Aging In Reverse

I heard a great line this weekend from a friend who coaches college baseball, in regards to an interaction he had with one of his players, following his freshman year. 

“It’s amazing. None of the things that I thought mattered when I was in high school, are actually important.”

That same sentiment was mirrored by a player I’ve worked with in the past who is in his freshman fall.

I’ll tell you this too – at some point, I had that same revelation myself.

When people that I know watch young people play baseball, it’s very rare that they are there looking for the same things that a young high school player is trying to achieve. The evaluator isn’t looking for the player who gets three hits that day. Yeah sure it’s nice if you do it, and then you can probably make a post about it on social media, and it certainly doesn’t hurt your cause to get hits, but let’s be clear here, it’s generally the last thing that the person watching you cares about.

That evaluator is looking for someone who is in control.

In control of their emotions.

In control of their timing.

In control of how they take balls between innings.

In control of their on deck routine.

In control of how they run on and off the field regardless of their last at bat.

In control of how they make an out.

Consistency comes from great habits. No one is saying it should be fun to make an out, or make an error out in the field. That’s not it at all. It’s the ability to overcome that moment that makes players special.

Everyone in the ballpark knows that you’re frustrated when you make an out in a big situation. You don’t need to stomp around the dugout and slam stuff to the ground to show everyone it bothered you.

If you want “real” baseball people to notice you, learn to take control of the things that you think no one is paying attention to. It will accomplish two things.

1. It’ll help you perform better over time.

2. It will make you stand out like a sore thumb on the field, in the best way possible.