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Jim Abbott's speech modified for kids
ADAPT: Overcoming Adversity
Boys, you have been given a tremendous challenge. That challenge is to see whether you can bounce back from a disappointing start to the season. I am using a speech by Jim Abbott as a guide to help you get through this challenge you are faced with. As most of you know, Jim Abbott pitched for 11 years in the major leagues even though he was born with only one hand. Mr. Abbott uses the word ADAPT to help people reach their goals. Following is my version of ADAPT for you:
A - Adjustability Right now we need some FIRE on our team. Most of you boys are very nice, quiet, kids. Unfortunately, each of you needs to try to adjust to a new role ... getting each other "fired" up and getting down-right excited when we make a great play or get an important hit
D - Determination Each of you needs to be determined to do your jobs out on the field 100% of the time. We all know that that's a very high goal, but striving to do your job 100% of the time is a good goal. That means thinking before the ball is pitched "What are my jobs, where is the play if the ball is hit to me?" Determination also means believing that if it's between me and a player on the other team, on any given play, I am going to do my darnedest to win on that given play. You have a ton of opportunities to win in every game. We have won a lot, just not in terms of the score at the end of the game.
A - Accountability This means taking responsibility for it when you don't do your job. In other words, learn from it. All anyone will ever ask is for you to learn from your mistakes. It is when you consistently make the same mistake over and over, and make excuses for that mistake, or pout about that mistake, that it is frustrating to your coaches and parents.
P - Perseverance Keep at it. Never give up. When we begin to win, it is going to be even sweeter, because you will have had to persevere through tough times. Only a strong person can persevere. Continue to prove you are strong.
T - Trust Trust in each other and your coaches. Listen, work hard and believe in yourselves. The most important person to trust is yourself. Can you do it? Of course you can. We've seen you do amazing things and we thank you for letting us watch you do it.
The most important thing, of all, is for you to know that we all love you and believe in you and we know that, even though, it may not seem like it, the wins will come. We are very proud of each of you! You boys are awesome!
Jim Abbott Speech -
ADAPT: Overcoming Adversity
(c) Jim Abbott, 2004 (may only be reproduced with permission)
People will tell you that I overcame obstacles -- maybe. But the truth is I was incredibly blessed in my life. More was given than was ever taken away.
Some of you may know that my career statistics weren't that great. There were some incredible highlights and some agonizing low lights. The truth is, I won't go to the hall of fame. But if a career can be measured by special moments, lessons learned and a connection with people, then I would stack mine up with anyones. Maybe there is an obligation to share. To try and learn from the experiences life puts us through.
When you play major league baseball it is easy to become self-absorbed. Your world can become very narrow. One of the aspects of speaking is that I enjoy getting out in the real world and seeing how hard people work. I have been amazed at how much their pursuit of excellence is similar to that same pursuit on a baseball diamond.
The challenge for me as a professional speaker has been to try and formulate a common language. The word that I have come up with is ADAPT. To continue to move towards our goals we must be willing to adapt. To change, and mold ourselves in order to meet the obstacles in our own way. Using ADAPT as an acronym you can put together a powerful set of words that stand alone in their significance, but they also string together like a chain in an amazing way.
A - adjustability
D - determination.
A - accountability
P - perseverance
T - trust
A - adjustability (c) Jim Abbott, 2004
Let me start with A. Adjustability. To achieve great things in this world you must be able to adjust to what is being asked. My dream wasn't to play in the major leagues. My dream was to play baseball at all. In order to do that, I had to develop a new way of doing things. I really wanted to join in with my friends but to do that I needed to learn to play in a much different way than they did. When you NEED something, you find a way.
I can't take credit for this. I was surrounded by wonderful people, who had the patience and creativity to help me devise the strategies I would need to get through life. Starting of course, with my parents, teachers, friends. If there is courage in my story, it was theirs. Their generosity of spirit gave me an ingrained optimism that there is a solution to be found for any problem. It may take some flexibility but it is there.
I learned along the way, that doing things in new ways always involves risk. You have to be willing to take a chance. You will also expose yourself to a lot of skepticism. Those who will say you can't do it that way… which bring us to the next word in our ADAPT chain.
D - determination
Once you've found your way, you have to work it make it happen. Once you've found what you love, don't let anything stand in your way. I don't have to tell you that the only way to get what you want is to work your butt off. We all know that. A pitchers success depends on the training he puts in before he takes the field.
There is another aspect of determination that I think is equally as important. We talked about those who say you can't. You must be determined in your belief that you can. I can think of so many examples of people who in one form or another questioned my playing ability.
Many teams bunted over and over again to see if I could make that simple play. One team bunted 6 times in a row.
My first college win came when they tried to steal home on the catchers throw back to me.
My point is that you have to create a strong filter that weeds out the negativity in whatever form it takes. You know what I mean. When we aren't feeling so strong, little things can keep us down, little comments, and body language from your boss. Even our own thinking can be corrosive when we let any thought carry us away.
You have to be determined not to let someone else’s opinion of you define what you think of yourself. Only you know in your heart all the things you are capable of….. Which brings us to accountability.
A - accountability
Accountability the heart and soul of my adapt chain. Basically accountability says that we are responsible for the abilities we've been given. It is unforgiving. When we look in the mirror can we say that we've made the most of our talents, no matter how big or how small? Are we making the most of the potential we have in all aspects of our lives. As a father, as a husband, as a co-worker. Accountability is brutal, but we need it to keep pushing ourselves to be the best we can be.
P - perseverance
Sticking with it. Life is full of ups and downs and how we respond to adversity makes us who we are. You may have seen the highlights, the good times in my career, but there were many difficult times.
In 1996 I went out and had what might be one of the worst years a pitcher can have. Two - eighteen.
Sports had always been my crutch. For an insecure kid who wanted very much to be accepted, success in athletics covered up a lot of hurt for a long time. But in 1996 it all came crashing down. I was failing. As hard as I tried it would just get worse. By the end of they year I was sent to the minor leagues for the first time in my life. I'm not going to tell you that I handled that year with all of the grace I would have liked. All I could do was to keep on trying. The following spring I was released from the Angels. Cleaned out my locker in front of my friends and drove home alone through the Arizona desert. My whole world was upside down. I missed it so much. I desperately wanted to get back, but I was also gun shy from going through a year and a half of failure.
Inspiration can come from unexpected places. An old manager called, he told me that he didn't think I was finished. And that's all it took, we started working.
Finally things turned around instead of baby steps those I started making large strides until I was able to call my wife and tell her the Chicago White Sox had just called me back to the big leagues. I could have kissed the mound. To make it back seems to me as great an accomplishment as making it in the first place. That experience illuminated to me that no matter how far we go in life we will continue to be tested. There is no finish line.
T - trust
Trust is my favorite and it is appropriate that it comes last. After you’ve found your way, after you have put the work in, after you have made the most of the abilities you were given, and stuck with it, it comes down to trust. Believing in the incredible amount of work you've done and knowing you are prepared for anything. When push comes to shove you draw your line in the sand and say this is who I am.
Trust in yourself. That belief that you can do it. Trust in yourself you believe that you can respond in any circumstance.
Throwing a no-hitter was one of the most exciting things that ever happened to me. To throw it in Yankee Stadium made is even more dramatic. That game is the greatest illustration I can think of to demonstrate the importance of trust. During that game the pressure starting mounting in the 6th inning. Pitch by pitch the fans were getting excited, and the atmosphere were becoming electric. That day the mound at Yankee Stadium began to feel like the eye of a hurricane.
Fans, teammates, result thinking, everything starts speeding up big time.
The challenge was to bring it back to the laser like focus this pitch to that spot come on now trust it. Throw this pitch with confidence.
You see its that trust, that last little oomph in the delivery that makes all the difference.
It all comes back to trusting in yourself and the work you have done, you re ready for this, bring it on.
So that is why I am a big believer in ADAPTing. Not only can we mold ourselves to the challenges that come our way. We can also break that word down into those 5 components and give ourselves 5 incredible strategies, and apply them any aspect of our lives.
But going through life with a few extra challenges has made me a better person, not better than anyone else but better than I would have been. I've learned that sometimes adversity can be a good thing.
The bible tells us to be grateful in every situation. I am grateful for mine.
- Jim Abbott
(c) Jim Abbott, 2004, the material here maybe used ONLY if this entire link is included
For more information on Jim Abbott, one handed baseball pitcher, and other Motivational Keynote Speakers, contact Lilly Walters, 909-398-1228
http://www.motivational-keynote-speakers.com/jimabbott.html
or http://www.jimabbott.info
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Slump Busting
Click here for an article from Ohio State University that discusses the psychology of getting out of a slump. Excellent reading and outstanding info. for all athletes striving to be their best.
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Excerpts from an Inspirational Tribune Article on Mark Buehrle
... It would be easy to conclude Buehrle's humility must be traced to his baseball roots, characterized most notably by his getting cut from the freshman and sophomore baseball teams at Francis Howell North High School, a clear injustice that has its head coach Bob Dunahue still sputtering.
The 5-foot-4-inch Buehrle, however, assumed he simply wasn't good enough and quietly returned to playing summer baseball with the rest of the guys who didn't make the team. In fact, Dunahue says, he was well aware of Buehrle's superb control even then and was angry when he learned days later that the volunteer freshman coach had taken it upon himself to cut him.
When Buehrle was cut again the next year in an apparent administrative mistake after Dunahue said he specifically told the coach he was to make the team, Dunahue went ballistic.
Unable to put Buehrle on the team days later because he already was playing on a summer-league team, Dunahue got into an argument with the school's assistant superintendent, who just happened to be the father of the coach who cut Buehrle.
"I fired that coach and I almost got fired because of it," Dunahue said, pulling up a lawn chair next to the St. Charles field where he had just helped conduct a baseball clinic on a scorching hot morning last week. "I was a very unhappy camper. Now, I make all the final cuts myself. We call it the `Buehrle Rule.'"
The lesson learned, however, is not so much how never to let that happen again as how a young Mark Buehrle responded.
"To Mark's credit," Dunahue says, "four days before tryouts his junior year, I saw him in the hall and told him to make sure he came out and he just said, `Coach, I'm there.' I said, `That's good because I just want you to know shame on me for what has happened in the past.' He just kind of smiled. God, I love him. He's really special."
Back home, Buehrle admits he almost changed his mind. "I pretty much gave up on high school baseball," he said. "You figure your freshman and sophomore years are your two easiest years to make it and varsity is the hardest team to make. I was like, `I didn't make the two easiest teams, how can I make the hardest team?,' so I really didn't want to go back out."
He was in his room doing his homework, his father recalled, when he convinced him otherwise.
"He was disappointed and embarrassed," John Buehrle said.
"Not making the team hurt but I told him, `Buddy, that's life. Life is often disappointment and hurt, but if you take that disappointment and turn it around into something positive, you can learn from it. Your mother and I didn't raise any quitters and we're not starting now. It's your decision, but if you quit now, you'll just be quitting on yourself.'"
It also should be noted John Buehrle never did call the coach to complain.
"I wanted so badly to ask him about it, but the reason I didn't was because I don't know how I would've responded or if I would have accepted his answer and I knew Bob knew what he was doing. I trusted him," the senior Buehrle said. ...
Article by Melissa Isaacson, appeared in the Chicago Tribune, June 26th, 2005
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Ryne Sandberg Hall of Fame Speech Excerpts
...The reason I am here, they tell me, is that I played the game a certain way. That I played the game the way it was supposed to be played. I don't know about that. But I do know this. I had too much respect for the game to play it any other way.
And if there is a single reason I am here today it is because of one word: respect. I love to play baseball. I'm a baseball player. I've always been a baseball player. I'm still a baseball player. That's who I am.
The game fit me because it was all about doing things right. If you played the game the right way, played the game for the team, good things would happen.
That's what I love most about the game. How a groundout to second with a man on second and nobody out was a great thing.
Respect. I was taught coming up in the Phillies organization to be seen and not heard by people like Pete Rose--my hero growing up--and players like Mike Schmidt and Steve Carlton and Manny Trillo. I understood that.
My parents, Durant and Elizabeth, who are no longer with us, understood that. My mom was at every single game I played as a kid, rain or shine. My dad always said, "Keep your nose clean, your mouth shut and your eyes and ears open because you might learn something."
I was taught you never, ever disrespect your opponent or your teammates or your organization or your manager and never, ever your uniform.
Make a great play? Act like you've done it before.
Get a big hit? Look for the third-base coach and get ready to run the bases.
Hit a home run? Put your head down, drop the bat and run around the bases.
My managers, like Don Zimmer and Jim Frey, they always said I made things easy on them by showing up on time, never getting into trouble, being ready to play every day, leading by example, being unselfish.
I made things easy on them? These things they talk about [like] playing every day? That was my job. I had too much respect for them and for the game to let them down. I was afraid to let them down.
People like Harry Caray and Don Zimmer used to compare me to Jackie Robinson. Can you think of a better tribute than that?
But Harry, who was a huge supporter of mine, used to say how nice it is that a guy who can hit 40 homers or steal 50 bases or drive in 100 runs is the best bunter on the team.
Nice? That was my job. When did it become OK for someone to hit home runs and forget how to play the rest of the game?
When we went home every winter, they warned us not to lift heavy weights because they didn't want us to lose flexibility. They wanted us to be baseball players, not only home run hitters.
These guys sitting up here (other Hall of Famers) did not pave the way for the rest of us so the players could swing for the fences every time up and forget how to move a runner over to third.
It's disrespectful to them and to you and to the game of baseball that we all played growing up.
Respect.
A lot of people say this honor validates my career. But I didn't work hard for validation. I didn't play the game right because I saw a reward at the end of the tunnel. I played it right because that's what you're supposed to do--play it right and with respect.
If this validates anything, it's that learning how to bunt and hit and run and turning two is more important than knowing where to find the little red light on the dugout camera. ...
Published August 1, 2005, Chicago Tribune
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Sports Psychology - Relationships
Click here for an excellent article from the Sports Psychology department at Ohio State University. This article is, obviously, written for the college student athlete, however, the sections on family relationships, teammate relationships and coach/athlete relationships all have parallels at our level. This is definitely worth your time to read, if you are interested in helping your child reach their fullest potential, both athletically and as an individual. I would, particularly, point out the teammate relationships section as being one that each Thundercat should consider carefully. There are several very helpful tips there that, if taken to heart, can make a team much stronger. Sometimes it's worthwhile to be reminded of all the little things that make a team a team.
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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 excuses 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. (Neither is life.)
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. (Remember, in life, your teammates are your family and your friends.)
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, THEN SLAY DRAGONS.
Ignore those things outside your control: the judgments of umpires, the conduct and ability of other teams, the weather, your amount of playing 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. (This may be even harder in life, than on the baseball field.)
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 opportunity 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, reveals the person you are and the person you might become.
6. PLAY THE GAME ONE PITCH AT A TIME. (in life, one day at a time)
Focus on the current pitch. If you are a pitcher, what are you throwing now, and where? If you are a 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? (In life, being prepared, ahead of time, to handle life's challenges is critical.)
7. FOCUS ON BEHAVIOR, NOT OUTCOMES.
The results of your performance 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 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 the things within their control, enjoy their participation, and are justifiably proud of their effort. Losers make excuses, lose their poise readily, wallow in self-pity, and surrender at the slightest sign of adversity. (This is an exact match to life.)
8. THE BEST PLAYERS ARE THE BEST LEARNERS.
Players who are coachable are always trying to learn more about being successful ballplayers and people. They listen and apply what their coaches and teachers suggest. Are you coachable? If you are, you are a winner. If you are not, you are a loser, regardless of what the scoreboard says. (In life, being coachable is being able to accept criticism, and make changes based on it.)
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.
(In life, when things go well, don't boast, and when things don't, don't wallow in self-pity. Everyone has negative things happen to them. It's how one deals with the negative that is the measure of the person.)
BY: Raymond Angelo Belliotti (text in parentheses was added)
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Baseball No-brainers that will Beat You Every Time!
1) Getting picked off a base.
2) Not sliding.
3) Not knowing how many outs there are.
4) Missing a signal or not executing at advancing a runner.
5) Not throwing to a cutoff man from the outfield.
6) Throwing to the wrong base.
7) Not being able to get a sacrifice bunt down.
8) Not backing up the play.
9) Not calling for a fly ball.
10) Taking a called third strike.
11) Not getting the sure out.
12) Not hustling all the time.
13) Not being mentally prepared to play.
(Thanks Mike Buelow, Baseball Coach/Instructor)
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Which one are you?
YOU HAVE THE ABILITY TO MAKE THE DECISION ABOUT WHICH YOU ARE, EVERY DAY OF YOUR LIFE, AND EVERY TIME AN OPPORTUNITY ARISES!!!
Are You A Winner Or A Loser?
by Sidney Harris
------------------------------------------------------A Winner says, “Let’s find out”; A loser says, “Nobody knows.”
When a winner makes a mistake, he says, “I was wrong”; when a loser makes a mistake, he says, “It wasn’t my fault”.
A winner credits his “good luck” for winning - even though it isn’t good luck; a loser blames his “bad luck” for losing - even though it isn’t bad luck.
A winner knows how and when to say “Yes” and “No”; a loser says, “Yes, but” and “perhaps not” at the wrong time, for the wrong reasons.
A winner isn’t nearly as afraid of losing as a loser is secretly afraid of winning.
A winner works harder than a loser and has more time; a loser is always “too busy” to do what is necessary.
A winner goes through a problem; a loser goes around it and never gets past it.
A winner makes commitments; a loser makes promises.
A winner shows he’s sorry by making up for it; a loser says “I’m sorry”, but does the same thing next time.
A winner says, “I’m good, but not as good as I ought to be;” a loser says, “I’m not as bad as a lot of other people”.
A winner listens; A loser just waits until it’s his turn to talk.
A winner would rather be admired than liked, although he would prefer both; a loser would rather be liked than admired and is even willing to pay the price of mild contempt for it.
A winner respects those who are superior to him and tries to learn something from them; a loser resents those who are superior to him and tries to find chinks in their armour.
A winner says, “There ought to be a better way to do it”; a loser says, “That’s the way it’s always been done here”.
“If you look like a winner, you feel like a winner; if you feel like a winner, you act like a winner; if you act like a winner, you play like a winner”.
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