YOU HAVE TO BE HUNGRY!

"The second you think you've
arrived, someone passes you.
You have to always be in pursuit."
-Joe Torre

POSITVE SELF TALK

The running dialogue you have going on in your head (even when you aren't reading) is called your "self talk." In fact, although you have thoughts you can't fully express verbally, you could say that thinking is talking to yourslef. Thus, you do it all the time.

What do you say when you talk to yourself about your ability to play baseball?

Remember that what you think often determines how you play. Your thinking consists of your self-talk, along with your imagery. Thus, the words you say to yourself impact how confident you feel, making self-talk a pretty important topic. We are not always aware of what we are saying to ourselves. That's a good thing because if we were aware all of the time we'd go crazy.

However, this is also dangerous because you may be trash talking yourself by saying "I stink," "I can't hit," or "I may never get anyone out" but you aren't aware that you are doing it, you won't tell yourself to stop saying it!

Because of all the failure that is built into baseball, alot of players spend a great deal of time talking negatively to themselves. Your self-talk is something you need to be aware of, at least to some degree. Most important though, make sure you choose to talk to yourself in an encouraging, confidence-enhancing way. In short, talk to yourself the way you'd talk to your best friend.

HOW TO USE SELF-TALK TO ENHANCE YOUR PERFORMANCE

Figure out what you are saying to yourself when playing your best baseball will help you use self-talk to your best advantage. Say that to yourself whether you feel that way or not.

Here are a few examples of self-talk statements you can repeat to yourself anytime:

General:-"I am totally focused on each pitch"

-"I have paid the dues and I am trusting my ability."

-"It is my time."

Hitting:-"Hit it hard"

-"Attack the ball"

-"Be aggressive"-

"Use the whole field"

-"See the ball"

Pitching:-"The ball is going right there."

-"I'm the man."

-"Let it go."

-"Focus on the target, hit the target."

Fielding:-"Hit it to me."

-"I can make any play."

-"Stay down."

-"Quick as a cat."

CHAMPIONSHIP TEAMS

CHAMPIONSHIP TEAMS

If you are going to be a championship team, you have to be a championship team in every drill and every situation.

Great players crave instruction on their weaknesses.

Josh Hamilton on mechanics

Good hitting video on some basic mechanics of hitting.

BEING UNCOMMON

Tony Dungy on "Being Uncommon"

"Some players are UNCOMMON because of their God-given natural abilities, like being blessed with the height of Yao Ming or the vertical jump of Michael Jordan. Others have to work to become UNCOMMON.

Steve Kerr of the Chicago Bulls shot five hundred free throws to make himself UNCOMMON.

The truth is most people have a better chance to be UNCOMMON by effort than by natural gifts. Anyone could give that effort in his or her chosen endeavor, but the typical person doesn't, by choosing to do only enough to get by."

THOUGHTS ON BEING A TEAMMATE

Everybody judges players differently. I judge a player by what he does for his team and not what he does for himself. The name of the game is self-sacrifice.”—Billy Martin, New York Yankees

Individual commitment to a group effort—that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.”—Vince Lombardi, Green Bay Packers

I don’t get a big charge out of being the leading scorer. The object of competing is winning. I just try to do what has to be done for us to win. That might be anything at any time—defense, rebounding, passing. I get satisfaction out of being a team player.”—Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Los Angeles Lakers

WORKERS

WORKERS get the most out of themselves; when a body has limited talent, it has to muster all its resources of character to overcome this shortcoming.
If you think you are working hard, you can work harder. If you think you are doing enough, there is more that you can do. No one really ever exhausts his full potential.

Winning takes character and intelligence. It is the most important thing you can do because it’s a reaffirmation of your character.

-Pete Carril-

ACCEPTING RESPONSIBILITY

quote from hoopboost.blogspot.com

“Players always want to blame someone else or circumstances out of their control for their problems. It’s an embarrassing state. Many of today’s players don’t want to be embarrassed, so they spread the embarrassment. The coach didn’t play him enough or he didn’t get enough shots or he has a banged up finger. You find a way not to accept the blame. The better players learn to say, ‘I played bad, but tomorrow I’ll play better.’ A lot of younger players are afraid to admit they have bad nights, but everybody has bad nights and it’s how you rebound from those bad nights that dictates what kind of player you are going to be.”—USA Today interview with Michael Jordan

THE NEXT PLAY IS THE MOST IMPORTANT

GREAT STAT!!

Here is a stat passed on to me from "The Lord of Bunts" (Coach Cooley)

Good stat: MLB hitters had a batting average of .143 last year with pitches out of the strike zone. Good stat to tell pitchers when emphasizing getting up in the count.

You must be disciplined at the plate. Have a plan!

Here is the plan we promote:

0 strikes- have that 2-0 count approach, look for something to hammer

1 strike- hammer the next pitch that comes into the hitting zone

2 strikes- nothing gets through the strike zone, put it in play

MOTIVATION TO GIVE IT YOUR BEST EACH DAY

Random motivational thoughts from coaches and players:

The most important time to go to work is when things aren't going well; anyone can work in good times; grind it out in tough times!!!

Sometimes effort alone can keep u in games long enough to sneak out the win; but poor play without any effort will never let you back in a game .

Learn from the last one-focus on the next one; this is the journey through a season; never waste the learning opportunity & always focus ahead.

Working with a defined & focused purpose is what generates results we want; know exactly what you want done-then go do it; you must take action.

The great ones believe in preparation; practice habits; focus; intensity; this describes Lebron, Wade, and Kobe on a daily basis...all the greats!

Sometimes the best question we can ask ourselves is the simplest as well: What can I do to get better? If answered honestly u are on ur way!

Challenges are tough in sports or life; but overcoming challenges is very rewarding; we should never give up or give in; the best overcome!

What players need a better understanding of is that little things - the details - are often what determine the outcome; master the details!

The best in any business know what their job calls for them to do and they do their job COMPLETELY; no questions-no complaints; just produce!

Sometimes the best thing a player can bring to the game each night is their willingness to play hard; the great ones bring it to practice also.

Compete!

"I don't ask a lot. I don't ask you to make shots, but we're going to compete, because that's a character deal. Beyond basketball, in life, you've got to compete. It ain't going to be easy."

"You have to control, what you can control. You have the ability to control the way you compete night in and night out. "

-Doc Sadler