Everyone Wants To Win!!!!

Hello again everyone! Once again I want to start off by saying that I hope you and your family, team, and loved ones are safe and healthy as we continue to deal with the global pandemic that is Covid-19. As I write this entry, many states, including my home state of Georgia, are slowly starting to open things back up and there seems to be some light at the end of the tunnel. Here in Georgia, I have heard from two tournament directors that now have tentative start dates for tournaments. One plans to restart as soon as May 16th and the other a week later on May 23rd, so hopefully everyone will be heading back to the diamonds soon.

In the meantime, I thought I'd take a minute to address something that I believe has become an "pandemic" of it's own in youth baseball, heck really youth sports in general. To be honest, it's not just youth sports, it's also in our society as a whole. This "pandemic" I speak of is the sense of entitlement. The idea that everyone is a winner and that everyone should get the same chance and opportunity and reach the same level of success and therefore the same level of reward.

This concept might be great in theory. Of course every coach would like to see a twelve player roster full of people as talented as Mike Trout. How awesome would that be? Parents want that as well, who wouldn't want their player to be the next Garrett Cole on the pitchers mound? But it's just not real. First of all those players are the top 1% of the top 1% of all baseball players in the entire world, but reality also is that you'll never in your life see a team full of equally talented players. There will always be some players who are naturally more gifted or they have acquired more skills than others making the reality of the situation that not everyone is going to be a winner or be as successful as someone else.

Given the reality of the difference in talent levels, where does that leave those who might be less talented or what separates two people that actually are basically equal in talent? Well, that is where the biggest separation in those who are successful and those who aren't as successful comes into play. One of my favorite quotes of all time addresses this topic perfectly I believe. Bobby Knight once said "“The will to win is not nearly as important as the will to prepare to win. Everyone wants to win but not everyone wants to prepare to win. Preparing to win is where the determination that you will win, is made. Once the game or test or project is underway, it is too late to prepare to win. The actual game, test or project is just the end of a long process of getting ready, in which the outcome was really determined. So if you want to win, you must want to prepare to win. Once you prepare to win, winning is almost anti climatic."

That's it! It all comes down to the "will to PREPARE" in my mind. That's the difference in two players that have the same ability. Take baseball, you can have two shortstops that have the same exit velo when hitting, same overhand throw velocity, same running speed and reaction time, etc. They can have all the same measurable metrics for the position. That's not an impossible thing to have, but the two players can and will perform differently on the field. That is due to the amount of work and preparation they have done before they get on the field. The intangible things like having taken 200 grounders a day to the point where they instinctively know how to read a certain hop or get a better jump on the ball before it's ever hit because they are tracking the bat path. It's the hours they have logged watching video of the pitcher they are about to face so they understand that his tendency is to throw his change up when he's behind in the count 1-0 or 2-0. There are a million other examples of "extra preparation" that comes into play but these are just a couple things that come to mind quickly.

Talent is usually not what separates the good from the great. The WILL to be prepare is the biggest difference maker. One of the greatest examples of this is currently playing out on ESPN each week with the Michael Jordan documentary "The Last Dance". Watching it you can obviously see that Jordan was uber talented. There is no question about that at all. But if you listen to the words that come out of his mouth and the others who were around him you hear that his will to prepare was just as great if not greater than his talent. Many talented players have come and gone without a championship, Jordan though had the talent and the desire to be great and, to work his tail off, both on and off the court to be the greatest all time. That will to prepare, that desire to be the best is what led to the six championships, not just his talent.

The problem is more and more people want those championships, but don't want to put in the work. People say they want to win, heck who doesn't want to win? Losing sucks! To me there is no worse feeling than losing, but one must understand that winning is not guaranteed. The pandemic in youth sports now is that we live in a society that believes every kid should get a trophy. When things are normal there are three to five tournaments per weekend within an hour and a half of your home where you can register your "select team" in the one that you believe you have the best chance to win. Then those tournaments hand out both championship and runner up rings that dwarf the actually MLB World Series rings the players get so what does the kid receiving it automatically think? They think they are a winner and that this is how life is going to be. Nevermind the fact that little Johnny didn't pick up a bat or ball all week until Friday when his parent said "hey you better go hit a couple balls off the tee because you need to be ready for the tournament tomorrow". What are we teaching our kids when this is the model we use in youth baseball?

On the flip side, try being one of those kids or a parent who supports their kid that does have a strong will to prepare, not just win. When I was growing up the kids that put in extra work before or after practice or on their own in the off-season were praised. People said things like "wow, look how hard that kid works - he's going to make something of himself one of these days." (They were right by the way) Now I hear so many people say things like "he's just going to get burnt out" or they say "that parent is just trying to live out their dreams through their kid". That may be true for some, but it's not always the case. Those comments are often rooted in jealousy and envy, because either they or their child does not have the same will to prepare. It's sad really if you think about it. Kids that have the strong desire to improve themselves, the dedication to commit to something they love, and the desire to be excellent are somehow shunned and cut down because of their work ethic and drive. Where and when did this change? How did we get to this point?

Here's the bottom line for me on this and I'll wrap this entry up by leaving you with this thought. I believe that we as coaches and parents need to teach, encourage, and even push our players and kids to focus on the will to prepare. To help motivate our youth to have that strong desire to practice (prepare) and study the game and to work daily or at least multiple times a week to hone their craft. I believe it's actually extremely important we do that for our youth. Why? Not because I think it's going to automatically help them make their high school baseball team, to play in college, or go professional. That's not why I believe it's so important. Talent will also be a huge determiner in them playing at that level. The reason why I think it's important that we teach and encourage and push our youth to do those things is that it's because it's the way it is in LIFE as well. The lessons they learn by working hard, doing extra, and striving for excellence on the ballfield will carry over to their school work. They will take those lessons into studying for their exams and completing the projects at school. Then, when they grow up, they will take those same skills and the same will to prepare to work and it will help them be successful there as well. Sports has and hopefully always will be so much more than just the game itself or the tournament championship at 12u in podunk Georgia (or Illinois, or Texas, or wherever you are)! It's about LIFE and what we are teaching our kids about being successful adults! Be careful what you allow and what you encourage - it does matter!

Thank you for reading and as always please reach out with any questions or comments. Stay safe and healthy and keep working hard - I hope to see you on the diamonds soon!