feel" in a player...they need to learn that their competition in that moment is to establish the feel and understand how their body is moving.
This seems like a simple concept, but many times, players don't have the ability to create that amount of attentiveness to what they are doing on a daily basis. Most times, players are more worried about the result of the baseball off the bat, rather than trying to master what is being asked on them in that particular moment. When trying to make a specific swing adjustment, the result is NOT the most important thing to me...what's most important is can the hitter feel the difference in their body. If the hitter convinces himself to compete with the "feel" and the "move" of what's being asked, they will have a better ability to develop feel. When the hitter can feel, the hitter can make their own adjustments, which is a powerful thing.
This idea of "compete with what's being asked of you" came to me early during winter practices when I wanted to find a way to have our players be more attentive to what they were doing, yet still enjoy that process. For me, competition is fun. So, if you can compete with the drill, or compete with the feel/adjustment, you then have more attention to detail, and with the competition mindset you make the process more enjoyable/powerful.
How does this mindset then translate to a game? At Madison College, a big part of playing "WolfPack Baseball" is having the mindset of "beat the game, not the opponent." Beat the game, not the opponent directly correlates with "compete with what's being asked of you," or maybe, "compete with what the game presents you." Every pitch/situation is its own competition through the course of a game. The beat the game, not the opponent mindset makes the scoreboard irrelevant, and the process everything. It asks players to be more focused pitch by pitch, and to compete with each situation that the game presents. I am convinced that it doesn't matter the opponent, the team that can win the most pitches/situations that the game presents will most always win.
The hope is that this mindset can be brought into life outside the baseball field as well. The only way that you can be competitive, is to be present. So, when in the classroom, be present, and compete with what is being asked of you. At work, be present, and compete with what's being asked of you. With family and friends, be present, and compete with a good son, daughter, brother, sister, friend, cousin, etc. Lastly in life, be present, and compete with being the best version of yourself each day.
Compete with what is in front of you, and what is being asked of you!
Yours in baseball,
Burm
We are well into winter practice with Madison College, and the season is coming fast. I feel good about the preparation to this point, but we still have a lot of work to do. There is one reason why I think guys are getting a lot out of their preparation this year, and it is the idea that they are doing a good job with "competing with what's being asked of them."
"Competition" is a word that is used a lot within our program. The easy form of competition is team against team, and pitcher against hitter. I believe, that to get the most out of your preparation and practice settings, players need to learn to compete with what is being asked of them, whether it's a drill, or a swing adjustment, or whatever else. For example, if there is a particular drill that we are putting them through with game like feel, they need to win that drill. Another example is when making swing adjustments, or trying to establish a certain "feel" in a player...they need to learn that their competition in that moment is to establish the feel and understand how their body is moving.
This seems like a simple concept, but many times, players don't have the ability to create that amount of attentiveness to what they are doing on a daily basis. Most times, players are more worried about the result of the baseball off the bat, rather than trying to master what is being asked on them in that particular moment. When trying to make a specific swing adjustment, the result is NOT the most important thing to me...what's most important is can the hitter feel the difference in their body. If the hitter convinces himself to compete with the "feel" and the "move" of what's being asked, they will have a better ability to develop feel. When the hitter can feel, the hitter can make their own adjustments, which is a powerful thing.
This idea of "compete with what's being asked of you" came to me early during winter practices when I wanted to find a way to have our players be more attentive to what they were doing, yet still enjoy that process. For me, competition is fun. So, if you can compete with the drill, or compete with the feel/adjustment, you then have more attention to detail, and with the competition mindset you make the process more enjoyable/powerful.
How does this mindset then translate to a game? At Madison College, a big part of playing "WolfPack Baseball" is having the mindset of "beat the game, not the opponent." Beat the game, not the opponent directly correlates with "compete with what's being asked of you," or maybe, "compete with what the game presents you." Every pitch/situation is its own competition through the course of a game. The beat the game, not the opponent mindset makes the scoreboard irrelevant, and the process everything. It asks players to be more focused pitch by pitch, and to compete with each situation that the game presents. I am convinced that it doesn't matter the opponent, the team that can win the most pitches/situations that the game presents will most always win.
The hope is that this mindset can be brought into life outside the baseball field as well. The only way that you can be competitive, is to be present. So, when in the classroom, be present, and compete with what is being asked of you. At work, be present, and compete with what's being asked of you. With family and friends, be present, and compete with a good son, daughter, brother, sister, friend, cousin, etc. Lastly in life, be present, and compete with being the best version of yourself each day.
Compete with what is in front of you, and what is being asked of you!
Yours in baseball,
Burm
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