Don’t Waste Your Baseball Years - They Go By Amazingly Quick!
by Coach JP
There’s an old saying that “Time stops for no man” and it’s really true.
The Question I Ask Ex-Players
For years, I have been asking the same one question to players whose careers are now over:
“Now that you are older, smarter and done playing, what would you have done differently to extend and improve your playing career?”
The answers have ranged all over the place and tend to be focused on a specific skill where they were less than major league average for pro players and equivalently down the scale on whatever level they peaked out at.
The point is that they know!
They know what they didn’t do… and with very few exceptions, they saw it as their own fault.
WOW! Now that sure is some strong stuff, don’t ya think?
How About Youth Players?
It is the same reason why it breaks my heart when I see talented youth players who simply will not do what it takes to get where they say they are trying to go in this game.
It is part of a young person’s make-up to believe that tomorrow is way of the future.
As adults, we know this isn’t true. So as adults, we are left trying to figure out how to get these points across so that our players do not waste the talents they have and can learn. Adults understand the small window of time that this talent is worth something and can be used for positive outcomes.
What Makes Adults So Darn Smart?
Probably because so many of us have made similar mistakes and seen wasted opportunity in our own past…in baseball, at work, in our own personal lives…and we want to help the next gen to avoid these same stupid pitfalls…so easily avoidable when you have experience…and so hard to get players to take seriously…really important choices to present day players!
Every Coach Has These Stories!
A former player who was voted 12-year-old Player of the Year in the state of Georgia (it’s usually the 4th highest state for drafted players in the USA). A hot, young player in a hotbed baseball state. He was then voted 14-year-old Player of the Year in Georgia as well.
By age 17, he had no real position, a slow bat, minimal speed and quickness and few options. His best Varsity years were his 9th and 10 grade years.
Somehow, he just lost his way…and perhaps his desire to improve. It happens.
A Current High School Varsity Example
An immature freshman with some talent started slipping in the grades & classroom-attitude department though his on field play was quite good. Month after month, it started adding up. Teachers were becoming fed up with his immaturity and coaches weren’t overly pleased either.
Sophomore year was more of the same except he grew into this lean 6' 3" pitcher's body, so more potential and baseball future was seen. But by this time he had fallen off track so badly that he became academically ineligible and lost his entire junior season while having way too much time on his hands…and no baseball at all.
Spin The Dial Ahead One Year!
As kids do, he is growing up and you cannot imagine how hard it is for him now. The deck is stacked against him so much since he has lost that all-important junior season of spring and summer ball (his parents refused to put out good money as they had felt burned before and I don’t blame them). Plus, he still had to attend summer school just to not flunk completely!
And He Is A Good Kid!
This is no delinquent, he’s not a future felon and frankly, I enjoy his company. He has grown up, he does want to play, is back on the field and doing the best he can. But, his options are now so limited and his velocity and strength are so suspect that I can only hope something clicks in during the upcoming season and that by accident, he gets seen on a good day.
Should Woulda Coulda
Every old geezer I ever knew has stories about talent that never panned out.
Every old player can tell you about a phenomenal talent they knew who now litters the sides of the baseball roads.
And many of the best in the game never got out of class “A” ball…and that’s the few and the fortunate who even got that far.
Basically, Be The Best You… The Best That You Can Be
That’s what you should ask of yourself
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