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Players Page
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"How to be a Champion"
by Grantland Rice
You wonder how they do it,
You look to see the knack
You watch the foot in action,
Or the shoulder or the back.
But when you spot the answer
Where the higher glamours lurk,
You'll find . . .
That most of it is practice,
And the rest of it is work.
If you have the talent, travel baseball gives you the opportunity and environment to reach for the stars.
Playing competitive level travel baseball at a young age improves your chances of joining the select few who make it big in baseball. Here's why: If you add up all the 9-14 year olds playing baseball the odds of making it big are staggering: Only 10 players in 5000 (500:1) will receive a baseball scholarship at a major university and only 1 player in 5000 (5000:1) gets drafted by the pros.
There will be over 1000 competitive level players in each of our tournaments this season. When they grow up, fewer than 20 will reap a college baseball scholarship (20:1). Fewer than 5 will be drafted by pro teams (200:1). Factor in the growing worldwide popularity of the sport and the odds grow even longer.
The task of reaching the big time is daunting but by no means impossible. By reaching the competitive travel level of baseball you are already 10 times more likely to reach the big time than your little league peers. What's more, playing at this level will prepare you physically, mentally and emotionally to meet the challenge.
Have you ever noticed the commercials produced by the US Marine Corps that show a sword toting civilian enduring a trial by fire and emerging as a polished Marine holding a gleaming sword ? The message is a powerful and graphic reference to the extraordinary transformation ordinary metal experiences when exposed to flame.
A sword made from untempered metal is subject to break upon contact and quickly loses its edge. Metal that has been tempered by flame is durable and can be honed to a razor sharp edge.
By extension, your already considerable baseball skills will be tested and sharpened when exposed to the hotly competitive environment of travel baseball. By playing travel ball at a young age you have taken your first big step toward transforming yourself into a polished and elite baseball player.
Who are you?
Now that we have established the opportunities and challenges ahead of you, it's time to ask and answer an unavoidable question: "Who are you?"
Just because mom and dad forked over a bunch of money for you to join a so-called travel team and wear a uniform with an AAU patch on it doesn't automatically make you a great baseball player.
If you are on a travel baseball team and you are NOT willing to do everything it takes to try to become a great baseball player and help your team win, then you are a spoiled, selfish kid. You are wasting mom and dad's money and your coaches' time. There is a better place for you to play baseball. It's called Little League.
On the other hand, if you have a passion for excellence, and if you really do love baseball more than Spongebob Squarepants and your Sony Playstation2 combined, I have wonderful news for you: Travel baseball is the right place to make your baseball dreams come true.
If mom and dad are willing to sacrifice time and money, and your coaches are dedicated to winning, the rest is up to you.
Making your dream of being a great baseball player come true is really quite simple. Simple, but not easy. All you have to do is to be willing to do the things 99% of the kids who play baseball in America are NOT willing to do.
Let's say you want to be the best hitter in America or at least on your team. (These principles apply equally well to anyone wanting to be the best pitcher, catcher, infielder, outfielder or coach for that matter.) Here are the three steps to take to achieve your goal:
STEP 1
Technique: Find out what the best hitters know that you don't. Read a book, watch an instructional video on hitting, search the web, attend a clinic, talk to a coach. A sorry, flawed swing practiced a lot is still a sorry, flawed swing. Find out what it takes to hit a baseball consistently hard. Here's a hint: It's not the bat, no one is born with it and the chances of stumbling upon the formula by accident are nil. Study hitting and the people who do it best. How do they prepare mentally? What do they do physically? Become a craftsman.
STEP 2
Attitude: Who are you? Are you a leadoff hitter regularly batting 8th on your team? Are you a starter who only gets to sub for a couple of innings per game? Don't accept being who you are. You have the talent, opportunity and environment to achieve greatness. See yourself doing it and commit yourself to the hard work necessary to achieve it. What are you waiting for?
STEP 3
Behavior: Are you willing to change habits to change results? It takes three weeks to break an old habit or create a new one. What changes are you going to make and how soon are you going to make them? You can be well on your way to being a great hitter or achieving any other goal you set in three weeks . It's up to you.
Important: If you are already the lead-off or clean up hitter or the ace pitcher or a starter on your team, don't think these principles don't apply to you. I've just told every kid on your team how to take your job! But even more, as you move up to higher levels of baseball you will have to compete against kids who are as just as good or better than you. Prepare yourself NOW with the knowledge, attitude and habits you will need to face the challenges that lie ahead!
Who are you competing against?
In the two sections above, we have tried to clearly illustrate the lopsided ratio of players competing for the scant few big time opportunities in baseball, namely scholarships and pro contracts. We have lauded the benefits of the higher caliber competition associated with travel baseball. We have discussed the three variables that determine how well you put your talent to use: technique, attitude and behavior.
Now we want to give you an idea of what your competitors for these few precious openings in the big time are doing that you may or may not be doing.
1. They are going to a strength and conditioning coach 3-4 days per week. They are building their core muscles and developing the ABC's of athleticism: agility, balance, coordination and speed.
2. They are honing their baseball skills year round. They have regular and supervised throwing programs. They take hundreds of swings a day. I recently heard a scout say that the best and brightest players take 400-600 swings daily when they are going good and more when they are scuffling. If this sounds like a lot, consider that it takes as few as 9 minutes to take 100 swings.
3. They are their own coach. They are curious and open to new and better ways to do things. Their focus is on doing everything faster, harder and with better technique. They understand and respect the saying: "When you think you know everything there is to know about something, that's when the learning begins."
4. And above all else, they are persistent. They are doing these things every single day. This cannot be overstated. If you let a day pass without adding to the depth and breadth of your baseball ability, someone else surely will not. And in the end, they will reap the rewards.
Balance and leverage: Don't leave home without them.
All truly great athletes players display two distinct qualities - they possess great balance and they understand how to employ leverage. The good news is that both of these qualities can be learned and trained.
Balance is the body's ability to right itself. Balance training can teach the body to recover more quickly when balance is threatened. Balance also plays an important role in the body's ability to produce force. A balanced swing is a much harder swing than an off balance swing.
Leverage refers to a player's ability to make the most of his physical capabilities. Leverage is partly affected by body shape and size, but mechanics play a large role in a player's ability to apply leverage. Learning proper throwing and hitting techniques will lead to greater leverage.
Balance and the use of leverage are what separates the great athletes from the crowd.
Are you for real?
Here are two quick ways a coach/scout can size up the caliber of a baseball player:
1. Does he catch everything with two hands? If he does, hes a player. If not, hes a show off. Catch everything with two hands!
2. Does he retrieve balls lying on the ground with his bare hand or glove hand? Real ballplayers pick up motionless balls with their bare hand. Lazy, careless ballplayers pick them up with their glove hand. Make a habit of picking up balls with your bare hand!
Remember: You never know who might be watching.
Worth another look.
Of the five senses, eyesight is the most valuable in baseball. Knowing where to train your eyes at any given time is the first step toward success on the baseball field.
Throwing: Find your target and keep your eyes on it when throwing. NEVER watch the flight of the ball. The ball will go where your eyes are looking.
Receiving: Track the baseball with your eyes. Read its flight path from the moment it leaves the thrower's hand and move towards it. Watch it all the way into the glove.
Playing defense: When the pitcher is ready to deliver the next pitch every fielder should train his eyes on the strike zone. Do not watch the pitcher wind up or the flight of the ball to the plate. Focus on the strike zone because thats where the action will be.
Fielding grounders: When fielding a grounder NEVER look at the runner. Field the ball, find your target (usually the first baseman) and throw it quickly and accurately. NEVER check to see where the runner is. He has no where to go but to first base!
Baserunning: NEVER take your eyes off the baseball once you reach base. Dont look down when returning to base. Keep your eyes on the baseball at all times.
The last word
At least once per tournament, a player gets thrown out of a game for mouthing off at the umpire. In addition to being out for the rest of the game, he is by rule also suspended for the next game. We've seen teams lose tournaments because of this.
Umpires always have the last word. Arguing or giving them dirty looks is futile, but more than that it tells the world something about you. It says that you are looking for an excuse. Real baseball players don't make excuses, they make adjustments.
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