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9 PRINCIPLES OF BASEBALL AND LIFE
9 Principles of Baseball and Life
1. No Excuses: Do not blame teammates, umpires, coaches, fans, or the position of the moon for your performance. Take responsibility for what happens on the field. Stand up, make no excuses, refuse the excuse that others might offer you. Excuses get in the way of learning because mistakes are denied. Be accountable. Remember you are not expected to be a perfect performer. No one is. Baseball is not an easy game to play
2. Play with Honor: Always hustle, run out every ground ball and pop up, encourage your teammates, especially after an error, bad pitch, or a strike out, carry yourself with pride and dignity. Do not in frustration throw equipment. Do not ridicule another team or an opposing player's name, physical appearance, skill. Do not taunt. Do not distract an opposing player with low-level antics. Be positive with teammates. Never ridicule or criticize your teammates. They need your encouragement the most immediately after they have made a mistake. Show your teammates, your opponents, the entire world the values you hold dear by how you play.
3. Be Relentless: Never Yield, Never Yield. Regardless of what the scoreboard says, you are never defeated unless you give up, unless you go belly up. No opponent can make you do this. Giving up is something you do. Regardless of what the scoreboard says, no opponent can extinguish the flame in your heart or crush the intensity of your will without your consent. NEVER SURRENDER.
4. Slay Your Own Demons, They Slay Dragons: Ignore things outside your control: the judgements of umpires, the conduct and ability of other teams, the weather, your amount of play time, the final score (this is a tough one). Do not show frustration or disappointment. Do not allow your opponents to gain joy from your inability to cope with self pity. Do not throw equipment or whine in anger or slump your shoulders. Such behavior impresses no one. Maintain your poise. Learn, prepare, and focus on the next event. We cannot change the past. Instead we should focus on the next action with determination, joy, and resolve.
5. Take Responsibility For Those Things Under Your Control: Your effort, your attitude, your commitment, and your approach to the game are under your control. Be enthusiastic, play with great effort, conduct yourself appropriately, meet this opportuntiy with great joy. Listen to your coaches. Be alert, play smartly, know the signs. You are always accountable. How you react to situations and circumstances reveal the person you are and the person you might become.
6. Play The Game One Pitch At A Time: Focus on the current pitch. If you are a pitcher, what are you throwing now and where? If you area fielder, what are you going to do if the ball is hit to you? If you are a base-runner, what are you going to do on a fly ball, line drive, ground ball, to the right side, to the left side? If you are a batter, what are you trying to accomplish on this pitch? If you are on the bench, how are you helping your team be successful?
7. Focus On Behavior, Not Outcomes: The results of your performances are not fully under your control. The other team may be very good or very bad. The bounces may go your way, or not. But your behavior and approach are under your control. At the end of the game, you, perhaps only, know whether you gave a 100%, whether you did all you could to help your team. Those players who did are winners, those players who did not are losers, regardless of what the scoreboard says. Winners take care of things within their control, enjoy their participation, and are justifiable proud of their efforts. Losers make excuses, lose their poise readily, wallow in self-pity, and surrender at the slightest sign of adversity.
8. The Best Players Are The Best Learners: Players who are coach-able are always trying to more about being successful ballplayers and people. The listen and apply what their coaches and teachers suggest. Are you coach-able? If you are, you are a winner. If you are not, you are a loser, regardless of what the scoreboard says.
9. Be A Joyous Warrior: Be enthusiastic, positive, give 100%, understand that relentless effort in the pursuit of excellence is its own reward. The joyous warrior exemplifies the slogan "NO RETREAT & NO SURRENDER". Win with humility, lose with dignity.
Batting Tip
Real Players Hit With Wood
PROVIDED BY COACH JOHN PETER, BASEBALLTIPS.COM
Let me say this up front…
I do not like aluminum bats . . . but I’ll win with them.
Practice with wood . . . and you’ll win with aluminum.
It’s really very simple. An aluminum bat swing can be mechanically flawed but still get results. Inflated averages & power numbers abound with huge aluminum sweet spots & tricked-out metal alloys!
But eventually bigger fields and better pitching eliminates many aluminum bat hitters well before High School . . . and it doesn’t have to be!
Allow me to explain . . . Much of the physical side of the game is about :
BATSPEED - HANDSPEED - FOOTSPEED
Much of hitting is about: TIMING & BALANCE (Strength helps too)
Wood Bats feel head-heavy, with much smaller sweet spots so any imperfections in a swing are magnified. (Are you getting the picture?)
Training with wood forces the player to become mechanically precise & builds bat speed and strength. Additionally, wood trains hitters to really learn the strike zone and not swing at bad pitches (ever hit one off the end or the handle? . . . it hurts… and many times it breaks!)
To successfully swing with wood…
1. Trigger the hands earlier into the load position
2. Keep your hands inside the ball (meaning hands closer to the body throughout the swing to make for a quick rotation to the ball)
3. Stick with it until your muscle memory acclimates to this new weapon.
#1 Defined
Dead Hands Kill Players!
The first thing a hitter must do is take away the pitcher's fastball. In general, that is a pitcher's best pitch. From Clemens, Johnson, Martinez & Maddux, to the baddest pitcher in your league. Spot the fastball and you are a real pitcher. Ok, hitter what are you going to do about it? You’re going to crush it… that’s what!
Hands Start The Swing!
Start your swing with your hands (it’s your timing mechanism). . . and you can time a jet or a fastball! Call it a trigger, load or hitch, it’s all the same. Just get some movement from your hands starting when the pitcher separates his hands from his glove with a movement toward the back shoulder.
#2 Defined
Keep Your Hands Inside The Ball…What?
Keep your hands 4-6 inches from your body throughout the swing. Think about hitting the inside half of the baseball (the half that’s closest to you). This will train you to have a shorter, quicker stroke and will help keep balls straight and not allow them to hook foul…see Barry Bonds!
#3 Defined
Use your wood bat instead of your game aluminum for tee work, soft toss, in a cage & when hitting live pitching & you’ll get the results you’re looking for!
NOTES:
Wood Increases Bat Speed!
Bat Speed Equals Power!
In summary, any player or team that trains with wood will hit the ball harder, plus increase contact and power over all who don’t. Ask any hitting coach
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